The Commentary Magazine Podcast

A conversation about how Donald Trump controls all news in this country morphs unexpectedly into a deep dive into large language models, uncanny valleys, AI, driverless cars, and everything scary about everything. Give a listen! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the agonizing over the White House ballroom continues, we continue to analyze it. And what's up with Donald Trump's interest in Argentine beef?  Finally, we get to the NYC mayoral race and how Zohran Mamdani, if elected, might respond to his base. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The liberal meltdown over the creation of a ballroom at the White House is another example of how liberals and the left keep stepping on their own substantive disagreements with Donald Trump because they get distracted by...stupid things. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is the Trump administration's success in the Middle East going to have an effect on the way the more extreme elements of the right talk about Israel and Jews more broadly? And if podcasters continue to trash-talk Trump on this and other matters, will Trump take it lying down—or will he insist on a loyalty test for them too? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A huge show of anti-Trump force this weekend raises the question—to what end and for what purpose? And was Israel's decision to hit back hard at Hamas for violating the Trump deal really a sign of a division between the administration and the Israeli government or more of a tactical pause to see how Hamas reacts? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We discuss last night's NYC mayoral debate, in which Zohran Mamdani was bad, Andrew Cuomo was worse, and Curtis Sliwa was Curtis Sliwa. And we talk about the terrorist-run city of Birmingham, UK. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Donald Trump is telling Hamas to fulfill its end of the deal or he will tell Israel to go back in and go get the bodies of the hostages Hamas is still holding. He's continuing to use the threats of force to change the realities on the ground in ways that remain fresh and new. Meanwhile, American politicians are behaving badly on both sides of the aisle. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Eliana Johnson joins the podcast to discuss Donald Trump's telling Hamas to disarm or be disarmed. We also talk about the Democrats' fanciful claim that Trump got the cease-fire and got the hostages back by following the Biden administration's plans. And we get into the New York Times' worshipful profile of Zohran Mamdani. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Settle in; This is a long one. We discuss the release of the hostages, Donald Trump's extraordinary speech to the Knesset, the meaning of deterrence, the changing atmosphere in the Middle East, and the question of...providence. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The end of the war in Gaza follows the unprecedented two-year psychological war against Zionism, supporters of Israel, and the very idea that Jews need and deserve to defend themselves. This has been an open question for us since 1948, when even Hannah Arendt opposed the creation of a Jewish state in the pages of COMMENTARY. We explain why she was wrong then, is wrong now, and why Israel's survival is important even for turncoat Jews who attack it. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We must not hope for the best while expecting the worst today; today is a day to celebrate while cautiously looking forward. Jonathan Schanzer joins us to talk about the terms of the deal that will bring the Israeli hostages home while ensuring Israel retains military options and territory in Gaza—a better deal for Israel than most of us ever expected would be the final case. How did it happen? What happens next? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Eliana Johnson joins the podcast today to talk about the unprecedented attack-dog performance on Tuesday in a Senate hearing by Attorney General Pam Bondi, who decided to treat her oversight committee as though they were enemies whom she had every right to attack in personal terms. Is this a new model going forward? And what's this with the idea that a Harvard professor shooting a gun near a synagogue was just hunting rats? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jonathan Schanzer joins the podcast to discuss the ways in which the maligned Israeli approach to the war in Gaza may have, in fact, made its victory this week possible—and if there is no end at hand, establishes its grim but necessary path forward. Programming note: No podcast on Tuesday, October 7, in observance of Sukkot. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We return to daily podcasting in the wake of a horrible car-ramming-stabbing spree at a synagogue in Manchester, followed by a massive pro-terrorism demonstration right outside 10 Downing Street. The bloodlust for Jewish lives and security has only grown in the two years since October 7. Why? And how can it be stopped? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So the federal government has "shut down," which it really hasn't, actually, and here we go again. Or will this really be a huge showdown, given that three Democrats have already voted against it and show they don't want to play this game (another six and the shutdown ends). Also: what is this ludicrous "scoop" from human dreidel Barak Ravid about how Trump had to yell at Netanyahu to get Bibi to agree to a deal that gives Bibi everything he wants? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There is much to discuss about Donald Trump's historic proposal for ending the war in Gaza: how the media has reacted, what it says about the Trump administration's support for Israel, and how each of us think Hamas will respond. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Does Donald Trump help or hurt himself by using the weapons of the presidency as personal tools for revenge? This is apart from the question of whether his doing so is simply turnabout-as-fair-play or simply an outrageous misuse of his power. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The indictment of James Comey causes us to go down memory lane remembering how destructive Comey was of the good working order of law and politics in matters involving both parties. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're back from Rosh Hashanah to sing the glories of Donald Trump's controversial United Nations speech, which is only controversial because he isn't saying what the elites want him to say. And we try to make sense out of what seems like a huge shift on Trump's part in the direction of supporting Ukraine. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The massive memorial for Charlie Kirk in Arizona was more of a Christian revivalist meeting than the funeral of a political figure. What does it herald for the United States? And why does the "recognition" of a non-existent Palestinian state not worry us as much as you might expect? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices