The Commentary Magazine Podcast

Noah Rothman makes another surprise guest appearance on the podcast he founded back in 2015! It's Day Two of a conversation about the fallout from the presidential debate, which garnered a colossal audience and therefore demands a discussion about whether Donald Trump can afford not to debate a second or even third time after his loss on Tuesday. Give a listen.

Bad moderators. Bad candidates. Who won on points. Who won overall. Why will it matter. Will it matter? Will there be more? All questions we attempt to answer in one admittedly wild, lunatic podcast. Give a listen.

What's going to happen tonight, and how is it like Battlestar Galactica? The answer may surprise you! Give a listen.

The political world was strangely rocked by a New York Times/Siena poll showing Trump with a one-point national lead, 48-47—leading Democrats and the media to worry openly that her momentum is gone. We explain why that might be the case, with a stop in Pittsburgh at the most politically divisive spice store in America as the dubious location for Harris making a plea to end our polarization. Give a listen.

Donald Trump talks about the economy while Tim Walz says pro-Hamas protestors are right to protest and Israel is defending itself in the wrong way even though it supposedly has the right to defend itself. And we conclude our week-long discussion of our own Christine Rosen's very important new book, The Extinction of Experience. Give a listen.

Today we're joined by former U.S. ambassador to Israel David Friedman to discuss his plan for Israel's future as articulated in in his new book One Jewish State. Then we get into the state of the race: Trump sounds pretty good, Kamala's policies sound incoherent, and both Walz and Vance are just plain bad. Give a listen

Tucker Carlson and a guest of his blame Winston Churchill for World War II. Thomas Friedman blames Bibi Netanyahu for the murder of the hostages. These are just some of the outrages we discuss on today's podcast, along with a conversation around our own Christine Rosen's new book, The Extinction of Experience. Give a listen.

What exactly is it the protestors in Israel and the media in the United States and Joe Biden actually want out of Israel? It appears they want the country to give up the strategic high ground it holds near Gaza in pursuit of a "deal" no one really believes can be struck. We talk about that, and we talk also about our own Christine Rosen's new book, The Extinction of Experience. Pre-order it on Amazon, and give a listen.

Dan Senor joins us to take the temperature of the Israeli body politic in the wake of the heartbreaking and disgusting news involving the slaughter of six hostages in Rafah, including the American Hersh Goldberg-Polin. What will Israelis demand of their government? What can Israel do? And will the compliant media allow Kamala Harris and Tim Walz to skate lightly over this nightmare while Donald Trump seeks to fan the flames? Give a listen.

The interview, everybody! It was 27 whole minutes of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz! Was it joyous? Did she become president by acclamation? We gathered in its immediate wake to provide our perspective, our grades, our sense of the vibes, and the general question of whether this was the first or the last interview she will ever sit for. Give a listen.

National polling shows Kamala Harris in the lead but battleground-state polling shows pretty much a tie between her and Donald Trump in the places that will decide the election. How to explain this, and how to explain the controversy over Trump laying a wreath at Arlington Cemetery? Give a listen.

Adam White joins us today to talk about the re-indictment of Donald Trump relating to January 6 and whether the new effort by the special prosecutor answers the Supreme Court's ruling earlier this summer. But first: She's being interviewed! But not alone! Why not alone? And what will interviewer Dana Bash do? Give a listen.

A full house on today's podcast shows how the press is attempting to cover for Kamala Harris's silence on issues through hilariously banal teen-fan-magazine coverage, and whether Donald Trump is now moving to take advantage of that silence. Give a listen.

Jonathan Schanzer joins us today to talk about Israel's action to prevent a massive barrage of Hezbollah missiles raining down on the Jewish state and the bizarre fact that so many are acting as though it has "escalated" a conflict that Hezbollah has been waging against Israel unilaterally since October 8—rather than staging an action that stopped or delayed a wider conflagration. Give a listen.

The Democrats had themselves a convention, they're really happy, Kamala Harris spoke for a while and did fine, the media have gone absolutely bonkers for her entirely—shall we say—conventional speech, and can she keep up being this much of a cipher until Election Day? Give a listen.