The Commentary Magazine Podcast
1,472 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 16 hours ago - ★★★★★ - 3.9K ratingsCommentary is America's premier monthly magazine of opinion: General, yet Jewish. Highly variegated, with a unifying perspective.
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Episodes
What Does It Mean to Be a Woman?
December 13, 2021 15:15 - 1 hour - 62 MBThe disparity between the Omicron variant’s apparent severity and the public health response to it suggests that the pandemic isn’t really about the pandemic anymore. What we’re witnessing is a competition between incompatible visions of societal organization. Also, Christine Rosen on her cover article in the new issue of COMMENTARY: “The New Misogyny.”... Source
Jussie Smollett and the Democratic Crime Crisis
December 10, 2021 15:31 - 51 minutes - 46.9 MBToday’s podcast takes up the larger meaning of Jussie Smollett’s attempt to use the criminal-justice system as his catspaw and how it reveals a crisis in the liberal understanding of crime in general. Then we discuss the inflation crisis and what it means, and offer a few choice words about Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and Chelsea Clinton. Give a listen. Source
Wait—Did Trump Just Expose a Colossal Security Crisis?
December 09, 2021 15:47 - 53 minutes - 48.8 MBOn today’s podcast, we discuss Donald Trump’s oddly casual revelation that he believes Russia stole our hypersonic technology research—and then that research got into China’s hands. Isn’t this the biggest story ever? And why is Biden giving Putin what he wants with a big summit? And why are Democrats losing Hispanics? Give a listen. Source
It’s Over, Omarova
December 08, 2021 15:14 - 45 minutes - 41.7 MBDid Senate Republicans make a mistake by giving in to a one-time debt ceiling increase that circumvents the legislative filibuster? Is Biden responding with appropriate force to the threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine? And what do we make of the leftwing effort to frame the sinking of Saule Omarova’s nomination to the position of comptroller as cynical red baiting? Source
Omicronic Fatigue
December 07, 2021 15:22 - 1 hour - 56.2 MBA report out of South Africa confirms the rumors: the Omicron variant is less severe even though it is more contagious. That is good news, so why isn’t it being treated as such? Also, the national crime wave continues to build and Joe Biden’s existential test in Europe. Source
The Democrats’ Perpetual Pandemic Trap
December 06, 2021 15:43 - 43 minutes - 39.4 MBDaniel Casse, president of the G100 Chief Executive program, joins the podcast this morning to discuss the trap in which Joe Biden and his fellow Democrats find themselves. Namely, the idea that their political fortunes are tied to Covid case rates, over which they have no control. Also, a look back on the life of the late Sen. Bob Dole. Source
Folksy Impotence
December 03, 2021 15:09 - 54 minutes - 50.1 MBThe Biden administration is improvising its way through a new Covid panic, projecting impotency along the way. Speaking of impotency, Russia is sending signals indicating that another invasion of Ukraine is imminent, and the White House’s response so far has consisted of sternly worded letters. Source
Will Abortion Tear the Country Apart?
December 02, 2021 16:08 - 1 hour - 55.9 MBConstitutional law scholar Adam White joins the podcast today to discuss the abortion rights case before the Supreme Court, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. What are the merits of the arguments before the Court? Will the conservative justices dismantle the precedents established by the decisions in Roe and Casey? And will the country descend into political combat when the ruling comes... Source
The Fate of Chris Cuomo and CNN
December 01, 2021 15:15 - 1 hour - 60 MBIt’s a busy podcast today as we take up the limited evidence that the new variant justifies the draconian measures now being imposed in Europe and being floated here at home. Then we go into the “indefinite suspension” of Chris Cuomo at CNN and what it means for the future of the network, whose new boss has already indicated he wants to take it in a different direction. And will the new West Side... Source
The Threat of Om… Omni… Omnicrom…
November 30, 2021 15:51 - 55 minutes - 51 MBThe podcast wonders at Joe Biden’s inability to pronounce the name of the variant he went on national television to warn against—and tries to sort through what little evidence we have about how dangerous this thing really is. Then we come to Chris Cuomo: Why does he still have a job exactly? Give a listen. Source
The Threat of Om... Omni... Omnicrom...
November 30, 2021 15:36 - 55 minutes - 39.7 MBThe podcast wonders at Joe Biden's inability to pronounce the name of the variant he went on national television to warn against—and tries to sort through what little evidence we have about how dangerous this thing really is. Then we come to Chris Cuomo: Why does he still have a job exactly? Give a listen.
Omicronic Condition
November 29, 2021 16:05 - 1 hour - 57.7 MBToday’s podcast asks whether there’s a crazed overreaction to the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. We then discuss the car that killed people in Waukesha and the continuing effort by the media to whitewash its role in suppressing the Hunter Biden laptop story. And a final word on Stephen Sondheim. Give a listen. Source
Bad Prosecutors, Bad Laws, Bad Anti-Patriots
November 24, 2021 15:27 - 1 hour - 61.2 MBToday’s pre-Thanksgiving episode offers our own crushingly morose tribute to the United States as we battle the phenomenon of prosecutors letting people loose to commit horrible crimes and elite opinion-wielders trashing the United States when this country provided them with bounties untold. Happy Turkey Day and give a listen. Source
American Adhocracy
November 23, 2021 18:01 - 56 minutes - 51.4 MBThe Biden administration is making the strategic petroleum reserve available to the markets seemingly only in response to his sagging polls, which observers believe is a response to rising consumer costs. But this is not an energy policy. Also, thoughts on the public response to the verdict in the Rittenhouse trial. Source
Trashing the Jury System
November 22, 2021 15:58 - 1 hour - 55.5 MBOn today’s podcast, we discuss the reaction to the Rittenhouse verdicts, the continuing effort to talk up the Biden social-spending bill, and the horror in Waukesha. Also, Christine explains how she is the podcast’s successor to the Karate Kid. Give a listen. Source
The Book of David
November 19, 2021 15:57 - 1 hour - 67.3 MBDavid Bahnsen joins the podcast today to talk about the Build Back Better bill and why its passage in the House might be at best politically meaningless for Democrats and at worst their Armageddon before we go on to discuss his book, There’s No Free Lunch, about economics and human flourishing. Give a listen. Source
What Have We Voted Ourselves?
November 18, 2021 15:11 - 35 minutes - 32.6 MBDid Paul Gosar deserve to be censured for tweeting out an anime video that appeared to threaten his colleagues? Does Lauren Boebert have a point about Eric Swalwell “sleeping with the enemy?” Did Ilhan Omar go too far with her semi-literate attack on Boebert? Or have we just elected ourselves a nightmarish reality show with no redeeming value? Also, an update on the Kyle Rittenhouse trial. Source
Where is Biden on COVID?
November 17, 2021 16:12 - 1 hour - 66.4 MBYuval Levin joins the podcast today as we mark the fact that 70 percent of the population of the United States 12 and over is fully vaccinated—a point when we were told we would reach herd immunity and see the end of the pandemic. But clearly, the powers that be won’t say so—even though everything we see says Joe Biden desperately needs to claim a victory, any victory. Why won’t he? Give a listen. Source
The Media and Academia Circle the Wagons
November 16, 2021 15:36 - 1 hour - 60.1 MBToday’s podcast takes up the question of what the mainstream media deem permissible and praiseworthy when it comes to political coverage—and how discipline is enforced when other media professionals don’t do what the self-appointed critics and finger-waggers want them to do. Then we talk about how the same is going on, in an even more pernicious form, in academia. Give a listen. Source
The Biden People Just Keep Getting More Bad News
November 15, 2021 17:26 - 1 hour - 55.5 MBToday’s podcast examines the Washington Post-ABC poll that has Democrats curled up in a fetal position today and the efforts to happy-talk it down. Will they work? Come on, man. Give a listen. Source
Biden's Pincers Problem
November 12, 2021 15:50 - 1 hour - 64.9 MBThe podcast today takes up a new poll that suggests Democrats and independents are entirely at cross purposes when it comes to big spending, so if Joe Biden pleases his own base, he alienates the non-aligned voters he desperately needs as well—and vice versa. And what happened to the 2020 revolutionary moment? Give a listen. Source
Inflation, COVID, and Rittenhouse
November 11, 2021 15:32 - 50 minutes - 46 MBToday’s podcast takes up the political fallout from inflation and continued COVID restrictions and the surprising events in the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse. Give a listen. Source
The Real Story of The Israel-Gaza War
November 10, 2021 16:30 - 1 hour - 58.9 MBThe podcast crew is joined today by our pal Jonathan Schanzer, whose illuminating new book Gaza Conflict 2021 provides an eye-opening account of the hostilities earlier this year—and a guide to the state of play in the Middle East more broadly. We also talk about the sudden insistence of the mainstream media on especially evil Republicans just a week after Democrats got dunned in the elections—how... Source
Here Comes the Durham Investigation
November 09, 2021 16:45 - 1 hour - 68.4 MBEli Lake joins the podcast crew today to talk about the stunning developments in the investigation into the 2016 efforts to demonstrate the Trump campaign’s collusion with Russia—a charge we now know to have been entirely without foundation, notwithstanding the lives this false charge affected and nearly destroyed. Give a listen. Source
Judging the Democratic ‘Comeback'
November 08, 2021 16:03 - 1 hour - 62.3 MBShould we eat crow because Democrats did pass a big spending bill? We say we have no crow to eat, but you might disagree! Give a listen. Source
Judging the Democratic 'Comeback'
November 08, 2021 14:50 - 1 hour - 56.2 MBToday's podcast asks if we should eat crow because Democrats did pass a big spending bill. We say we have no crow to eat, but you might disagree! Give a listen.
The Bill House Democrats Want Will Destroy Them
November 05, 2021 15:09 - 1 hour - 56.1 MBToday’s podcast goggles at the prospect of Democrats in the House passing a gigantic spending bill that will be dead on arrival in the Senate—and hand Republicans every weapon they need to destroy Democratic hopes in 2022. Give a listen. Source
It's Even Worse for Democrats Than They Know
November 04, 2021 15:38 - 1 hour - 64.1 MBChris Stirewalt joins us on the podcast today for continued analysis of the electoral trainwreck for Democrats this week and what on earth they think they’re doing with the two bills in Congress in its wake. Give a listen. Source
Wow. The Elections. Wow.
November 03, 2021 18:41 - 1 hour - 63.6 MBThe startling results in Virginia and New Jersey—not to mention on Long Island and in Buffalo and Minneapolis—mean that we’re living in a different country politically today from the one we were living in yesterday. We have many explanations for why. Give a listen. Source
Can't Anybody Here Play This Political Game?
November 02, 2021 15:18 - 1 hour - 57.2 MBMore evidence of Democratic disarray in Washington yesterday, and the confusing apparent decline of Democratic hopes in the Virginia governor’s race, bring to mind Casey Stengel’s plaint about managing the 1962 Mets: “Can’t anyone here play this game?” Meanwhile, Afghanistan falls into hellfire. Give a listen. Source
Let's Go, Brandon?
November 01, 2021 14:32 - 1 hour - 59.2 MBToday’s podcast covers a panoply of topics, from the foolishness and corruption of the “Lincoln Project’ to whether a three-word slogan should be considered an act of terrorism to the Washington Post’s gargantuan January 6 investigation and on. Give a listen. Source
We Told You It Was Going to Be a Disaster
October 29, 2021 14:39 - 58 minutes - 53.7 MBToday’s podcast features a cautious victory lap from the crew—who pretty much predicted the slapstick collapse of Joe Biden and the Democrats yesterday on Capitol Hill. The lap is cautious because we still can’t quite believe they’re as bad at this as they look. Give a listen. Source
The Great Democratic Faceplant
October 28, 2021 17:49 - 1 hour - 62.8 MBOn Tuesday, Joe Biden and his allies sent political observers into a frenzy with the announcement that a deal had been reached on a social safety net bill. But there was no deal, and there will be no votes. Is there anything that explains this behavior but abject incompetence? American Enterprise Institute senior fellow Matthew Continetti joins the podcast today to discuss this and more. Source
The Eternal Return of the Democrats’ Infrastructure Debacle
October 27, 2021 15:16 - 1 hour - 57.6 MBThe Democratic Party is flirting with failing to meet a deadline to pass both physical and social infrastructure in precisely the same way they failed weeks ago. Is that really possible? Also, the Chinese hypersonic missile threat and American complacency. Source
Take Their Money and Run!
October 26, 2021 16:32 - 1 hour - 62.6 MBToday’s podcast takes up the so-called “billionaires tax” that is the hot topic in Washington and subjects it to scrutiny—is it constitutional? will it generate sufficient revenue? what will the consequences be for ordinary people?—which is maybe the worst (or best!) thing you could do to such a concept. Then, it’s education and why Democrats and liberals seem unable to understand why it may be... Source
Take Their Money And Run!
October 26, 2021 16:27 - 1 hour - 60.1 MBToday's podcast takes up the so-called "billionaires tax" that is the hot topic in Washington and subjects it to scrutiny—is it constitutional? will it generate sufficient revenue? what will the consequences be for ordinary people?—which is maybe the worst (or best!) thing you could do to such a concept. Then, it's education and why Democrats and liberals seem unable to understand why it may be hurting them. Give a listen.
The COVID Story Is Coming Out
October 25, 2021 15:58 - 1 hour - 62.7 MBJames B. Meigs joins today’s podcast to discuss his two articles in the November issue of Commentary. One, “COVID and the Authorities: It’s Even Worse Than We Thought,” has only gained momentum over the past week as more has emerged to suggest leading figures in the public-health community might have been involved in a major cover-up at the beginning of the pandemic. The second... Source
The COVID Story is Coming Out
October 25, 2021 15:53 - 1 hour - 48.9 MBJames B. Meigs joins today's podcast to discuss his two articles in the November issue of Commentary. One, "COVID and the Authorities: It's Even Worse Than We Thought," has only gained momentum over the past week as more has emerged to suggest leading figures in the public-health community might have been involved in a major cover-up at the beginning of the pandemic. The second, "How Alan Sokal Won the Battle but Lost the Science Wars," tells the story of a brilliant satirical early effort to...
What It Means to Be Courageous
October 22, 2021 14:30 - 1 hour - 58.6 MBBari Weiss joins the COMMENTARY podcast to discuss her article in the new issue: “We Got Here Because of Cowardice. We Get Out With Courage.” She outlines the threat posed by wokeness, and how dissenters against this authoritarian dogma can reverse course. Source
Who's Laughing Now?
October 21, 2021 15:51 - 52 minutes - 47.6 MBCan laughter survive the scrutiny of self-serious social justice activists? Director, producer, and screenwriter of such hits as “Airplane!” and the “Naked Gun” series, David Zucker joins the show to discuss his article in the new issue of COMMENTARY, “Destroying Comedy,” and the woke threat to humor. Source
What George Orwell Knew About Wokeness
October 19, 2021 15:43 - 1 hour - 59.2 MBWilfred Reilly joins the podcast today to talk about his essential article, “The Whiteness of Wokeness.” As we discuss the phenomenon of well-to-do Caucasians supposedly speaking on behalf of the needs of African-Americans and those of color, we delve into the brilliant observations of George Orwell 85 years ago in his book, The Road to Wigan Pier. Then we talk about the Virginia governor’s race. Source
Colin Powell, American
October 18, 2021 16:06 - 1 hour - 59.2 MBToday’s podcast pays tribute to Colin Powell’s extraordinary American story and asks why his memoir isn’t taught in schools while memoirs about racial bitterness are. We also wonder at the larger meaning of the DC comic book company’s decision to remove the words “American way” from the Superman slogan and what it means about the possibilities of a conservative counterculture. Give a listen. Source
Now They're Trying to Cancel Netflix—and Space Exploration!
October 15, 2021 17:16 - 46 minutes - 42.2 MBThe last podcast of the week finds us in a ruminative mood as we discuss Dave Chappelle’s controversial special and the finger-wagging response to it—and wonder at the finger-wagging being done in response to the journey of William Shatner into space. Give a listen. Source
Trump Threatens the GOP
October 14, 2021 14:50 - 57 minutes - 52.5 MBToday’s podcast takes up Donald Trump’s statement that Republican voters will not turn out to vote unless the 2020 vote is somehow resolved in his favor. What does this portend? Will the results in the Virginia and New Jersey gubernatorial elections suggest a different future? And what about all this “national divorce” stuff? Give a listen. Source
The Mechanics of ‘Popularism'
October 13, 2021 14:14 - 57 minutes - 52.7 MBA discussion about the lingering and unknowable negative health effects of mid-pandemic mitigation measures that may not even be fully visible to us for years. Also, the center-left’s new obsession with the political strategist David Shor and his prescription for Democratic success: “popularism.”... Source
The Mechanics of 'Popularism'
October 13, 2021 13:49 - 57 minutes - 47.6 MBA discussion about the lingering and unknowable negative health effects of mid-pandemic mitigation measures that may not even be fully visible to us for years. Also, the center-left’s new obsession with the political strategist David Shor and his prescription for Democratic success: “popularism.”
Vaccine Mandate Craziness
October 12, 2021 14:16 - 51 minutes - 47.5 MBThe podcast crew takes up the new effort in Texas to prevent private businesses from requiring employees to vaccinate, and what it says about the politics of the jab nationwide. Give a listen.
Biden Agonistes
October 11, 2021 15:47 - 1 hour - 55.7 MBLiberals are beginning to panic about the decline of Joe Biden’s popularity and what it might mean, and we’re there to help explain it to them! Also, what’s going on with the supply chain, and is Trump playing a role in Biden’s troubles? Give a listen. Source
Kicking the Debt Limit Can Down the Road: Who Benefits?
October 08, 2021 14:15 - 1 hour - 63.2 MBToday’s podcast takes up the question of whether McConnell blinked, why Schumer attacked a deal that gave him a face-saving way out, why Manchin put his head in his hands while Schumer did that, why Donald Trump is doing what he’s doing, and why the Chinese are doing what they’re doing in Taiwan. Oh, and some COVID stuff. Give a listen. Source
Is He a Fool or an Idiot?
October 07, 2021 20:35 - 1 hour - 60.2 MBToday’s podcast looks at a Quinnipiac poll that has very bad news for Joe Biden in it and wonders at the choices he’s made that have led him to this pass. How are we to understand him? Give a listen. Source