Conservative Conversation and Community
The COMMENTARY crew is podcasting a day early in order to take the measure of the result in the Georgia special House election. Abe Greenwald, Noah Rothman, and John Podhoretz posit seven possible theories to explain what happened—and then we attack the theories! It’s positively Talmudic. Give a listen.
More
On this week’s first COMMENTARY podcast, Abe Greenwald and John Podhoretz say yes and Noah Rothman says no. Noah makes a valiant effort at being sensible but I’m not sure he prevails over my and Abe’s hysteria. Give a listen.
More
Is the COMMENTARY podcast a downer? That’s what one reader said, referencing its “crushing morosity.” Well, this one with John Podhoretz and Abe Greenwald isn’t exactly going to lift your spirits, what with its discussion of the shooting at the GOP baseball practice, the shadows looming over the Trump presidency, and other light topics. But it’s interesting! Give a listen.
More
In the first COMMENTARY podcast of the week, Abe Greenwald and I survey the wreckage of Theresa May and point out that her disastrous showing represents the fourth major election in a year in which publics have rejected the idea that political professionalism is something to be sought in a leader. Why? They’ve forgotten, or have never learned, what the world was like until the fall of the Berlin Wall. Give a listen.
More
In the last of this week’s Commentary podcasts, the gang (John Podhoretz, Abe Greenwald, and Noah Rothman) break down former FBI Director James Comey’s testimony before Congress: The headlines that are bad for Trump, the headlines that are good for Trump, and the revelations that will ultimately haunt the country. On that note, the hosts ruminate on the prospect of America’s norms prohibiting the corruption of federal public officials are gone forever. If they are, how can the country survive as we know it? Cheery stuff! Give a listen.
More
The first of this week’s podcasts finds Noah Rothman, Abe Greenwald, and John Podhoretz considering the behavior of the president after the London attacks and the desire somehow to transfer all attention from the jihadis who perpetrated them to the president who attacked the mayor who attacked the president…and a salute to Israel on the 50th anniversary of the Six Day War. Give a listen.
More
On the last podcast of the week, John Podhoretz, Abe Greenwald, and Noah Rothman do their best to break down what has to be the single stupidest 36-hour period in American politics in living memory. From the kerfuffle over “covfefe” to ISIS chic, Americans on the right and the left were compelled to debate inanities even more than usual this week. Also, we discussed Noah Rothman’s feature in the June issue, “How to Be a Conservative in the Age of Trump,” and where the right went wrong. Give a listen.
More
In the first of this week’s COMMENTARY podcasts, the point is raised: The likeliest explanation is that Jared Kushner and others are inexperienced and incompetent rather than malign—so why do they act like they’re guilty? Why does Donald Trump pick fights with Germany and others and thus cast a shadow on a foreign trip that did him some good in the polling? And why aren’t Democrats angrier with Hillary Clinton? Give a listen as Abe Greenwald, Noah Rothman, and John Podhoretz wonder at the strangeness.
More
On the final podcast before Memorial Day, the COMMENTARY crew takes on the horror in Manchester and what it means about security, terrorism, and cultural integration. They move on to the assault perpetrated on a reporter by an out-of-control special-election candidate in Montana before concluding with the most important issue ever covered: Did Melania swat Donald’s hand away? Give a listen.
More
On this week’s first podcast, John Podhoretz, Abe Greenwald, and Noah Rothman examine the success of the president’s trip to Saudi Arabia and Israel (thus far) and ask whether this is the beginning of a new foreign-policy push that will seek to take advantage of Barack Obama’s failures—or will just evanesce. Also, they discuss Abe’s article “Is This the End of the ‘Free World?’” and Michael Flynn’s 5th amendmenting. Give a listen.
More
The final Commentary podcast of this week finds John Podhoretz, Noah Rothman, and Abe Greenwald arguing over whether the appointment of a special prosecutor might actually be good news for Donald Trump in that it will quiet the scandals down in the short term and allow the administration to get past the 5 pm hour every day without having a boulder fall on its head. John says yes, the other two say no. They also discuss the death of Roger Ailes and the parlous conduct of Sean Hannity in trying to change the news focus in a way that is a monstrous violation of a family’s grief. Give a listen.
More
The first Commentary podcast of the week finds John Podhoretz, Abe Greenwald, and Noah Rothman puzzling out the idea that Trump taping people in the Oval Office represents the rise of American totalitarianism rather than an insanely self-destructive act that (if it’s happening) would only hasten Trump’s own demise. We also point out that mainstream media types and liberals (but I repeat myself) are so eager to attach Trump to Republicans that they now deny Trump-resistant Republicans exist. Give a listen.
More
So… Trump fired the FBI director, and the world has gone nuts. Is the madness deserved? Or are the crazies taking over the asylum? And what about those bizarre Trump interviews with Time and the Economist? Can we get a moment’s peace or are we trapped in an endless crisis loop? How many questions can I ask in this one posting trying to get you to listen to the COMMENTARY podcast with John Podhoretz, Abe Greenwald, and Noah Rothman? And will you please go to iTunes and leave a review so we can be as highly rated as our friends at the Weekly Substandard? Give a listen.
More
Noah Rothman, Abe Greenwald, and John Podhoretz sit down for the latest COMMENTARY podcast in the wake of the French elections to explore the extent to which the French elections represent a triumph for optimism and hope about Western democracy or merely a pause in the forward march of nationalism. We also wonder whether the Democratic party is overplaying its hand after the House vote on the health-care bill and whether it needs a wave election to win back the House in 2018. Give a listen.
More
On the first podcast of the week, the COMMENTARY crew (Abe Greenwald, Noah Rothman, and John Podhoretz) ventilate upon the White House invitation extended to Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte, who has openly acknowledged his participation in extra-legal assassinations in his country’s drug war. Why is such a person being ushered into the Oval Office? Also, we wonder whether the Democratic Party will be in the proper condition to score the kinds of victories in 2018 and 2020 it clearly believes are inevitable. Give a listen.
More
In the second of this week’s COMMENTARY podcasts, the crew (John Podhoretz, Abe Greenwald, and Noah Rothman) ask whether the president might be relaxing into his job—and whether this means he knows now that he doesn’t have to fulfill every agenda item at once but can take them on over the course of the next four years. And then the crew delves into the horror on college campuses and the grudging acknowledgment by the mainstream media that things are bad for free speech there—which, of course, they blame in part on bad conservatives. Give a listen.
More
The first round of voting in the French presidential election has concluded, and one thing that we can say for sure about it is that it has nothing to do with Donald Trump—contrary to popular opinion in the United States. Trump, however, must reckon with the close of his first 100 days in office and how they reflect on his presidency. Finally, the gang (John Podhoretz, Abe Greenwald, and Noah Rothman) talk about FBI Director James Comey and his role in deciding the 2016 presidential election.
More
On the second of this week’s podcasts, the COMMENTARY crew do not mourn the demise of Bill O’Reilly but rather seek to explain its causes. They also wonder at the news that Hillary Clinton’s “people” are searching for the traitors who gave dirt to the authors of the hit new book Shattered—because why does Hillary have “people” any longer? And Georgia is on our mind. Give a listen.
More
In the new COMMENTARY podcast, tensions on the rise with North Korea create a dilemma for the United States, which has few options to resolve the threat. Elsewhere, the rise of authoritarianism and the collapse of faith in the kind of democratic liberalism that once came to typify Western governance create a set of new threats for the United States. Listen as the gang tries to unravel this Gordian knot.
More
On this week’s mid-Passover podcast, the COMMENTARY boys delineate the manifold ways in which the president has reversed himself on his campaign promises and expressed views on: Syria. China. Russia. His tax plan. NATO. The Export-Import Bank. And so much else. Are we seeing him grow in office or is this just more ideological incoherence? Give a listen.
[Editor’s note this podcast episode was recorded April 13 but not published on Ricochet until April 17 due to technical difficulties.]
More
John Podhoretz is out for the Passover holiday, so, in his absence, Noah Rothman and Abe Greenwald try to make sense of the Trump administration’s new policy toward Assad (and, incidentally, Putin). Has the Trump administration done an 180-degree pivot on Assad? Can the nationalist wing of Trump’s fan base survive Trump’s embrace of internationalism? Finally, as Trump’s 100th day in office approaches, what has he got to show for it?
More
Wow! It’s the first anniversary of the COMMENTARY Magazine Podcast! So it’s long and wordy and a little hysterical! Three subjects consume Noah Rothman, Abe Greenwald, and John Podhoretz. 1) The cascading foreign-policy programs that are forcing Donald Trump to consider his role as leader of the free world. 2) The war inside the White House. 3) The condition of the Republicans on Capitol Hill. It’s good. It’s passionate. It’s the beginning of Year Two. Give a listen.
More
Someone needs to sort this out, and we’re just the guys to do it—Abe Greenwald, Noah Rothman, and John Podhoretz, on the first COMMENTARY podcast of the week. What’s Trump’s line? What’s the anti-Trump line? What is unmasking? Why did Trump waste a month of his presidency on a stupid tweet? Give a listen.
More
On this second podcast of the week Abe Greenwald, Noah Rothman, and John Podhoretz try to suss out what it is the president is trying to do by tweeting threats at conservative Republican House members who opposed him on health-care reform. Can he punish them? Should he want to? Will he actually try to? And what about Russia? Is he failing to respond publicly to Putin’s many provocations for inappropriate reasons or because he just doesn’t care? Give a listen.
More
On this first podcast of the week, Noah Rothman, Abe Greenwald, and John Podhoretz try to make sense of who is to blame and basically decide that … but why would I tell you here? You need to download or stream the podcast to find out! This is a cliffhanger! Give a listen.
More
The Great Courses
Casper
SimpliSafe