Guest podcaster Eli Lake is with us to talk about the opening of the impeachment trial, the inability of the New York Times to make a decision, and his own blockbuster article, “The FBI Scandal,” which you should read. Give a listen.

The final debate before Democrats caucus in Iowa might have been the most boring debate of the 2020 primary cycle, excepting the feud between Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. Also, new revelations about Rudy Giuliani’s conduct and the Senate GOP’s apparent willingness to entertain new witnesses throws a new wrench into the impeachment process.

Trump seems to have taken Iran’s calibrated response to the U.S. strike that took out Qasem Soleimani as an opportunity to take the temperature down in the region. Will cooler heads prevail? And does the Democratic narrative, which suggests that Trump is itching for a war with Iran, make any sense?

A special episode of the COMMENTARY podcast unpacks the events of the last several weeks in the Middle East, culminating in a targeted strike on Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps Commander Qasem Soleimani.

The COMMENTARY podcast attempts to predict the future. What will be the biggest events of 2020? Who will become the Democratic presidential nominee? Who will win the presidency? What trends will shape the way we live in the next decade? And how wrong were all the predictions we made last year?

As impeachment looms, the bigger story of the week is the Justice Department’s inspector general telling the Senate and the world of the myriad problems he uncovered with the probe into the Trump campaign in Russia. Did Michael Horowitz’s work vindicate the idea that the whole thing was a “hoax”? And what about the way liberals, especially liberal Jews, melted down at word that Donald Trump was going to include those targeted by anti-Semitism among the discriminated-against under the terms of the Civil Rights Act? And what about the British elections? Give a listen (PS—there was trouble with Christine Rosen’s mic so she participated less than usual).

We indulge our inclination toward pessimism in this episode. Does impeachment matter if most of the country is evaluating the matter not on the facts in evidence but by relying on negative partisanship? Can the American project abroad be sustained if it is being terribly managed, as indicated by the nearly 20-year effort to mislead the public into believing the effort create sustainable civil society in Afghanistan wasn’t a manifest failure?

American pride in the country is on the decline. What is driving this lamentable phenomenon, and can it be reversed before it has a pernicious effect on our common national purpose? Also, is Joe Biden’s campaign yet another experiment designed to see just how out of touch the Acela Corridor can be?

Looking back on a dramatic week of impeachment inquiry proceedings, the Democrats’ position with voters appears to be deteriorating. Is it too early to judge the inquiry’s effectiveness and, if not, does that suggest that the process will fizzle? Also, the confusing and probably incomplete story that led to the resignation of Navy Sec. Richard Spencer and the difficult choice Trump will have to make regarding the protests in Hong Kong.