The single, all-consuming story of our time continues to dominate the press, but there appears to be an increasing hunger among news consumers for distractions from it. And, so, we discuss them. Trump’s aggressive behavior on Twitter. Viral videos. Joe Rogan and the backlash to his success. We discuss it all.

Subscribe to The Commentary Magazine Podcast in Apple Podcasts (and leave a 5-star review, please!), or by RSS feed. For all our podcasts in one place, subscribe to the Ricochet Audio Network Superfeed in Apple Podcasts or by RSS feed.

There are 8 comments.

Become a member to join the conversation. Or sign in if you're already a member.
  1. Penfold Member
    Penfold
    @Penfold

    We’re all just a figment of John’s daughter’s concussion?  Thanks, now I have that to worry about.

    • #1
  2. Mark Alexander Inactive
    Mark Alexander
    @MarkAlexander

    Another excellent podcast! The discussion on the President’s JS tweets got me thinking: I did not vote for Trump, for the obvious principled reasons. As these Trump years pass, I’m getting a rising feeling that I will likely vote for him in November. Why? As I sort out this feeling, I’ve identified a few reasons:

    1. It’s increasingly clear that some people focus on words, while others focus on deeds. We word people are more open to getting bent on words and public language behavior. I liked many of Pres. Obama’s words, but his deeds were appalling. His supporters love his words, dismissed his deeds. My revulsion toward him is based on his scandalous deeds. With Trump, his words are appalling, but I’m astonished at his deeds. He and Mitch have turned around the judiciary in ways that will keep the Left at bay for decades. His dismantling of the administrative state is  amazing, and proceeding apace, something else that has undermined the Left’s hold on us. I’ve liked 80% of his foreign policy actions, which has never happened before with any executive. His Achilles heel is the national debt. I wonder if he will  take a stand on that. But certainly his opponents will embrace that inevitable undermining of our economic future. It’s plausible that he may tackle it directly.
    2. We’ve watched as conservatives and libertarians (my tendency for, in a non-political party way) allowed the progressive destruction of K-12 and university education. With this president, I’m beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel, if Secretary DeVos continues to have her way. Trump has now put more capable people in place than I expected.
    3. Perhaps the biggest motivator for me to consider re-electing him is how his presence has ripped off the lid of a nest of vipers in media and in the previous administration. Somehow, his awful character and pugnacity has been armor to appeasing his critics as many before him did. Armor that allows him to do unexpected good.

    Mark Alexander

    • #2
  3. Leslie Watkins Inactive
    Leslie Watkins
    @LeslieWatkins

    I don’t know if he still feels the same way as he did on the Ricochet podcast of May 30, 2019, but Norman Podhoretz, the inimitable twentieth-century intellectual with a great appreciation of and affection for blue collar folks, said Bill Kristol had lost his mind in wanting to primary Trump. Could not agree more. Politics is filthy business. I wish there were more statesmen, but I see none and most definitely none in the Democratic Party, which has totally left working people behind (but not Norman). I would understand not voting. But to my mind, voting for the Democratic candidate for president would be comparable to putting Covid-19 patients in nursing care facilities.

    • #3
  4. Sal Reagan
    Sal
    @Sal

    There is not a binary choice between lockdown and doing little as your conversation implies. There is little need for healthy people below 50 to be in lockdown, if they get the virus they will not overwhelm the hospitals. Instead we need to look for effective and sustainable ways to isolate vulnerable populations until there is a vaccine, if there is one. This approach would have the advantage of being less of a drag on the economy.

    • #4
  5. The Cloaked Gaijin Member
    The Cloaked Gaijin
    @TheCloakedGaijin

    The Left wants to see the pandemic as the worst until there is a vaccine?

    No, the Left wants to see it as the worst until there is an election and Trump is defeated.

    • #5
  6. LukeWVa Listener
    LukeWVa
    @LukeWVa

    The idea that this is all playing out in Miss Podhoretz’s head essentially was the premise of the last episode of the old hospital drama, in which they suggested that everything shown in the entire run of the series took place in the imagination of the autistic son of the guy running the hospital.

    • #6
  7. The Cloaked Gaijin Member
    The Cloaked Gaijin
    @TheCloakedGaijin

    Also, Joe Rogan is a current stand-up comedian and not a former stand-up comedian, although all comedians are taking a break due to the pandemic.

    It might be noted that one of perhaps many things that elevated Rogan’s fame were his very long interviews with clinical psychologist Jordan Peterson.  That relationship appears to be somewhat similar to the relationship between fellow comedian and podcaster Adam Carolla and Dennis Prager.

    Another thing that makes Joe Rogan different is that he is willing to interview conservative-leaning people that the mainstream media either hates or fears or people like Jonathan Haidt, Sam Harris, Elon Musk, Tim Pool, Bill Maher, Edward Snowden, and Bill Burr who have proven to be more than two-dimensional Leftists.  He also has on a lot of former military veterans who served in the recent Wars on Terror and who are often active in outdoor survival activities.

    Some of the conservative-leaning interview names have included Ben Shapiro, Dan Crenshaw, Candace Owens, Steven Crowder, Ted Nugent, Gad Saad, Dave Rubin, Gavin Mcinnes, Peter Schiff, Mel Gibson, Carl Benjamin, Milo Yiannopoulos, and Adam Curry, the Podfather and former MTV VJ who sort of started it all and who I think sometimes supports libertarians and conservatives.  Probably only about 1% to perhaps 5% or so of his guests have really leaned conservative, but that is typically too much for the Left. 

    I think guests like Jim Norton, Roseanne Barr, and Adam Curry even endorsed Trump.

    Apparently one of his biggest disagreements that Joe Rogan has with people like Ben Shapiro, Dan Crenshaw, Steven Crowder, and Ted Nugent is that they do not support the use or legalization of recreational marijuana. 

    Rogan also asks questions neither the Left or the mainstream Right would ask like, “Why is Antifa allowed on Twitter when the Proud Boys aren’t?”

    • #7
  8. Mark Alexander Inactive
    Mark Alexander
    @MarkAlexander

    The Cloaked Gaijin (View Comment):

    Also, Joe Rogan is a current stand-up comedian and not a former stand-up comedian, although all comedians are taking a break due to the pandemic.

    It might be noted that one of perhaps many things that elevated Rogan’s fame were his very long interviews with clinical psychologist Jordan Peterson. That relationship appears to be somewhat similar to the relationship between fellow comedian and podcaster Adam Carolla and Dennis Prager.

    Another thing that makes Joe Rogan different is that he is willing to interview conservative-leaning people that the mainstream media either hates or fears or people like Jonathan Haidt, Sam Harris, Elon Musk, Tim Pool, Bill Maher, Edward Snowden, and Bill Burr who have proven to be more than two-dimensional Leftists. He also has on a lot of former military veterans who served in the recent Wars on Terror and who are often active in outdoor survival activities.

    Some of the conservative-leaning interview names have included Ben Shapiro, Dan Crenshaw, Candace Owens, Steven Crowder, Ted Nugent, Gad Saad, Dave Rubin, Gavin Mcinnes, Peter Schiff, Mel Gibson, Carl Benjamin, Milo Yiannopoulos, and Adam Curry, the Podfather and former MTV VJ who sort of started it all and who I think sometimes supports libertarians and conservatives. Probably only about 1% to perhaps 5% or so of his guests have really leaned conservative, but that is typically too much for the Left.

    I think guests like Jim Norton, Roseanne Barr, and Adam Curry even endorsed Trump.

    Apparently one of his biggest disagreements that Joe Rogan has with people like Ben Shapiro, Dan Crenshaw, Steven Crowder, and Ted Nugent is that they do not support the use or legalization of recreational marijuana.

    Rogan also asks questions neither the Left or the mainstream Right would ask like, “Why is Antifa allowed on Twitter when the Proud Boys aren’t?”

    Rogan’s interview with Ted Nugent was surprising. Nugent’s stance on hunting is a true environmentalist stance, one that he articulates with fascinating details.

     

    • #8
Become a member to join the conversation. Or sign in if you're already a member.