Commentary Magazine Podcast

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.

On the second of this week's podcasts, the COMMENTARY crew (Abe Greenwald, Noah Rothman, and I) do not mourn the demise of Bill O'Reilly but rather seek to explain its causes. We 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.

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.

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.

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 a 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?

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 me. 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.

Someone needs to sort this out, and we’re just the guys to do it—Abe Greenwald, Noah Rothman, and I, 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.

On this second podcast of the week, we (Abe Greenwald, Noah Rothman, and I) 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.

On this first podcast of the week, Noah Rothman and Abe Greenwald and I 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.

On a special week-ending podcast, the COMMENTARY crew considers the collapse of the American Health Care Act and the fallout therefrom. Our conclusion: A lot of fallout. A lot of it on Donald Trump's head. And some on Paul Ryan. And some on House Republicans. And oy. Give a listen.

John Podhoretz rejoins the COMMENTARY Podcast after a brief absence, albeit from on location in California. Please excuse the audio disruptions resulting from everyone recording from a different state. In this podcast, the gang takes the temperature of the GOP’s ObamaCare replacement bill ahead of Thursday’s vote, the ongoing confirmation hearings for Supreme Court justice-designate Neil Gorsuch, and Representative Devin Nunes’ somewhat confusing bombshell revelation. It’s a packed podcast. Give a listen!

The matter of the Donald Trump campaign’s alleged ties to Russia have dogged this administration since its very first days. For the first time in public hearings, Congress is digging into the matter. Today, FBI Director Comey revealed that the Trump campaign is under investigation for its Russia ties. Will Democrats “overplay their hand?” Further, President Trump’s chilly meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and some awful job approval polls for the president suggest the White House is having a bad week. John Podhoretz is out today, so Abe Greenwald and Noah Rothman dissect the day’s developments. Give a listen.

The last of the week’s COMMENTARY podcasts tackles the logic and philosophy in Donald Trump’s proposed budget; what it cuts and where it spends. What does a “hard power,” “America first” budget look like and how much of it will end up in the final legislation? Also, Trump’s revised immigration order hits a snag in the courts… again. Is the courts’ logic sound and could this have been avoided? Give a listen.

In the first of the week’s COMMENTARY podcasts--assuming the hosts can dig out of the snow cataclysm barreling down on the Northeast--Donald Trump’s detractors suffer from acute memory loss. The president’s “unprecedented” dismissal of Obama-appointed attorneys was anything but. Also, the hosts dig into racially controversial comments from Representative Steve King and how they reflect on his supporters.

In the last podcast of the week, Noah Rothman and Abe Greenwald and I try to make the case for the new Republican health care bill as best we can, before going into the deeper question of what the bill's particulars say about the Right's commitment to making the case for a self-governing citizenry. We conclude that the elected officials of the Right no longer want to make that case, with parlous consequences for the future. But we make some jokes! And Give a listen.