The Commentary Magazine Podcast

If you had a war between India and Pakistan on your 2025 bingo card, congratulations—because nobody else did, including the Trump administration. What are the possible consequences, and how will they interfere with Trump's trip to the Middle East in the coming days? Give a listen.

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Why is the president talking about putting tariffs on foreign films instead of attacking California's liberals and the way their management of the state is destroying the entertainment industry there? We talk about this and about just how crazy the month of May is going to be in the Middle East. Give a listen.

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John is out for the day, but the rest of us take up Donald Trump's wide-ranging appearance on Meet the Press, New York's hit piece on John Fetterman, and what to do about the undeterred Houthis. Give a listen.

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We promised and we delivered: Your questions, answered! Give a listen.

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The signing of a mineral deal with Ukraine represents a new turn in the Trump administration's handling of the war there and Russia's recalcitrance—is it a good turn or a bad turn? And we examine the media misreporting of the circumstances around the attempted deportation of an anti-Israel and anti-Semitic green-card holder. Give a listen.

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How are we to evaluate Trump's first 100 days—border, foreign policy, war on liberalism, etc? Give a listen.

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Congratulations to Donald Trump on the results in Canada, which seem to have turned entirely on him and turned against him at the same time. He says he runs the world, and sometimes when you do, you run aground. Thus begins our conversation on his first hundred days. Give a listen.

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The fights that have erupted during the first hundred days of the Trump administration have not only set the agenda for the White House going forward. They will literally be the fights Trump will be fighting until his tenure is over, as every action is met with a response in court. Give a listen.

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COMMENTARY's tech columnist, James B. Meigs, joins the podcast today to talk about the important lawsuit lost by  Greenpeace and what it means for leftist activism going forward, and about new developments and needed developments when it comes to the exploration of space. Give a listen.

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COMMENTARY contributing editor Bret Stephens joins us to discuss his New York Times column, "The Face-Plant President," as we consider Donald Trump's decline in the polls and the significant fact that it all seems to come from his own actions on matters no one seemed to have been looking for—like the tariffs. Give a listen.

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Journalist Jonathan Foreman joins the podcast today for a deep look at his seminal May 2025 COMMENTARY lead article, "The Untold Story of How Israel Failed on October 7." We also begin by discussing the belly-up nature of the Trump "I'll end the Russia-Ukraine war in a day" fantasy. Give a listen.

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The larger goals of the Trump administration are threatened by incompetent execution. The problem is that for many, making policy stick isn't as important as making a stink. What to do? Give a listen.

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Messes at the Pentagon, at the State Department, at Treasury, at the Department of Justice, and with tariff policy—can this administration survive itself, let alone survive the liberal media and the counterstrikes against Trump? Give a listen.

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Eli Lake joins today's podcast as we discuss two major articles in the May issue of COMMENTARY: Christine Rosen on "consumer eugenics" and Seth Mandel on the anti-Semites in the conservative podcasting world. Give a listen.

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A two-hander today as Abe Greenwald and I delve Talmudically into the New York Times story on how Donald Trump decided not to participate in an Israeli strike on Iran and why. Give a listen.

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Eliana Johnson joins us today from the Washington Free Beacon to discuss the Trump-Harvard fight, Steve Witkoff's walk-back on Iran, and the firebombing of Gov. Josh Shapiro's house on the first night of Passover. Give a listen.

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On several fronts—the tariffs, Ukraine, and Iran in particular—we strain to see the supposed negotiating genius of Donald Trump and his team. And what of the legal messes all over the place? Give a listen.

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When the Trump administration isn't doing unpopular things, it's doing popular things the wrong way. From bad actors abroad to the courts, we discuss the challenges the president is facing and the position he's put himself in. Give a listen. 

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Donald Trump backs down on the tariffs and according to his fan base, this is a mark of his Machiavellian genius. This would seem to have something in common not with Machiavelli but with Larry Tate, the completely transactional boss on the sitcom "Bewitched." How? Give a listen.

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The 104 percent tariff on China is kicking off a very risky conflict with the People's Republic with potential geopolitical and military ramifications. Is it possible that, without even entirely understanding it, Donald Trump is sticking it to the Chinese over Covid? Give a listen.

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Constitutional scholar Adam White joins us to talk about the surprisingly complex Supreme Court edit on the plane deportations to El Salvador and what it portends for the fights on legal matters to come. Give a listen.

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The fallout from Trump's colossal trade-tariff moves has only just begun. What are the effects on the GOP? On the possibility of the Democrats finding their sea legs with a non-elite economic argument? On the world and our alliances? Give a listen.

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Did the successive national shocks of the past half-century lead to the shock of "Liberation Day"? That was the focus of my COMMENTARY daily newsletter from yesterday, and today we use that newsletter as a launching point to discuss Trump's tariffs, the public's reaction, and if we ever lived in "normal" times. Give a listen.

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David Bahnsen joins us today to discuss the Trump tariff earthquake and whether it's here to stay, will somehow be walked back, and whether any good can come from it. Give a listen.

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Special elections last night offered a mixed picture of the political mood in the country, even as Democrats seem to be seizing on the idea that their path to victory is to focus on Elon Musk. Did Trump do America and Elise Stefanik herself a favor by making her stay in the House to continue fighting the culture war against the universities? And what exactly are tariffs liberating us from? Plus, Val Kilmer, RIP. Give a listen.

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How did it happen that Kamala Harris ever rose to the summit? What forces led her there, and what does it mean that she was stopped and that Trump won over her and is doing what he's doing now? Give a listen.

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his weekend we saw Bad Trump—the one saying he could serve a third term because of, you know, reasons—and Good Trump—the one saying Putin and Iran are angering him and that he's not going to stand for much more of their shenanigans. Now come the tariffs. Are they the work of Good Trump or Bad Trump? And here's an idea: Barack Obama for president of Columbia! Give a listen.

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We discuss the defense proffered by Elon Musk and his Doge team in a fascinating interview last night on Bret Baier's Fox show for their actions and why, while laudable, their efforts to apply "business" practices to government have been tried before and usually backfire. And why you shouldn't take the media assaults on Trump's deportations at face value. Give a listen.

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No, we're not Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers; we're the COMMENTARY podcast and we're here to discuss automobile tariffs and the dangers thereto. Not to mention: Othello! Give a listen.

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Eli Lake joins us today to discuss the continuing fallout from the inadvertent addition of a journalist to a discussion at the highest levels of America's military operation against the Houthis in Yemen. If the president doesn't care, will anyone else? And why are Tuckeristas trying to turn this into a holy war against those who want to use American power to open the world's shipping lanes? Also, what about these demonstrations in Gaza? Give a listen.

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We talk today about the three elements of the story about a journalist finding himself on the text chain revealing the deepest secret of the Trump administration thus far and what it says about the behavior and policies of the White House, and then dive deep into the extraordinary story of the Minnesota non-profit that stole $250 million in COVID relief money and gave it to staffers in the form of wedding gold. Give a listen.

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Data from Democrats themselves indicate the party's fortunes are historically poor, and we spend the podcast discussing how they got themselves into this hole and how difficult it is for them to climb out of it. Also: Trump manhandles Columbia University and a big law firm. Give a listen.

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James B. Meigs joins today's podcast to discuss the return from space of the astronauts stranded for nine months after the failure of their Boeing craft and what all that says about business, high tech, and the capitalist future. And we dive deep into a landmark lawsuit against Greenpeace. Give a listen.

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David Bahnsen and Tevi Troy join us today to talk about the Fed and its talk of inflation and uncertainty, and Tevi's lead article in the April issue of COMMENTARY, "In Praise of Big Pharma." Plus, new merch! Very exciting! Give a listen.

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With Trump and Putin negotiating with each other in an attempt to force a resolution onto Ukraine, the question arises: How do former American agreements bind (or not bind) Trump or any new president? And what can be said of the traditions of American politics Trump seeks to up-end or destroy? Give a listen.

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Jonathan Schanzer joins the podcast to discuss Israel's aggressive moves against Hamas in Gaza as the "cease-fire" that ended 18 days ago really came to an actual end with the Jewish state showing its determination to bring this war to its purposeful conclusion—the destruction of Hamas—in concert with the Trump administration taking on the Houthis in Yemen. Give a listen.

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How to keep up with the news? You can't. There's too much of it. Even over a weekend. We try to catch up. Wow. Give a listen.

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Founding father Noah Rothman joins us today to discuss the day's news before we offer a brief history of the birth, evolution, and growth of the COMMENTARY podcast as we note our tenth anniversary (and fifth anniversary of going daily). Give a listen.

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Liel Leibovitz joins us today to discuss the ongoing controversy over the immigration and speech status of Columbia extremist Mahmoud Khalil and how he, as someone who has been through the immigration process, views these incendiary matters. Give a listen.

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Today's podcast is an effort to help me find my bearings in a world in which Ukraine agrees to a cease-fire, RFK Jr. is doing an ad for Steak'n'Shake, Donald Trump is selling Teslas on the White House lawn, and Democrats are siding with a terror-supporting activist. Give a listen.

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The question we ask on today's podcast about the Trump administration is simple: "Can't anybody here play this game?" What game? We explain and you should give a listen.

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Tough times at Columbia University as hundreds of millions of dollars in federal money are revoked and a leader of the pro-Hamas protests is taken into custody by ICE. It's a huge development. Not so good: The antics of "hostage negotiator" Adam Boehler. Give a listen.

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We take an offbeat tack today, jumping off from a landmark achievement in the world of AI to ask just how close we are to the "singularity," and what that means for the future of humanity. Give a listen.

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What does Donald Trump's new threat against Hamas mean for the next phase of the hostage deal? And what options does the administration have for cracking down on campus anti-Semitism? Also, where do things stand between Trump and Zelenskyy at the moment? Give a listen.

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The not-really-a-State-of-the-Union on Tuesday night was notable more for the self-destructive shenanigans of the Democrats in the Capitol than it was for the rhetoric of Donald Trump. We break it all down. Give a listen.

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The tariffs now imposed on Mexico, Canada, and China threaten to hit Americans in the pocketbook, and given the results of the last election, we discuss why the president would be pursuing this policy when he should be doing what he can to lower prices. And where should "honor" enter into it when talking about American commitments and American alliances? Give a listen.

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What's with all the "sex worker" talk at the Oscars? Why couldn't Adrien Brody just condemn anti-Semitism in his acceptance speech for a role in which he plays a Holocaust survivor? Who was to blame for the fight in the Oval Office? And what is the "Witkoff framework"? Give a listen.

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The jaw-dropping Oval Office set-to between Trump, Vance, and Zelenskyy is the subject of this emergency podcast. A grave moment for the United States. Give a listen.

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Rob Long joins us today to discuss Trump's gaslighting on Ukraine, the fight over the Jeffrey Epstein documents, and whether the Oscars might go Hamas. Give a listen.

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A media-centric show today, as we examine Jeff Bezos's announcement of changes to the opinion policies of the Washington Post, the complaints of the White House press corps about access to the president, and whether the new book on covering up for Biden's infirmities will cover up the press's complicity. Give a listen.

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