The Commentary Magazine Podcast

Eli Lake joins us today to discuss the question of what might come after the mullahs in Iran, and we ask: What is the president doing, calling for Republicans to nationalize elections? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The shocking result of a special election in Texas marks yet another political bungle by the GOP and the Trump White House. Can they stop self-owning and get themselves back on track? Also, landmark events relating to transgenderism, Epstein files horrors, and the wondrous career of Catherine O'Hara. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A quiet revolution is underway on the Temple Mount, where for six decades Jews have been forbidden to pray due to the rules established by a Muslim authority with dominion over the Dome of the Rock mosque—rules allowed to stand by the Israeli government. What changed and why is this so important? And why are the grounds for arresting former CNN anchor Don Lemon for participating in the disruption of a church service in Minneapolis stronger than you might think? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm...

The least isolationist president of our time—despite the neo-isolationists who seem to think he's on their side—may be poised to hit the mullahs as early as this weekend. How to explain the decision to do so? We give it a go. And we look at the new video of the tragically killed Alex Pretti and what it says about the events in Minneapolis. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The political fallout in Minnesota has had a boomerang effect on the Trump administration because of its predisposition to take the hardest-line position on every matter and be provocative rather than resolute and calm. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The president's decision to try and get himself out of the Minneapolis mess offers us a chance to assess just how much trouble he's in, and who's responsible for the trouble—is it his advisers, is it the media-Democratic complex, or is it Trump alone? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The behavior of the administration's mouthpieces in the wake of the tragic shooting in Minneapolis this weekend cannot be overlooked or forgotten—unless Trump wants to. The return of the final Israeli hostage ends a period far longer than the time since October 7. Will Iran pay for its monstrous crimes against its own people? Today's Recommends: HBO Max's "Mel Brooks: The 99 Year-Old Man." Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chris Stirewalt joins us to today to discuss how good economic numbers suggest the Fed's behavior over the past year has been pretty effective—so why is Trump so obsessed with turning it upside down. And we take note of the horrifying op-ed in the Wall Street Journal on how "American studies" is really "anti-American studies." Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we ask whether a proposal by Rahm Emanuel for a mandatory retirement age for politicians and judges makes sense and whether it might be a populist issue that could really gain traction—along with, maybe, pardon reform. Also, why do people who work at CBS News think their dumpster fire of an organization should be run the way it was being run when it was being run into the ground? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we try to figure out why Donald Trump wants to start a fight with Europe over Greenland, to what extent his Justice Department is going after the right and wrong targets in Minnesota, whether some Supreme Court judges will soon be stepping down, and what went on when protesters in New York canceled a show by a Jewish comedian. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The cascade of frenetic actions on the part of the Trump administration over the past week—even as Trump seemed to blink on acting when it came to Iran—is unnerving. Is there good news? Can someone cheer us up? And what about the Harris campaign going full-on dual-loyalty accuser in interviewing Josh Shapiro? Meanwhile, a recommendation for a remarkable novel called Foster Dade Explores the Cosmos, by Nash Jenkins. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bad polling for the president raises the question of whether his pursuit of aggressive anti-immigration aims in Minneapolis and elsewhere is hurting his standing. Even more important: He's not convincing the American people he's good for the country when it comes to economics. And why are Hollywood opinion leaders going ballistic about a certain scene on the show Landman? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After days of looking like America was going to intervene in the Iranian crisis, Donald Trump pulled way back yesterday. Was this tactical? Or was he told it wasn't a layup and he didn't want to risk his capital? Is this refusal part of a larger foreign policy theme? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An interesting day at the Supreme Court as the justices discussed two cases involving the issue of transgenderism in girls' sports—with some of the justices pretty badly embarrassing themselves and others punching holes the size of the Marianas Trench in the arguments of the ACLU. Also: the difference between 1960s civil rights protests and what we're seeing now from the left. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Eli Lake joins us to go through the history of the resistance to the Iranian regime, what makes this moment so different, and what the United States has to do to ensure the kind of outcome that will make the world a better place. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So much of what's been going on in this country seems performative and almost cinematic that we might need to consider how much Hollywood and pop-culture fantasy in general is leaching into our reality. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jonathan Schanzer joins the podcast to discuss the remarkable events unfolding in Iran, with the nation possibly in full-scale revolt against its barbaric regime. And I take exception to some mail we've been getting about the goings-on in Minnesota. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The split-second confrontation between ICE officers and a woman driving a car that appeared to aim at one of them, leading to her death, threatens yet another unraveling of the American civilizational thread. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why is Mrs. Stephen Miller promoting the views of Jenny McCarthy—and what does it mean that the Trump administration is so intimate with the world of right-wing podcasting? What does it mean that former Trump official Dan Bongino is returning to the podcast airwaves in full attack mode against the Tucker Carlson podcast wing? What does it mean that legacy media outlets are rooting for Bari Weiss to fail at the failing CBS News? What does it all mean, I ask you? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Vi...

We note that the airwaves yesterday were filled with desperate efforts to distract from the Venezuela story by focusing instead on Greenland or the Epstein files. What's happening here? Could it be that this is the way the media are trying to protect their friends in politics? Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices