The Commentary Magazine Podcast Commentary Magazine

Debates do move polls. But what effect does a presidential debate actually have on the final result in November? We discuss this in what will blessedly be our final discussion of the state of play before the debate! Give a listen. 

Should the remarkable loss of Squad member and anti-Semite Jamaal Bowman in a Democratic primary be treated as a restoration of sanity—or a guide to American Jews on how to use their power to defeat their enemies? Or both? Or neither? And...here comes the debate! Give a listen.

Clear acts of violence were on display in Los Angeles on Sunday and yet we see no action by the city, the state, or the federal government to hold the violent responsible for their actions—and federal law could not be clearer on this matter. What's going on here? And why, on the cusp of his primary battle, did Rep. Jamaal Bowman effectively threaten to unleash the "South Bronx" when his district doesn't include the South Bronx? Give a listen.

A violent confrontation in West L.A. between Jews attempting to attend an event at a synagogue and Hamas supporters seemingly under the protection of the LAPD comes two days after a Jewish family is beset and beat up during a lower-school end-of-year celebration by another family shouting "Free Palestine"—and a day after Rep. Jamaal Bowman screams "you're gonna know who the F we are"  at the likelihood of his primary defeat on Tuesday. The threats aren't just threats any longer, and American Jews are going to have to step up. Give a listen.

With Senators Cotton and Risch going aggressively at the Biden administration for seeming to slow down the delivery of American weaponry to Israel—all part of the aid package they supported and President Biden signed into law—we try to figure out what the strategy is here on both sides. And we apply the back hand to the "both-sidesism" of investigations into anti-Semitism and Islamophobia on campus. Give a listen. 

A new Fox poll and other bits of data may suggest that Joe Biden's strategy of leaning hard on the "Trump is a convicted felon" message is having some effect. No wonder, then, that liberals are so unnerved by the Supreme Court's literal deliberation in deciding whether the case against Trump for January 6 can proceed. And who will win the "worst ceasefire proposal" award? Give a listen.