Jonathan Schanzer joins the podcast to talk about the fall of the Assad regime and why it's not purely good news. What happens next? Is Iran done? And, if it is, does Israel (and maybe even the U.S.) finish off the regime?
Today's podcast begins with the shocking moment yesterday when Joe Biden spoke of the American hostage in Syria, Austin Tice, and then, 30 seconds later, entirely forgot who Austin Tice was. There are 42 days until the election; isn't there a single responsible person in the Cabinet of the United States willing to organize a 25th Amendment letter temporarily removing him from the chain of command at this epochal moment in world affairs, with Syria having fallen? And a surprising Trump interview. Give a listen.
Today we marvel at the liberal habit of protecting democracy with...banana republicanism. Fearing Donald Trump's revenge, the Biden administration is mulling preemptive pardons, and legacy media is normalizing the idea. Plus, we get into the blurring of mainstream and alternative media and why the left can never have a Joe Rogan. Give a listen.
We discuss the astonishing oral arguments yesterday in the Supreme Court about trans medicine and laws to restrict it before turning to the equally astonishing Biden-should-preemptively-pardon-everybody argument that's racing around Washington like the bubonic plague. Give a listen.
Today we examine the failed attempt to impose martial law in South Korea and the coming collapse of the French government and ask why it is so many American intellectuals continue to claim we are living through a constitutional crisis when...we're really, really not. Also: trans surgeries before the Supreme Court, and the Defense Secretary kerfuffle continues. Give a listen.
It's not going well for Joe Biden in the wake of the sweeping pardon he granted his son. Democrats are discomfited, Karine Jean-Pierre is at a loss, and mainstream media is despondent. Donald Trump, on the other hand, seems to be enjoying a honeymoon. We contrast his bold statement demanding the release of Hamas's hostages with the Biden approach. And we also delve a bit into what's happening in Ukraine. Give a listen.
Today John is under the weather, so the rest of us take on Joe Biden's broad pardon of his son Hunter, what it says about the Biden presidency, and how it complements Donald Trump's pick of Kash Patel for director of the FBI. What do we think of Patel? What do we think of Trump's picking his daughter's father-in-law to be a senior adviser on the Middle East? And, finally, how's the Hezbollah ceasefire holding up and what can we learn from the reignited civil war in Syria? Give a listen.
We try to make sense out of Israel's participation in the ceasefire that began today—and which Hezbollah may already have violated. Did Israel actually want this because it needed time to recover its strength? Or did it have to agree because it needed weapons from the United States that were being withheld? Oh, and what on earth was with that weird Kamala Harris video in which she appeared to be, shall we say, not entirely sober? Give a listen.
According to Israel, it is agreeing to a ceasefire with Hezbollah in large measure to stave off an American assault in the UN on Israel's efforts in Lebanon. We discuss what this reminds us of, why it's outrageous if indeed this is the case, and whether Israel can find a way to benefit from the pause. Also, hijinks with tariffs and fights on the patio at Mar-A-Lago! Give a listen.
Today's podcast begins with the horrible murder of a Hasidic emissary in the UAE and the growing institutional anti-Semitism in Canada before moving on to the very interesting political dynamic emerging from the Trump picks for Cabinet and other jobs—a post-conservative-movement ideological and policy free-for-all whose winners and losers will help define the Republican Party for the rest of the century. Give a listen.