Boats Off Venezuela, Negotiators in Moscow

The Commentary Magazine Podcast

Commentary Magazine

News Commentary, Politics, News

4.6 • 4.5K Ratings

🗓️ 2 December 2025

⏱️ 69 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Today we take up the New York Times and its implicit takedown of the Washington Post story claiming Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth ordered a second strike in an attack on a drug-smuggling boat in September. Then we wonder what possible incentive the U.S. can offer Russia to take its "peace deal." And for today's COMMENTARY RECOMMENDS, I choose the actor Tim Blake Nelson's novel Superhero. Give a listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to the best.
0:09.0	Welcome to the best, expect.
0:21.3	The worst of all.
0:23.3	Welcome to the Commentary Magazine Daily podcast.
0:25.8	Today is Tuesday, December 2nd, 2025.
0:29.2	I'm John Baudhors.
0:30.1	The editor of Commentary Magazine with me, as always.
0:34.0	Executive editor, Abe Greenwald.
0:35.5	Hi, Abe.
0:36.2	Hi, John.
0:36.9	And senior editor, Seth Mandel. Hi, Seth. Hi, John. And senior editor Seth Mandel. Hi, Seth.
0:40.1	Hi, John. Well, guys, the time is upon us. It is December and it is time for me to talk to you, our listeners, about commentary and why I am going to ask you for your support this holiday season.
0:56.8	Commentary is a nonprofit 501C3 organization.
1:01.0	We are not profit-seeking.
1:03.7	We are an ideas-based magazine website and podcast,
1:10.8	whose purpose is to defend the West and Western civilization,
1:15.7	to speak out for the best that has been thought and said in the course of Western civilization
1:21.5	to defend the Jewish people and the state of Israel and to stand as a bulwark against the forces that would
1:31.0	seek to undermine them all. That is what we do here. That is what commentary has been doing in
1:37.1	different forms for 80 years. And we are very proud of this institution and its history,
1:46.3	and we want to strengthen it and keep it going.
1:51.4	My main goal here is to ensure that we are still publishing
	...

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