Kicking the Oil Can

The Commentary Magazine Podcast

Commentary Magazine

News, News Commentary, Politics

4.6 • 5.1K Ratings

🗓️ 21 May 2026

⏱️ 65 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

It's Thursday, and our friend Matt Continetti is back to discuss the ongoing fight over funding for the White House ballroom and the never-ending Iran ceasefire. Plus, Matt recommends the documentary Marty, Life is Short, and John recommends the Broadway play Becky Shaw. Check out our sponsor over at https://strawberry.me Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to the best.
0:07.0	Expect the worst.
0:10.0	Some drink and pay.
0:12.0	Some die of birds.
0:14.0	The way of knowing which way it's going.
0:17.0	Oh for the best.
0:19.0	Expect the worst. Oh for the best. Welcome to the Comment magazine Daily Podcast. Today is Thursday, May 21st, 2026. I am John Pudhoritz, the editor of Commentary Magazine with me, as always. Executive Editor A. Greenwald. Hi, Abe. Hi, John. Senior editor Seth Mandel. Hi, Seth. Hi, John.
0:39.7	And with us this week, once again, AEI honcho and columnist with the Wall Street Journal,
0:48.0	Matt Contennetti, Matthew Contonetti. Hi, Matt. Hi, Matt. Matthew or Matt. You can call them either way, I guess.
0:55.0	My friends call me Matt.
0:56.0	Yes, so everyone in this podcast audience is your friend.
1:01.0	The commentary audience are my friends.
1:04.0	Your friends.
1:05.0	That's right, yeah.
1:06.0	Okay, so Matt, we had many topics we were thinking of starting with you, would like to start
1:13.6	with the ballroom. So let's start with the ballroom. Yes, let's start. Well, why do I want to
1:19.8	start with the ballroom today? It's because the ballroom is turning into a sort of mess. Very unusual at this point of the Trump administration for there to be a mess.
1:30.7	But in this case, we have a new mess, and that's the ballroom.
1:35.5	So the Senate was intending to include quite a bit of money for the Secret Service in the reconciliation package that is
1:50.1	very slowly making its way through Congress.
1:54.3	Remember this reconciliation.
1:55.4	Can we quickly explain what a reconciliation package is, just like 60 seconds?
	...

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