Welcome to the best.

Welcome to the commentary magazine which way it's going oh for the best expect the worst of all the best.

Welcome to the Commentary Magazine Daily podcast today is Wednesday, February 4th, 2026.

I am John Pothoritz, the editor of Commentary Magazine.

With me as always, executive editor Abe Greenwald.

Hi, Abe.

Hi, John.

Washington Free Beacon editor Eliana Johnson. Hi Hi, Abe. Hi, John. Washington Free Beacon editor

Eliana Johnson. Hi, Eliana. Hi, John. Commentary senior editor Seth Mendel. Hi, Seth.

Hi, John. And commentary, social commentary columnist Christine Rosen. Hi, Christine. Hi, John.

Big Day in Media.

The Washington Post once one of the two dominating journalistic institutions in the United States, massive layoffs announced this morning at 8.30 a.m., so vast and so

determined that everyone was told to stay home and the fired people as of this moment,

as we are now podcasting at 9.30 in the morning have been cut off from the computer system.

They're all being informed who's been laid off. Apparently the sports department

is closing. The books department is closing. The foreign desk is being shrunk. The Metro desk,

I think, is being sort of like highlighted. And on the same day that word started emerging, that

this gigantic layoff was going to happen. The New York

Times happened to mention that in its fourth quarter, it had gained 250,000 new digital

subscribers to get its total subscriber number over 13 million. And to add to the story of the nature of legacy

media institutions, all of which we are told are failing, the New York Post, which after 30

years became profitable, actually way more than 30 years, but became profitable in 2021,

...