The Commentary Magazine Podcast

Episode: Canning Kimmel and Elevating Jew-Hatred

Date: September 18, 2025
Host/Panel: John Podhoretz, Abe Greenwald, Matthew Continetti, Eliana Johnson

Overview

In this episode, the Commentary Magazine editors – John Podhoretz (host/editor), Abe Greenwald (executive editor), Matthew Continetti (columnist), and guest Eliana Johnson (Washington Free Beacon editor) – dissect the cultural, political, and regulatory firestorm ignited by ABC’s suspension of Jimmy Kimmel following his comments about the assassination of Charlie Kirk. The panel discusses the procedural details behind Kimmel's removal, the implications for free speech and political power, the role of the FCC, and the surging tide of anti-Semitic narratives on both the left and right. They also grapple with what these events say about America’s fracture along cultural and ideological lines — especially following Charlie Kirk’s assassination and the resulting conspiracy-driven culture wars.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Corrections and Apologies (00:56–03:40)

• Abe Greenwald and John Podhoretz open the show by correcting previous factual mistakes (misnaming individuals and mischaracterizing Crime and Punishment details) in a tongue-in-cheek style, underscoring the importance of accuracy and owning errors.

“It would be a very interesting Federal Communications Commission that was so offended by the mischaracterization of a Russian novel from the 1860s...” — John Podhoretz (03:24)

2. The Jimmy Kimmel Suspension: What Happened and Why (03:40–15:12)

What Did Kimmel Say? (04:15–08:20)

• Kimmel implied that MAGA supporters were trying to deflect blame for Kirk’s assassination from their own ranks, though, as Podhoretz notes, Kimmel maintained plausible deniability by never explicitly stating that Kirk’s killer was MAGA.

“There is in this statement a kind of weird self plausible deniability aspect because he doesn’t say MAGA hit a new low this weekend because one of their own killed Charlie Kirk...”
— John Podhoretz (07:40)

The Role of FCC & Affiliate Pressure (09:52–13:09)

• Outrage on the right followed, ramped up by FCC Chairman Brendan Carr’s public remarks that implied regulatory trouble for Disney/ABC unless Kimmel was addressed.
• Major broadcast affiliates (Sinclair and Nexstar), which own many stations not directly controlled by ABC, pulled Kimmel’s show — with Sinclair even demanding apologies and donations to Turning Point USA.

“Sinclair says not only are we pulling the show indefinitely, we are going to air a tribute to Charlie Kirk...”
— John Podhoretz (11:09)

Business, Regulatory, and Cultural Context (12:19–14:03)

• Affiliates in conservative markets responded to pressure from local audiences. Nexstar’s ongoing business with the FCC (a pending merger) complicated perceptions of government overreach.

“I would just say to all of the folks on the left tweeting about how this is, you know, First Amendment government suppression of Jimmy Kimmel, it’s a lot more complicated than that...” — Eliana Johnson (12:39)

Broader Media & Cultural Divide (13:09–15:12)

• The left focuses on secondary consequences and political violence broadly, ignoring or downplaying Kirk’s legacy and right-wing rage at the double standard.

“There’s no reckoning with the place that Charlie Kirk held among millions of fellow Americans...” — Abe Greenwald (14:08)

3. FCC, Free Speech, and Regulatory Power: Historical and Political Context (15:12–22:09)

• The panel reviews how the Federal Communications Act put government in bed with broadcast media; left and right have both leveraged regulation to shape content.
• The Trump administration is the first GOP administration to use this progressive machinery aggressively — not just defensively.

“It is the first Republican administration to use the machinery set up by progressives over the past century in order to politicize the economy...for anti-progressive ends.”
— Abe Greenwald (20:04)

• New conservative majoritarian assertiveness: Local audiences and their political power are no longer ignored.

4. Post-Conservative Tactics: Ethics, Power, and the End of ‘Niceties’ (22:10–28:04)

• The group debates whether using progressive-constructed levers of state power (FCC, regulatory threats) is justified — a break from past conservative principles.

“Trump world is like, well, the hell with all that...you guys are playing by Marques of Queensberry rules. And they're ultimate fighters and they obey no rules.”
— John Podhoretz (25:17)

• Matthew Continetti notes the difference: The right is now overt, not covert, about their culture-warring tactics — which unsettles even those who might otherwise approve.

5. First Amendment, Precedent, and “Slippery Slope” Dynamics (29:26–47:52)

Private Platform vs. Free Speech (36:54–41:25)

• Kimmel retains free speech like anyone; ABC as a private company owes him no platform.
• However, the government muscling private actors with threats of regulatory reprisal is “immoral,” “unconstitutional,” and dangerous — even if these tactics were normalized by progressives.

“The chairman of the FCC threatening private companies with government action for political reasons is very, very, very bad. It is bad, it is immoral. It is unconstitutional.”
— John Podhoretz (37:49)

The Slippery Slope & Historical Precedent (41:31–46:50)

• A now-viral tweet (from Neon Taster/Noam Bloom) is cited: New corrupt precedents keep sliding the boulder further downhill.
• Obama’s regulatory innovations, Trump’s escalation, Biden’s systemic efforts — panelists warn that the cycle of tit-for-tat institutional overreach is likely never to reverse.

“Yeah, that’s how slopes work. A slippery slope, when you start at the top of the slope. Yeah, you’re just slipping a little bit. And then, you know, by the way, like a boulder down the hill...”
— John Podhoretz paraphrasing Noam Bloom (41:31)

The Internet and Real Suppression (46:50–50:12)

• Panel argues Biden’s administration's back-door social media suppression was more censorious than anything the FCC is equipped to do.

“The White House, in coordination with social media platforms, cracked down on...You couldn’t show the factually true Hunter Biden story...you would get kicked off the platform...”
— Matthew Continetti (46:50)

6. Elite Networks, Credentialism, and Institutional Hermeticism (50:12–52:15)

• Power among the left’s institutional elite: not always formal, but transmitted through “kin affiliation,” elite education, and social networks (the “aristocracy” of contemporary liberal power).

“This world is very hermetic. The liberal world, on the one hand, is large and controls many institutions. On the other hand, it’s very hermetic... It’s a sort of aristocracy.”
— John Podhoretz (50:23)

7. Competing Conspiracy Theories: Jew-Hatred on the Left and Right (52:15–68:17)

Left and Right Conspiracy Responses to the Kirk Assassination (52:15–56:11)

• Over the weekend, both far-left and right-wing influencers pushed false conspiracy theories (from “false flag” right-wing framing to wild Mossad plots).
• Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens, and others claim Jewish/Israelite control or blackmail over Kirk or even that Israel killed him — leading to surging anti-Semitic tropes.

“Candace Owens is now the definition of crazy. And maybe it’s her marketing tool to...establish the craziest possible position. And Tucker is doing the same thing...they’re openly anti Semitic.”
— John Podhoretz (56:21)

• The group documents at length Megyn Kelly and Marjorie Taylor Greene’s adoption of similar anti-Semitic talking points.

Populist Ecosystem and Marketplace Influence (69:00–71:45)

• The anti-Semitic turn is, in part, a cynical online commercial competition — right-wing influencers fighting for market share by attacking (and delegitimizing) Jewish figures like Ben Shapiro.

“They are fighting for supremacy and leadership...It is not simply an ideological war that is going on here.”
— John Podhoretz (69:57)

• Abe and John both underscore the stakes: It's also a fight for the soul of evangelical Christianity, which has driven much right-wing support for Israel.

8. Cultural, Religious, and Political Axes in the Wake of the Kirk Assassination (72:03–73:26)

• There are now three contesting forces:
  • Kirk as a religious figure
  • Kirk as a political/MAGA mobilizer
  • The dark, conspiratorial, anti-Semitic movement leveraging his death

“There’s a religious axis, there’s a political axis, and then there is this dark, conspiratorial, anti-Semitic axis as well that needs to be challenged and combated at every turn.”
— Abe Greenwald (72:24)

9. Warnings and Calls to Action (73:26–74:53)

• The rise and mainstreaming of anti-Semitic sentiment on both fringes is described as existentially dangerous, echoing global disinformation efforts (e.g., by the Muslim Brotherhood) and threatening American civilization itself.

“...These people who have gone in this direction are basically handmaidens of a multi decade psyop...an effort to turn America and the world against the Jews. And they are bowing to it.”
— John Podhoretz (73:39)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Modern Conservative Power:

  “This is what makes the second Trump administration so unique. It is the first Republican administration to use the machinery set up by progressives over the past century...”
  — Abe Greenwald (19:53)

• On What Constitutes Censorship:

  “Jimmy Kimmel has total free speech rights like everyone else. What he does not have is the right to the platform.”
  — John Podhoretz (36:54)

• On Slippery Slopes:

  “Yeah, that’s how slopes work... you’re just slipping a little bit. And then... like a boulder down the hill.”
  — John Podhoretz channeling Noam Bloom (41:31)

• On the Anti-Semitic Conspiracy Surge:

  “Marjorie Taylor Greene...asserts...that Jews were attempting to take over this Christian organization, Turning Point usa...That is terrifying.”
  — John Podhoretz (58:05)

  “It is terrifying that it exists...They are simply operating as the shock troops of an effort to turn America and the world against the Jews.”
  — John Podhoretz (73:11)

• On the Culture War’s Dangers:

  “America is sort of in a powder keg.”
  — John Podhoretz (65:32)

• Perspective on Online Radicalization:

  “The average Trump voter is not getting into the weeds about this fake Mossad plot against Charlie Kirk. This is the equivalent of like, you know, say the right pronouns...”
  — Matthew Continetti (67:09)

Important Timestamps

• 03:40 – Start of Jimmy Kimmel controversy discussion
• 07:40 – Podhoretz on Kimmel’s “plausible deniability”
• 11:09 – Sinclair’s response & the business behind deplatforming
• 12:39 – Eliana Johnson on local market dynamics and regulatory context
• 14:03 – Focus shifts: Left’s reaction to Kirk assassination
• 20:04 – Greenwald on conservatives using progressive machinery
• 25:17 – Podhoretz on post-conservative tactics
• 36:54 – Free speech vs. platform rights; FCC overreach
• 41:31 – The “slippery slope” of using government power
• 46:50 – Continetti on Biden admin’s suppression of online speech
• 56:21 – 58:05 – Detailing nutcase anti-Semitic conspiracy narratives
• 69:00 – The commercial war for online right-wing supremacy
• 72:24 – The three axes in the Kirk legacy struggle
• 73:39 – The existential warning about mainstreaming Jew-hatred

Tone and Style

• Lively, candid, occasionally humorous but deeply alarmed.
• Panelists shift between analytical, historical, and personal asides (often referencing prior cultural moments or their own professional experience), all in the spirit of Commentary’s “general, yet Jewish” editorial voice.

Summary Takeaway

This episode delivers a wide-reaching, urgent examination of the crisis surrounding Jimmy Kimmel’s deplatforming and the broader dangers now loose on the American right and left – threats not only to free speech norms and legal process, but to the civic fabric itself. The rise of anti-Semitic fantasies and the weaponization of regulatory power, the panelists warn, are not just sideshows in the culture war but central battlefields where principle and decency are under siege.

For further reading/listening:

• Commentary Magazine
• “Camelot and the Cultural Revolution” by Jim Pearson (referenced at 35:08)
• Free Beacon/Echelon poll on right-wing views toward Israel (discussed at 68:17)
• Relevant prior podcast episodes (e.g., with Andy McCarthy on broader anti-Semitic psyops)

End of Summary.