Sandwich Man and the Liberal Crack-Up

Summary

The Commentary Magazine Podcast: "Sandwich Man and the Liberal Crack-Up"

Release Date: August 15, 2025
Host/Author: Commentary Magazine
Duration: Approximately 68 minutes

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1. Introduction and Context

The episode opens with John Podhoretz acknowledging the 80th anniversary of the official conclusion of World War II, commending the "greatest generation" and Western culture for their role in saving humanity. He then introduces his co-hosts:

• Abe Greenwald, Executive Editor
• Seth Mandel, Senior Editor
• Matthew Continetti, Washington Commentary Columnist

John Podhoretz sets the stage for the episode by highlighting current political tensions, particularly focusing on an incident involving President Trump, Alaska, a summit with Putin, and broader cultural conflicts.

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2. The "Sandwich Man" Incident

The core of the episode revolves around an unusual and viral incident in Washington, D.C., where a man threw a Subway sandwich at a federal law enforcement officer.

Matthew Continetti introduces the incident:

"This is from the Washington Post. A man arrested in D.C. on Sunday night is facing felony charges for throwing a wrapped Subway sandwich at a federal law enforcement officer."
— [02:38]

John Podhoretz humorously speculates on the type of sandwich involved:

"I'm going to go with Italian.... The BMT."
— [04:04]

Matthew Continetti provides additional details, referencing a New York Post report:

"A witness said the sandwich was likely a Subway BMT with extra banana peppers. And it’s hard to tell whether it was a 6 inch or a foot long."
— [07:12]

The discussion touches on Sean Charles Dunn, the man involved, who allegedly approached officers, yelled obscenities, called them fascists, and hurled a sandwich before fleeing the scene.

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3. Analysis of the Incident

The hosts delve into the implications of the "Sandwich Man" incident, using it as a lens to examine the perceived meltdown of the American cultural elite.

John Podhoretz mocks the severity with which the incident is treated:

"He's literally jumping up and down in his cute little shorts with his little socks and screaming... it's like Reggie or Moose or Archie getting angry in an Archie comic."
— [04:38]

He further satirizes the reaction by comparing Dunn's actions to childish tantrums, highlighting a disconnect between the act and its societal interpretation.

Matthew Continetti emphasizes the potential seriousness of the act:

"This could cast a whole new light.... Would be a felony."
— [07:26]

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4. Broader Political Commentary

The conversation shifts to President Trump's declaration to send the National Guard to D.C. for 30 days to address crime, and the ensuing political fallout.

John Podhoretz criticizes the liberal elite’s reaction:

"They care about the incipient arrival of the Waffen-SS, the jackboots, the Il Duce... Thank you."
— [02:25]

The hosts argue that the liberal opposition perceives any action by Trump as a step toward fascism, regardless of the actual implications.

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5. Mental Health Gap Between Liberals and Conservatives

Abe Greenwald introduces the concept of a mental health gap between liberals and conservatives:

"There's study after study that shows that there is a mental health gap between liberals and conservatives. Much higher rates of depression and anxiety among liberals."
— [34:27]

The discussion suggests that liberals are more therapized and engage in a language of victimhood and pathology, which contributes to their mental health challenges.

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6. Recent Developments in D.C. Crime and Political Actions

The podcast examines recent actions taken in Washington, D.C., including the appointment of a DEA chief as the emergency commissioner of the Metro Police, which has been legally challenged.

Matthew Continetti explains the legal contention:

"The District of Columbia is that while the Home Rule act gives Trump the ability to take over and direct the Metro police department for 30 days. It does not give him the authority to appoint an agent to run the department."
— [35:09]

John Podhoretz elaborates on the lack of constitutional authority over D.C.:

"There is no constitutional authority, there is no federalism, does not entirely exist in the existence of the District of Columbia."
— [11:35]

The hosts criticize Mayor Bowser's shift from initially being supportive to contravening Trump’s authority, labeling it as an "authoritarian playbook."

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7. Other Incidents Highlighting Cultural and Mental Strain

The episode recounts another disturbing incident involving Emily Gabriella Sommer, who assaulted federal officers and her neighbor, revealing deeper societal issues.

Seth Mandel details the escalation:

"She was arrested because she had two pending misdemeanor charges... She damaged her neighbor's apartment door with a metal rod."
— [37:55]

These stories are used to illustrate a broader pattern of violence and mental instability among certain segments of the population.

---

8. Upcoming Summit with Putin

The discussion transitions to the anticipated summit between President Trump and Vladimir Putin.

Matthew Continetti outlines the potential dynamics:

"Trump wants to talk Ukraine, but the Russians want to talk about everything but Ukraine."
— [58:25]

Seth Mandel expresses skepticism about Trump's ability to abandon the summit:

"Does Trump have the willpower to literally stand up and walk out?... I highly doubt that he will."
— [61:15]

The hosts debate the likelihood of a productive outcome, with John Podhoretz fearing that any slight concession could be spun by Trump as a victory.

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9. Conclusion and Light-Hearted Segment

The podcast concludes with John Podhoretz attempting to sing "Ain't That a Kick in the Head," a humorous interlude that serves as a break from the intense discussions. This moment underscores the show's blend of serious commentary with lighter, entertaining elements.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• John Podhoretz (02:25): "They care about the incipient arrival of the Waffen-SS, the jackboots, the Il Duce."

• Matthew Continetti (07:12): "A witness said the sandwich was likely a Subway BMT with extra banana peppers."

• Abe Greenwald (34:27): "There's study after study that shows that there is a mental health gap between liberals and conservatives."

• John Podhoretz (11:35): "There is no constitutional authority, there is no federalism, does not entirely exist in the existence of the District of Columbia."

• Seth Mandel (61:15): "Does Trump have the willpower to literally stand up and walk out?... I highly doubt that he will."

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Final Thoughts

"The Commentary Magazine Podcast" episode "Sandwich Man and the Liberal Crack-Up" offers a sardonic and critical analysis of contemporary political and cultural issues in the United States. Through the lens of a viral incident involving a man throwing a sandwich at law enforcement, the hosts explore themes of political polarization, mental health disparities, and the perceived decline of the American cultural elite. The episode blends serious discourse with humor, reflecting the show's overarching narrative of offering sharp, opinionated commentary on current events.

Transcript

[John Podhoretz]

Bundle and safe. With Expedia, you were made to follow your favorite band. And from the front row, we were made to quietly save you. More Expedia made to travel Savings vary and subject to availability. Flight inclusive packages are atoll protected. Hope for the best, expect the worst Some preacher pain Some die of thirst no way of knowing which way it's going Hope for the best, expect the worst. Welcome to the Commentary Magazine daily podcast. Today is Friday, August 15th, 2025. I'm John Pothor. It's the editor of Commentary magazine. I want to point out, before we go on any further, this is the 80th anniversary of the conclusion, official conclusion of World War II. So thank you to the greatest generation and to Western culture for saving humanity in the world. And that's just all I have to say about that. With me, as always, Executive editor Abe Greenwald. Hi, Abe.

[Abe Greenwald]

Hi, John.

[John Podhoretz]

Senior editor Seth Mandel. Hi, Seth.

[Seth Mandel]

Hi, John.

[John Podhoretz]

And Washington Commentary columnist Matthew Convetti. Hi, Matt.

[Matthew Continetti]

Hi, John.

[John Podhoretz]

Okay, we have to talk about Trump and Alaska and the summit and Putin and what's going to happen, but let's face it, do we really care as much about that as we care about the guy who threw the sandwich? I think we need to dilate a little bit on the meltdown, on the complete meltdown of the American cultural elite in the face of the President, United States saying, you know what? Washington, D.C. is a cesspool of crime, and I'm gonna take 30 days to see if I can do something to make it a little better. And the idea that this is the incipient arrival of the Waffen ss, the jackboots, the, you know, the, the Il Duce. Just name your fascist. And of course, our, our friend. Thank you. I think his name is Carrie Dunn. His last name is Dunn.

[Matthew Continetti]

Sean.

[John Podhoretz]

Sean Dunn. Excuse me. When he went up to the. Is it an FBI guy? And I think it's an FBI guy.

[Matthew Continetti]

I'll just, I'll just say, just give that, give the.

[John Podhoretz]

Just the fact.

[Matthew Continetti]

This is from the Washington Post. A man arrested in D.C. on Sunday night is facing fellow felony charges for throwing a wrapped Subway sandwich at a federal law enforcement officer. Jeanine Pirro, U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, and Matt Continetti's newest favorite member of the Trump administration, announced the new video posted on X on Wednesday afternoon. Video of the incident, which took place near the corner of 14th and U streets Northwest, shows a man in a pink collared shirt, shorts, crew socks and New Balance running shoes yelling at several law enforcement officers while holding a sandwich as he turned to walk away, he hurled his hoagie at the chest of one of the officers and then ran off with the officers in pursuit. The video, which has gone viral, does not show the man being arrested. Sean Charles Dunn approached the officers, according to the court documents, and began yelling obscenities and calling them fascists. At about 11:05pm According to the federal court ruling, Dunn approached an officer and threw a sandwich at him. He was charged with assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers and employees of the United States. Fox. Following his arrest, Dunn allegedly told one of the officers, I did it, okay? I threw a sandwich.

[John Podhoretz]

Many things are raised.

[Seth Mandel]

You're damn right I did. In Jack Nicholson.

[John Podhoretz]

That's right, you can't handle the hoagie. Okay, here's.

[Matthew Continetti]

First of all, what kind do we think it was?

[John Podhoretz]

Well, I'm going to go with Italian.

[Matthew Continetti]

The bmt.

[John Podhoretz]

On the other hand, given the physical model, if you watch the, you see Mr. Dunn, what he looks like, how he's dressed and all of that, it could just be the veggie special, let's face it. I mean, I, you know, it doesn't look like. I think you could assume that he watches his diet carefully and may oppose the use of animals as meat products. Even as we hear, by the way, that Beyond Meat has gone bankrupt. The, the fake. Oh, really, fake beef, which is not good. The impossible meat is better than the Beyond Meat. So I think this is not all that surprising, but just to get back to it, so this is one of the great viral clips of the, of the age of the viral clip. And I will be watching this roughly every day of my life until I, until I pass this mortal coil. Because what, what the story does not quite get at is the. Is Mr. Dunn's comportment right before he throws the sandwich. And by the way, when we say throws the sandwich, he's 6 to 12 inches away from the law enforcement officer, right? He's not like three feet away throwing the sandwich. He is literally jumping up and down or bending his knees and jumping up and down like a cartoon character, like Reggie or Moose or Archie getting angry in an Archie comic. He's jumping up and down in his cute little shorts with his little socks and screaming, though you can't hear anything coming off of the video except the guys who are filming it going, he crazy. That guy is crazy. And so there's an essentially comic nature to this because he, he looks like a my. When my daughter Shiri was two, she would have these hilarious tantrums where she would literally turn bright red and jump up and down in place in a rage. Calmest person who had ever existed. This adorable child. And so this was funny, not really like concerning that she would have this fit. And then he takes his hand and he bends it back and he curls the sandwich. And take this as you will. I'm making no other comment on it. Throws like a girl.

[Matthew Continetti]

Okay, I have to interrupt you. According, this is breaking news. According to the New York Post.

[John Podhoretz]

Yes.

[Matthew Continetti]

A witness said the sandwich was likely a Subway BMT with extra banana peppers. And it, it, it's hard to tell whether it was a 6 inch or a foot long.

[John Podhoretz]

Right.

[Matthew Continetti]

So this could cast a whole new.

[John Podhoretz]

Yeah, like a 6 inch could be.

[Matthew Continetti]

A case in a whole new light.

[John Podhoretz]

Yes, yes.

[Matthew Continetti]

Would be a felony. Then another crucial piece of information we should mention. According to another witness. This is now reported in the New York Post, America's newspaper. The witness said Don seemed to be quite drunk. That served as part of the motivation for filling the meltdown. So in case people were wondering, yes, he probably was drinking. And before, before this was another bmt.

[Abe Greenwald]

I don't know what a BMT is.

[Matthew Continetti]

Oh, it has like the Italian deli meats.

[John Podhoretz]

Okay, so I was wrong. He's not a vegetarian. Of course is a subway line in New York. So it's interesting. Or was. Was one of the subway lines in New York before they got rid of the.

[Seth Mandel]

There's another detail that's pretty important here which is that at the time he threw the sandwich, he was an international affairs specialist in the criminal division of the Office of International affairs at the Department of Justice. Of course, which he was a DOJ criminal justice specialist. Which he threw a sandwich. Right. And he obviously has since been fired.

[John Podhoretz]

Yes. So. And he was saying it's a deep state.

[Seth Mandel]

You see, Trump was right. It's a deep state.

[John Podhoretz]

Shame sandwiches and everything from what, from what bystanders reported to he was saying, shame. You're a fascist. Get out of my city. Now first of all, how does he know where the law enforcement are? Maybe the law enforcement officer lives, you know, on 14th and V. Could be his city to presumption that this is done city is a rather large presumption. And of course the capital city of the United States is nobody's city. And it's certainly not the city of the 37 year old expert international justice at the international of the Department of Justice as an affairs specialist. Where is Doge? Where is Doge? I want that department eliminated. Let's eliminate that department. Who needs it, we have a State Department. I don't know what on earth we're doing with that Department of Justice, but Doge is still there, I think. And so somebody might want to take a look at that whole office. But let's talk about, I mean, this is a hilarious thing and the clip is hilarious. And it is a kind of comic crystallization of the culture war that Trump has, incredibly, fortunately for him and for the right, stepped into on I think what was mostly an impulse to do something when he heard that this kid was beaten up in Dupont Circle. Big balls. The young Doge, kind of like prodigy at three o' clock in the morning defending his, a woman that he was getting into a, a cab while they were being assaulted. Because the exposure of the, of the, of the sort of the root ideology of the Washington liberal elite that is being made by how people are responding to something that is not all that complicated, which is there's a crime emergency. President says he's sending the national guard in for 30 days to establish order. Law says that he has the right to do this without even, you know, for 30 days. So he's doing it and it should be over by September. And one thing you could say is, well, let's see, let's see how it goes. Like maybe, maybe it'll make a difference, maybe it won't. If it fails or if it doesn't do anything, then he can be, you know, could say that basically he's a fool and he did something ridiculous.

[Matthew Continetti]

Yeah, we should say that the 30 day limit applies to Trump's takeover of the MPD.

[John Podhoretz]

Right.

[Matthew Continetti]

Metro Police Department.

[John Podhoretz]

Right.

[Matthew Continetti]

He had, There is no limit on his ability to use the National Guard.

[John Podhoretz]

Right.

[Matthew Continetti]

In Washington D.C. yeah.

[John Podhoretz]

The National Guard is ordinarily under the control of the governor of the state from which the National Guard is called. And there is no governor of the District of Columbia. In fact, the entire existence of the municipal government of Washington is by sufferance under a 1974 law that Congress passed that Congress could overturn at a moment's notice. It is not. There is no constitutional authority, there is no federalism, does not entirely exist in the existence of the District of Columbia, which was not imagined as a state with the rights of a state. Right. Okay. So Trump says, I'm going to do something about crime in D.C. irrational opposition would not have taken this bait. It is now very clear, like four or five days in rational opposition would have said whatever. There's more important things to talk about. He's, you know, going to, he's going to take away your Medicare or he's going to, you know, he's going to cut your benefits or, you know, he's whatever.

[Matthew Continetti]

Or inflation.

[John Podhoretz]

Yeah, inflation. Which actually we did. We did.

[Matthew Continetti]

Getting some bad data.

[John Podhoretz]

Very bad data.

[Matthew Continetti]

Producer prices.

[John Podhoretz]

That's right. But he pushed a button, and it turns out that this is what they care about. What they care about. What his opposition cares about is the incipient fascist take over the United States. And that. That is top of mind. It is right at the forefront of their brains. And no matter what he does, it is a form of an incipient takeover of the United States by fascism, including naming five people to win Kennedy center honors, saying that he would host the Kennedy center honors, everything that he does.

[Matthew Continetti]

Scrutinizing the Smithsonian presentation of American history, which one guest on a talk show yesterday likened to the Taliban taking over Afghanistan.

[John Podhoretz]

So, Abe, Trump been saying this for years, but we've talked. Trump has some demonic power over his adversaries. I don't know how else to describe it. There's a movie called Wings of Desire, then vendors made in the late 90s, in which angels, one of whom is played by Peter Falk, who it turns out is an angel, not Peter Falk, but he is actually Peter Falk, kind of stand behind you and sort of whisper in your ear about like, don't, don't walk into the street there. And then you don't walk into the street and you're not hit by a car or that's a nice person. Maybe you should go talk to them. This is. This is how the angels manifest themselves. It is as though Trump is the reverse image of that. He is the guy who just stands there. And then somehow in the ear of the sort of liberal commentary and intelligentsia and, you know, educated elite, says, I'm gonna take over. I'm gonna come and arrest your mother. And then they go, oh, my God, he's gonna arrest my mother. And then everyone's like, what, are you crazy? It's just like trying to enforce the law because there are carjackings and there are homeless encampments in McPherson Square. I mean, people. People who don't live in Washington or haven't, don't spend any time in Washington, don't really. Can't really. You can't really understand that the center of this, of the downtown of the city, there are two or three squares. McPherson Square, Dupont Circle, there's one other, I'm forgetting, like, that are homeless encampments. I mean, like, that around them were fancy restaurants and office buildings. And where people worked and indeed cabinet departments. And they are now, there were now 200 homeless people living in this and nobody has done anything to say, ah, you know, this is the nation's capital. Move along. You can't be here because, like, you know, diplomats are coming through and tourists are going like, this is our show place for America look. And they're all fine with it.

[Abe Greenwald]

It's this simple. There are millions of Americans for whom any Trump success ruins their lives. It ruins their lives. And they are responding as people who have been broken by events. It started election night 2016.

[John Podhoretz]

And they.

[Abe Greenwald]

Have been in a state of ruination ever since. They got a reprieve with Biden, but they can't now. They are retraumatized the fact that he is more popular by a significant margin than he was during his first term, more successful, more productive, won by a much more robust number. They cannot believe it. They can't understand that they are sharing the country with people who don't see things exactly as they do. And that is making them literally crazy. Hey, everyone, Abe here. Have you heard of Carilluma? It's an edible cactus that grows in India and it's a natural appetite suppressant. Carilluma is just one of the natural ingredients doctors added to a remarkable weight loss supplement called Lean. If you have a bold summer weight loss goal, but injections aren't for you, here's what the doctors who formulated Lean said. They said this supplement is as close as we've come to the benefits of those popular injections. Like injections, Lean was created to help maintain healthy blood sugar and help control appetite and cravings. But the rare ingredients in Lean are also designed to help burn fat by converting fat into energy. And the best part, no needles, just real results. Doctors created a healthier way to lose weight by capturing the power of natural ingredients like Kara Luma. It's just smart. Let's get you started. With 20% off, just use code [e-mail] that's code commentary20akelean.com these statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease and is not a substitute or alternative for care from a healthcare provider.

[John Podhoretz]

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[Abe Greenwald]

Is the success already?

[John Podhoretz]

Okay. Okay.

[Seth Mandel]

It's also, and we should just say like the fact that they went to one of the encampments yesterday and the residents of the encampment handed the handed them permission slips that the city had given them to stay until the end of the weekend and they accepted that and left them alone. Like if you had a permission slip from the city that said you have till Monday, then they walked away from me. So there is a of lot limit to, in practical fashion, the fascism descending upon America narrative here because what you mostly have are people standing around.

[Matthew Continetti]

I think we have to also take in mind the location of Trump's anti crime effort. Washington, D.C. is the most democratic municipality, but certainly that sends a shadow representative to Congress. Trump lost to Kamala Harris 7% to 93% in 2024 and that was an.

[John Podhoretz]

Improvement over his previous seven three I believe. Against. Against Biden. Right? 97.

[Matthew Continetti]

Three I think it was even more. I think he only got like yeah, exactly. 97.

[John Podhoretz]

Three guess, but right.

[Matthew Continetti]

So this city is a kind of neutron star of liberalism and so it's uniquely conditioned to go off when Trump decides to use his leverage to get some results. Whether it's clearing out the tents or whether it's trying to do something about crime or whether it's trying to make the tourists who are still in the city. It's summertime you see them around, feel safe when they're on the National Mall or going to some of the museums or the hotels. I also think it's very interesting that this person, the sandwich thrower Sandwich man, has been lionized by liberals for his active resistance. Washington Post reporter saying that the man, man who hurled his hoagie at law enforcement in D.C. becomes a hero to many residents. This is Dan Egan, Post on X. And one of the replies, interestingly enough, is from Karen Tumulty, the longtime Washington journalist who was recently moved from the Washington Post opinion section to take over Dan Balz's spot of political analysis in the news section. Not that there's any difference. Karen simply replied with a link to a video of the Bonnie Tyler song Holding out for a Hero.

[John Podhoretz]

So what? This. What. What. What did you just say?

[Matthew Continetti]

She. She replied with the link to a song by Bonnie Tyler called Holding up for Hero. Now, is this some type of sophisticated pun? Because, of course, the hero sandwich, or is it Karen Tumulty saying, you know what, the affluent white liberals who are in the midst of a psychotic breakdown simply because Trump wants to do something about crime, they're absolutely right.

[John Podhoretz]

They're absolutely right. Heroes don't always only wear capes. They throw sandwiches.

[Matthew Continetti]

They go to Subway.

[John Podhoretz]

They throw sandwiches at people.

[Abe Greenwald]

But my theory is that Sandwich man is Pajama Boy.

[Matthew Continetti]

Yes.

[John Podhoretz]

Oh, grown up. Yes. Okay. This is.

[Abe Greenwald]

This is what became Pajama Boy.

[Matthew Continetti]

And blonde.

[John Podhoretz]

Yeah. So his hair. Yeah.

[Seth Mandel]

So again with the sequel. This is the DC Cinematic universe, of course.

[John Podhoretz]

Meanwhile, in the, you know, in the New York Times over the last couple of months, clearly responding to reader satisfaction, the Times has been publishing twice a week articles about women and men and how women cannot find a man that they can bear, where men won't date them or men are ghosting them, or they have terrible experiences with online dating where men send them one email and then don't send them another one. That kind of thing over and over and over again. Eight, nine, ten pieces. So my presumption is that this is a Pavlov's dog's response from the editors, that they publish one of these things, they get some huge readership. So it's like, let's commission another one. Somebody else's other story. Like this. Why do I bring this up? Because from Pajama Boy to Sandwich man, this is liberal masculinity, 2025. I don't know how else to describe it. Like, a guy goes up to a law enforcement officer who makes half of what he makes. It's Like a classic dynamic from the Vietnam War where you'd have these national. Like at Kent State or places like that, these national guardsmen who are 19 years old, just like the students. And the students come up to them and start abusing them, screaming at them, yelling at them, coming at them in large numbers. Their kids, their working class kids, they don't get to go to college. They didn't get to get a deferment to go to college. They went into the National Guard instead of to Vietnam or as a different form of national service. And they're being abused. In New York City, cops get a. Routinely get abused by people who make twice as much as they do and are in a higher social class. This is the only circumstance, I think, in America in which this would be permissible because of the weird attitudes toward. Toward law enforcement. But when you see Dunn screaming at this guy who is standing there in. At the corner of 14th and U, through no fault of his own, he has been deployed there. He is a person who has been sent there by a superior. He is not the author of the policy. He is not the. He is not the policymaker. He is a piece on a chessboard.

[Matthew Continetti]

He's also not even doing anything.

[John Podhoretz]

He was just that the people. That's what's.

[Matthew Continetti]

Again, another comic aspect to this policy is the National Guardsmen and the federal office agents just seem to be kind of hanging around.

[John Podhoretz]

And so what. Which is what it means to provide public safety.

[Matthew Continetti]

Eyes on the street. Right? Classic Jane Jacobs concept.

[John Podhoretz]

If you want to deter crime or flood the zone. Classic rule is flood the zone in a high crime area. And 14th and you what? There are two comic aspects of this too. When I moved to Washington in 1984, the idea that a person looking like Mr. Dunn would be standing at the corner of 14th and U would have been science fictional. I lived about five blocks from 14th and U. I drove down U Street to go to my office every day. This was not an area in which a white man in shorts and New Balance sneakers would have been caught dead at 11 o' clock at night. So.

[Matthew Continetti]

Well, unless he was soliciting. Yeah, unless he was there.

[John Podhoretz]

But he is now. So it is now his city. That neighborhood is his neighborhood. I mean, it's gone through gentrification long since I'm using like two generations ago as my example. How did he think that it was, by the way, in this city that has now, you know, had a terrible crime surge since COVID how did he think that it happened, that he was able to come and live in that neighborhood with his and go to a Subway and get his sandwich to walk to his house with a crime drop law enforcement that happened even in the District of Columbia in the 1990s when the crime drop happened, Washington D.C. had a huge turnaround. It was the least safe large city in America. And then basically cities became relatively safe for the next almost 30 years until Covid broke the social contract down and bail rules and liberalization of criminal justice policies.

[Matthew Continetti]

It's also the case that I think as someone who grew up in the D.C. area, lived here pretty much my entire life, has lived in the District and then has lived in Virginia, but always been working in the district. After 911 security in the District of Columbia skyrocketed. And it seems in retrospect that those years of Bush were actually some of the safest years in the District District for a while. And it may may have been exactly for this reason that DC turned into a heavily guarded fortress for much of the 911 period and the onset of the global war on terrorism. Of course, as that has receded into the past, we let our guard down. We began defining deviancy down again. You started smelling pot everywhere you went. The tent cities started appearing. And then of course course the summer of George Floyd and the ensuing crime spike five years ago, this kind of countermeasure, if it works, would have a similar effect to that post 911 security spike where all of a sudden, you know, criminals are deterred because there are just a lot of people out there who represent the long arm of the law anyway.

[John Podhoretz]

This is just political suicide. It's political, I don't care. These are people I do not want to be in power. I don't like them. I don't like their policies. I don't like who they want to elect. I don't like, you know, what, what kinds of things they want to implement. But it is a little unnerving to see the break with reality that the one of the two major political parties is currently undergoing.

[Matthew Continetti]

There's a great example of this in USA Today where they described a woman berating some of the National Guard troops. In the photo provided on USA Today, the woman who was heckling the National Guardsman was white and the National Guards personnel were minorities. So that too revealing with all we understand about the laptop class and white liberals. But she said two things to them in her, in her screechy voice. The first was shame on you and the second was I wish you didn't have to do that. So it's a complete cognitive dissonance. Because the shame on you implies they have some agency. And then I wish you didn't have to do that. It has sympathy with them as being directed by a higher authority. But I think that's representative of just the mental crack up that's happening in the minds of most of progressive America.

[John Podhoretz]

By the way.

[Abe Greenwald]

It's real. I mean, you know, there's study after study that shows that there is a mental health gap between liberals and conservatives. I mean, much higher rates of depression and anxiety among liberals.

[John Podhoretz]

That's just hearing. Why? Because. And it makes sense that even though they are much more therapized class of people, which has its own. Raises its own set of questions about the therapized culture that the messages that they impart to each other are, the planet is melting. Men are monstrous. You know, late capitalism is a systematic injustice to everyone.

[Matthew Continetti]

America, Covid, is everywhere and going to kill you.

[John Podhoretz]

America was born in original sin, not in pursuit of religious liberty. And here we all are under Trump. And what do we. And what do we have to look forward to? What is it that we, you know, and we know they have children. They have far fewer children than conservatives do marry later. They're much more ambiguous about the virtues and qualities of the family and of the kind of community that is the classic way that Americans organize themselves into communities which are around institutions of faith, either communal institutions or what do you call them, fraternal organizations or whatever, you know, Kiwanis, the Elks, stuff like that, or churches.

[Seth Mandel]

Little platoons.

[John Podhoretz]

Little platoons, exactly. And that they are not participating in the little platoon America. And they are feeling alienated and isolated and lonely and without resources.

[Abe Greenwald]

And they speak only in the language of victimhood and pathology. That's how everything is framed.

[Matthew Continetti]

As.

[Abe Greenwald]

They'Re being the victims of, you know, larger forces, bigoted forces. And part of the mental health gap, I think, is accounted for by the fact that they speak. They are so well versed in the vocabulary of mental illness and unwellness and all the rest of it, you know, that this is their medium. This is what they swim and breathe in.

[Matthew Continetti]

Just a few developments we should inform our audience. So Pam Bondi appointed a DEA chief to be the emergency commissioner of the Metro Police yesterday evening. That has been challenged in court, as we speak, by the D.C. chief prosecutor. I don't know whether he's an attorney general or not, but he has. He has sued to stop that. The position of the District of Columbia is that while the Home Rule act gives Trump the ability to take over and direct the Metro police department for 30 days. It does not give him the authority to appoint an agent to, to run the department. So what we see here is not just the technicality and another court battle, another lawfare battle that will persist until this, probably the Supreme Court rules on it. But we also see a change in disposition on the part of Mayor Bowser. You know, at the beginning of the week when this story first broke, she was, to my mind, quite sensible. She was saying, look, this is the authority Trump has. She, she said that, you know, we want crime to be reduced, so if there are more cops on the beat, there are more people packing heat, you know, representing law enforcement, then that might be a good thing. But someone got to her and she has changed her tune in a virtual town hall earlier the week, she was calling this out of the authoritarian playbook. And then she said, I think either on her way to Martha's Vineyard to pick up her daughter from camp or on her way back, that she was going to begin to fight Trump's overreach with every tool in her toolkit. So this does, it means not only that it's going to be yet more work for the Justice Department, more work for the court system, more work for the Supreme Court, but it also means that the Democrats can't help themselves, that this is not a fight they want, they should want to have. If you want to be a attractive party in 2026 and 2028, you have to get right on crime. But being an obstacle to efforts to combat crime is not the way to do that.

[Seth Mandel]

Can I say something also about the, a sort of parallel incident that is also in the news, and I think it covers comments that Abe was saying about mental health and also the sort of more serious element to some of this stuff, which is that the woman who a while ago spit on Ed Martin, who was the interim, he was interim attorney general right at that moment. But he didn't, he didn't get the.

[Matthew Continetti]

Well, he was interim U.S. attorney for District of Columbia. Then Tom Tillis blocked him. And then we got Judge Jeanine, who has just been fantastic past week.

[Seth Mandel]

So thank you. So, interim interim U.S. attorney. So a woman walked by, she spits on, on Ed Martin, and she says, my name is Emily Gabriella Sommer, and you are served and walked away. So she's not really trying to hard to hide it, but the progression of this story. So yesterday the reports were that she pleaded guilty to assaulting federal officers and that she could, though she won't get the maximum, probably she could theoretically spend eight years in jail for her trouble. And so this is being played off as she spit on a temporary U.S. attorney, and now she's going to jail for eight years. But as you read the story, you see that there's a little bit more to it. She was arrested two weeks later, and she spat on the U.S. marshal who came through and told him, I was just getting over a cold sore. I hope I gave you herpes. And then when they, as they brought her into the vehicle to bring her, you know, to the station, she kicked the. She kicked two U.S. marshals, and she told all of them that she would, quote, put a bullet in every one of you, end quote. So we're getting a bit more than just like, she's a spitter. She's obviously a menace, right? As the story continues, there's a pretty funny sort of middle part of the story where the public defenders and the prosecution argue over whether spitting meets the terms of physical contact. It's a very Seinfeldian argument. But then. Then they say near the end of the story that she was actually arrested because she had two pending misdemeanor charges in D.C. superior Court. What were those charges? She damaged her next door neighbor's apartment door with a metal rod. Okay? She tried to beat her way into her neighbor. Her neighbor's apartment, and she, quote, began talking about the war in Gaza and accused the victim of being involved in that, end quote. So we have a violent person, okay? She attacked. She took a metal rod to her neighbor's apartment, and she kicked two federal officers, spit on one, and threatened to put a bullet in each and every one of them. And the. And then she had defaced the same apartment door the next month. She had misdemeanors for both of them. And she had told the authorities that she did it because her next door neighbor was a federal officer who was spying on her. Okay, so you have mental health, you have violence, you have all this stuff. And I think that's part of the lesson also of the sandwich guy, which is like, I'm not saying this guy is a real threat. I watched him throw the sandwich, and I would think he's a real threat. But, you know, he. There is something else going on here, which is a kind of like psychotic break type, you know, mood among the population.

[Matthew Continetti]

What's the expression?

[Seth Mandel]

It's the resistance. The sort of resistance by any means necessary is bringing out the actual violent people, you know.

[Matthew Continetti]

Hi, everyone, I'm Matt Evert, CEO and founder of Crash Champions. Welcome to Pod Crash on Pod Crash we'll dive deep with industry leaders and.

[John Podhoretz]

Game changers because we want to uncover.

[Matthew Continetti]

Their secrets to success. We're going to explore everything from building.

[John Podhoretz]

Trust, building a rock solid team to champion blue collar work. And we also want to talk about creating explosive growth in your business.

[Matthew Continetti]

You'll hear actionable advice, real leadership and.

[John Podhoretz]

Business lessons along with what's worked for these incredible people throughout their career.

[Matthew Continetti]

We're even going to go in depth.

[John Podhoretz]

Into what I call a champions mindset.

[Matthew Continetti]

This is the very philosophy that I.

[John Podhoretz]

Use to champion people and and take Crash champions from a single shop to over 650 locations today. And now I want to share that information with you. Watch or listen to pod crash on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Seth Mandel]

I'm Oliver Darcy. And I'm John Passantino.

[Matthew Continetti]

We have spent years covering the inner workings of the news media, tech, politics, Hollywood and power.

[Seth Mandel]

Now through our nightly newsletter, Status. And we're bringing that same reporting and.

[John Podhoretz]

Sharp analysis to a new podcast, Powerlines.

[Seth Mandel]

Every Friday, we're breaking down the biggest stories shaping the industry, explaining why they matter and saying the things most people are thinking, but too timid to say out loud. No spin, no fluff, just sharp analysis.

[John Podhoretz]

That isn't afraid to call it like it is. We also pull back the curtain via.

[Seth Mandel]

Our exclusive reporting to take you behind the scenes. My understanding having reported this is that the Pentagon protested to CNN and tried to effectively exile the CNN producer. And when the moment calls for it, we've got some hot takes. I just think Brad Pitt, honestly, he kind of seems a little washed up.

[John Podhoretz]

Oh my God. That's Power Lines presented by Status. Follow Power Lines and listen on Apple.

[Seth Mandel]

Spotify, Amazon Music or your favorite podcast.

[Matthew Continetti]

Well, Luigi, right?

[John Podhoretz]

Yeah, okay. But you know, if we go back to 2017, 2016, 2017, and we write an alternate history of that time. Trump's inauguration was met on the weekend of his inauguration by this nationwide Women's March demonstration. Three and a half million people, some measures the largest demonstration in American history, across the country. Peaceful, little silly because of the hats, but a genuine expression of a genuine nationwide mood of uncertainty, discomfort, upset about Trump's victory, particularly in the wake of the things that he had said about women revealed in the Access Hollywood tape and the like. Now imagine a world in which that base had not found itself, shunted off into meshuggah land by the lawfare stuff where it didn't end up with, oh, he's just an agent of the person he is about to meet. Today, Vladimir Putin. Right. He is not. That's not who he is. He is this, you know, gross, mean, you know, misogynistic person who wishes to enrich himself at the country's expense. And that rather than two, three years of this fantasy that we were going to be delivered from Trump in the course of his administration by the righteousness of the law in making whatever case that they could possibly make against him and getting him impeached or whatever, that there was a genuine opposition to Trump, not only substantively on the basis of things that he had done, but then also on some of the things that I think almost no one can defend him on, and particularly now, no one can defend him on, which are the emolumenty stuff, people staying in this hotel, deals being made. This is now happening, you know, double time, triple time here in 2025.

[Matthew Continetti]

We haven't even been talking about the emerging state capitalism.

[John Podhoretz]

Right? That's right. Yeah.

[Matthew Continetti]

This bizarre to me is very disturbing.

[John Podhoretz]

Yeah. The Nvidia payoff to the government intel. Okay. All of this is very serious. And there was a moment at which liberals and the left could have been the sane opposition to Trump. And it turns out that people don't want to be sane. It's not fun to be the sane opposition. What is fun is he's a secret agent for Putin. There was a pee tape. You know, he's got guys, they're working, they're, they're, you know, it's a gigantic thing behind the scenes. And here we are now with, again, he wins, comes into power, he's got, he's got the House Senate and, and that. And then what do they do? They start celebrating violence against individuals. They are elevating not only Luigi Mangioni, who of course didn't shoot Trump, but shot some kind of weird stand in for late capital. You know, laid capitalist CEOs father to the now Mr. Dunn, the sandwich thrower, the guy, the, the, the, the judge who let the, the illegal judge out the side door, escape. They are embracing illegality, terrorism and all that in as what the resistance is. And I think rational people among people who genuinely oppose Trump and want to see his legacy not, you know, become the permanent fact of American politics. The ones that I know are falling into despair because they, because the focus is entirely wrong if you want to be, stand in opposition to what, what is actually a very tiny Republican majority.

[Matthew Continetti]

Yes. So can I. I think this is very interesting. In the first term, Pelosi was there, right? And yes, Russia, Russia, Russia was happening in the background The Women's March. But for those first two years, Pelosi was fixated on Trump's FBI 2018 and Trump's efforts to repeal Obamacare. And they knew that would be the issue. Trying to get rid of coverage for pre existing commission conditions, trying to kick kids off, you know, I mean, 26 is not a kid, but that's the way they frame it. Kick, kick kids off their parents health plan. She was focusing on the economic issue. The fact that Pelosi is in the backbench now, far less powerful Schumer is dealing with his own internal problems with this crazy base you describe. They had, they had the opportunity with the one big beautiful bill to talk about nothing but Medicaid for the next year. Medicaid and inflation. Medicaid and inflation. And what have they done since? It was first it was Epstein coming right off the success of the Operation Midnight Hammer and the signing of the one big beautiful bill. And now it's Trump fascism in Washington D.C. there's one Democrat that I'm watching pretty close. Well, I'll name two, but the first one I'm watching I think is trying to, to channel his inner Pelosi and be an effective fighter against Trump, but in a way that is not total Luigiism. And that's Governor Gavin Newsom. I know that might be a controversial statement. People hate Gavin Newsom. I get it. But if you watch what he's done, he's, you know, he's fought Trump on the ICE raids in L. A and the National Guard, but he went to court. That court case is actually still ongoing, by the way, even though the National Guard is no longer there. Now he's picked a fight with Trump over the Texas gerrymander. Now he's thrown out all of his principles, of course, he's, he's trying to actually end the independent commission that has redistricted California in a way that overwhelmingly favors Democrats in order to have the legislature pass a plan that overwhelmingly favors Democrats even more before next year's midterm election. But I do think he's doing a pretty effective job of like picking his battles, communicating that he kind of gets the joke. You know, he did an all caps tweet the other day, and the other candidate I mentioned, the other Democrat, is Wes Moore of Maryland, who gave an interview to Fox. That in itself is important, as we think about 2028, where he was asked about the D.C. crime initiative. And Governor Moore didn't take the bait and instead talked about all that he's done to help bring crime down in Baltimore. It was a very savvy answer. So my point is there's a way to deal with what's happening like the Democrats did in those first two years that led to their great success in the house. 41 seats. But you just don't see it resonating. Certainly not with the Democratic base and not with the media, but I repeat myself.

[John Podhoretz]

So we spun like 45 minutes out of the. It's what everyone wants to talk about, John, but. But we should, because these cultural moments are arguably far. And it's not just a cultural moment. I mean, it's a cultural moment because somebody caught it on. On an iPhone, which is what. Which is how cultural moments are made now. And.

[Abe Greenwald]

Yeah, and they come to define, you know, policies and movements. And if the. If the moment was instead that was caught on an iPhone, that came to define this, if it was a National Guardsman beating someone with the baton, then it would be a total. But this is what has come out of it instead.

[John Podhoretz]

I mean, the thing to do is to speed it up. The last. And so edit it. So you stretch out the running part and you speed it up and you put the. Benny, he also.

[Matthew Continetti]

He runs right into traffic. Do you see?

[John Podhoretz]

He could have been hit.

[Matthew Continetti]

Have been hit by a car if he wasn't careful.

[John Podhoretz]

Yeah, but. But it's like the Ben.

[Seth Mandel]

And lastly, by the way, the other crime here that no one's talking about is the sandwich. If I. If I, as someone who grew up in an East Coast Ashkenazi Jewish household, if I had thrown a perfectly good sandwich, I would have been put in. I would have been excommunicated. Especially considering the hunger.

[Matthew Continetti]

The hunger.

[John Podhoretz]

But by the way. By the way. Now, now, now, to pull away from the joke part of this. So obviously. Okay, so he was drunk or whatever. What he did and why, it actually isn't just a joke, is he used literally what he had to hand as he lost complete control.

[Matthew Continetti]

You're absolutely right.

[John Podhoretz]

Of himself and his emotions. And so what he had in his hand was a Subway soft sandwich.

[Matthew Continetti]

Right.

[John Podhoretz]

But if he'd had a gun, he would have shot him. And if he'd had a truncheon in his hand, he would have swung it at the. At the. At the law enforcement officer's head. That's what happens when you lose control. That's connects to Seth's story about the spitter. Right. That's the thing that you see in that piece of iPhone footage is ordinary liberal Americans dressed like they're from central casting losing control of themselves. And Luigi Mangeli may be that same person. We don't even know yet. No record. Wealthy family. Right.

[Matthew Continetti]

Probably has an underlying mental illness.

[John Podhoretz]

I mean, one assumes that he has an underlying mental illness, but clearly it was in some form of check.

[Matthew Continetti]

Right.

[John Podhoretz]

Because there's no record of his ever having had intersected with any kind of law enforcement or apparently, you know, hasn't been like wasn't institutionalized or sent it, whatever. We don't really know that yet. But I'm just saying something is going on where people are losing control now. People are nuts all over the place. I watched this footage last night of, you know, Representative Anna Paulina Luna explaining that interdimensional, explaining that interdimensional beings are coming through the brain blood barrier to control, control our, you know, microwaves or whatever. And she's an elected member of Congress. So that's, that's, that's great that that happened.

[Matthew Continetti]

At some point in the past decade, a whole lot of crazy descended on the United States of America.

[John Podhoretz]

Yes.

[Matthew Continetti]

And we are nowhere near.

[John Podhoretz]

No, it's got to getting through generation.

[Seth Mandel]

And the other part of the dangerous part of this, right, is that the spitter, I guess as we can call her, remember that this is not the misdemeanors, her attacking her, you know, smashing her neighbor's door with an iron bar because she blames her neighbor for Gaza. This is something you wouldn't hear about except for the fact that she spat on an officer and then she got arrested and then they had, you know, these depositions and, and then she pleaded guilty and now there's a court case in court records and they say, by the way, she had these two misdemeanors and she was arrested, you know, and stuff for that. If you want to get a sense, I think of the way people in D.C. are thinking about crime. It's not just if I walk down the street, am I going to get shot? Although some people, you know, in some places, they do worry that. But there's probably a feeling of chaos that is hard to quantify, but is, but feels really real. If your neighbor comes at your door, you know, with a metal rod, you're not going to sleep as well at night. That's just, and this is person on person. So, you know, part of this is not just let's, you know, aim a sandwich at a federal officer or representative of, you know, the Trump administration and law enforcement. Somehow it's not just resistance, it's unleashing a kind of chaos within the, you know, the private world. It's not just people rising against their government or, you know, whatever. There's all sorts of stuff happening that we don't hear about and otherwise know about that's putting people on edge.

[John Podhoretz]

Okay, so here's, here's what's going to happen now. You three are going to talk a little about Putin and Trump in the summit. Okay. And I'm going to go do some vocal exercises because in a couple of minutes I have to fulfill my promise from yesterday and sing a song in gratitude for us achieving our goal of 20,000 YouTube subscribers.

[Matthew Continetti]

Subscribers.

[John Podhoretz]

And we got mail. We asked people. We got over 150 responses. The winner of the three songs, which were I'll be back from, you'll Be back from Hamilton, Yankee Doodle Dandy and Ain't that a Kick in the Head. Was Ain't that a Kick in the Head. So I have to sing Ain't that.

[Matthew Continetti]

A Kick in the Head. But a verse in a chorus, I believe.

[John Podhoretz]

Chorus. So I have to go and.

[Matthew Continetti]

Okay.

[John Podhoretz]

Because as people know, I sometimes get a frog in my throat. I need to go clear my. I need to be in pristine shape in order to do this. So please have a conversation about.

[Seth Mandel]

Happily talk amongst yourselves.

[John Podhoretz]

Well, I.

[Abe Greenwald]

So how's this? I'll throw this out there. Trump says that he said a lot of things about the upcoming meeting, but most recently I think he said if it's going to be bad, I'll know it'll be a short meeting and if it's good, it will lead to another meeting. About details, I have a prediction it won't be a short meeting, but it will in the long run be bad.

[Matthew Continetti]

It's fascinating how the administration has been playing down expectations since the announcement of this summit, which came together very quickly. We've heard it being described as a listening exercise. Trump has called it a feel out meeting. He did say that he would know very quickly whether Putin was serious about peace. I think one reason that the meeting may not be short, even if Putin doesn't really show that he's serious, which I doubt he is, is that the two leaders will be holding a joint press conference afterwards. And of course, for most of us, this summons memories of the joint press conference they held after the Helsinki summit in 2018, where Trump sided with Putin's characters, characteristics, characterization of Russian interference in the 2016 election rather than the findings of the intelligence community. A lot has happened in the ensuing decade. Trump, I do think, comes in with a stronger hand. He has threatened economic sanctions on Russia. Russia oil revenue is down 19% year over year, the war economy is starting to kind of overheat in ways that cause Putin trouble at home. Trump put these tariffs on India, a trading partner of Russia. That certainly got Russia's attention. And then, of course, Trump also got NATO to agree to 5% GDP spending and agreed to have NATO purchase weapons from the United States that can be transferred to Ukraine. So I think Trump is going in with a pretty strong hand. I, my, my sense is Trump wants to talk Ukraine, but the Russians want to talk about everything but Ukraine. Russians signaling that they want to talk about renewing the new START treaty, the Arms Control treaty. They want to talk about economic deals, potential energy exploration. They don't want to talk about Ukraine. So for Trump, he needs to go in there. He needs to see if Putin is agreeable to a ceasefire or not. And if he's not, then I really think the best thing would be just to come home.

[Abe Greenwald]

Seth, thoughts?

[Seth Mandel]

Yeah, I mean, I don't know that he has the ability to just walk out of the room is the one thing that I don't. You know, I think that he, you know, it's one thing to say, you know, sitting from the Oval Office, well, I'm just, you know, I'm tired of this. I'm not, he's not being serious, you know, and whatever. But does Trump have the willpower to literally stand up and walk out? You know, as some of his advisors have been saying, you know, well, if five minutes in, he sees that Putin's not serious, he can leave. He can't. Will he? I highly doubt that he will. And I expect, in the, in the tradition of, of, of, of all politics of normal politicians, that he will try to do, try to spin something out of it and not want his summit, the one that, as we talked about the other day, he's been waiting for the type of summit, at least he's, he's been wanting this term and not want it to look like an obvious failure. I think it's embarrassing for a president to do all this set up and have all this, you know, Sturman, Drang, whatever, and walk out, you know, and say, oh, you know, and, you know, never mind.

[Abe Greenwald]

I also think so that Putin will furnish him with a crumb of something that he can spin into.

[John Podhoretz]

I mean, that's my fear.

[Matthew Continetti]

The fear is that Putin will say, well, we'll do a partial ceasefire air. And Trump will say, oh, that's a great idea. I want Zelensky to do that, too. But a ceasefire in the air, while it does protect Some Ukrainian civilians also maintains Russia's edge on the ground. So that would not be a fully satisfactory outcome.

[Seth Mandel]

But I see that he's also, by the way, just. He's also going to reportedly offer some financial incentives, too. He sees that Trump likes the idea of investments, American investments in, you know, your resources, like he's doing with Ukraine. Putin is apparently prepared to offer something.

[Matthew Continetti]

Remember, remember, though, Trump doesn't see meetings in the same way that Washington sees meetings. For Washington, every meeting has to have some type of positive result or else it was a waste of time and a blow to the president. For Trump, a meeting is a meeting. He just likes meeting people and it might not lead to anything. And he met with Kim Jong Un twice and nothing came of. Nothing really came of either one. So it's very possible that he just holds the meeting, he wants to talk, and then nothing will happen. But I see that our star is ready.

[John Podhoretz]

Ain't that a Kick in the head? Written in 1960 by Jimmy Van Heusen and Sammy Kahn, performed by Dean Martin in the film Ocean's Eleven, and sung by me to my wife Ayala at our wedding reception. And so that is the song that you, our listeners, have asked me to sing, and I will attempt to do so. Remember, I have no. I don't have a. An orchestra behind me. Listen to my voice. Now I got to clear my throat. You see, this is why. This is a very daring and risky thing to do.

[Matthew Continetti]

We talked too long.

[John Podhoretz]

Okay. Ain't that a kick in the head? How lucky can one guy be? I kissed her and she kissed me like the fellow once said, Ain't that a kick in the head? The room was completely black I hugged her and she hugged back like the sailor said, quote, ain't that a hole in a boat? My head keeps spinning I go to sleep and keep grinning if this is just the beginning My life is gonna be beautiful I've sunshine enough to spread it's just like the fella said, Tell me quick Ain't love a kick. See, I've ruined it now. In the head she's telling me we'll be wed. She's picked out a king size bed. I couldn't feel any better or I'd be sick. Oh, my God. What on earth? Tell me quick. You know what this proves? That I'm 64. Because I used to. I would have been able to knock this out of the park once. Ain't love a kick. Tell me quick Ain't love a kick in the head?

[Matthew Continetti]

There you go.

[John Podhoretz]

Thank you. Embarrassing. Yes, My career is over.

[Matthew Continetti]

Bravo.

[John Podhoretz]

The career is over. The one time I have spent my life saying I, you know, had this choice, binary choice in my life to try to go into theater or, or not. And I didn't do so. And obviously I would have had to retire at the age of 7 since I can't hold a note without. Without developing throat troubles. But thank you very much. Thank everybody again for that. We will come up with a better prize when we set for our next challenge. There'll be something better than that horrible mess.

[Matthew Continetti]

I brought a smile to my face.

[John Podhoretz]

Well, thank you. Yes.

[Seth Mandel]

And our listeners too. I bet you're gonna hear it.

[John Podhoretz]

One, one note. Next week we will not be doing live shows, live podcasts. We have recorded five interesting off topic programs for your enjoyment. One about Broadway musicals that we love. One about great historical sites and great American sites that you may not know and websites that you may not know because of confusion about the word site. Then we did historical sites around the planet that might be worthy of your time. Then we did great books that we don't like, which was a. Which was a fun one. And now I'm laboring to remember the musicals.

[Matthew Continetti]

Right?

[John Podhoretz]

And the music and Broadway. Did I mention the musicals? No, I did.

[Abe Greenwald]

And bro, did you mention the college books and games?

[John Podhoretz]

Oh, college books.

[Matthew Continetti]

Oh, books for college students.

[John Podhoretz]

We think a college student should read.

[Matthew Continetti]

And board entering college.

[John Podhoretz]

And our favorite board games. Yes. So five shows next week. Please enjoy. We will be taking a break. Abe will be taking a break from the newsletter that he writes daily. Seth will be taking a break from vlogging and we will see you last week of August. So for Matt, Seth, Abe, and the absent Christine Rosen, who is whose home is undergoing renovations, I am John Podhoritz. Keep the camel bur.