The Commentary Magazine Podcast – "Touring Through History"

Date: August 20, 2025
Host: John Podhoretz
Panelists: Seth Mandel, Matthew Continetti, Abe Greenwald

Episode Overview

This special "undated" episode of The Commentary Magazine Podcast explores the panelists' favorite historical sites—places imbued with meaning, memory, and lessons about civilization. The hosts share travel stories, personal reflections, and thoughtful commentary, spanning from Jewish heritage in Spain to American battlefields, Revolutionary landmarks, and ancient cities. The discussion is an engaging mix of historical reverence, humor, and practical travel tips, catering to listeners with an appetite for history, culture, and the unexpected role of the past in the present.

Segment Breakdown & Key Insights

1. Introduction and Context

• [00:25] John Podhoretz introduces the panel: Abe Greenwald, Seth Mandel, and Matthew Continetti.
• The episode is presented as a "break" from the daily news—offering culture, wisdom, and historical recommendations for listeners planning vacations or curious about world heritage.

2. Seth Mandel: Hidden Jewish History in Barcelona

• [02:54] Seth Mandel shares his experience uncovering Jewish history in Barcelona:
  • Ancient Mikvah under the Kylem Cafe:
    • The juxtaposition of modern life (drinking coffee) above an ancient ritual bath.
      • “Life sort of goes on, you know, above and around all this history in Barcelona, not just Jewish history, but history in general. It's kind of a remarkable city in that way.” (Seth Mandel, 03:34)
    • Lack of preservation for Jewish heritage led to sites being built over or incorporated unnoticed into the city (e.g., Hebrew-inscribed headstones in building foundations).
    • Walking Barcelona’s Gothic streets feels "like ghosts kind of floating through the city" due to the interwoven layers of the past.
  • The Great Synagogue Discovery:
    • Archaeologists identified a misaligned building facing east, indicating an ancient synagogue.
    • Behind nondescript doors can be found “real treasures,” making Barcelona feel like a “giant historical site.”
  • Jewish Travel Tradition:
    • [08:18] “If they ever invent space travel and we go to Mars and I went to Mars with my mother, we'd get off the craft and my mother would say, is there a Jewish walking tour?” (John Podhoretz)

3. Matthew Continetti: Civil War Sites – Fort Sumter and Gettysburg

• [09:03] Matthew Continetti highlights two U.S. Civil War sites:
  • Fort Sumter (Charleston, SC):
    • Site where the Civil War began in 1861.
    • Noted for its small, comprehensible size and well-delivered National Park Service tours.
    • “You feel thrust back in time and can imagine the boats, that kind of imagine the artillery. Some of the pieces are still there. So it was a very moving experience.” (Matthew Continetti, 10:27)
  • Gettysburg (PA):
    • Site of the war’s turning point.
    • The “Gettysburg experience” is walking the battlefield, visiting key locations (Pickett’s Charge, Little Round Top).
    • “…if you're walking in Virginia, in particular, where I'm from, if you're in Georgia, if you're in the Carolinas, you are walking on hallowed ground. This is where we fought a Civil war, where hundreds of thousands of Americans died and where the stain of Slavery was finally erased.” (Matthew Continetti, 12:08)
  • Matthew admits: “I'm not really a Civil War buff… but as I was contemplating this question, I realized, actually, maybe I should be.” (12:23)

4. John Podhoretz: Intimate Encounters with American History

• [14:34] Podhoretz recalls visiting Antietam:
  • Empty, placid space with a visceral connection to the past—especially at "Bloody Lane," a trench where thousands died in hours.
    • “In this trench, in the space of 12 hours, 5,000 people killed each other… horror of what this war was and what it was doing to these brothers, you know, these people. So it was a kind of, you know, transformational moment for me.” (John Podhoretz, 15:10)
• [17:28] He describes stumbling onto Lexington Common—the site where the American Revolution began:
  • The small scale and proximity to ordinary life make the revolutionary spark tangible:
    • “…people are literally coming out of their houses across the street from the green to fight and then maybe getting shot or bayoneted or something, like on the front steps of their own houses. And so that from this tiny little skirmish, the world was altered forever.” (John Podhoretz, 18:42)

5. Preserving History vs. Economic Progress

• [20:29] Podhoretz and Continetti discuss the controversy over Disney's planned “Americana” theme park near the Manassas battlefield (Civil War site):
  • The tension between economic development and the “sacred” quality of historical battlefields.
  • “There was a lot of the ordinary stuff about how it was going to cause a lot of traffic… but it was also like that there was something sacrilegious about putting this, you know, there would be like Civil War rides or whatever, adjacent to Manassas.” (John Podhoretz, 21:06)

6. Abe Greenwald: Fraunces Tavern – The Heart of Revolutionary New York

• [23:16] Abe Greenwald recommends Fraunces Tavern (NYC):
  • Built in the late 1600s, site of the Sons of Liberty, Washington’s headquarters, and peace negotiations with the British.
  • Home to federal offices in early America and now a combined museum and tavern (with memorabilia such as Washington’s teeth).
    • “Sort of nothing else like it… now it is both a museum and still a very functioning tavern. So you go and you can see those early offices, you can see a ton of Washington memorabilia.” (Abe Greenwald, 24:29)

7. John Podhoretz: Ancient Cities – Pompeii and the City of David

• [26:00] Pompeii (Italy):
  • Visited in December; describes the site as “more than you expect.”
    • “It is more stunning and astonishing than you would think. … just jaw dropping, you know, and you're sort of literally walking through a well to do town from 2000 years ago that wasn't looted, raided and destroyed over the centuries by invaders because it was all buried deep under ash.” (26:46–27:28)
• City of David (Ir David, Jerusalem):
  • Reviewed by Seth in the June Commentary.
  • Archaeological evidence of Jewish monarchy from nearly 3,000 years ago—proof of ancient Jewish civilization.
    • “It is just the damnedest thing you've ever… you've ever seen.” (John Podhoretz, 30:38)

8. Seth Mandel: The City of David – Discovery Against the Odds

• [31:37] Seth tells the story of a serendipitous archaeological find in the City of David:

  • During mundane flood cleanup, limestone was spotted—turning out to be a football-field-sized stepping-stone into an ancient ritual bath.
    • “One of the guys on the architectural team is standing… the archaeologist had seen that there was some limestone underneath where this guy was about to… bulldoze or whatever under the mud. And that turned out to be a football field sized stepway into the ancient mikvah…” (Seth Mandel, 32:20)

• [34:20] Podhoretz elaborates on the ancient road to the Temple, discovered as part of the City of David excavations.

  • “...thus proving that the ancient temple existed and that the city of David existed and that the rituals that are described in the Bible were being practiced by these peoples 3,000 years ago.” (John Podhoretz, 34:40)

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• “Life sort of goes on, you know, above and around all this history in Barcelona… But the overall effect is that there is like this Jewish history kind of, you know, like ghosts kind of floating through the city.” (Seth Mandel, 03:34–04:07)

• “You feel thrust back in time and can imagine the boats, that kind of imagine the artillery. Some of the pieces are still there. So it was a very moving experience.” (Matthew Continetti, 10:27)

• “In this trench, in the space of 12 hours, 5,000 people killed each other… the horror of it and the horror of what this war was and what it was doing to these brothers…” (John Podhoretz, 15:10)

• “From this tiny little skirmish, the world was altered forever in the most radical fashion in the history of the planet.” (John Podhoretz, 18:42)

• “Sort of nothing else like it… now it is both a museum and still a very functioning tavern.” (Abe Greenwald, 24:29)

• “If they ever invent space travel and we go to Mars… my mother would say, is there a Jewish walking tour?” (John Podhoretz, 08:18)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:54] Seth Mandel – Barcelona’s Jewish historical sites and living history
• [09:03] Matthew Continetti – Fort Sumter and Gettysburg battlefields
• [14:34] John Podhoretz – Antietam battlefield and Revolutionary Lexington Common
• [20:29] Disney vs. Manassas: Preservation vs. Progress
• [23:16] Abe Greenwald – Fraunces Tavern in NYC
• [26:00] John Podhoretz – Pompeii and the City of David (Jerusalem)
• [31:37] Seth Mandel – Serendipitous archaeological discovery in Ir David
• [34:20] John Podhoretz – Road to the Temple and proof of biblical history

Conclusion

The hosts conclude by recapping their picks—a diverse array of sites reflecting Jewish and general history, from urban cafes layered over millennia-old rituals to revered battlefields and ancient cities revealed through archaeology. Each story underscores how history endures in unexpected places and how traveling with curiosity can turn any trip into a transcendent encounter with the past.

Panel’s Picks, Summarized:

• Barcelona’s Jewish sites (Seth Mandel)
• Fort Sumter & Gettysburg (Matthew Continetti)
• Antietam & Lexington Common (John Podhoretz)
• Fraunces Tavern, NYC (Abe Greenwald)
• Pompeii & City of David (John Podhoretz & Seth Mandel)

For listeners: If you seek history—whether under your feet or across the ocean—look carefully; the world is full of “giant historical sites” waiting for discovery.