The Editors (National Review)

National Review

149 episodes listed below

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National Review's panel argues out the Iran war, Trump's cabinet shakeups, and 2028 politics.

The gist

The Editors gathers National Review voices for brisk, serious argument about American politics, law, war, and conservative strategy. Recent episodes move from Iran and the Strait of Hormuz to birthright citizenship, social-media liability, Hungary, airports, and the limits of Trump-era coalition politics.

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About The Editors (National Review)

The Editors is a panel-format political podcast produced by National Review, built around long-form debate (roughly 65 to 95 minutes) rather than one-on-one interviews or scripted narrative. Rich Lowry hosts most episodes, with Noah Rothman filling in regularly; the rotating panel also includes Phil Klein, Michael Brendan Dougherty, Charles C.W. Cooke, and Audrey Fahlberg, all National Review writers or editors rather than outside guests. The show does not typically bring on external interviewees — the format is staff-only cross-talk, with panelists staking out and defending distinct positions on the same story. Recurring subject matter includes the Iran war and its aftermath, Trump administration personnel and management decisions, immigration enforcement operations, congressional and cabinet controversies, media criticism of legacy outlets, AI's labor-market effects, and 2028 primary positioning for figures like J.D. Vance and Marco Rubio. Episodes often open with sponsor reads (e.g., watch and cookware brands) before moving into two or three discrete topic segments. The tone is argumentative and opinionated, with panelists sometimes using blunt language about political opponents. Analysis leans on named sourcing — citing outlets like the Wall Street Journal, CNN, or the New York Times — which panelists then dispute or endorse. The show closes many episodes with 'exit questions' that force panelists to make short, direct predictions. Listeners who want a conservative, insider-flavored read on breaking Washington and foreign-policy news, delivered as debate rather than consensus, are the core audience.

Made for: Conservative-leaning listeners who follow U.S. foreign policy and Republican politics closely and want detailed, argumentative analysis rather than a single editorial line.

What sets it apart: Unlike single-host commentary shows in the same space, The Editors puts multiple National Review staffers in open, sometimes sharp disagreement with each other in nearly every episode rather than presenting a unified position.

In their own words

Unravel the threads of American politics with incisive commentary and in-depth analysis on the state of the political scene. Join National Review editors and writers Rich Lowry, Charles C. W. Cooke, Jim Geraghty, Michael Brendan Dougherty, Phil Klein, Noah Rothman, and Audrey Fahlberg, plus guests for political commentary you can't get anywhere else. Longing for a refreshing dose of sanity? All you need to do is tune in.

As heard by us

Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026

The Editors turns conservative disagreement over war, law, institutions, and Trump into sustained, specific political argument.

Rich Lowry leads a rotating group of National Review colleagues through political arguments that rarely settle for a single verdict. The Iran war and the Strait of Hormuz recur across several episodes, with the panel testing military objectives, diplomatic off-ramps, Donald…

Read our full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

Iran-war postmortems become a group argument before you've finished choosing a side.

Press play if you want

conservative editors testing Trump's Iran strategy against achievable goals, not applause lines
the Strait of Hormuz argued from several angles before you settle on an off-ramp

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

iran war and strait of hormuztrump administration personnel decisions2028 presidential speculationimmigration enforcement policymedia criticismai and economic disruptionsection 230 and social media liabilityisrael-u.s. foreign policy

Talks about

News & Politics Politics Conservative Commentary US Foreign Policy U.S. Politics

Best episodes of The Editors (National Review)

Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.

Episode 866: Open or Closed?Apr 17, 2026

A blunt panel read on the Strait, Iran, and the media politics around Trump and Piker.

It takes a hard look at whether the Strait is open, what the ceasefire is doing to Iran, and how the war is being framed through talks and political signaling.

Episode 865: Strait Stand-OffApr 14, 2026

A brisk discussion that ties Iran talks to the politics of Viktor Orban.

The Editors episode follows two linked fights: the Iran ceasefire aftermath and the political uses of Viktor Orban. It moves from the missing deal out of Islamabad to the dispute over how long enrichment would be suspended, then to a sharper question about whether backing Orban…

Episode 864: Who Won?Apr 10, 2026

A ceasefire debate that turns into a sharper argument about Trump's coalition than about the war itself.

The episode treats the Iran war less like a clean win than a fight over Trump, MAGA, and who gets to claim the better read on events. Rich Lowry and the panel move quickly from the ceasefire to the political fallout: whether Trump's threat was really an off-ramp, how J.D.

Episode 861: Off-Ramp RumblingsMar 31, 2026

A sharp, ideologically clear argument about leverage, law, and the politics behind both.

The Editors spends its time on two familiar but consequential conservative questions: whether pressure in the Strait of Hormuz can turn into real leverage, and what the Supreme Court's Colorado conversion-therapy ruling means in practice.

Episode 860: Deal or No Deal?Mar 27, 2026

A sharp panel debate that treats Iran, Trumpism, and social media liability as serious political questions.

The Editors spends much of its time on a moving target: whether the U.S. and Iran are actually close to a deal, what that would mean, and how much of the public stance around it is leverage versus theater.

Episode 859: What Happens in Havana . . .Mar 24, 2026

A dry, grim panel discussion that connects the Iran war, DHS shutdown pressure, airport delays, and Trump's shifting deadline.

The Editors spend much of the hour on the Iran war and the Cuba question, then widen the frame to the DHS shutdown, airport delays, Congress, and Trump's shifting deadline.

Episode 858: Energy ShocksMar 20, 2026

A war-and-markets conversation that keeps pulling the stakes back to politics.

The episode frames energy markets and the Iran war as the main thread, with the Strait of Hormuz presented as still effectively closed and some shipping managing to move through.

Episode 857: Fighting over the WarMar 17, 2026

A brisk panel debate over Iran, war powers, and the meaning of an imminent threat.

The Editors frames the Iran conflict as a fight over war, restraint, and how far the United States should go. It opens with more targeted killings, the Strait of Hormuz still effectively closed, and Marines moving toward the region, then turns to the political argument over who…

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About The Editors (National Review)

In their own words

As heard by us

Why you'd press play

Talks about

Best episodes of The Editors (National Review)

Podcasts like The Editors (National Review)

Episodes

Episode 916: Vance Redefines Socialism

Episode 915: Liberté, Égalité, Enflammée

Episode 914: What Happened at Cornell?

Episode 913: Ohio, We Have a Problem

Episode 912: Woke's Last Ditch

Episode 911: Trumps Unplugs the Press

Episode 910: Longhorns and Loudmouths

Episode 909: Something Old, New, Borrowed, and... Russian

Episode 908: A Bogus Bribe

Episode 907: Remembering 9/11

Episode 906: Is Capitalism White Supremacy?

Episode 905: Developer In Chief

Episode 904: Democrats Ditch Piker

Episode 903: Maple Flare-Up

Episode 902: Data Center Dread

Episode 901: Ossoff Goes Low

Episode 900: Hiding in Plane Sight

Episode 899: The Great Burrito Debate

Episode 898: Progressives Prevail in Michigan

Episode 897: Spain's Border Breaking Point

Episode 896: Mamdani’s Grocery Store Games

Episode 895: Dr. Fauci’s Diaries Exposed

Episode 894: An Irritable Societal Gesture

Episode 893: The Movie You Odyssey

Episode 892: The JD Vance Experience

Episode 891: Iran War 2.0

Episode 890: The Maine Event

Episode 889: Mamdani-Flavored Patriotism

Episode 888: Happy Fourth!

Episode 887: Reading the Rulings

Episode 886: The Red Menace Returns

Episode 885: Reflecting Pool Failures

Episode 884: How Bad Is the MOU?

Episode 883: Do We Have a Deal?

Episode 882: Disparate Discussions

Episode 881: Disappointment in LA

Episode 880: Feeling the Pain in Maine

Episode 879: Maine Character Syndrome

Episode 878: Stroking Egos

Episode 877: Lone Star Status

Episode 876: Massie Goes Down

Episode 875: The War on Data Centers

Episode 874: Trump in China

Episode 873: Thunderclap in Virginia

Episode 872: Marco’s Moment

Episode 871: So Long, Spirit

Episode 870: Maine Shakeup

Episode 869: Another Assassination Attempt

Episode 868: ‘Microlooting’ Madness

Episode 867: Praising Clarence Thomas

Episode 866: Open or Closed?

Episode 865: Strait Stand-Off

Episode 864: Who Won?

Episode 863: Demo Day

Episode 862: An Unsatisfactory Speech

Episode 861: Off-Ramp Rumblings

Episode 860: Deal or No Deal?

Episode 859: What Happens in Havana . . .

Episode 858: Energy Shocks

Episode 857: Fighting over the War

Episode 856: The Ways of War

Episode 855: Where’s the War Headed?

Episode 854: One Week In

Episode 853: Trump Pulls the Trigger

Episode 852: Speech Theatrics

Episode 851: Tariff Talk

Episode 850: State of the Union Pregaming

Episode 849: Rubio’s Laudable Speech

Episode 848: AI Encroachment

Episode 847: Bad Bunny and Bad Maps

Episode 846: Bezos Makes Some Cuts