Q & A, Hosted By Jay Nordlinger

Antonio Ledezma is the mayor of Caracas. He is also a political prisoner – a prisoner of the chavista government, led by Nicolas Maduro. He was arrested last year, brutally. He was arrested because he is a democrat and the chavistas are not. Freedom is eroding fast in Venezuela. The mayor’s wife, Mitzi, and daughter, Antonietta, attended the Oslo Freedom Forum this week. Jay sat down with... Source

Anastasia Lin has an unusual résumé, and she has led an unusual life. She is a Chinese-Canadian actress. And beauty queen. And human-rights advocate. She is a practitioner of Falun Gong. In 2015, she was crowned Miss World Canada. But the international competition was held in China. And the Chinese dictatorship blocked her from coming. And put terrible pressure on her family. She and Jay talk... Source

Jay’s guest is the grandson of the late Omar Sharif. Like his grandfather, this Omar Sharif – Omar Sharif Jr. – is an actor. And an Egyptian. He is also a model and a gay-rights activist. He is a speaker at the Oslo Freedom Forum, in Norway. That’s where Jay caught up with him, for a most interesting conversation: about Omar Sharif, about coming out gay, about coming out half-Jewish at the same... Source

Oswaldo Payá was a great Cuban democracy leader. He was killed by the regime in 2012. His daughter, at some risk, is carrying on his work. Jay talked with Rosa María Payá at the Oslo Freedom Forum, the annual human-rights conference in the Norwegian capital. They talked about her dad, of course. And her upbringing, and the murder, and President Obama, and many other things. Incidentally... Source

One of Jay’s favorite politicians, and favorite Republicans, and favorite Americans, is Robert Ehrlich, the former governor of Maryland. Governor Ehrlich is the author of a new book, Turning Point: Picking Up the Pieces After Eight Years of Failed Progressive Policies. He and Jay talk about “where we are now”: with Obama, Trump, Hillary, and America. Jay thinks we are at a really lousy pass... Source

Bill Kristol, the editor of The Weekly Standard, is interested in an alternative to Hillary-Trump – a third option on the ballot, preferably a conservative one, and definitely an honorable one. Jay is interested in the same thing. They discuss it in this half-hour – with a mixture of wonder, anxiety, and hope. Support Our Sponsors! The Great Courses Plus is offering our listeners a chance to... Source

David Landon Cole is a doctoral candidate in political science at the University of York. He was also the captain of York’s team in “University Challenge,” the British quiz show – which has its origins in America’s “College Bowl.” “University Challenge” is Jay’s favorite television show, and he treats Mr. Cole as the celebrity and phenomenon he is, in the Old Country. They talk about the show... Source

The greatest player of our day, Jordan Spieth, had an epic meltdown at the Masters. Then he charged back, bravely — and came up short. Jay discusses this with an expert: Mark Farrell, a pro golfer, teacher, and analyst, and an old friend of Jay’s. They “workshop” the matter, to use Mark’s lingo. They also discuss, or workshop, some other matters: Rory, Bubba, Tiger, Jack, “Caddyshack,” etc. Source

Manfred Honeck is the music director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and one of the best conductors in the world. He has been in New York this week, to guest-conduct the Philharmonic. Jay caught up with him for “Q&A.” They talk about music and the musical life. What does it take to be a conductor? What are the differences, if any, between American orchestras and European ones? Source

President Obama sat down with Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic for a series of interviews. Those interviews concerned foreign policy and America’s place in the world. Goldberg wrote them up, here. And Jay wrote a couple of columns, critiquing Obama (here and here). Wanting reinforcement, he has called on Elliott Abrams, the conservative foreign-policy guru, and veteran of the Reagan and Bush 43... Source

Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R., Fla.) watched President Obama’s trip to Cuba with keen interest. She was born in that country. In 1960, when she was eight, she came to America with her family. She still has her return ticket, issued by Pan Am. The airline is long dead. The Castros live and rule on. With Jay, Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen talks about Obama’s trip: What does it mean? Source

Jay’s guest today is John H. Sununu, the former governor of New Hampshire, the onetime chief of staff to Bush the Elder, and the current and forever politico. He talks about his upbringing: how he came to his views. He talks about the importance of a serious (non-frivolous) education. He talks about free enterprise and some other things that made America great. He talks about his old boss, GHWB... Source

Once more, Jay shamelessly exploits “Q&A” to do a music program – this one in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day. You’ll hear Irish music of various types – performed by John McCormack, Kathleen Ferrier, Bryn Terfel, and noteworthy others. You get songs, needless to say. But you also get a famous march – “Brian Boru’s March” – and a selection from The Father of the Nocturne, the Irishman John Field. Source

A few weeks ago, the Iraq War was in the news again, briefly: That’s because Donald Trump went all Cindy Sheehan on the subject. In response, Victor Davis Hanson wrote an important piece – certainly what Jay regards as an important piece: “ Iraq: The Real Story.” In this “Q&A,” Jay talks to VDH about Iraq. Among other things, VHD explains the practical effect of getting Iraq wrong – of allowing a... Source

President Obama has announced that he will travel to Cuba next month. Jay discusses this, and related matters, with Otto Reich, late of the Reagan, Bush 41, and Bush 43 administrations. Reich was born in Cuba. What’s he doing with a name like “Otto Reich”? Jay explains, and Reich explains further. Obama’s trip to Cuba is very important – not in a positive way. Otto Reich knows exactly what it... Source

This is not a regular “Q&A.” As before, at Christmas, Jay is cheating a bit: doing a music program under the guise of “Q&A.” The question is, “Do you want to play some music related to love, in honor of Valentine’s Day?” And the answer is, “Sure, now that you ask.” There are nine tracks here, from Handel to Berlioz to Brahms to Prokofiev and more. The program ends with what Jay calls... Source

President George W. Bush did a remarkable thing: He carried, for all to see, a copy of Eliot A. Cohen’s book “Supreme Command.” Not many of us have our books publicized that way. Cohen is the famous foreign-policy analyst, a professor at SAIS (the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University). He has served in the State Department. He also advised Mitt Romney during the... Source

Raif Badawi is the Saudi political prisoner, sentenced to ten years and a thousand lashes. His is one of the most famous, or infamous, cases in the world. He is a very brave man: a man who has sacrificed a lot for human rights and democracy. His wife is Ensaf Haidar. She lives in exile, with their three children. They found asylum in Canada. She is Jay’s guest on this “Q&A... Source

or Nordlinger-Kristol? Tongue in cheek, Bill Kristol suggests such a ticket if Donald Trump is the Republican nominee – because Reagan conservatives will need someone to vote for. “Neither Trump Nor Hillary,” in a slogan that Kristol is spreading. He is Jay’s guest on “Q&A.” They talk politics, of course: Hillary, Bernie, Donald, and others. They also talk about the media. Does media bias matter... Source

Victoria Coates is a woman of parts. She is an art historian. And a national-security expert, currently an adviser to Senator Ted Cruz. Her new book is “ David’s Sling: A History of Democracy in Ten Works of Art.” So, she and Jay talk about David, and the Parthenon, and a certain Frenchman’s water lilies, and Picasso, and some other artistic matters. They then turn to an old boss of Victoria’s... Source