Q & A, Hosted By Jay Nordlinger

Jay talks once more with one of his favorite writers and people — Kevin D. Williamson, whose new book is “ Big White Ghetto: Dead Broke, Stone-Cold Stupid, and High on Rage in the Dank Woolly Wilds of the ‘Real America.’” Among the topics: poverty, drugs, gambling, porn, and despair. But don’t worry: The conversation is much more pleasurable than it sounds. Source

In 2017, Bryan Fogel made “Icarus,” a film about Russia, sports, and doping. It was a highly consequential film. It won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. Now Fogel has made “The Dissident,” about Jamal Khashoggi and his murder by the Saudi government. Jay talks with Fogel about his life and his work. An interesting, admirable fellow, Fogel. Source

The latest of Richard Brookhiser’s many excellent and useful books is “ Give Me Liberty: A History of America’s Exceptional Idea.” What can Americans rally around, diverse as we are? Liberty. What is the wellspring of these United States? Liberty. In this “Q&A,” Brookhiser touches on the Founding, Gettysburg, Seneca Falls, and more. Rick Brookhiser has the gift of understanding, and the gift of... Source

Once more, Tim Alberta, the ace reporter from Politico, is Jay’s guest. He has done some of the best writing in the post-election (as in the pre-election). Try this, for instance, and this. He and Jay talk about their home state, Michigan: dramatic hearings; dramatic other things, including a plot to kidnap the governor. They go beyond Michigan, too, to talk about the state of the union... Source

Declan Walsh is a veteran foreign correspondent, whom Jay has read and cited for years. Walsh has reported from many spots, most of them troubled – very. He has recently been Cairo bureau chief for the New York Times. Now he is in Africa for that paper. He has just written a book about Pakistan (a country from which he was expelled). Jay tours the world with Declan Walsh – or a bit of it... Source

Harvey Mansfield, the professor of government and political philosopher at Harvard, is one of the great teachers in America. He does some splendid teaching in this hour with Jay. He talks about manliness – what it is and what it isn’t. (Mansfield published a book on the subject in 2006.) He talks about “conservative” and “liberal” – what do those things mean? He addresses the question... Source

In these post-election days, Jay wanted to talk to his old friend and colleague Robert Costa: national political reporter of the Washington Post; analyst for NBC News and MSNBC; host of PBS’s “Washington Week.” They do indeed talk it over: R’s, D’s, media, inaugurations, and more. Costa is a man who knows – because he finds out. Source

A wide-ranging conversation with Sally Jenkins, columnist of the Washington Post, and David French, senior editor of The Dispatch. An NBA season. A Major League Baseball season. College football, sort of. A Masters tournament in November. Should there be a college sports major? And more. Two seasoned and eloquent gurus, questioned by Jay. Source

In the middle of the World Series, you want to talk baseball with George F. Will. You want to talk baseball with him anytime, actually, and a number of other subjects, too. In this “Q&A,” Will speaks of the “angelic, superb Mookie Betts,” of the Los Angeles Dodgers. He also talks about the presidential campaign, the Supreme Court, and the Republican Party. There’s Big Tech, too. Is it to be feared? Source

Earlier this month, Bret Stephens wrote a searching essay on the New York Times’s 1619 Project. Stephens is a columnist for the New York Times himself. The 1619 Project places slavery at the center of the American founding (and thus of America). With Jay, Stephens talks about this, and much else: the presidential campaign, the Middle East, New York City, and more. Bret Stephens won the Pulitzer... Source

Cameron Hilditch is a writer for National Review, born in 1998, as the Troubles wound down: the Troubles in Northern Ireland. This Northern Irishman is a “child of the peace,” as he says. He went to Magdalen College, Oxford. He has a great love for the United States, and a great knowledge about it (and other things). Jay asks him about Northern Ireland, America, democracy, and a lot more. Source

There was once a movie called “Divorce American Style.” David French was going to title his new book “The Great American Divorce.” But the title is “ Divided We Fall: America’s Secession Threat and How to Restore Our Nation.” David and Jay are old friends and comrades, and they talk about the issues raised in the book – plus the Afghan War, the NBA, and more. Source

Thomas Kent is a veteran, estimable journalist. He held many positions with the Associated Press, including Moscow bureau chief and international editor. He was the president and CEO of Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. And he is the author of a new book: “Striking Back: Overt and Covert Options to Combat Russian Disinformation.” Kent knows all about it: the ins and outs, the pros and cons. Source

Without a family at age twelve, Joseph Kim was out on the streets for three years. Homeless. Begging. Stealing. Trying to stay alive. With incredible good fortune – and his own bravery – he managed to escape and get to the United States. He wrote a book called “ Under the Same Sky: From Starvation in North Korea to Salvation in America.” He is now with the Human Freedom Initiative at the George W. Source

There is almost no one Jay would rather talk with than Natan Sharansky: one of the great heroes of the 20th century (much as he may demur to this) and a force in the 21st. With Gil Troy, Sharansky has written a book called “ Never Alone.” It is a memoir of his years in the Gulag; his years in Israeli politics; and his years at the helm of the Jewish Agency. With Jay, Sharansky discusses the past... Source

Previously, Jay did a “Q&A” with Ondrej Kolar, a district mayor of Prague. Kolar has required police protection, after angering the Kremlin and its supporters in his own country. This “Q&A” is with the overall mayor — or the lord mayor — of Prague: Zdenek Hrib. He, too, has angered the Kremlin, requiring police protection. He has angered the Chinese government, too. Hrib is a man who cares about... Source

Jamie Fly is a veteran foreign-policy hand. When he was coming of age, his views were shaped by the Reagan experience. He went on to work in the White House, the Pentagon, and elsewhere. Until recently, he was president of Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. He knows a great deal about Russian disinformation, and other disinformation, and how to combat it. With Jay, he talks about this and the... Source

Quin Hillyer is a veteran political writer who has stuck several toes in politics himself. He was a page at the 1980 Republican National Convention. He was around for a very big scoop. He later worked for Louisiana congressman Bob Livingston. He was part of the effort to block the ascension of David Duke. He went to Georgetown University, where one of his teachers was Jeane Kirkpatrick. Source

Susan Eisenhower has written a book about her grandfather: “How Ike Led: The Principles Behind Eisenhower’s Biggest Decisions.” With Jay, she talks about family, war, politics, and more. A wonderful discussion on all fronts. Source

Ondrej Kolar is a district mayor in Prague – the mayor of Prague 6. His father, Petr, was a dissident in Communist times; Petr was later a diplomat, serving as ambassador to the United States, for example. As district mayor, Ondrej presided over the removal of a monument to Marshal Ivan Konev, a hero of the Red Army – but not so heroic to many Czechs, and to others who value freedom. Source