

Q & A, Hosted by Jay Nordlinger
Jay Nordlinger
Jay Nordlinger is a journalist who writes about a range of subjects, including politics, foreign affairs, and the arts. He is the music critic of The New Criterion. His guests are from the worlds of politics and culture, talking about the most important issues of the day, and some pleasant trivialities as well. www.jaynordlinger.com
Episodes
Mentioned books

Feb 20, 2021 • 48min
E332. From the British Parliament to Mississippi: Douglas Carswell
Douglas Carswell grew up in Uganda. For a dozen years—2005 to 2017—he was a member of the British parliament. He is a conservative and a free-market man. In recent weeks, he has come to America to head the Mississippi Center for Public Policy. Jay talks with him about a little bit of everything: Africa; British politics (Thatcher, Cameron, Boris, et al.); Mississippi (how do you sell Thatcher... Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Feb 8, 2021 • 51min
E331. Burma: What Happened?
Jared Genser is an American human-rights lawyer, who has represented many political prisoners and dissidents all over the world. From 2006 to 2010, he served as pro bono counsel to Aung San Suu Kyi, the Burmese democracy leader. A week ago, the Burmese military ousted Aung San Suu Kyi and the government in a coup d’état. Genser wrote about the issue here. And he talks about Burma—and his work... Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Jan 31, 2021 • 1h 4min
E330. Vegetarian Haggis, U.S. Politics, and More
Jay hosts two of his young colleagues from National Review: Madeleine Kearns, of Glasgow, and Cameron Hilditch, of Belfast (or nearby). He has had them as guests before—singly. This show is more of a roundtable. Under discussion: the British Isles, with its accents and whatnot; the critical importance of “loser’s consent” in a democracy; great literature (including “Jane Eyre”and George Herbert)... Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Jan 25, 2021 • 44min
E329. John Hare: A Philosophical Life
John Hare is an eminent philosopher—a professor of philosophical theology at Yale. Among his books are “Why Bother Being Good? The Place of God in the Moral Life.” Hare is also a renowned teacher, prized by his students. He is the son of another eminent philosopher, R. M. Hare. He and Jay talk about that. What else do they talk about? Young Hare’s adventures in India, as a teenager. His time on a... Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Jan 20, 2021 • 1h 7min
E328. Incendiary Subjects
A sportscast with Jay’s favorite gurus: Sally Jenkins, Vivek Dave, and David French. Bill Belichick and the Pats. The coach’s turning down of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The miraculous career of Tom Brady. Too “miraculous”? Anything illicit going on? Urban Meyer, the Washington Football Team, James Harden as Brooklyn Net, and more. Very lively, very informed—very entertaining. Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Jan 17, 2021 • 1h 3min
E327. Pathologist with a Pen: Kevin D. Williamson on America
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 Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Jan 7, 2021 • 49min
E326. A Filmmaker and the Khashoggi Murder
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 Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Dec 21, 2020 • 1h 3min
E325. On Liberty, with Richard Brookhiser
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 Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Dec 18, 2020 • 49min
E324. After the Election, America at a Boil
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 Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Nov 25, 2020 • 1h 7min
E323. A Tour with Declan Walsh, Foreign Correspondent
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 Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe