Q & A, Hosted by Jay Nordlinger

Jay’s guest is his erstwhile podcast partner and always friend, Mona Charen. They talk about this period of home confinement. And when to “reopen” the economy. And the question of the World Health Organization and China. And a lot more. Mona has been baking lately, as many people have, which has led to a shortage of yeast. Mona has always baked when at home for extended periods. It is her “comfort... Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Jim Harbaugh is the coach of the University of Michigan football team. He quarterbacked that team, too, in college. Then he went to the NFL, for 14 seasons. After his pro career, he turned to coaching, at both the pro and college levels. (University of San Diego; Stanford; San Francisco 49ers; Michigan.) He and Jay are old friends, having grown up together. They talk about sports – everything from... Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Alberto Mingardi is a writer and political scientist who heads the Bruno Leoni Institute in Milan. This is Italy’s free-market think tank. He is an old friend of Jay’s, and a familiar guest on “Q&A.” Italy has been very hard hit by the coronavirus, and Milan and its environs have been particularly hard hit. Jay asks Mingardi to talk about this, in personal, social, and political ways. Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Katie Harris is an expert on languages and a YouTube star. You will find her in “ Easy Italian” videos. You will also find her at joyoflanguages.com. Jay talks about one of his favorite subjects – languages – with a master, and a delightful one at that. Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Ben Hubbard, the Beirut bureau chief of the New York Times, has written a new book: “MBS: The Rise to Power of Mohammed bin Salman.” Jay talks to him about this consequential young ruler. Is he a liberal reformer? What about the “guests” at the Ritz-Carlton? How about the kidnapping of the Lebanese PM? What about Trump and Jared? And the murder of Khashoggi? And the bugging of Bezos’s phone? Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

One of the China experts Jay most admires is Sarah Cook, of Freedom House. He has read her, consulted her, and relied on her for many years. In this episode of “Q&A,” he talks to her about the coronavirus, of course. And about Hong Kong, Xinjiang Province, and other matters. Ms. Cook is informed to the gills and clear as a bell. Not to be missed. Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

One of Jay’s favorite guests – and favorite people – is Arthur C. Brooks, of Harvard. For ten years, he was president of the American Enterprise Institute. Today, he is a professor at the Kennedy School of Government and a faculty fellow at the Business School. Brooks was the star of the recent National Prayer Breakfast – or the co-star, with President Trump. He and Jay talk about that... Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Jan-Albert Hootsen is a Dutch journalist who has long worked in Mexico City. Jay first met him when he went to Mexico City, two years ago, to write about the murder of journalists in Mexico. Mexico is the murder capital of the world for journalists. Hootsen is the Mexico representative of the Committee to Protect Journalists. He is also a whale of a guy. You will enjoy getting to know him... Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Returning to “Q&A” is David Luhnow, one of Jay’s favorite guests. Luhnow is the Latin America bureau chief of the Wall Street Journal. The conversation took place in Mexico City, where Luhnow is based – and where he did much of his growing up. The two discuss Mexico, of course: its new populist president; its horrendous murder rate; its prospects. They also talk about Venezuela, Cuba... Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Recently, Jay sat down with Nina Khrushcheva in her office at New School University, in New York. Part I of their conversation is here. In this second and final part, they touch on Vladimir Nabokov, William F. Buckley Jr., and other interesting matters – including this one: What’s it like, actually, to be Khrushchev’s granddaughter, especially back in Russia? Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe