Q & A, Hosted by Jay Nordlinger

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

Jay sat down with Nina Khrushcheva in her office. She is a professor of international affairs at New School University, in New York. Their conversation is expansive and wide-ranging – touching on Russia, Putin, America, books, William F. Buckley Jr., and a lot more. The “lot more” includes the question, What’s it like to be Khrushchev’s granddaughter? Especially back home in Russia? Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Jay welcomes one of his favorite guests, and favorite people, Kevin D. Williamson – whose latest book is The Smallest Minority: Independent Thinking in the Age of Mob Politics. They talk about the book, and being a writer, and conservatism, and more. A conversation between two friends and colleagues about some issues of importance to them. Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Several weeks ago, Jay sat down with Mitch Daniels, the president of Purdue University – and a former governor of Indiana. Daniels is a Reagan conservative. They were talking about free speech on campus. And Daniels hailed Professor Geoffrey R. Stone at the University of Chicago – a “lion of the Left,” he said, who had been chiefly responsible for the Chicago Principles, which address this issue... Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Marina Nemat is one of Jay’s favorite guests and people. She is an Iranian dissident, a former political prisoner, and a human-rights activist. Her memoir is Prisoner of Tehran. In this “Q&A,” she talks about the past and the present, linking the two. Recent events include the killing of General Suleimani and the downing of the Ukrainian airliner. Iranians are massing in the streets. Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe