Q & A, Hosted by Jay Nordlinger

It truly is dazzling, for those who are prepared to be dazzled by it. This episode gives you NBA talk from two of Jay’s regular gurus, David French and Vivek Dave, and a special guest star, Sopan Deb, newly named an NBA writer for the New York Times. (He had been a culture writer before.) Talk ranges from Steph to KD to LeBron and so on and so forth. A wonderful subject, professional basketball... Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Mike Brown is the editor of the Rockdale Reporter, in Central Texas. He is one of Jay’s favorite newspapermen and writers. Jay and Kevin Williamson took a road trip to visit Mike and the Reporter – and sat down for a podcast in the bargain. You will very much like getting to know Mike Brown. (Jay and Kevin aren’t bad either.)... Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Gerard Schwarz is a leading conductor, and he started out as a leading trumpeter. He is also one of the best talkers about music – best teachers of music – you will ever encounter. Jay asks him to talk about everything from recordings to composers to Louis Armstrong to the future. This is a rich and fascinating hour (and even includes a little singing, at no extra charge). N.B. Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Nasser Weddady is an American of Mauritanian origin. (Mauritania is a nation in northwest Africa.) He is a human-rights activist, and strategist. He works for the Human Rights Foundation, in New York. He grew up in various countries, having a diplomat for a father. As a boy, he was in Moammar Qaddafi’s tent (literally). He also met Hafez Assad. Weddady speaks Hebrew (which is a very interesting... Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

That’s the title of one of William F. Buckley Jr.’s novels: “ Spytime.” Its subtitle is “The Undoing of James Jesus Angleton.” Jay asks his guest, H. Keith Melton, about Angleton – and about much else. Melton is one of the world’s foremost experts on espionage. He has amassed the greatest espionage collection. He is the author of many books, and is a founding director of the new International Spy... Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Robert Kelly is known worldwide. He is the “BBC Dad,” the scholar whose children and wife burst into the room, delightfully, as he was giving an interview. Do you remember? It’s good that Kelly has a worldwide fame – because he knows as much about the Koreas, North and South, as anyone. With Jay, he runs through many of the most important issues. And he also relates what it’s like to be the “BBC... Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Timothy Snyder is a historian of the Holocaust, Eastern Europe, and yet other matters. He is a professor at Yale and has many other affiliations. Among his books are “Bloodlands: Europe between Hitler and Stalin” and “The Road to Unfreedom: Russia, Europe, America.” Jay picks his brain on democracy, dictatorship, and other concerns of today (and always). An education. Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Listeners to “Q&A” know Evan Mawarire already. He is Zimbabwe’s “freedom pastor,” a leader of the democratic opposition. He was a guest on this podcast two years ago: here. Jay wrote a piece about him, here. At the time, Pastor Evan was leading a movement against Robert Mugabe, the longtime dictator. Now Mugabe is gone – and Pastor Evan is still leading the struggle, as the government is as cruel... Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

He has written many books, and many more columns. His latest book is “ The Conservative Sensibility.” In a way, George F. Will has been pointing toward this book his entire life. It is a summing up of what he has learned and what he believes. Jay talks with him about conservatism and myriad related things: libertarianism, nationalism, populism, and so on. A wonderful, fundamental conversation. Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Loujain al-Hathloul is a Saudi political prisoner. She has campaigned for women’s rights: the right to drive; the right to live an independent life, without male guardianship; the right to be free of domestic abuse. In prison, she has been tortured. Her family stayed silent for eight months, thinking that was the right strategy. But then they decided to speak out. Loujain’s brother Walid is doing... Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe