Q & A, Hosted by Jay Nordlinger

America and the world after the election of Trump: This is the general topic of Jay’s “Q&A” with John Hillen – who is, as Jay says, a soldier, scholar, businessman, athlete, and, in a word, hombre. Their specific topics are Syria, Russia, Ukraine, Europe, NATO, Japan, South Korea, the U.S. military, NAFTA, freedom, and so on. As Hillen pointed out to Jay, after the podcast, Churchill had a word to... Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Dana Perino is a leading personality on Fox News. She is also a former White House press secretary (for George W. Bush). She is just out with a book, “Let Me Tell You about Jasper …: How My Best Friend Became America’s Dog.” Jay talks with Ms. Perino in her home, along with Jasper himself. They talk about him, of course, and about dogs. But also about broader issues in life, which a discussion of... Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Anne Applebaum is one of the foremost writers on Eastern Europe, Russia, and the former Soviet Union. She is a columnist for the Washington Post, and has written several books: including “Gulag,” which won a Pulitzer prize. She is Jay’s guest on “Q&A.” They talk about Russia and Putin. And Ukraine and Putin. And Europe and Putin. And America and Putin. What does the Russian leader want to be? Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Jay takes advantage of “Q&A” to do away with “Q&A” and record a music program instead – this one related to Halloween. So there is a variety of spooky and devilish music – by Tartini, Rachmaninoff, Liszt, and others. From a violin sonata to an aria to a horse ride into hell to a sorcerer (or rather, his apprentice). Enjoy, and don’t be too scared. The track list for this show is here. Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

October is a big month for the baseball world. And Jay would like nothing better than to talk baseball with George Will — which he does. Will wrote a blockbuster baseball book, Men at Work. It keeps selling and selling. He himself is an encyclopedia of baseball. He has opinions, as everyone does, and they are all undergirt by facts. With Jay, he talks a little about his boyhood. His family... Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Grant Starrett is a lawyer and politician in Tennessee. Kind of a model, if you’re a conservative Republican – a blue-chipper. He ran for Congress this year, against the Republican incumbent, and lost. Still in his twenties, he will probably run again, with a different result. Jay is a friend of Starrett’s, and they talk about running for office: the fundraising, the handshaking, the issues... Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Thomas Sowell has revised and enlarged his important book Wealth, Poverty and Politics. With Jay, he talks about – well, wealth, poverty, and politics. How about Adam Smith and those boys? What about the role of geography? George Washington referred to America’s “blessed location.” What about the Korean Peninsula? The two halves of it are terribly different, aren’t they? Jay is like a guy in a... Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Jay has a little therapy session with Noah Rothman of Commentary magazine, one of his favorite analysts and writers. They talk about Trump and Hillary, of course – especially the former. And Russia, NATO, and Saddam. And the alt-Right. And the media. In other words, issues of the hour (and some past hours, and some future ones). After the conversation, Jay said, in so many words, “Thanks... Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Jonah Goldberg is a leading conservative critic of Trump and Trumpism. Therefore, there is a big target on his back, and front, and everywhere else. And yet he stands and delivers. With Jay, he talks about Assange. Putin. The American Right. National Review. The National Enquirer. Hillary. The Trump Train. Anti-Semitism. The GOP future. Etc. He and Jay talk it all out, or most of it out... Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

At the end of the 1980s, Kanan Makiya wrote the book that taught everyone about Saddam Hussein’s Iraq: “ Republic of Fear.” His most recent book is a novel, also about Saddam: “The Rope” (as in the instrument of his death). With Jay, he talks about Iraq past, present, and future. He also talks about the greater Arab and Muslim world, and its relation to the West. Many Americans would like to wash... Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe