Q & A, Hosted by Jay Nordlinger

That was the title of Timothy Crouse’s famed book of 1973: “ The Boys on the Bus.” It was about reporters covering the 1972 presidential campaign. This year, Robert Costa, of the Washington Post, is covering the presidential campaign. He is an old friend and colleague of Jay’s, and they discuss the reporting life: What’s it like to cover Hillary, Bernie, the Donald, and them? What can a person... Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

The University of Chicago dropped a very pleasant bombshell this week: a letter to incoming freshmen, announcing that the university honors freedom of expression, and that it will not put up with any of the “trigger warning” or “safe space” nonsense. Well. To discuss this with Jay is an illustrious Chicago professor, Charles Lipson, a political scientist. He was born and raised in little Marks... Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

That would be a good name for a show, and it’s a good idea for a show: “Ask Dan” – Dan being Daniel Hannan, the distinguished British writer, and member of the European Parliament. You can ask him virtually anything, and he will give you a good, well-informed answer, beautifully expressed. This is essentially what Jay does in this “Q&A”: He asks Hannan about Britain and America and some other... Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

For conservatives, is the Supreme Court reason enough to vote for Donald Trump? Also, if you’re a conservative and you’re voting for neither Trump nor Hillary, are you really voting for Hillary, as so many allege? Jay explores these questions with a brilliant colleague of his from National Review, Ian Tuttle. They also talk about Tuttle’s alma mater: St. John’s College. There... Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

The Baltics are little, beautiful countries a long way from the United States – and very close to Russia. They were once ruled – captured and brutalized – by the Kremlin. Today, they are members of NATO. What does this mean? Does it matter? The issue has come up in the current presidential race. And Andrew Stuttaford is an excellent man to address it. He talks with Jay about matters historical and... Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

What follows is a complete list of those who know more about American politics than Michael Barone: . Okay Barone is Jay’s guest, and they talk about conventions, primaries, parties, presidents, and the Fate of America. The guru is in: Michael Barone is in, expounding on the subject he has devoted his life to. Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

As Jay says at the outset of this episode, there is a lot to follow in the world: ISIS, the American presidential election, and so on. But Venezuela is not to be ignored: It is a fascinating, appalling story. A state is failing before our eyes. And it was once a prosperous, pleasant state. Now hunger, robbery, and murder are routine life. The correspondent of the Associated Press in Venezuela is... Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Roger Scruton, the English philosopher, political writer, novelist, composer, etc., has just been knighted. So he is Sir Roger (as he long should have been). Jay points out that, within the past year, he has published four books, at least. The most recent is about Wagner’s “Ring” cycle: “The Ring of Truth.” He and Jay end this “Q&A” with a discussion of Wagner. But before that, there is much more... Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Nominally, this is “Q&A,” but it’s really a music program: a program of music in celebration of America and its independence day. Jay plays an assorted concert: You have some Gottschalk, some Dvorak, some Joplin, some Copland, some Ravel. And you have a couple of star-spangled singers at the end. A musical tribute to America. The complete track list for this show is here. Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Earlier this week, Jay wrote a piece about Donald Trump and the “F-word”: fascism. In response, Mark Helprin had this to say, about the 2016 presidential election: “… we are skewered on the devil’s fork of fascism lite and communism lite, both of which can change rather speedily into heavies.” In this “Q&A,” Helprin and Jay talk about this, of course. Helprin is utterly uninhibited in expressing... Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe