Q & A, Hosted by Jay Nordlinger

President Obama has announced that he will travel to Cuba next month. Jay discusses this, and related matters, with Otto Reich, late of the Reagan, Bush 41, and Bush 43 administrations. Reich was born in Cuba. What’s he doing with a name like “Otto Reich”? Jay explains, and Reich explains further. Obama’s trip to Cuba is very important – not in a positive way. Otto Reich knows exactly what it... Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

This is not a regular “Q&A.” As before, at Christmas, Jay is cheating a bit: doing a music program under the guise of “Q&A.” The question is, “Do you want to play some music related to love, in honor of Valentine’s Day?” And the answer is, “Sure, now that you ask.” There are nine tracks here, from Handel to Berlioz to Brahms to Prokofiev and more. The program ends with what Jay calls... Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

President George W. Bush did a remarkable thing: He carried, for all to see, a copy of Eliot A. Cohen’s book “Supreme Command.” Not many of us have our books publicized that way. Cohen is the famous foreign-policy analyst, a professor at SAIS (the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University). He has served in the State Department. He also advised Mitt Romney during the... Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Raif Badawi is the Saudi political prisoner, sentenced to ten years and a thousand lashes. His is one of the most famous, or infamous, cases in the world. He is a very brave man: a man who has sacrificed a lot for human rights and democracy. His wife is Ensaf Haidar. She lives in exile, with their three children. They found asylum in Canada. She is Jay’s guest on this “Q&A... Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

or Nordlinger-Kristol? Tongue in cheek, Bill Kristol suggests such a ticket if Donald Trump is the Republican nominee – because Reagan conservatives will need someone to vote for. “Neither Trump Nor Hillary,” in a slogan that Kristol is spreading. He is Jay’s guest on “Q&A.” They talk politics, of course: Hillary, Bernie, Donald, and others. They also talk about the media. Does media bias matter... Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Victoria Coates is a woman of parts. She is an art historian. And a national-security expert, currently an adviser to Senator Ted Cruz. Her new book is “ David’s Sling: A History of Democracy in Ten Works of Art.” So, she and Jay talk about David, and the Parthenon, and a certain Frenchman’s water lilies, and Picasso, and some other artistic matters. They then turn to an old boss of Victoria’s... Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Bill Bennett is one of America’s great teachers. He taught, really, when he was secretary of education. He teaches daily on his radio show. And he teaches through his books, the latest of which is America the Strong: Conservative Ideas to Spark the Next Generation. In this “Q&A,” Jay asks him to talk about drug legalization. And Common Core. And the terms “neocon” and “establishment. Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Jay has a ‘Hammer, in this “Q&A.” With Dr. Charles Krauthammer, he covers a good bit of terrain. They begin with baseball, and then food. Then they talk about that curse on campus, political correctness. And the “establishment.” (What is it?) And Israel. And Syria. And Obama. And Hillary. And global warming. And the future of America. (Is decline a choice? Yes. A bad one? Most definitely. Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Charles Murray is the famous public-policy analyst whose books include “Losing Ground” (1984) and “Coming Apart” (2012). His new book is “By the People: Rebuilding Liberty without Permission.” In this “Q&A,” Jay invites him to talk about some of the biggest issues. What is libertarianism? What is conservatism? What is Barack Obama? What is Hillary Clinton? How are race relations faring? Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Jay’s guest is Isabella Boylston, a ballerina with the American Ballet Theatre. She has been in California, dancing Clara in “The Nutcracker.” She and Jay talk about “The Nutcracker,” and its enduring popularity, and about some other issues in the ballet too. To see a bit of Isabella in another Tchaikovsky ballet, “Sleeping Beauty,” go here. And to see her in a short film called “Snow Day... Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe