Q & A, Hosted by Jay Nordlinger

Manfred Honeck is the music director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and one of the best conductors in the world. He has been in New York this week, to guest-conduct the Philharmonic. Jay caught up with him for “Q&A.” They talk about music and the musical life. What does it take to be a conductor? What are the differences, if any, between American orchestras and European ones? Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

President Obama sat down with Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic for a series of interviews. Those interviews concerned foreign policy and America’s place in the world. Goldberg wrote them up, here. And Jay wrote a couple of columns, critiquing Obama (here and here). Wanting reinforcement, he has called on Elliott Abrams, the conservative foreign-policy guru, and veteran of the Reagan and Bush 43... Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R., Fla.) watched President Obama’s trip to Cuba with keen interest. She was born in that country. In 1960, when she was eight, she came to America with her family. She still has her return ticket, issued by Pan Am. The airline is long dead. The Castros live and rule on. With Jay, Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen talks about Obama’s trip: What does it mean? Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Jay’s guest today is John H. Sununu, the former governor of New Hampshire, the onetime chief of staff to Bush the Elder, and the current and forever politico. He talks about his upbringing: how he came to his views. He talks about the importance of a serious (non-frivolous) education. He talks about free enterprise and some other things that made America great. He talks about his old boss, GHWB... Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Once more, Jay shamelessly exploits “Q&A” to do a music program – this one in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day. You’ll hear Irish music of various types – performed by John McCormack, Kathleen Ferrier, Bryn Terfel, and noteworthy others. You get songs, needless to say. But you also get a famous march – “Brian Boru’s March” – and a selection from The Father of the Nocturne, the Irishman John Field. Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

A few weeks ago, the Iraq War was in the news again, briefly: That’s because Donald Trump went all Cindy Sheehan on the subject. In response, Victor Davis Hanson wrote an important piece – certainly what Jay regards as an important piece: “ Iraq: The Real Story.” In this “Q&A,” Jay talks to VDH about Iraq. Among other things, VHD explains the practical effect of getting Iraq wrong – of allowing a... Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

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