Q & A, Hosted by Jay Nordlinger

Phillips O’Brien is a professor of strategic studies at the University of St Andrews in Scotland. He has had a British career. He was born and bred in Boston, however. In recent years, he has thought and written a lot about Ukraine—and he has valuable things to say about all the essential questions. For instance, who’s arming whom, and how? He and Jay go over these questions. Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

The latest novel by Mark Helprin is “The Oceans and the Stars.” What’s it about? Helprin gives this summation, in his conversation with Jay: “love and war.” The book is also a hymn to the U.S. Navy. Helprin and Jay talk about the writing life and life at large. Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Jay hosts a sportscast, with his usual gurus, David French and Vivek Dave. How ’bout them Lions? How about Bill Belichick? And Nick Saban? NBA-wise, how about Wemby? And LeBron? And others? A wide-ranging, lively, and sometimes contentious conversation. Good stuff. Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Deborah Lipstadt is a well-known scholar of modern Jewish history, antisemitism, and Holocaust denial. She has written many books. In the 1990s, she was involved in a famous trial against David Irving, the notorious English Holocaust-denier. (She won.) The case was depicted in a 2016 movie, “Denial,” in which Prof. Lipstadt was portrayed by Rachel Weisz. Today, Prof. Lipstadt works in the State Department: as the U.S. special envoy for monitoring and combating antisemitism. She has a lot to say, as you can imagine—very important things to say. Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Yaroslav Trofimov is the chief foreign-affairs correspondent of the Wall Street Journal. He was that paper’s bureau chief in Afghanistan and Pakistan. His previous books have been about the Middle East and the broader Muslim world. But he was born in Ukraine—and has been covering that war, intensely. His new book is “Our Enemies Will Vanish: The Russian Invasion and Ukraine’s War of Independence.” Jay asks him about essential things. Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Shai Davidai is a professor at the Columbia business school. Recently, he has been writing about the explosion of antisemitism on his campus—an explosion that is nationwide and nearly worldwide. Davidai has never experienced anything like this before; neither have many. He and Jay talk over some of the crucial issues. Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Simon Kuper is a jack of many journalistic trades. He is a columnist for the Financial Times. He is a prominent soccer writer. He has written a book about George Blake, the British spy for the Soviets. He recently wrote a bracing column titled “What if Russia wins?” He has lived in many parts of the world. He has highly interesting things to say about sports and the rest. Spend a bit of time with him. Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Since October 7, Aviva Klompas has provided an extraordinary service. She has brought a wealth of information about that day’s attack. And about the people held hostage by Hamas. And about instances of antisemitism around the world. She has done this mainly through Twitter, or X. She has devoted her life to combating antisemitism through education. She does not fear to deal with some of the darkest elements around us. An extraordinary person, Aviva Klompas. She and Jay discuss some of the biggest and most problematic issues. Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Introducing Natan Sharansky, Jay Nordlinger calls him “the great dissident and refusenik; the Israeli politician; the Jewish leader; the human-rights activist.” In this episode of “Q&A,” Jay has Sharansky discuss October 7; the hostages; the role of Iran; the question of Russia; the position of the United States; the nature of antisemitism; and more. No one is better equipped to discuss these matters than Sharansky. A highly valuable conversation. Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Sahar Tartak is an undergraduate at Yale University. She was an intern at National Review magazine last summer. She is a Jewish, pro-Israel student in a largely hostile environment. Jay asks her, “How has it been?” Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe