Q & A, Hosted by Jay Nordlinger

Jay’s guest is Scott Lincicome of the Cato Institute. He and Cato have launched a defense of globalization, or the right of people in different nations to trade with one another. He and Jay talk about this and a host of other issues: growing up; going to school; words such as “capitalism” and “neoliberal”; economics and demagogues; the problem of China; the travails of Detroit’s “Big Three”; and more (including Lincicome’s jihad against expiration dates on food products). Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Marco Armiliato is a veteran conductor from Italy. He has spent most of his career in opera, and in Italian opera in particular. He is a regular at the Met, the Vienna State Opera, and other important venues. Last month, he conducted at the Salzburg Festival, and he was a guest in the series of conversations hosted by the Salzburg Festival Society. Jay does the questioning. In the course of their talk, Armiliato says that Luciano Pavarotti, the late tenor, was full of sunshine. Just the same is true of Maestro Armiliato. He is one of the most beloved people in all of music—for reasons that will be obvious when you listen to him. Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Sebastien Lai is the son of Jimmy Lai, the great Hong Kong entrepreneur and publisher who is now a political prisoner: a symbol of the general struggle of Hong Kong against the tyranny that has engulfed it. Sebastien is campaigning around the world in his father’s behalf. He has many interesting things to say: about his dad, about Hong Kong, even about some deep things in life. Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Michael R. Strain is an economist at the American Enterprise Institute. Jay talks with him about his upbringing, his education, and how he arrived at his views, which favor economic freedom and freedom generally—the “open society.” What about our federal budget deficit and national debt? Is there bound to be a reckoning? Strain says that there are two kinds of reckoning: a horrendous, destructive bear, suddenly at your door; and termites, eating away at your foundations, day after day. We are in termite territory. Economics may be a “dismal science,” but not in the hands, and in the conversation, of Mike Strain. Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Guest George F. Will and host Jay Nordlinger discuss the GOP presidential race, Ukraine, fiscal problems, abortion, affirmative action, drug legalization, baseball, Shohei Ohtani, influential books, the late Jim Buckley, and a U.S. Senate race in 1976. A refreshing and invigorating half-hour.

Lea Desandre is an Italian-French mezzo-soprano and one of the brightest lights in singing today. She trained, for years, as a dancer. But music proved to be her calling. With Jay, she talks about her voice, her upbringing, Julie Andrews (yes), “The Little Prince,” and “life its ownself.” A visit with this young woman, you will find, is enchanting. Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Adriana González is a star of the Salzburg Festival this year. She is a soprano from Guatemala—an unusual place for a classical musician to be from. Sitting on a terrace in Salzburg, Jay talks with her about her life and art. Adriana is a breath of fresh air. Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Issue upon issue: climate; “Barbenheimer”; political labels; conspiracy theories; transgenderism; Ukraine; books . . . Like many other people, Kevin D. Williamson and Jay are thinking about these issues, and jaw about them. A candid and probing discussion. Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Sardar Pashaei is an Iranian-American athlete and democracy activist. He comes from a family of dissidents. Also a family of athletes. He and his brothers were wrestlers. One of them, Saman, is in prison. Sardar was World Youth Champion in 1998. (Also Asian Youth Champion.) His government denied him the right to compete in the Olympic Games. He has been in America since 2009. An extraordinary man. Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Frederica von Stade—“Flicka,” universally—is one of the outstanding singers of our age. She is an American mezzo-soprano. With Jay, she talks about music and life. She even does a little singing, as a bonus. Get to know this remarkable person. Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe