Conversations with Bill Kristol

Princeton University professor, Robert George is one of the nation’s most distinguished students of legal and moral thought. In this conversation, George discusses the state of American conservatism as well as the condition of freedom of speech and thought on university campuses. He also details the development of his own political and moral views, including his interest in the natural law tradition in moral philosophy. Finally, Kristol and George discuss the importance of social conservatism in our public policy debates today.

Harvard University professor Stephen Rosen details the current geopolitical environment and challenges to the United States from the chaos in the Middle East, European retrenchment, Russian aggression, and the rise of China. Rosen explains how and why the United States must play a leadership role in the world, and outlines the potential consequences of American disengagement. Kristol and Rosen also discuss classic and recent books that can help us think about foreign policy.

A best-selling author ("Bowling Alone," and "Our Kids"), and professor at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, Robert Putnam is one of America's leading political scientists. In recent years, he has written widely on the decline in America's civic life, and, with it, our capacity for self-government. In this conversation, Putnam discusses his research on declining levels of civic participation in America and presents his interpretation of the reasons for it. Putnam also recalls how actual political developments awakened his interest in political science, and explains how social science might help us address public policy problems.

In this conversation, Garry Kasparov reflects on his upbringing in Soviet Russia and his journey from questioning whether communism could be reformed toward the conviction that the Soviet Union had to go. Kasparov also recalls his epic series of chess matches against Anatoly Karpov and why chess was important to the politics of the Soviet Union. Finally, Kasparov and Kristol discuss the decline and fall of the U.S.S.R. and the roles of Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Mikhail Gorbachev, and Boris Yeltsin.

In their second "state of the 2016 race" conversation, former senator and Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham, Weekly Standard staff writer Jay Cost, and host Bill Kristol discuss how to think about the race for the Republican nomination as we head toward the March primaries. The group also reflects on the Trump phenomenon and why the 2016 race has upset expectations. The group also discusses, in addition to Donald Trump, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, and John Kasich.

In this conversation, Gen. Petraeus recalls his command in Iraq and the "surge." Gen. Petraeus recounts what it was like to run the war—from day-to-day operations and navigating Iraqi politics to weekly videoconferences with President Bush and testifying before Congress. Gen. Petraeus also explains the “surge of ideas,” the conceptual groundwork for the strategy he then executed.

In this special conversation, filmed the day after the Iowa caucus, Rich Lowry, editor of National Review, and Bill Kristol, editor of the Weekly Standard, discuss conservatism, Trump, and the state of the 2016 race. Lowry and Kristol also consider the Democrats and the meaning of Bernie Sanders’ success in Iowa.

In his seventh conversation, Mansfield considers our two parties, the ideas behind them, and the qualities that often go with being a Democrat or a Republican. Mansfield argues that the Democrats are the “party of progress”—and that progressivism may be headed for a crisis. Mansfield calls the Republicans the “party of virtue” and suggests that Republicans should not only speak about freedom but also about virtue.

In his second conversation with Bill Kristol, Harvard President Emeritus and former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers reflects on the current climate of political correctness on campuses and its effects on freedom of thought and the pursuit of knowledge. Summers also discusses significant controversies from his tenure as president of Harvard, including his opposition to boycotts of Israel, his battle against grade inflation, and his interest in bringing ROTC back to campus. Finally, Kristol and Summers consider how technological developments might shape the future of higher education.

A best-selling author and fellow at Harvard’s Kennedy School and the American Enterprise Institute, Ayaan Hirsi Ali is a brave, impassioned, and provocative analyst of the problems in Islam, today, including the dangers of what she calls “Islamic totalitarianism.” In this conversation, Hirsi Ali narrates her own experiences as a young woman in Kenya attracted by radical Islam and explains the dangerous allure of Islamism to youth all over the world. She calls on Westerners to assert the superiority of liberal societies to political Islam—and argues that our current obsession with multiculturalism and political correctness has rendered us ill-equipped to do so.