Q & A, Hosted by Jay Nordlinger

Ivana Stradner is an analyst of international relations. She is affiliated with the School of Advanced International Studies, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, and other institutions. She was once a Jeane Kirkpatrick fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. Serbian-born, she is an admirer of Ronald Reagan and an advocate of freedom and democracy—one with clear, properly cold eyes. With Jay, she discusses her life and some of the pivotal issues of our time.

Mark L. Clifford has written a biography: “The Troublemaker: How Jimmy Lai Became a Billionaire, Hong Kong’s Greatest Dissident, and China’s Most Feared Critic.” Jimmy Lai is a political prisoner. Mr. Clifford has known and worked with him for many years. With Jay, Mr. Clifford discusses this extraordinary man. His release is wished for, prayed for, by freedom-lovers around the world.

Nury A. Turkel is a Uyghur-American lawyer and human-rights activist. Jay did a “Q&A” with him in 2018—when the world was first learning about the mass persecution of the Uyghurs. In 2022, Mr. Turkel published a book: “No Escape: The True Story of China’s Genocide of the Uyghurs.” Last week, he had the best Thanksgiving ever: his mother, whom he hadn’t seen in 20 years, was released from China in a swap between Beijing and Washington. She has now met four of her grandchildren for the first time. With Jay, Nury Turkel talks about his family and the Uyghur people more broadly. An informative and moving conversation.

Joshua Roman is a cellist, a superb musician. Lately, he has been engaged in something called “the Immunity Project.” About four years ago, Roman contracted long COVID, which turned his life upside down. He is an example of resiliency and good cheer—an inspiration. He and Jay talk about the heart of things.

The baseball season just past—Shohei & Co. The college football season in swing—too much professionalization? The NFL season (why are the Jets perpetually woeful?). The NBA season—amazing, that LeBron. The Big Three in tennis, and their departure from the scene. Finally, travel sports, and what this new reality in American life is doing to our youth. These are the topics of this “Q&A”-cum-sportscast, with Jay’s regular gurus David French and Vivek Dave.

Ron Blum is a correspondent for the Associated Press. He writes and reports on baseball. And opera. He is encyclopedic in each field. A pleasure to converse with.

Bernard-Henri Lévy, the French philosopher, writer, and activist, has been going to Israel his whole life, virtually. He went on October 8, 2023, the day after the attack. His new book is “Israel Alone.” With Jay, he discusses various aspects of this war. Also Russia’s war on Ukraine. And the connectedness of things. A meaty and clarifying discussion.

Natan Sharansky began life as Anatoly Shcharansky. He was a dissident and refusenik in the Soviet Union. For nine years, he was a prisoner in the Gulag. He then made his life in Israel: as a writer, a politician, a human-rights activist, and so on. With Jay, he talks about the war in which Israel is engulfed. And the Ukraine war. And the consequences of all this for the world. He also talks about the prisoner swap between the West and Russia last summer. He himself was part of such a swap, in 1986. A conversation with Natan Sharansky is always a privilege.

We are in a general-election season and a baseball post-season. Prime time for George F. Will. He and Jay have a wide-ranging conversation. Whom would Will appoint as president, if he could? Is Shohei Ohtani a unicorn? Who is Will’s favorite player? What of immigration? What of transgenderism? What of . . .? There is no better conversationalist than George F. Will.

As Jay says in his introduction, Jonathan Martin, a.k.a. J-Mart, is one of the best political reporters in America. He writes a column for Politico and pops up regularly on television. With Jay, he talks about his life and career—and the very serious game of American politics and democracy.

Cornel West and Robert P. George are two famous intellectuals, who are famously friends. One is on the left, the other the right. They have a book coming out: “Truth Matters: A Dialogue on Fruitful Disagreement in an Age of Division.” Jay talks with them about their friendship, their views, their personal experiences, their heroes—a range of issues. One can learn a lot from this pair.

In this episode, Jay talks with two young colleagues of his: Kayla Bartsch and Haley Strack, who are William F. Buckley Jr. fellows at National Review. In a wide-ranging conversation, they talk about growing up, influences, conservatism, pronouns (as in “What are . . .”), music, and other interesting things. A relaxed yet meaty confab.

Manfred Honeck is one of the leading conductors in the world—and one of Jay’s favorite musical guests. Maestro Honeck is the music director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. He comes from Austria, where he played in the Vienna Philharmonic. He and Jay sat down last month in Austria—before an audience of the Salzburg Festival Society. You can learn a lot from this man, Honeck.

Kate Lindsey is a mezzo-soprano, from Richmond, Virginia. She is now based in the U.K. She is a versatile singer, singing opera roles and songs. A brainy singer, too. And a wonderful talker, about all aspects of her art and business. Jay spoke with her before an audience of the Salzburg Festival Society. It is a pleasure to listen to Kate Lindsey—when she is singing, of course, but also in conversation.

Ausrine Stundyte is an opera star—a soprano from Lithuania. As Jay says in his introduction, “She is a phenomenal singer, and a phenomenal singing actress. She also has interesting things to say.” About singing and opera, yes. But about other things, too: such as emerging from Communism when she was about 14. Jay spoke with Stundyte before an audience at the Salzburg Festival last month. Enjoy.

Kathryn Lewek is an American soprano, who, this summer, has been singing at the Salzburg Festival. That’s where Jay caught up with her. They talk about her life, and voice, and other interesting things. “Katie” is especially known for portraying the Queen of the Night, in Mozart’s “Magic Flute.” Mozart “is my sugar daddy,” she says. “He’s given me everything I’ve got. He bought my car, he bought my house. He feeds my kids . . .” A delightful woman, and a brilliant singer, Kathryn Lewek.

Maestro Riccardo Muti is a fixture at the Salzburg Festival. This year, he conducted the Vienna Philharmonic in Bruckner’s Eighth Symphony. Between rehearsals and performances, he sat down with Jay to discuss a variety of matters—musical and even social. What constitutes harmony in society? And what can music teach us about how to live together? A session with Muti is informative, enriching—and, not least, fun.

Ilya Somin is a law prof and all-around intellectual. He is of a libertarian bent. He teaches at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University. He began life in the Soviet Union. He was but six when his family immigrated to America. He read Robert Nozick, and Tolkien, and others. He went to Amherst, Harvard, and Yale. He is a Boston sports fan. With Jay, he talks about life, the law, and the American experiment. A formidable mind, a formidable teacher.

Rosa María Payá is a democracy activist. So was her father, Oswaldo—killed by the Cuban regime in 2012. With Jay, Rosa María talks about political prisoners, the Castros, the alliance between Havana and Moscow, the alliance between Havana and Beijing, the nature of democracy, and more. She is a brave, poised woman, with a touch of nobility about her, or more than a touch. Her father would beam.

For The Atlantic, Eliot A. Cohen has written a piece called “Farewell to Academe.” The subtitle is: “I leave with doubts and foreboding that I would not have anticipated when I completed my formal education in 1982.” With Jay, he talks about this. They also talk about Israel and Ukraine. About U.S. politics. About the life of the mind, including poetry (Dylan Thomas, Edwin Arlington Robinson). A wide-ranging, personal, and informative conversation.