Q & A, Hosted by Jay Nordlinger

Félix Maradiaga is a Nicaraguan democracy leader. From June 2021 until this month—611 days; about a year and eight months—he was a political prisoner. He and his fellow prisoners suffered terrible things in El Chipote, the notorious prison in Managua. Félix is well-known to listeners of this program. Jay podcasted with him in February 2019 (here); he podcasted with Félix’s wife, Berta Valle... Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

In recent days, Kevin D. Williamson and Jay Nordlinger—among others—have been writing about our old friends, our old enemies, the federal budget deficit and the federal debt. (KDW, here; JN, here.) Something’s gotta give, right? We Americans have to act at some point, right? Jay and Kevin jaw it out. Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Sol Stern is a veteran writer and policy analyst. He was born in Israel—actually, Mandatory Palestine—in 1935. The Sterns moved to New York when Sol was three and a half. As a young journalist, he was part of the New Left. Disillusionment set in. For more than 20 years, he worked at the Manhattan Institute, becoming best-known for education policy. These days, he says he belongs to what Robert... Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Russell D. Moore is an evangelical thinker and leader, the editor-in-chief of Christianity Today. His world, in recent years, has been rocked by politics. With Jay, Moore discusses this, and much more—including his love of country music. Moore lives a minute from Dolly Parton. And his dog’s name is “Waylon.”... Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

“Our guest today,” says Jay Nordlinger, “is a writer, a journalist—an unusual one, a distinctive one: her own woman. She is Stephanie Slade, a senior editor at Reason…” She is a libertarian who is religious and pro-life. With Jay, she discusses a number of issues, all of them at the heart of our politics today: the political wars, liberalism, conservatism, economic policy, drugs, marriage... Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

In what has become almost a tradition, Jay does a sportscast in advance of the College Football Playoff, and he does it with his regular gurus, David French and Vivek Dave. In addition to college football, the guys talk NFL, and NBA, and World Cup—and Tiger and Charlie Woods. Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

In the 1990s, there was a documentary called “Arguing the World,” about Daniel Bell, Irving Kristol, et al. In this episode of “Q&A,” Kevin D. Williamson and Jay talk the world, or at least a bit of it: Kanye, swastikas, abortion, the media, elitism, anti-elitism, etc. At the end, they talk about books and thinkers—and stars to be struck by. Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Across China, brave people are staging protests. Talking with Jay about this is Jianli Yang, a veteran Chinese democracy activist. He was at Tiananmen Square, in 1989. He was a political prisoner. He is a scholar, a poet—many things. Jay has admired him since they first met in 2001, and Jianli Yang has important, and informed, things to say, always. Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Betsy DeVos has been an education reformer—and philanthropist—for some 35 years. In the Trump administration, she was education secretary. She has written a book that is part personal memoir, part policy book: “Hostages No More: The Fight for Education Freedom and the Future of the American Child.” From Jay, she fields some questions general and specific: “What is ‘education freedom’? Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Jamie Fly is the president of RFE/RL, that combination of Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty. RFE/RL is especially critical these days, when the Kremlin is waging its war on Ukraine, and its usual disinformation war. Questioned by Jay, Jamie Fly goes through some of the basics. A very important arena, we’re talking about. Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe