Q & A, Hosted by Jay Nordlinger

Grant Starrett is a Tennessee lawyer, businessman, and politico. He’s also an old friend of Jay’s (and a return guest). More to the point of the present episode: He’s a big reader, a reading machine. He reads and reads – books. So, with Jay, in this episode, he talks about the reading life: how he does it and why he does it. We all make investments in our time. Starrett has thought a lot about how... Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Ed. Note: To mark the passing of Senator John McCain, we’re reposting this interview Jay Nordlinger did with him in 2015. Jay’s guest today is John McCain, the senior senator from Arizona and the 2008 Republican presidential nominee. At Jay’s prompting, he covers the waterfront, or at least a fair stretch of it: Iran, Syria, Israel, China, etc. He talks about wars past and present (and possibly... Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Sir Willard White is an opera singer with a story to tell: from Jamaica, to the Juilliard School, to a knighthood, and beyond. He is as commanding a speaker as he is a singer. With Jay, he talks about his growing up, the decision to sing, the sting of racism, and much more. He even does a little singing — including “Love Me Tender” and “Smile.”... Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

At the Salzburg Festival this summer, Herbert Blomstedt was a big hit. He was a big hit onstage with the Vienna Philharmonic, and, an hour afterward, a big hit on a smaller stage with Jay. Blomstedt quoted Picasso: “It took me many years to become youthful.” And he described music as a “search for truth.” An inspiring – and fun – conversation (complete with plenty of singing). Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Javier Camarena is one of the leading tenors in the world. He is a guest at the Salzburg Festival, and participated in a series of conversations hosted by the Salzburg Festival Society. The moderator of this series is Jay. This episode of “Q&A” gives you excerpts of the conversation with Camarena. Jay actually had an encounter with this tenor in an opera house years ago – a story that Jay tells... Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

The Ravinia Festival is the famous music festival outside Chicago. Its longtime president and CEO is Welz Kauffman – who talks with Jay about his life and work. Kauffman has been in the business since the ’80s, encountering the great and the good (and the bad). He has seen changes in American culture, for better or worse. He has his eye on the scene and his finger on the pulse. A bonus fact: He... Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Kyle Parker is on Putin’s “wanted” list – one of the people Putin wants handed over to the FSB, for questioning. Parker is the chief of staff at the U.S. Helsinki Commission, and a father of the Magnitsky Act, a law that gives Putin a stomach ache. With Jay, Parker talks about life on the list and much more. An interesting and invaluable guy, Kyle Parker. Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Bill Browder is the financier whose lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky, was tortured to death by Russian authorities. Since that time, Browder has worked for justice, spearheading “Magnitsky acts,” which are laws that place sanctions on Russian human-rights abusers. Browder is high on Putin’s enemies list. Indeed, he is high on Putin’s literal list: the list of people whom Putin wants handed over to the FSB... Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Thea Musgrave is a Scottish-American composer and a delight. This year, she and the music world have marked her 90th birthday. Jay sat down with her in her home in New York to talk things over. They talk about her life and her music – and other people’s music. Her husband, the conductor Peter Mark, chimes in with an excellent cameo. Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

They called Barry Goldwater “Mr. Conservative.” In a scholarly sense, George H. Nash merits that designation, too: He is one of the world’s leading authorities on conservatism, and on American conservatism in particular. He wrote a landmark book on the subject. He is also the outstanding biographer of Herbert Hoover. Jay talks with Mr. Nash about his background: an upbringing in Massachusetts... Source Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe