Conversations with Bill Kristol

An activist and former policy advisor to Ronald Reagan, Gary Bauer has been at the center of conservative policy battles for over three decades. In this conversation, Bauer recalls how he first became interested in politics as a teenager fighting corruption in Northern Kentucky. Kristol and Bauer also discuss Bauer’s advocacy of conservative principles in domestic and foreign affairs from the Reagan era until today. Considering contemporary American politics, Bauer argues for a reinvigorated, pro-Main Street conservatism.

In this conversation, Charles Krauthammer reflects on his upbringing in a politically-tumultuous Quebec, his work in medicine, and his views on Zionism, Judaism, and religion. Charles Krauthammer and Bill Kristol also discuss some of the key ideas, questions, and themes of his writing—including the “Reagan Doctrine,” an idea he coined, the role of America in a new post-Cold War world, and whether the America of 2015 is in decline.

Jeff Bell is a writer, strategist, and two-time Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate (1978 and 2014). In this conversation, Bell discusses the Senate campaigns and his advocacy for supply-side economics and a return to the gold standard. Bell also reflects on major themes in the conservative movement from Barry Goldwater to Ronald Reagan. Finally, Bell and Kristol discuss the state of the Republican Party going into 2016.

Paul Begala is a political adviser, commentator, and former Counselor to President Bill Clinton. In this conversation with Weekly Standard editor William Kristol, Begala gives an inside account of the 1992 campaign and tells the story of how the Arkansas governor won the Democratic nomination and the presidency. Begala also looks back on key moments in the Clinton White House and shares his experiences working with the president. Finally, Bill Kristol and Begala consider the 2016 field of Republican candidates.

A professor of politics at the University of Virginia, James Ceaser is one of the leading authorities on American Constitutionalism. In this conversation, Ceaser explains why the Constitution should play a greater role in our politics rather than simply in our courts. Kristol and Ceaser also discuss the character of party government and assess the presidency of Barack Obama.

In this conversation, Bill Bennett reflects on key moments in his distinguished career, particular his tenure as secretary of education under Ronald Reagan, his work as the first drug czar under George W. H. Bush, and the writing of his best-selling The Book of Virtues. Bill Kristol and Bennett also discuss the case for education reform and vigilance against drug use in America today.

Director of the Critical Threats Project at the American Enterprise Institute, Fred Kagan is a foreign policy strategist and military historian. In this conversation, Kagan and Kristol discuss the strategy for the troop surge in Iraq in 2006/07, which Kagan helped devise. The two also consider the state of the U.S. military today, including how it operates in wartime, how it educates its cadets, and how it interacts with civilians.

This is the third conversation in our ongoing series with the distinguished Harvard political philosopher Harvey Mansfield. In this conversation, Harvey Mansfield and William Kristol explore the distinctive characteristics of our two political parties. Kristol and Mansfield also consider Tocqueville, Machiavelli, and the limits of science—what Mansfield calls “rational control”—in modern politics.

In this conversation, Gingrich gives an inside account of the 1994 Republican Revolution, when Republicans took control of both Houses of Congress for the first time in forty years. The former speaker also recalls his first political campaigns and how he began to influence Washington in the 1980s. Finally, Gingrich offers a personal take on mentors, allies, and rivals, including Gerald Ford, Jack Kemp, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and Bill Clinton—as well as his reflections on presidents from Eisenhower to Obama.

Jim Manzi is the founder and chairman of Applied Predictive Technologies, a software company that enables businesses to design and conduct large-scale experiments, and a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. In this conversation, Kristol and Manzi discuss how scientific trial-and-error might help us develop better business and policy practices. The two also reflect on the limits of science in politics and offer a modest defense of social science experimentation for policy making.