Conversations with Bill Kristol

Ruth Wisse is Research Professor of Yiddish and Comparative Literature at Harvard and a Distinguished Senior Fellow of the Tikvah Fund. In this conversation, Kristol and Wisse discuss the politics of anti-Semitism, why Israel is under attack in our universities, and the study of Yiddish literature. Wisse explains the nature of modern anti-Semitism and why it is best understood as a political phenomenon. She also reflects on a lifetime of teaching Yiddish literature, and discusses why we should read its great works.

In this conversation, Kristol and Hume discuss the early days of Fox News and the story of its ascent. Hume recalls his experiences in print journalism during the 1960's and 1970's and his work as a White House and Capitol Hill correspondent for ABC News during the 1980's and 1990's. Kristol and Hume also reflect on the media environment of today and its effects on American politics.

This conversation features former senator and Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham and "Weekly Standard" political analyst and staff writer Jay Cost. In the first segment, Kristol, Abraham, and Cost analyze the results of the 2014 midterm elections, confronting myths advanced by the media and considering aspects that have gone underreported. In the second segment, Kristol, Abraham, and Cost assess the possible impact of the midterms on the open-seat presidential election in 2016.

In this conversation, Kristol and Lieberman discuss key moments of Lieberman’s career in public service from his ascent in Connecticut politics to Gore-Lieberman in 2000, as well as his successful Senate campaign as an independent in 2006. Lieberman also reflects on colleagues and contemporaries such as Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Bob Dole, John McCain, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush.

The president of the American Enterprise Institute from 1986 to 2008, Christopher DeMuth is currently a distinguished fellow at the Hudson Institute. In this conversation, Kristol and DeMuth discuss political thinkers including Edward C. Banfield, James Q. Wilson, and Friedrich Hayek and consider how ideas shape policy. DeMuth also relates his story of a chance meeting with then-Senator Barack Obama and their discussion about Chicago politics.

In this wide-ranging conversation, Kristol and Cheney discuss momentous events in Cheney’s career, including his service as secretary of defense during the Gulf War, his work as chief of staff for President Ford, his leadership in Congress during the Reagan years, as well as 9/11 and its aftermath.

Gen. Jack Keane is a retired four-star general and former vice chief of staff of the U.S. Army. The conversation focuses on the advice that led President Bush to change strategies in the Iraq War via the troop surge, Gen. Keane’s remarkable career in the military, and the threats we face today.

Peter Thiel co-founded PayPal and Palantir Technologies, was the first outside investor in Facebook, and is the author of "Zero to One, Notes on StartUps, or How to Build the Future." The conversation focuses on Thiel's experiences founding companies, the state of technology and innovation, and the crisis in American higher education.

The second in an ongoing series with the distinguished Harvard government professor Harvey Mansfield, this conversation focuses on the political science of The Federalist, conservatism in America, and on feminism.

Mark Blitz is a professor of political philosophy at Claremont McKenna College and author, most recently, of "Plato's Political Philosophy." The discussion focuses on great thinkers in the history of political philosophy, ancient and modern (Plato, Aristotle, John Locke, Karl Marx, G.W.F. Hegel, Friedrich Nietzsche) and the importance of studying them in contemporary America.