Q & A, Hosted by Jay Nordlinger

NOV 7, 2025

Antisemitism Left and Right (and All Mixed Up)

In my introduction to this Q&A, I say,... our guest today is David Frum, the writer. What does he write? Books and articles, about history, politics, culture, and so on. He is almost the definition of a generalist.He works for The Atlantic and hosts <a target="_blank" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/the-david-frum-show/">The David Frum Show</a>. He can be found at <a target="_blank" href="https://davidfrum.com/">DavidFrum.com</a>.Also, he and I are old colleagues and friends. And yet, I learned something, during our latest Q&A. He went to the National Music Camp, in Interlochen, Michigan, in the summer of ’76. I myself am an Interlochen kid. (My first summer there was ’77.)David was at camp on July 4, 1976, America’s bicentennial day. That was also the day of the raid on Entebbe—the military operation in which Israeli commandos rescued hostages at the airport in Uganda. David’s mother called him at camp, to tell him this news.<a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_Frum">Barbara Frum</a>, let me say, was one of the most prominent newscasters in Canada (where David was brought up).Our subject in this latest Q&A is both a timely one and a timeless one (unfortunately): antisemitism. (Isn’t that a dumb word, by the way, for Judenhass, or hatred of Jews? And yet, David explains, it is a useful one in our time.)Earlier this week, David <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/davidfrum/status/1985315169107329390">tweeted</a>,Republicans are having a big, public argument about the antisemitism that has contaminated their party. Democrats aren’t.He added,“Their antisemites are vile neo-Nazis. Our antisemites bring exciting new energy to our party!”In our Q&A, we talk about Nick Fuentes and the Right, and Zohran Mamdani and the Left. (I do not mean to equate Fuentes and Mamdani, let me quickly say.) We talk about how Left and Right draw near to each other, or blend. We talk about what antisemitism is—its nature.Can there be anti-Zionism without antisemitism? In theory, sure. Populism without antisemitism, nationalism without antisemitism? Of course. But in practice ...The world is lousy with conspiracy theories. Not all of them relate to Jews, needless to say. But funny how conspiracy theories tend to veer, before long, in one direction ...In this conversation, David Frum talks both intellectually and personally. One can learn a lot. And though our subject is deadly serious, there are streaks of humor.I am grateful, as always, to and for David.Q&A is the podcast of this site, Onward and Upward. The site is supported by readers and listeners. To receive new articles and episodes—and to support the work of the writer and podcaster—become a free or paid subscriber. Great thanks. Get full access to Onward and Upward at <a href="https://www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4">www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe</a>

69 MIN

NOV 6, 2025

Live from the Royal Gallery

For many years, a favorite guest of Q&A has been <a target="_blank" href="https://danielhannan.info/">Daniel Hannan</a>, the British writer and politician—since 2021 a member of the House of Lords. In this new Q&A, Dan is sitting in the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/building/palace/architecture/palace-s-interiors/royal-gallery/">Royal Gallery</a>, in Parliament. (I am sitting at home.)Bill Buckley taped some episodes of Firing Line in the Sistine Chapel. I can’t see myself podcasting from that room; but I enjoyed looking at Dan in the Royal Gallery, via Zoom.My conversation with Hannan is wide-ranging, as usual. We talk about the British monarchy, and its meaning to the United Kingdom. (Of course, it has different meanings to different Brits.) We talk about the nature of democracy, in its multiple forms (constitutional monarchy being one of them).Many countries are seeing the rise of populism, and worse. Hannan wonders whether “the tide is going out on the culture of democracy.” People will accept the results of elections if their side wins, of course. And if their side does not?We touch on Nigel Farage, Nick Fuentes, and others. We talk about antisemitism and philosemitism. The Ukraine war, too. Brits as a whole have been foursquare behind Ukraine and against Putin. This makes a contrast with the United States.Our conversation is leavened by poetry: Philip Larkin and Robert Conquest—and Shakespeare. Dan closes with some lines from Richard II. A joy and a privilege, and an education, to sit with Daniel Hannan.Q&A is the podcast of this site, Onward and Upward. The site is supported by readers and listeners. To receive new articles and episodes—and to support the work of the writer and podcaster—become a free or paid subscriber. Great thanks. Get full access to Onward and Upward at <a href="https://www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4">www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe</a>

56 MIN

NOV 3, 2025

A Heartening Throwback

In my introduction to this Q&A, I say,... our guest today is a college student—a senior at Stanford—and a journalist already, believe it or not. We have known each other for some time. He is John R. Puri—more formally, John Raj Puri.Isn’t that a great moniker?John comes from Des Moines, where he has seen the Iowa caucuses up close. Early on, he was drawn to politics and public affairs. When he was in elementary school, he learned the names of the presidents, in order—their full names, including middle names. When John was eight, his brother and his parents dressed up as Batman characters for Halloween. John dressed up as Richard Nixon.You think I’m kidding? Photographic proof, thank you very much:Later, when John learned more about Mr. Nixon, he decided that, if he had been a voter in 1972, he would have voted for John Ashbrook in the Republican presidential primaries.In due course (a Buckley phrase), John found, well, William F. Buckley Jr., Milton Friedman, Thomas Sowell, George F. Will, and others.Doing this Q&A, I ask John about politics on campus, to the extent that politics plays a part in campus life. (How big a part, really, is the question.) I also ask him what concerns him the most, in the arena of politics. His answer: the durability of our “constitutional design.” He is a man of 1776 and 1789, he says (alluding to the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution).John R. Puri, it seems to me, is a throwback of a conservative—a wonderful throwback—and he may well give you hope for the future, as he does me.“I’m glad you exist,” I tell him at the end. I sure am.Q&A is the podcast of this site, Onward and Upward. The site is supported by readers and listeners. To receive new articles and episodes—and to support the work of the writer and podcaster—become a free or paid subscriber. Great thanks. Get full access to Onward and Upward at <a href="https://www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4">www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe</a>

48 MIN

OCT 30, 2025

A Conservative from Cleveland in Boston

Jeff Jacoby is now part of the furniture—part of the furniture of American journalism, certainly of opinion journalism. Since 1994, he has written a column for the Boston Globe. That is extraordinary longevity in the media. You can also find him at (where else?) <a target="_blank" href="https://www.jeffjacoby.com/">jeffjacoby.com</a>.Though Jeff is a fixture in Boston, he comes from Cleveland. He regards himself as an Ohioan in Boston (as I regard myself as a Michigander in New York).Jeff is a conservative, of the pre-2016 variety. To a degree, he has held down the conservative fort in New England these past 30 years.With the regnant Right today, he has many differences, obviously. Maybe the biggest has to do with immigration—which he regards as a boon to our country.... on a personal level, I’m the son of an immigrant, and I’m the father of an immigrant, and I’m the father-in-law of an immigrant. And I grew up in a community where I was surrounded by immigrants. I have a feeling for the value and the contribution of immigration to American society.Not long ago, words such as those were standard-issue. Now they are fighting words.In our Q&A, Jeff and I talk about various subjects, including the media, the Ukraine war, and music. At the end, I ask him to tell one of my favorite stories—a story he told me long ago, about a trip he took with his father to Auschwitz.An adornment to our scene, a blessing on it: Jeff Jacoby.Q&A is the podcast of this site, Onward and Upward. The site is supported by readers and listeners. To receive new articles and episodes—and to support the work of the writer and podcaster—become a free or paid subscriber. Great thanks. Get full access to Onward and Upward at <a href="https://www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4">www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe</a>

41 MIN

OCT 16, 2025

The Right, the Left, and the Fate of the Nation

This new Q&A has two guests. With me gabbing too, it is a three-way convo. My guests are Bill Kristol and David French, those sharp and experienced political writers, and two of the people I most value.You are, by now, familiar with “the Politico story”—the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/14/private-chat-among-young-gop-club-members-00592146?trk=feed_main-feed-card_feed-article-content">report</a> from Politico about Young Republican leaders and what they say in their private (formerly private) chats.This is dark, obnoxious stuff—to call it illiberal would be kind.I have written a column about this matter, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.jaynordlinger.com/p/about-those-young-republicans">here</a>. In it, I ask some questions that I have now put to Kristol and French: Was it ever thus? Can you draw a straight line from Reagan conservatism to Trumpism and today’s GOP?(I say no—firmly, vehemently no.)In our Q&A, we talk about our experiences in college and grad school. We ask: Was the “Reagan Right” a “real Right”? Or was it an exceptional, ephemeral Right, a classical-liberal Right, now engulfed by nationalism, populism, and worse?In 2002, not long after 9/11 and the beginning of the War on Terror, Michael Walzer wrote a famous essay, famously titled: “<a target="_blank" href="https://www2.kenyon.edu/Depts/Religion/Fac/Adler/Politics/Waltzer.htm">Can There Be a Decent Left?</a>” Well, can there be? Can there be a decent Right?We address those questions, too.Between the wars, in 1935, Sinclair Lewis wrote his novel It Can’t Happen Here. I always resented this book, starting with its title (an ironic one). My former resentment aside: Can it? Can Americans be seduced by fascism and other dark isms, same as other peoples?David French, in particular, notes the rising popularity of Nick Fuentes. I mention Fuentes in my column today. He is more popular, more influential, than should make any of us comfortable.A free society, an open society, is a relative rarity in human history. We wonder—French, Kristol, and I—whether we can “keep” this republic (to borrow Franklin’s word).You can learn a great deal from Bill Kristol and David French. I long have. Make time for this meandering, meaty discussion. I think you will find it worthwhile.Q&A is the podcast of this site, Onward and Upward. The site is supported by readers and listeners. To receive new articles and episodes—and to support the work of the writer and podcaster—become a free or paid subscriber. Great thanks. Get full access to Onward and Upward at <a href="https://www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4">www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe</a>

59 MIN

Q & A, Hosted by Jay Nordlinger

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