Q & A, Hosted by Jay Nordlinger

Writer of Lives

One of the writers I read most regularly is Clay Risen. He writes obituaries for the New York Times. Another way to say that is, he is a composer of mini-biographies, week after week.He has also worked as a political writer. And he has authored ten books, on various subjects: including the American civil rights movement, Theodore Roosevelt, McCarthyism, and whiskey.In our Q&A, we spend some time on Roosevelt. What a fascinating, and multifaceted, man. We also talk about his growing up—Clay’s, that is (but TR’s too, come to think of it). Clay is from Nashville. Actually from Nashville.I have known many Nashvillians, but they have been people who moved there.The bulk of our conversation, we spend on obituaries—their whys and wherefores. As my regular readers know, I love obits. It’s not that I’m macabre. No. I’m sorry the person has died. I just love life stories.Consider a couple of things. (1) Maybe my favorite genre, in the book world, is biography and autobiography. (2) My attention span is possibly—possibly—getting a little shorter, what with blogposts and tweets and all.Therefore, obits are pretty much made for me.Many years ago, I talked with Bob Bork about the New York Times. He had given up reading the paper, out of political disgust. But there was one section he could not give up, and would not give up: the obits.He was addicted (and so, I suppose, am I).What are the ingredients of a good obituarist? Clay Risen touches on the main ones. You have to be curious—curious about people, curious about life, in all of its diversity, and weirdness. You have to be an absorber of information. It helps to be a fast learner. And you have to be sensitive.There are family members to consider—survivors of the deceased. Is it nice, or right, to speak ill of the dead? No. At the same time, an obit is not a eulogy. An obit requires biographical honesty.An obituarist for the New York Times has a special burden: the Times obit will be the “obit of record,” the obit that people will turn to, for years and years.“Hey, what was the deal with that John Smith fella? Hang on, let me Google the New York Times obit.”I think of music criticism (as I tell Clay in our podcast). The Times is more or less the trade journal of classical music. There is a lot riding on a Times review. There is extra weight on the shoulders of a Times critic—he can hurt someone.I really can’t, which is a relief. Which frees one up, really.Anyway, they are a very interesting subject, obits. And Clay Risen is a very interesting talker about them, and many another subject as well. You will enjoy his company. A literate, learned, genial man.At the end of our Q&A, I ask him whether he’s glad to be an obits writer in our present era—rather than a political reporter, say. “Yes,” he answers, “a thousand times yes.”I get it!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. Many thanks to you. Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

A Razor-Sharp Conservative, Up North

Some years ago, I was looking into Stephen Harper, who was then the prime minister of Canada. David Frum said to me something like this: “You’ll want to talk to Jason Kenney. He’s a conservative intellectual who does politics.” That was a very good suggestion.Well, Mr. Kenney is my latest guest on Q&A. For almost 20 years, he served in his country’s House of Commons. Have I said—have I been clear—that Kenney is a Canadian? Well, he is (of Irish extraction).Under Harper, Kenney held various ministerial positions, including minister of defense. Later, he was premier—governor, in essence—of Alberta.And he is an excellent conversationalist.I want to know: Have Donald Trump and the Republican Party done wonders for Canadian patriotism? Is Canadian patriotism at something like an all-time high? Yes, says Kenney, but he adds a caveat or two.In Quebec, there are renewed rumblings of secession. And there are similar rumblings in Alberta.Jason Kenney and I take a walk down Memory Lane—to 1992 and the famous line, or once-famous line, “It’s the Sun wot won it.”Britain’s Conservatives had beaten the Labour Party, and the tabloid (the Sun) was taking credit for it.Well, was it Trump and the Republicans “wot won it” for Mark Carney and the Canadian Liberals last year? Oh, yes. The Conservative Party was miles ahead in the polls, until Trump et al. began their out-of-left-field belligerence toward Canada.In our Q&A, Jason Kenney and I talk about Canadian identity, and its relationship to America. We also touch on a trio of Canadian authors: Alice Munro, Margaret Atwood, and Robertson Davies.Plenty of prime ministers come up: Lester Pearson, Pierre Trudeau, John Turner, Brian Mulroney, Jean Chrétien, Harper, Justin Trudeau, Carney.By the way, do you recall that Fidel Castro was a pallbearer at Pierre Trudeau’s funeral? He was—and Kenney encountered that tyrant in an elevator …Early in our conversation, I ask Kenney how he became a conservative. Well, for one thing, his first roommate in college had a subscription to National Review. And young Kenney sneaked glances at Bill Buckley and others.Which could have an effect on a person (as it did on many of us).We talk about Ukraine. Canada has a substantial Ukrainian population, or a Ukrainian-Canadian population. Canada has been strong in support of Ukraine and clear-eyed about Putin. And yet, some Canadians have the same media habits as some Americans.So, as in America, you get people who, in Kenney’s words, “regard Vladimir Putin as the savior of Western civilization and Christendom, and Volodymyr Zelensky as a war criminal.”I would have thought the Canadian Right less vulnerable to that than the American Right, but maybe not.Jason Kenney has spent a lot of time—a lot of time—on immigration and associated issues. Associated issues? I mean assimilation, multiculturalism, identity—all that. For about five years, Kenney was Canada’s minister of citizenship, immigration, and multiculturalism.We talk a bit about these issues—and Kenney quotes Tony Blair, who said something like this: “Host countries have a duty to be welcoming, and newcomers have a duty to integrate, and that duty involves the duty to follow the law.”Kenney and I also talk about health care. Canada has one system, we Americans have another (if “system” is the right word). What the hell should be done in this messy, complicated, maddening, and very important field?Unsurprisingly, Kenney has some smart, informed things to say on the subject. It is possible to have a basic guarantee of coverage—with a flexibility that allows for private care.In our conversation, we do not cover the waterfront, exactly, but we have a good long walk on the beach. You can learn a lot from this fellow. He reminds me of Britain’s Daniel Hannan: an intellectual—a conservative intellectual, or a classical-liberal one—who does politics.Enjoy.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. Many thanks to you. Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

G-Man, Good Man

I’ll quote from my introduction:… our guest today is Michael Feinberg, a former FBI agent who is now a writer and editor with Lawfare. With the FBI, he won a slew of awards and commendations, but was forced out last year when the regime of Kash Patel and Dan Bongino came in. He wrote about all this in a moving article called “Goodbye to All That.” Mr. Feinberg, of course, borrowed his title from Robert Graves.He grew up in the Chicago suburbs—in “John Hughes territory,” as I call it. In fact, many of Feinberg’s friends—plus his sister—appeared as extras in John Hughes films.Feinberg went to Brandeis University and then Northwestern’s law school. He was a conservative with a libertarian bent. He read Reason, National Review, The Weekly Standard. He was a member of the Young Friends of The New Criterion.The whole bitsy, as we’d say in the Midwest.Oh, here’s another thing: “I was probably one of the few people, in their twenties, who sat through the entirety of Kenneth Clark’s Civilisation in a public library.”Mike was practicing law. One day, the family threw a surprise birthday party for his grandfather, who was turning 90. One guest at the party was the honoree’s brother, age 87. The two of them were reminiscing about how they joined the Army after Pearl Harbor.And Mike thought: I was in my first year of law school on 9/11. But I did not change the course of my life at all. Maybe I should do something more public service–oriented.The FBI it was.Feinberg spent a lot of time countering the influence of the Chinese government. He worked with many different types in the FBI. We discuss all that. And what happened to the Bureau with the onset of the second Trump administration.Are there still good people—real professionals—in the FBI? Can the damage be repaired, at some point in the future? What have we lost, and how long might it take to rebuild it?We spend some time on the Epstein scandal. “Scandal” is far too light a word. “Abomination,” “horror.” We also spend some time on ICE. Is this how a law-enforcement agency should behave? Some do behave that way, says Feinberg—but not in countries, or under regimes, that we Americans generally seek to emulate.At the end of our conversation, we talk about a big question, almost a sentimental one: “where we are.” What has become of our country. Mike cites the parable of the Prodigal Son. And he looks forward to a kind of national homecoming.It was a real pleasure to talk with this fellow, and to learn about the FBI from him, and I’m glad he is “in the arena,” contributing in the ways available to him. He doesn’t have a gun and a badge anymore—or at least not a badge—but he certainly has tools.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. Many thanks to you. Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

An Unnerving World, Surveyed

Last Friday, there was a day-long event at Princeton: the Aaron Friedberg Retirement Colloquium. Participants included a range of the professor’s colleagues and students (present and past). Friedberg has had a full, busy career.He is a professor of politics and international affairs. Among his books is A Contest for Supremacy: China, America, and the Struggle for Mastery in Asia. As I say in my introduction, he has had a stint or two in government, including two years in the office of Vice President Dick Cheney.In our Q&A, we talk about some personal things. Friedberg is from Pittsburgh, and he grew up in an academic family. He went to Harvard, for college and graduate school, studying with Samuel P. Huntington, Stanley Hoffmann, Ernest R. May, and others.(You could learn a lot from those fellows—and Aaron did.)We talk about people and events from history. The Holocaust, of course, must be reckoned with, to the extent it can. Friedberg is a great admirer of Churchill. He was not perfect—who is?—but we were lucky to have him (“we” the world).In due course, Professor Friedberg and I talk about life on campus. Has he experienced a Wokistan? (No.) And we talk about “where we are”: where international relations stand.The United States, Russia, China ... It has been a good run since 1945, despite conflagrations: a U.S.-led international order. With America turning its back on that order, apparently, what might come next?Will it be “might makes right,” “the law of the jungle,” and “spheres of influence”?It is a good time to talk with Aaron Friedberg, and I’m glad I have done so. I think readers and listeners will be too.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. Many thanks to you. Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe

Thinking about Iran

This is an important moment in Iran: people are out in the streets, demanding change; the dictatorship is murdering them by the thousands. I definitely wanted to talk with Marina Nemat, a woman I have known and admired for many years.She is a dissident from Iran. Since 1991, she has lived in Canada. You will see, in our podcast, that she is in a picture-perfect Canadian setting—like from a movie. But her thoughts are with Iran.Marina was 13 when Khomeini’s revolution took power. At 16, she was arrested. For more than two years, she was kept in Evin Prison, one of the most horrific places on earth. I have heard Marina describe it as “the high school from hell.”In exile, she has published two books: Prisoner of Tehran and After Tehran: A Life Reclaimed. This summer, she will publish another book, a historical novel: Mistress of the Persian Boarding House.In our podcast, she remembers the revolutionary times of the late 1970s. And she relates those times to today. “Déjà vu,” she says. The end of the Islamic Republic may be at hand. Then again, it may persist, on and on. Who knows?Marina Nemat does know this: there needs to be a transition to democracy. Whether she will ever be able to return to her native country—even for a brief visit—she can’t know.“My grandmother escaped the Russian Revolution in 1917,” she says. “She died when I was seven. So, this is 53 years ago.” Marina continues:“I remember, before her death, before she got sick, she always said, ‘The communist murderers will be gone and I will go home one day.’ And she never did. She was buried in Tehran.”Over the years, at various turns, I have done several podcasts with Marina Nemat. I have always found a conversation with her not only informative but moving, too. I bet you will find the same. Grateful for Marina.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. Many thanks to you. Get full access to Onward and Upward at www.jaynordlinger.com/subscribe