Conversations with Bill Kristol

In his second conversation with Bill, Garry Kasparov discusses Russian and American politics since the end of the Cold War, and offers his account of the rise of Vladimir Putin and how we should understand Putin and his rule over Russia. In his discussion of post-Cold War history, Kasparov highlights many missed opportunities both in Russia and the U.S., which have enabled anti-Western leaders to...

Princeton University professor, Robert George is one of the nation’s most distinguished students of legal and moral thought. In this conversation, George discusses the state of American conservatism as well as the condition of freedom of speech and thought on university campuses. He also details the development of his own political and moral views, including his interest in the natural law traditi...

Harvard University professor Stephen Rosen details the current geopolitical environment and challenges to the United States from the chaos in the Middle East, European retrenchment, Russian aggression, and the rise of China. Rosen explains how and why the United States must play a leadership role in the world, and outlines the potential consequences of American disengagement. Kristol and Rosen als...

A best-selling author ("Bowling Alone," and "Our Kids"), and professor at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, Robert Putnam is one of America's leading political scientists. In recent years, he has written widely on the decline in America's civic life, and, with it, our capacity for self-government. In this conversation, Putnam discusses his research on declining levels of...

In this conversation, Garry Kasparov reflects on his upbringing in Soviet Russia and his journey from questioning whether communism could be reformed toward the conviction that the Soviet Union had to go. Kasparov also recalls his epic series of chess matches against Anatoly Karpov and why chess was important to the politics of the Soviet Union. Finally, Kasparov and Kristol discuss the decline an...

In their second "state of the 2016 race" conversation, former senator and Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham, Weekly Standard staff writer Jay Cost, and host Bill Kristol discuss how to think about the race for the Republican nomination as we head toward the March primaries. The group also reflects on the Trump phenomenon and why the 2016 race has upset expectations. The group also disc...

In this conversation, Gen. Petraeus recalls his command in Iraq and the "surge." Gen. Petraeus recounts what it was like to run the war—from day-to-day operations and navigating Iraqi politics to weekly videoconferences with President Bush and testifying before Congress. Gen. Petraeus also explains the “surge of ideas,” the conceptual groundwork for the strategy he then executed.

In this special conversation, filmed the day after the Iowa caucus, Rich Lowry, editor of National Review, and Bill Kristol, editor of the Weekly Standard, discuss conservatism, Trump, and the state of the 2016 race. Lowry and Kristol also consider the Democrats and the meaning of Bernie Sanders’ success in Iowa.

In his seventh conversation, Mansfield considers our two parties, the ideas behind them, and the qualities that often go with being a Democrat or a Republican. Mansfield argues that the Democrats are the “party of progress”—and that progressivism may be headed for a crisis. Mansfield calls the Republicans the “party of virtue” and suggests that Republicans should not only speak about freedom but a...

In his second conversation with Bill Kristol, Harvard President Emeritus and former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers reflects on the current climate of political correctness on campuses and its effects on freedom of thought and the pursuit of knowledge. Summers also discusses significant controversies from his tenure as president of Harvard, including his opposition to boycotts of Israel, his batt...

A best-selling author and fellow at Harvard’s Kennedy School and the American Enterprise Institute, Ayaan Hirsi Ali is a brave, impassioned, and provocative analyst of the problems in Islam, today, including the dangers of what she calls “Islamic totalitarianism.” In this conversation, Hirsi Ali narrates her own experiences as a young woman in Kenya attracted by radical Islam and explains the dang...

Leon R. Kass, M.D., is Professor Emeritus at the University of Chicago, the Madden-Jewett Chair at the American Enterprise Institute, and one of the nation’s most distinguished bioethicists. In this conversation, Kass recounts how he turned from the study of medicine to an examination of the moral questions and problems that modern science and technology pose for human life. Kass suggests that sci...

In the sixth conversation in our series, Mansfield explains why we should consider Machiavelli not only the founder of modern politics but also a founder of modern science and economics. What was the character of Machiavelli’s critique of Christian morality? Why did he reject the political teaching of the ancient political philosophers like Plato and Aristotle? Harvey Mansfield addresses these and...

Larry Summers describes key moments from his time in government, including responses to the Mexican Peso Crisis of 1994 and the financial crisis of 2008. He also explains how he got involved in public policy and government, and offers some thoughts on tensions between the world of theoretical policy-making and the practice of politics. Finally, Summers gives his take on differences between the two...

Thomas Donnelly and Gary Schmitt are Co-Directors of the Marilyn Ware Center for Security Studies at the American Enterprise Institute. In this conversation, Donnelly and Schmitt explain how the U.S. military has become dangerously underfunded and what we need to do to rebuild it. Donnelly and Schmitt also consider the character of the threats we face, why America must lead, and the benefits of Am...

In this conversation, Arthur Brooks, president of the American Enterprise Institute, offers an inside account of the work of AEI and reflects on the changing role of think tanks today. He also recounts his own intellectual path which took him from a career as a professional French horn player to the academy and now to the presidency of AEI. Finally, Kristol and Brooks discuss how to challenge the...

In his second conversation with Bill Kristol, University of Virginia literature professor Paul Cantor focuses on American popular culture and what we can learn about America and the world from our greatest television shows and movies. Cantor analyzes our best television series—including Deadwood, The Walking Dead, Breaking Bad, The Simpsons, and Seinfeld—and explains why we should take them seriou...

In his second conversation with Bill Kristol, Newt Gingrich reflects on the serious domestic and foreign policy challenges confronting the United States. Looking at the world, he offers his take on the threats posed by Islamism, Russia, and China. Here at home, he explains how feckless bureaucracy is undermining political, economic, and technological initiative, and sketches some ideas for reformi...

This conversation features former senator and Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham and Weekly Standard political analyst and staff writer Jay Cost. In the conversation Kristol, Abraham, and Cost analyze both the Republican and Democratic races and assess where things might go for each party as we move into primary season. Will the current frontrunners--Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton--be the nomin...

The fifth conversation in our ongoing series with the distinguished Harvard government professor considers the French political philosopher Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-59). Mansfield and Kristol discuss key themes in Tocqueville’s work, including the nature of democracy and his views of America. They also consider Tocqueville's views as to why individualism is a danger to democracy, how associatio...

Mitch Daniels served as director of the Office of Management and Budget (2001-03), governor of Indiana (2005-13), and currently is president of Purdue University. In this conversation, Daniels reflects on his career in politics, business, and education, including his leadership of Eli Lilly and Company and his remarkable tenure as a reform-minded governor. Daniels also articulates his view of the...

A resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and former philosophy professor, Christina Hoff Sommers is a thoughtful analyst and trenchant critic of radical feminism. In this conversation, Sommers and Kristol discuss how American feminism, once focused on practical questions such as equal opportunity in employment for women, instead became a radical ideology that questioned the reality...

Nominated by President George W. Bush, Samuel Alito has served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court since 2006. In this conversation, Justice Alito describes the inner workings of the Court, particularly how the justices arrive at decisions. Justice Alito and Kristol also discuss some recent controversial cases regarding free speech as well as Alito's dissent in the same-sex marriage rulin...

Yale University professor David Gelernter is a pioneering computer scientist, cultural critic, and artist. In this conversation, Gelernter details the decline in America’s cultural literacy over the last few generations—a phenomenon Gelernter terms “America-lite.” Gelernter also discusses computer science, the future of the Internet, and the promise and peril of new technologies. Finally, Kristol...

Professor Emeritus of Classics and History at Yale University, Donald Kagan is a preeminent historian of both the ancient and modern worlds. In this conversation, Kagan and Kristol discuss what humanity's greatest wars—from the Peloponnesian War to World War II—can teach us about the nature of war and the sources of human conflict. Kagan also discusses his education in history at Brooklyn College,...