Conversations with Bill Kristol

Kristen Soltis Anderson is a pollster, author, and political analyst. In this Conversation with Bill Kristol, Anderson considers the millennial generation and shares her research on their political, social, and cultural attitudes. She also reflects on the longstanding failure of the Republican Party to attract younger voters, and explains why these difficulties may be getting worse. Finally, Krist...

In his third appearance on Conversations, National Review senior editor Jonah Goldberg joins Bill Kristol to discuss how the first year of the Trump presidency has affected American politics in general and conservatism in particular. Goldberg and Kristol also reflect on the history of the conservative movement and consider the prospects for American conservatism in the years to come.

Former Senator Spencer Abraham and former Congressman Vin Weber are both respected political strategists and thoughtful analysts of American politics. In this release, Abraham and Weber join Bill Kristol for a wide-ranging Conversation about our current political moment. Analyzing both the Republican and Democratic parties and the Trump presidency, the group look ahead to elections in 2018 and 202...

The Hertog Scholar at the Center for Strategic Studies, Eric Edelman has had a distinguished career in government, serving as ambassador to Turkey and to Finland, and as Under Secretary of Defense for Policy in the George W. Bush administration. In this Conversation, Edelman considers the rise of authoritarianism around the globe and explains why it threatens world order. Drawing on his extensive...

In his fourth Conversation, University of Virginia literature professor Paul Cantor discusses Shakespeare’s view of ancient Rome. Drawing from his new book Shakespeare’s Roman Trilogy, Cantor presents illuminating interpretations of Coriolanus, Julius Caesar, and Antony and Cleopatra. As Cantor explains, Shakespeare’s Roman plays compel us to reflect on perennial human questions such as the tensio...

Co-Director of the Marilyn Ware Center for Security Studies at the American Enterprise Institute, Thomas Donnelly analyzes the growing challenges to American primacy and explains why our “security, liberty, and prosperity seem to be at greater risk than at any time in a generation.” Considering mounting threats from Russia, China, the Middle East, as well as the consequences of nuclear proliferati...

Christina Hoff Sommers is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and host of the popular online series, The Factual Feminist. In this Conversation, Sommers reflects on the “Google memo” and argues that the suppression of free speech at universities now is spilling over into other parts of American life. Sommers also returns to the subject of “GamerGate,” the backlash against polit...

The latest in our ongoing series with Harvard professor Harvey Mansfield is devoted to Jonathan Swift (1667–1745) and particularly his masterwork, Gulliver’s Travels. In this Conversation, Mansfield provides an in-depth interpretation of Swift’s writing, which Mansfield calls “essentially political.” Through his illuminating analysis of Gulliver’s voyages and encounters, Mansfield uncovers Swift’s...

Irwin Stelzer is Director of Economic Policy Studies at Hudson Institute, a Sunday Times (London) columnist, and a thinker who combines wisdom about politics with penetrating insights into economics. In this Conversation, Stelzer shares his perspective on threats to American democratic capitalism, including the “feeling that compensation and performance have become disconnected.” To address these...

Ronald Brownstein is a Senior Editor at The Atlantic, Senior Political Analyst at CNN, and a shrewd observer of American politics. In this Conversation, Brownstein shares his perspective on the 2016 elections and explains why Trump’s path to victory represents the culmination of long-term trends in the ways voters relate to the political system and the two parties. Brownstein also discusses the pa...

Mike Murphy is a Republican political strategist, commentator, and veteran of the campaign trail—having advised John McCain, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jeb Bush, Mitt Romney, Spencer Abraham, Christie Whitman, among many others. In this Conversation, Murphy shares his perspective on the 2016 elections, the first months of Donald Trump’s presidency, and the challenges both Republicans and Democrats fac...

Martin Feldstein is a professor of economics at Harvard University, former president of the National Bureau of Economic Research, and was chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Reagan (1982-1984). In this Conversation, Feldstein discusses the financial crisis of 2008, the policy mistakes that led to it, and the risks we face today from a sustained policy of low interest rates...

Josh Bolten was White House Chief of Staff from 2006-2009, having served as Deputy Chief of Staff (2001-2003) and Director of the Office of Management and Budget (2003-2006). In this Conversation, Bolten reflects on his tenure in the George W. Bush administration, particularly his experiences in the White House on September 11, 2001 and responding to the financial crisis of 2008. Bolten and Kristo...

A veteran of the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations, John Walters was “Drug Czar” of the George W. Bush administration (director of the White House Office of National Drug Policy from 2001-2009). In this Conversation, Walters discusses the opioid epidemic and the country's shocking passivity about addressing the crisis seriously and comprehensively. Reflecting on the devastating consequen...

Elected in 2014, Ben Sasse is a U.S. Senator from Nebraska. In this Conversation, Sasse shares his thoughts on the state of American society and culture. Drawing on themes from his forthcoming book, The Vanishing American Adult, Sasse highlights an erosion of American civic life and a corresponding decline in work ethic. Along with Bill Kristol, he argues for the importance of a culture that promo...

In his twelfth Conversation with Bill Kristol, Harvey Mansfield discusses the Senate’s confirmation hearings for Neil Gorsuch. This event, says Mansfield, “turned out to be a lesson in politics. You were learning from people actually in politics about the issue: What’s the relationship between law and politics?” Beginning from the arguments of Senate Democrats and Republicans, Mansfield explains h...

Greg Mankiw is a professor of economics at Harvard University and was chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under President George W. Bush (2003-2005). In this Conversation, Mankiw analyzes the American economy and shares his perspective on current public policy debates about trade, immigration, technological innovation, jobs, and economic growth. Reflecting on the economic challenges the U...

A senior editor at The Weekly Standard, Christopher Caldwell is one of America’s leading journalists and most thoughtful commentators on Europe. In this Conversation, Caldwell reflects on the difficult situation in Europe today, highlighting what he calls its “demographic, economic, and military weakness.” Caldwell points to demographic decline, stagnant economies, the migrant crisis, the failure...

Vin Weber is a former congressman from Minnesota, a respected political strategist, and a thoughtful analyst of American politics. In this Conversation, Weber reflects on Reaganite conservatism and makes the case for continued American leadership in the world. Kristol and Weber also discuss the Trump presidency, its implications for the Republican Party, and whether Trump’s election portends a bre...

Former Obama senior adviser David Axelrod discusses the 2016 elections, particularly at the presidential level, and reflects on Hillary Clinton’s campaign and the victory of Donald Trump. He also considers challenges and opportunities for the Democrats and Republicans during the Trump presidency and possible paths forward for both parties. Finally, Kristol and Axelrod discuss the early days of the...

On how the president, Congress, and courts might go about reforming the administrative state. Christopher DeMuth of the Hudson Institute and Adam J. White of the Hoover Institution diagnose the problems of the modern administrative state and reflect on the often harmful role it plays in our politics. Both lawyers, they offer significant insight into how administrative agencies of the federal gover...

University of Virginia professor James Ceaser offers his account of the election of Donald Trump in his third conversation with Kristol. Ceaser considers what we might anticipate from the Trump administration—both on policies like immigration, trade, and American leadership in the world, as well as on constitutional issues like the separation of powers. Ceaser also discusses modern conservatism an...

A senior editor at The Weekly Standard, Andrew Ferguson is one of America’s leading writers and journalists. In this Conversation, Ferguson reflects on his career, including his work on American politics and culture, his time as a speechwriter for President George H.W. Bush, and his start in journalism at the American Spectator. Ferguson and Kristol also discuss higher education, the state of the...

National Review senior editor Jonah Goldberg discusses President-elect Donald Trump and how conservatives might think about their task during Trump’s presidency, in this, his second Conversation with Bill Kristol. Goldberg and Kristol also reflect on the state of liberalism and conservatism today, and consider some trends in the broader culture—e.g., political correctness, the rise of social media...

In his eleventh Conversation, Harvey Mansfield discusses Donald Trump's election and how political philosophy can inform our understanding of Trump. Mansfield and Kristol also discuss what Trump’s victory reveals about American politics and our parties.