Conversations with Bill Kristol

Brookings Institution Senior Fellow William A. Galston shares his perspective on American politics today, including the factors that led to the election of Donald Trump, the state of our parties after his election, and the prospects for the Trump presidency. A former senior aide to President Clinton, Galston considers the significance of the 2016 elections for the Democrats and outlines potential...

In this brief and timely conversation, Elliott Abrams and Bill Kristol reflect on the dictatorship of Fidel Castro, its record of brutality and repression, and the romanticization of the Castro regime by certain figures of the Left. Abrams then considers how the Trump administration might take advantage of this opportunity to change American policy toward Cuba, for the benefit of the U.S. and for...

Kristol, Abraham, and Cost analyze the 2016 elections and the opportunities and challenges for the Trump administration, particularly during the transition and in the early days after inauguration. The group also discusses significant changes in American politics caused or revealed by the 2016 presidential race, including the importance of social media and chances for “outsider" candidates.

Currently a Visiting Scholar at UC Berkeley, Steven F. Hayward is a writer, political commentator, and author of a definitive biography of Ronald Reagan. In this conversation, Hayward discusses Reagan and the qualities that made him a successful president. Kristol and Hayward also explain why studying great political figures is essential for understanding politics. Finally, Hayward reflects on how...

Appointed by President George H.W. Bush, Justice Clarence Thomas has served on the Supreme Court since October 1991. In this conversation, Justice Thomas shares personal reflections on the Court, his jurisprudence, and the people, ideas, institutions, and experiences that have influenced him. Justice Thomas also reflects on his late colleague and friend Justice Antonin Scalia.

In his second appearance on Conversations, former Deputy National Security Advisor (under George W. Bush) and Council on Foreign Relations Senior Fellow Elliott Abrams explains the challenges to a new president of quickly putting together a foreign policy team and the urgency the new president will face in restoring America’s global standing. Kristol and Abrams discuss particular hot spots around...

In his tenth conversation with Bill Kristol, Harvey Mansfield recommends some important and diverting books from different genres. Mansfield discusses crime fiction, comedic novels, biographies, and political science and considers what we can learn from the best writers in these genres. Mansfield also interprets Jonathan Swift’s "Gulliver’s Travels" as a critique of modern science. Other...

In his second conversation with Bill Kristol, American Enterprise Institute scholar Charles Murray discusses the state of American civic life and how this can help us understand the current political moment. Murray explains how the decline of communities, the effects of immigration, and the growth of anti-trade sentiment have fueled populist impulses in 2016. Kristol and Murray also revisit Murray...

In his second conversation with Bill Kristol, Claremont McKenna professor of political philosophy Mark Blitz discusses American liberal democracy. Blitz explains the meaning of individual natural rights and why they form the basis of American government. Blitz and Kristol then consider critiques of American liberal democracy—most prominently, that the American regime promotes inequality or leads t...

In his third conversation with Bill Kristol, Paul Cantor focuses on works of literature—plays, short stories, and novels—that deepen our understanding of the characteristics and challenges of political and economic liberty. Cantor considers a variety of authors from across the centuries—Ben Jonson, Daniel Defoe, Georg Büchner, Elizabeth Gaskell, Joseph Conrad, Franz Kafka, and Tom Stoppard—who tho...

In their third "state of the 2016 race" conversation, Kristol, Abraham, Cost discuss how to think about the 2016 presidential race and consider whether the frequently underestimated Trump could win. The group also reflects on how various possible outcomes could affect the political parties and our politics. The group discusses these and many other questions in this timely conversation on...

The ninth in our ongoing series with Harvard professor Harvey Mansfield focuses on the Constitution and what Mansfield calls “America’s Constitutional Soul.” In this conversation, Mansfield discusses the jurisprudence of the late Justice Antonin Scalia and his focus on the wisdom of the Constitution. Mansfield reflects on why America has a “Constitutional Soul” and how our political parties treat...

Jonah Goldberg is a senior editor at National Review and a best-selling author and political commentator. In this conversation, Goldberg and Kristol reflect on Trump's candidacy and its meaning for conservatism and the Republican Party. Goldberg also discusses his best-selling book 'Liberal Fascism' (2008) and how subsequent events, including Trump's campaign, have affected his thinking. Finally,...

In his second conversation with Bill, General Petraeus makes the case for continued American leadership in the world. Drawing on his experiences in command in Iraq and Afghanistan, Gen. Petraeus explains how the American military can best harness its strategic and technological assets to achieve goals in difficult environments. Finally, Gen. Petraeus and Kristol discuss the general’s academic and...

Garry Kasparov’s third conversation with Bill Kristol focuses on American politics and the 2016 Presidential race. Kasparov argues that the Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders candidacies offer interesting and worrisome lessons about the current state of our politics. Kristol and Kasparov also discuss whether America can change course and consider some distinctive features of the American political ch...

University of Virginia politics professor James Ceaser discusses the intellectual roots of contemporary progressivism and the role of progressivism in our politics today. Ceaser compares the new progressivism with the ideas of the early twentieth-century progressives, and highlights the influence of “postmodernism” on the contemporary left. Kristol and Ceaser also discuss the effects of progressiv...

In this wide-ranging conversation, his second on "Conversations with Bill Kristol," business founder and investor Peter Thiel discusses the global economy, the state of technology, and the future of computing and artificial intelligence. Thiel argues that we have had less technological innovation over the last few decades and explains one reason is an increasing aversion to risk. Finally...

The eighth in our ongoing series with Harvard government professor Harvey Mansfield, this conversation marks the tenth anniversary of his important and provocative book "Manliness." Mansfield offers his account of manliness and its importance as a permanent, though problematic, feature of human nature. He explains how liberal political philosophers and liberal society have often been sus...

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.