Mark L. Clifford has written a biography: “The Troublemaker: How Jimmy Lai Became a Billionaire, Hong Kong’s Greatest Dissident, and China’s Most Feared Critic.” Jimmy Lai is a political prisoner. Mr. Clifford has known and worked with him for many years. With Jay, Mr. Clifford discusses this extraordinary man. His release is wished for, prayed for, by freedom-lovers around the world.

Nury A. Turkel is a Uyghur-American lawyer and human-rights activist. Jay did a “Q&A” with him in 2018—when the world was first learning about the mass persecution of the Uyghurs. In 2022, Mr. Turkel published a book: “No Escape: The True Story of China’s Genocide of the Uyghurs.” Last week, he had the best Thanksgiving ever: his mother, whom he hadn’t seen in 20 years, was released from China in a swap between Beijing and Washington. She has now met four of her grandchildren for the first time. With Jay, Nury Turkel talks about his family and the Uyghur people more broadly. An informative and moving conversation.

Joshua Roman is a cellist, a superb musician. Lately, he has been engaged in something called “the Immunity Project.” About four years ago, Roman contracted long COVID, which turned his life upside down. He is an example of resiliency and good cheer—an inspiration. He and Jay talk about the heart of things.

The baseball season just past—Shohei & Co. The college football season in swing—too much professionalization? The NFL season (why are the Jets perpetually woeful?). The NBA season—amazing, that LeBron. The Big Three in tennis, and their departure from the scene. Finally, travel sports, and what this new reality in American life is doing to our youth. These are the topics of this “Q&A”-cum-sportscast, with Jay’s regular gurus David French and Vivek Dave.

Ron Blum is a correspondent for the Associated Press. He writes and reports on baseball. And opera. He is encyclopedic in each field. A pleasure to converse with.

Bernard-Henri Lévy, the French philosopher, writer, and activist, has been going to Israel his whole life, virtually. He went on October 8, 2023, the day after the attack. His new book is “Israel Alone.” With Jay, he discusses various aspects of this war. Also Russia’s war on Ukraine. And the connectedness of things. A meaty and clarifying discussion.

Natan Sharansky began life as Anatoly Shcharansky. He was a dissident and refusenik in the Soviet Union. For nine years, he was a prisoner in the Gulag. He then made his life in Israel: as a writer, a politician, a human-rights activist, and so on. With Jay, he talks about the war in which Israel is engulfed. And the Ukraine war. And the consequences of all this for the world. He also talks about the prisoner swap between the West and Russia last summer. He himself was part of such a swap, in 1986. A conversation with Natan Sharansky is always a privilege.

We are in a general-election season and a baseball post-season. Prime time for George F. Will. He and Jay have a wide-ranging conversation. Whom would Will appoint as president, if he could? Is Shohei Ohtani a unicorn? Who is Will’s favorite player? What of immigration? What of transgenderism? What of . . .? There is no better conversationalist than George F. Will.

As Jay says in his introduction, Jonathan Martin, a.k.a. J-Mart, is one of the best political reporters in America. He writes a column for Politico and pops up regularly on television. With Jay, he talks about his life and career—and the very serious game of American politics and democracy.

Cornel West and Robert P. George are two famous intellectuals, who are famously friends. One is on the left, the other the right. They have a book coming out: “Truth Matters: A Dialogue on Fruitful Disagreement in an Age of Division.” Jay talks with them about their friendship, their views, their personal experiences, their heroes—a range of issues. One can learn a lot from this pair.