Carl Gershman was the founding president of the National Endowment for Democracy, serving in that position from 1984 to 2021. Jay talks with him about his life: starting with his boyhood in New York. Along the way, Gershman touches on Max Shachtman, Sidney Hook, Leszek Kołakowski, Pat Moynihan, Jeane Kirkpatrick, Ronald Reagan, Natan Sharansky . . . Wonderful stories, wonderful points—grave and important issues.

The Democracy Man

Jay Nordlinger is a senior editor of &lt;a href="http://nationalreview.com"&gt;&lt;em&gt;National Review&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt; and the music critic of &lt;a href="http://www.newcriterion.com"&gt;&lt;em&gt;The New Criterion&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;. His guests are from the worlds of politics and culture, talking about the most important issues of the day, and some pleasant trivialities as well.

News

Politics

Richard Brookhiser has written many books about the American Revolution and the Founding Fathers. He got interested when he went to college—to Yale, where he saw John Trumbull’s paintings. Now he has written a biography of the artist. A wonderful student and explainer and depicter, Brookhiser is.

Painter of Our Revolution

Illia Ponomarenko is one of the leading war reporters and defense analysts in Ukraine. He himself is Ukrainian—from the east of the country. He went to college in Mariupol, which has now been bludgeoned and taken over by Putin’s forces. Ponomarenko has come out with a book, mid-war: “I Will Show You How It Was: The Story of Wartime Kyiv.” Jay talks with him about issues that gnaw at a great many.

A Ukrainian on Ukraine

Mohamad Jebara grew up in Ottawa, Canada, the son of Lebanese immigrants. He, and they, were “cultural Muslims.” But he soon became a scholar of Islam, and a philologist. He is a man of formidable learning, and he has a gift for imparting what he knows to a general audience. From ages ten to twelve, he memorized the Koran. It is still there, in his head. He practices while driving or working out. His new book is “The Life of the Qu’ran.” Jay asks him some basic questions, questions to which many may like to know the answers. An interesting and illuminating confab.

Scholar, and Explainer, of Islam

Simone Sepe and Saura Masconale teach at the University of Arizona. He is in the law school; she is in the Department of Political Economy and Moral Science. They are both associated with the Center for the Philosophy of Freedom. He is from Rome, she is from Verona. They are married, with three excellent children. Jay talks with them about their interests (and his).

Law, Economics, and Life, with an Italian Couple

Vernon L. Smith is one of the leading economists of our time. He was born in Wichita, on January 1, 1927. In 2002, he shared the Nobel Memorial Prize with Daniel Kahneman. Professor Smith has taught at many universities. He is a classical liberal, in the mold of a Smith of yore: Adam. With Jay, he talks about his life, his findings, and freedom—glorious, precious freedom.

The Democracy Man

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