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Conversations with Bill Kristol

Bill Kristol

Conversations with Bill Kristol features in-depth, thought-provoking discussions with leading figures in American public life.

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22 episodes
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Avg 1 hr 5 min
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Wednesday · 58 min
Phillips O’Brien on Ukraine, Iran, and What’s Next
Where do things stand in the wars in Ukraine and Iran? What are the implications of these wars for military technology, the future of warfare, and our highly fluid geopolitical environment? In this Conversation, Phillips O'Brien, the distinguished military historian and author of the indispensable Phillips's Newsletter on Substack, shares his perspective on the two major wars. O’Brien also considers the ramifications for US-China military and technological competition, the future of the Middle
September 18 · 56 min
David Axelrod on the 2026 Midterms: How Big a Wave?
We are less than seven weeks away from Election Day, and early voting already has begun in some states. To discuss where things stand and where American politics might go after the midterms, we are joined again by David Axelrod, chief strategist for Barack Obama’s presidential campaigns in 2008 and 2012. Axelrod shares his perspective on how the election might play out when Trump “is in a deep hole and keeps on digging.” He explains how the fundamentals point toward a historically bad year fo
August 27 · 1 hr 7 min
Doug Sosnik on Two Different Elections: 2026 and 2028
"We're 60 days away from a completely different political environment. And I think people are underestimating how different it's going to be, and how volatile it's going to be without really any moorings for either party." So argues Doug Sosnik, former political director for Bill Clinton, one of the shrewdest analysts of American politics, and the author of an indispensable new Substack. In this detailed and wide-ranging Conversation on the midterms, 2028, and the instability of American politi
August 7 · 1 hr 6 min
Eric Edelman: Trump and the American Military
Where do things stand with the military in Trump’s Second Term? What are the consequences of a shortage of munitions in the conduct of the Iran War? What should we make of the firings of senior military leaders? In this Conversation, Eric Edelman, former Under Secretary of Defense and former ambassador to Turkey and Finland, shares his perspective on what he describes as increasing dysfunction in the military and its civilian leadership. Edelman points to the consequences of Trump’s departure f
July 24 · 1 hr 1 min
Don Kettl: The Trump Administration and the Politicization of the Civil Service
"Am I worried? A lot. Why? Because they’re not done yet. And it’s not just the president, but the efforts of those around him and on the outside supporting him who have a very huge and fundamental and reshaping ideology, driving an effort to … increase the president’s power even further. And this dramatically weakens the power of Congress." So argues the distinguished political scientist and leading authority on the workings of American government, Don Kettl. According to Kettl, Trump in his se
July 9 · 1 hr 2 min
Ryan Goodman: The Trump Administration, the Supreme Court, and the Rule of Law
A year and a half into the second Trump administration, is the Supreme Court meeting the moment? What are the broader implications of recent Court decisions and the conduct of lower courts? What might the next years look like? To discuss these questions we are joined, again, by Ryan Goodman, a law professor at New York University, former special counsel in the Department of Defense, and co-editor of the online publication Just Security. In a bracing Conversation, Goodman argues that the Supreme
June 26 · 55 min
Harvey Mansfield on Rational Control and Liberalism
What makes Niccolò Machiavelli the founder of modern politics? How did liberal thinkers like Locke, Montesquieu, and the American founders modify Machiavelli’s inventions? How did later thinkers like Kant and Hegel attempt to save reason? How stands rational control today? How stands the case for liberalism? Is there a path forward for a revived liberalism? Drawing on his recent book The Rise and Fall of Rational Control—based on lectures given for over fifty years at Harvard—Mansfield discusse
June 11 · 1 hr 5 min
Ron Brownstein: What’s Going To Happen in 2026?
“This election looks like a classic collision between the irresistible force and the immovable object. The irresistible force is the elevated share of Americans who disapprove of Trump’s performance as president, which has increased since last December and is now running consistently around 60%.... The immovable object is that this election, in both the House and the Senate, is going to be fought out primarily on Republican-leaning terrain.” What’s going to happen in the House? What’s going to
May 20 · 48 min
Aaron Friedberg on Fallout from the China Summit
“China is aiming to enhance its power with respect to the United States in particular, and eventually to emerge as the dominant player in the international system, and it’s working towards that goal…. It is not clear to me at this point what our strategy is, or even if we have one.” So argues Princeton Professor Aaron Friedberg in a new Conversation assessing the state of US-China relations in the wake of President Trump’s China summit and the ongoing Iran War. While the Iran War does not repre
May 8 · 1 hr 6 min
Phillips O’Brien on Ukraine v. Russia and the Future of Warfare
“The Ukrainians believe Putin’s now being faced with more dilemmas than they are.” So argues the distinguished historian and a leading analyst of the Ukraine War, Phillips O’Brien. Author of the indispensable Phillips’s Newsletter on Substack, O’Brien shares his perspective on where things stand in Ukraine and Russia, and assesses the broader implications for Europe and beyond. Kristol and O’Brien also consider in depth the massive technological transformations in warfare from Ukraine to Iran, w
April 23 · 1 hr 4 min
A.B. Stoddard on Trump’s Psyche—and The Implications for 2028
“This branding binge [Trump] has been on: with everything he’s trying to have put his name on. To build the White House ballroom, the arch in front of Arlington Cemetery. And the war and military adventurism. It’s a way of trying to cement his state permanently as a dominant figure in history, because he knows he’s going to die.” So argues veteran political reporter A.B. Stoddard in a bracing analysis of President Trump’s character and conduct during his second term. Reflecting on the last ten
April 9 · 56 min
Mark Blitz on the Enduring Importance of Aristotle
“What is human happiness? What is political excellence? What is speech, and rhetoric? It’s always important to remind ourselves of that. But especially when you have artificial intelligence, and all of these vast possible changes in human affairs, it’s important to remind ourselves of what’s basic…. And Aristotle uncovers 80%, 90%, 95% of what really one could say, I think, reasonably, and intelligently about lots of political, and ethical matters.” So argues the distinguished scholar of politi
March 19 · 1 hr 20 min
Aaron Friedberg on the Iran War and the View from Beijing
“It’s hard for me to see how [the war] ends in a way that enhances our position in the world generally—and, in particular, enhances our position with relation to the country that I still think is our principal strategic challenge, namely China. And that’s what really worries me.” So argues Princeton professor and Aaron Friedberg in an incisive and sober conversation on the war in Iran and its broader geopolitical implications. Noting that there are a wide range of possible outcomes to the war,
February 27 · 1 hr 12 min
Doug Sosnik on What to Expect in 2026—and Why 2028 Will Be Different
“Whatever happens in 2026, I think no one should take any interpretation of that as a precursor to what’s going to happen in 2028.” So argues Doug Sosnik, former political director for Bill Clinton and one of the shrewdest and most imaginative analysts of American politics. Sosnik considers possible scenarios in 2026 including a wave election year for Democrats driven by higher turnout of college-educated voters—but their prospects in a presidential election year are threatened by "atrophied su
February 12 · 1 hr 20 min
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick: Trump’s Mass Deportation Regime
“The US government wants to arrest, detain, and deport one in every 24 people in the country—4% of the US population. That cannot be done without fundamentally transforming who we are as a people and our relationship to law enforcement.” So argues Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a leading expert on immigration and Senior Fellow at the American Immigration Council, in a bracing Conversation on the scale and scope of the Trump administration's mass deportation mission. Reichlin-Melnick shares his perspec
January 22 · 1 hr 1 min
Francis Fukuyama on Trump’s Bullying and Europe’s Response
“The Europeans have been in this alliance [NATO] to protect themselves, largely from Russia and other aggressors. And now it has an aggressor within the gates, so to speak. And that’s quite an extraordinary situation.” So argues the eminent political thinker Francis Fukuyama, who begins with his assessment of Trump’s bullying of Denmark and Western Europe in recent days. In a thought-provoking tour d’horizon Conversation, Fukuyama shares his perspective not only on Greenland but on a world in c
Dec 30, 2025 · 1 hr 22 min
Ron Brownstein on What’s Ahead in 2026—and in 2028
Where do things stand in American politics as we head into a midterm election year? To discuss these questions we are joined again by Ron Brownstein, a Bloomberg Opinion columnist and senior CNN political analyst. Brownstein points to President Trump’s approval rating as perhaps the most significant indicator in the 2026 midterm elections—and potentially still a major factor in 2028. As he puts it, "Amid all of the swirling currents that you get whenever Trump is in the White House… the real m
Dec 4, 2025 · 1 hr 13 min
Robert Kagan on Trump’s Foreign Policy and the New World Disorder
“We take for granted the degree of peace that we’ve enjoyed over the past eight plus decades. And we think that’s the norm. The norm is actually a lot more like what the world looked like before 1945. Certainly, the previous 100 years were one of constant great power warfare. And I don’t think people are ready for that—the world that we’re now moving into.” As the distinguished historian Robert Kagan puts it in this provocative Conversation, Trump’s foreign policy may be a decisive break from t
Nov 20, 2025 · 1 hr 18 min
Steve Hayes on the Life and Legacy of Dick Cheney
Dick Cheney (1941-2025) is widely regarded as one of the most consequential vice presidents in American history. To discus his life and legacy, we are joined by Steve Hayes, CEO and editor of The Dispatch and author of Cheney (2007), who had extraordinary access to Cheney during his time as vice president. In this Conversation, Hayes shares his personal reflections on Cheney’s character, views, and decades of public service, which spanned from the Ford through the George W. Bush administration
Oct 28, 2025 · 1 hr 5 min
Jonathan Karl on Trump’s Retribution Presidency
How has the second Trump presidency differed from the first? How did Trump’s experiences during his time out of office and on the campaign trail in 2024—including his trial in New York and the assassination attempts—shape him? What can we expect in the months and years ahead? In this Conversation, Jonathan Karl, a leading chronicler of Donald Trump and author of Retribution: Donald Trump and the Campaign that Shaped America, argues for the centrality of retribution in understanding Donald Trump’

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