Jaywalking | National Review

Jay talks Gershwin (two of them). Michel Legrand plays a prelude. Zell Miller speaks (“Spitballs?”). Jay remarks on baseball -- and Louisiana speech. Finally, a bride sings a song, “Seduced.” A buffet for the ears.

Jay plays some Louis Armstrong, some rap (yes), and some Rosemary Clooney. He talks politics, persecution, Russia, Harvard, and more. Actually, Russia and Harvard intersect at some point. A varied, offbeat, and provocative podcast.

The appointment of John Bolton as national security adviser puts Jay in mind of mustaches -- and he plays a little Stephen Foster. He also has coined a term that he hopes will catch on. Whether it does or not, he likes it. He talks about language, political and non-, and he tells a couple of stories -- presidential ones. He ends with material related to Saint Patrick’s Day, late or not. “Danny Boy” is for every day, right?

Jay begins and ends with Rossini. He also throws in a little Cole Porter and a little Ben Stein (“Anyone? Anyone?”) as he discusses Russia, China, France, baseball, and other pressing matters. Jaywalk along.

Jay talks about infidelity, Bastille Day, the National Front, and the math scores of French students. He also talks about Debussy and the Canadian national anthem (à la française). You further get Trump and Roosevelt (Eleanor). And golf and basketball. Spend some time Jaywalking with Jay.

Jaywalking around, Jay talks about a newly named regiment in Russia. And about Erdogan's latest maneuvers. And about Trump's different sorts of maneuvers. Later on, Jay indulges in the delights of language and in a song -- a kind of hymn -- written by a composer most famous as a teacher of other composers. (A great many people partook of that Boulangerie.)

Jay tells a tale of two Tampicos. Then he talks about a Castro -- the late Fidel Jr. Walmart gets into the act. And the podcast ends with William F. Buckley Jr., and a friend of his, playing WFB's favorite piece.

Jay begins with a memory of Nixon, which leads to a march, believe it or not: by America's "other" march king (not Sousa). Then he gets into some big questions, concerning the nature of conservatism, for example. He ends with a little nostalgia, and a (musical) moonrise.

This episode begins with a meditation on “the people” – that phrase in the mouths of politicians left and right. We also hear some music: variations on “The People United Will Never Be Defeated!” Jay then talks about immigration, sports, and some other things. He ends with The Parade – the parade ordered up by President Trump, who was inspired by Bastille Day in Paris. Jay says, if there is to be a parade, at least let the music be good. We then hear some John Philip Sousa – specifically, a march that bears the name of a newspaper. It steps lively!

Jay tells a story about cultural differences, starring Saoirse Ronan, the Irish actress. He also talks Weinstein, Trump, Obama, and a good bit more. Last, he answers a question about music that can "soothe a battered and weary soul."

Jay talks about the late King Michael of Romania, with music to accompany. "It is good to be king," people say—and often it is. But how about when you're a very young man having to contend with the Nazis and the Soviets? What a life Michael had (not of his choosing).

This episode begins with "Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity" and ends with a Paganini caprice (the best-known one). In between is a bit of "Ol' Man River" - sung by the father of a great racecar driver. Jay also talks about politics, sports, immigration, China, and more.

Jay says that he likes a performer who rolls his own -- that is, who writes music, in addition to performing it. He plays a fair amount of music on this show -- and talks about the latest brouhaha over immigration, that sh**storm. He further talks about Trump’s tweeting. (“Tweet on, Mr. President,” he says.) He ends, however, the way he began, i.e., with music -- played by a British heroine.

Jim Mattis, the secretary of defense, put Jay in mind of Frederick the Great, the Prussian king -- so we hear a flute sonata by that versatile monarch. Jay also tells a story involving “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” -- so we hear Benny Goodman play that famous melody on his clarinet. (We also hear Helen Forrest sing it.) Last, Jay eulogizes Ed Rowny, our great arms-negotiating general. Rowny idolized Paderewski, the Polish pianist and statesman -- so we hear Paderewski in revolutionary music by his countryman, Chopin. A typically eclectic “Jaywalking.”

Jay starts with a song, whose title William F. Buckley Jr. once used for a book. Then he gets into judges: What makes a good one? He continues with some “Trumpservations,” as he has called them in the past. And he ends with a letter from a musicologist who compares a quarterback of today, Tom Brady, to a composer of yesterday, and forever: Mozart.