Manfred Honeck is the music director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and one of the best conductors in the world. He has been in New York this week, to guest-conduct the Philharmonic. Jay caught up with him for “Q&A.”

They talk about music and the musical life. What does it take to be a conductor? What are the differences, if any, between American orchestras and European ones? (Maestro Honeck is an Austrian and, indeed, a former member of the Vienna Philharmonic – where his brother is a concertmaster.) What about new music? How about the future of classical music (a much worried-over question)?

President Obama sat down with Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic for a series of interviews. Those interviews concerned foreign policy and America’s place in the world. Goldberg wrote them up, here. And Jay wrote a couple of columns, critiquing Obama (here and here).

Wanting reinforcement, he has called on Elliott Abrams, the conservative foreign-policy guru, and veteran of the Reagan and Bush 43 administrations. The two men talk about Reagan-era events and people – Grenada, the Contras, Gorbachev – and more recent events and people: the Iraq War, the Syrian Civil War, Putin . . . Mainly, they talk about our current president, Obama.

Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R., Fla.) watched President Obama’s trip to Cuba with keen interest. She was born in that country. In 1960, when she was eight, she came to America with her family. She still has her return ticket, issued by Pan Am. The airline is long dead. The Castros live and rule on.

With Jay, Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen talks about Obama’s trip: What does it mean? She speaks of the FARC, the Colombian terrorists, who, amazingly, attended that baseball game with Obama and Raúl. She speaks of the dissidents who are largely ignored and demoralized. And she asks, in essence, “Are we still America? Are we still the leader of the Free World?”

Jay’s guest today is John H. Sununu, the former governor of New Hampshire, the onetime chief of staff to Bush the Elder, and the current and forever politico. He talks about his upbringing: how he came to his views. He talks about the importance of a serious (non-frivolous) education. He talks about free enterprise and some other things that made America great.

He talks about his old boss, GHWB, and the book he has written about that president: The Quiet Man.

Then he and Jay talk about Election ’16: Hillary, Bernie, Trump, Ted, and them. The governor’s views are direct, as always. Jay also wants to know about the governor’s old friend and sparring partner, Soledad O’Brien. Does he hear from her much?

Once more, Jay shamelessly exploits “Q&A” to do a music program – this one in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day. You’ll hear Irish music of various types – performed by John McCormack, Kathleen Ferrier, Bryn Terfel, and noteworthy others.

You get songs, needless to say. But you also get a famous march – “Brian Boru’s March” – and a selection from The Father of the Nocturne, the Irishman John Field.

A few weeks ago, the Iraq War was in the news again, briefly: That’s because Donald Trump went all Cindy Sheehan on the subject. In response, Victor Davis Hanson wrote an important piece – certainly what Jay regards as an important piece: “Iraq: The Real Story.”

In this “Q&A,” Jay talks to VDH about Iraq. Among other things, VHD explains the practical effect of getting Iraq wrong – of allowing a false picture to take over. The effect isn’t good.

President Obama has announced that he will travel to Cuba next month. Jay discusses this, and related matters, with Otto Reich, late of the Reagan, Bush 41, and Bush 43 administrations.

Reich was born in Cuba. What’s he doing with a name like “Otto Reich”? Jay explains, and Reich explains further. Obama’s trip to Cuba is very important – not in a positive way. Otto Reich knows exactly what it means.

President George W. Bush did a remarkable thing: He carried, for all to see, a copy of Eliot A. Cohen’s book “Supreme Command.” Not many of us have our books publicized that way.

Cohen is the famous foreign-policy analyst, a professor at SAIS (the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University). He has served in the State Department. He also advised Mitt Romney during the 2012 campaign.

Raif Badawi is the Saudi political prisoner, sentenced to ten years and a thousand lashes. His is one of the most famous, or infamous, cases in the world. He is a very brave man: a man who has sacrificed a lot for human rights and democracy.

His wife is Ensaf Haidar. She lives in exile, with their three children. They found asylum in Canada.

… or Nordlinger-Kristol? Tongue in cheek, Bill Kristol suggests such a ticket if Donald Trump is the Republican nominee – because Reagan conservatives will need someone to vote for. “Neither Trump Nor Hillary,” in a slogan that Kristol is spreading.

He is Jay’s guest on “Q&A.” They talk politics, of course: Hillary, Bernie, Donald, and others. They also talk about the media. Does media bias matter as much as it used to? Is it still the advantage for the Democrats, and disadvantage for the Republicans, it once was?

Victoria Coates is a woman of parts. She is an art historian. And a national-security expert, currently an adviser to Senator Ted Cruz. Her new book is “David’s Sling: A History of Democracy in Ten Works of Art.”

So, she and Jay talk about David, and the Parthenon, and a certain Frenchman’s water lilies, and Picasso, and some other artistic matters. They then turn to an old boss of Victoria’s: Donald Rumsfeld. And to another, Rick Perry. They end with some remarks on two rogue nuclear powers: North Korea and Iran.

Bill Bennett is one of America’s great teachers. He taught, really, when he was secretary of education. He teaches daily on his radio show. And he teaches through his books, the latest of which is America the Strong: Conservative Ideas to Spark the Next Generation.

In this “Q&A,” Jay asks him to talk about drug legalization. And Common Core. And the terms “neocon” and “establishment.” He also asks him to identify big problems with 1) liberals, 2) conservatives, and 3) libertarians. There is also a little talk concerning the upcoming presidential election.