Written by: Will Bower

Bill Kristol, political commentator and editor-at-large of The Bulwark, spoke at Hancher Auditorium on Sept. 15 as the fall 2026 Levitt Lecture speaker.

Since 1997, the Levitt Lecture series has brought distinguished speakers from across the globe to the University of Iowa campus, funded by the Levitt Family Lectureship Fund. Joined by Iowa Public Radio’s Ben Kieffer, Kristol discussed topics ranging from the state of American democracy to the upcoming midterms.

Kristol began his career in government, holding senior positions in the Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations. He later co-founded the conservative magazine The Weekly Standard. He is a respected political analyst, appearing regularly on television talk shows and hosts the podcast, Conversations with Bill Kristol.

A former longtime Republican, Kristol left the party in 2020, instead identifying as a political independent. During the conversation, he called himself an “ex-Republican, not an ex-conservative.”

“American conservatism was a defense of American liberal democracy, of our constitutional order,” Kristol said. “That’s not at the heart of American conservatism today.”

This alienation from modern conservatism led Kristol to co-found Defending Democracy Together, a “coalition of lifelong conservatives and Republicans dedicated to defending America’s democratic norms.” As part of Defending Democracy Together, Kristol helped launch the center-right news and opinion website The Bulwark, where he serves as editor-at-large.

“We started it to keep the conservative flame alive,” Kristol told the crowd. “That flame is not much alive in the Republican Party these days.”

Kieffer and Kristol spent much of the conversation answering questions from the audience, covering topics from free and fair elections to the potential for a third major party in American politics.

In one particularly interactive moment, an audience member was asked to stand up and show off their The Bulwark sweatshirt, which elicited a laugh and applause from the audience.

You can listen to more highlights from the conversation in the Sept. 18 episode of Iowa Public Radio’s River to River.

The spring 2027 Levitt Lecture will feature Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist and former associate editor of The Washington Post Eugene Robinson. Free tickets will be available to the public at 10 a.m. on Feb. 9, 2027.