A Q&A with Matt Labash

Matt Labash is one of the leading magazine writers in America — though he now writes on Substack, in modern fashion. His newsletter, or column, or acreage, is Slack Tide. (Bill Buckley used to call “Notes & Asides” in National Review “my half-acre.”) Matt and I are old friends and colleagues. We worked together at The Weekly Standard during its first years, in the mid 1990s. As Matt will discuss below, he is not one for podcasts or TV appearances. He is a writer — pure and simple. So, I did not do one of my Q&A podcasts with him. Rather, we have done a written Q&A. I asked some questions I would have in a good ol’ podcast, and he delivered waves of Labashery, a treat for me and a treat for readers in general.

My questions will be italicized. And though Matt is of Sicilian ancestry, at least in part, he will be in Roman. (Yes, I know that “roman,” as in the type, should be down — uncapitalized. But allow me my attempted witticisms.)

About the Author

Jay Nordlinger

Jay Nordlinger was a senior editor of National Review and a book fellow at National Review Institute.

Matt Labash is one of the leading magazine writers in America — though he now writes on Substack, in modern fashion. His newsletter, or column, or acreage, is Slack Tide. (Bill Buckley used to call “Notes & Asides” in National Review “my half-acre.”) Matt and I are old friends and colleagues. We worked together at The Weekly Standard during its first years, in the mid 1990s. As Matt will discuss below, he is not one for podcasts or TV appearances. He is a writer — pure and simple. So, I did not do one of my Q&A podcasts with him. Rather, we have done a written Q&A. I asked some questions I would have in a good ol’ podcast, and he delivered waves of Labashery, a treat for me and a treat for readers in general.

My questions will be italicized. And though Matt is of Sicilian ancestry, at least in part, he will be in Roman. (Yes, I know that “roman,” as in the type, should be down — uncapitalized. But allow me my attempted witticisms.)