Firing Line was an American public affairs show founded and hosted by conservative William F. Buckley, Jr., founder and publisher of National Review magazine. Its 1,504 episodes over 33 years made Firing Line the longest-running public affairs show in television history with a single host. The erudite program, which featured many of the most prominent intellectuals and public figures in the United States, won an Emmy Award in 1969. Reflecting Buckley's talents and preferences, the exchange of v…
Firing Line was an American public affairs show founded and hosted by conservative William F. Buckley, Jr., founder and publisher of National Review magazine. Its 1,504 episodes over 33 years made Firing Line the longest-running public affairs show in television history with a single host. The erudite program, which featured many of the most prominent intellectuals and public figures in the United States, won an Emmy Award in 1969. Reflecting Buckley's talents and preferences, the exchange of v…
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Seasons (42)
Season 1
6 Apr 1966 – 16 Jan 1967 · 26 episodes
2Prayer in the Public Schools6 Apr 1966
3Vietnam: Pull Out? Stay In? Escalate?8 Apr 1966
4Capital Punishment11 Apr 1966
7The Prevailing Bias2 May 1966
8The New Frontier: The Great Society6 May 1966
10McCarthyism: Past, Present, Future16 May 1966
11Vietnam: What Next?23 May 1966
12The Future of States' Rights23 May 1966
14The Future of the American Theater6 Jun 1966
15Bobby Kennedy and Other Mixed Blessings6 Jun 1966
16The Future of Conservatism9 Jun 1966
19The Role of the Church Militant27 Jun 1966
20Why Are the Students Unhappy?27 Jun 1966
21Senator Dodd and General Klein22 Aug 1966
22Extremism22 Aug 1966
23Civil Rights and Foreign Policy22 Aug 1966
24The President and the Press12 Sep 1966
25Are Public Schools Necessary?12 Sep 1966
26The Playboy Philosophy12 Sep 1966
28Should Labor Power Be Reduced?19 Sep 1966
32Civilian Review Board: Yes or No?7 Oct 1966
35The Failure of Organized Religion14 Nov 1966
38Sports, Persecution, and Christians28 Nov 1966
39The Warren Report: Fact or Fiction?1 Dec 1966
41LBJ and the Intellectuals12 Jan 1967
42Academic Freedom and Berkeley16 Jan 1967
Season 2
19 Jan 1967 – 14 Dec 1967 · 21 episodes
5The Role of the Advocate19 Jan 1967
6The Future of the UN19 Jan 1967
8LBJ and Vietnam6 Mar 1967
9Politics and the President7 Mar 1967
10Black Power7 Mar 1967
11Is There a Role for a Third Party?8 Mar 1967
14The World of LSD10 Apr 1967
15Censorship and the Production Code10 Apr 1967
16The Regular in Politics1 May 1967
17How to Protest1 May 1967
21Vietnam Protests26 Jun 1967
23The Decline of Anti-Communism29 Jun 1967
24Is It Possible to Be a Good Governor?6 Jul 1967
25Is the World Funny?7 Jul 1967
26Vietnam8 Jul 1967
29A Foreign Policy for the GOP11 Sep 1967
30The Future of the GOP14 Sep 1967
32Medicare25 Sep 1967
38The Struggle for Democracy in Brazil13 Nov 1967
40Mobilizing the Poor11 Dec 1967
42Was Goldwater a Mistake?14 Dec 1967
Season 3
8 Jan 1968 – 12 Dec 1968 · 15 episodes
2The Economic Crisis8 Jan 1968
3Was the Civil-Rights Crusade a Mistake?15 Jan 1968
7The Wallace Crusade24 Jan 1968
8Wiretapping--Electronic Bugging24 Jan 1968
9Philby and Treason26 Feb 1968
10The Culture of the Left26 Feb 1968
14The Wallace Movement15 Apr 1968
18The Avant Garde7 May 1968
21Armies of the Night28 May 1968
31Capital Punishment3 Sep 1968
32The Hippies3 Sep 1968
41The Influence of TV on American Politics3 Sep 1968
43The Black Panthers13 Nov 1968
45The Republic of New Africa18 Nov 1968
49Muhammad Ali and the Negro Movement12 Dec 1968
Season 4
6 Jan 1969 – 15 Jan 1970 · 10 episodes
2The Plight of the American Novelist6 Jan 1969
7The Ripon Society24 Feb 1968
10Restructuring the University25 Feb 1969
13Vietnam and the Intellectuals3 Apr 1969
16The Campus Destroyers21 Apr 1969
20The Trouble with Enoch19 May 1969
23The Decline of Christianity12 Jun 1969
24Labor Unions and American Freedom12 Jun 1969
29Reflections on the Current Scene6 Dec 1969
38The Mylai Massacre15 Jan 1970
Season 5
13 Mar 1970 – 17 Dec 1970 · 5 episodes
10The Idea of The Great Ideas13 Mar 1970
31How Does It Look for the Dollar?3 Sep 1970
38Africa and Colonialism20 Oct 1970
46Radical Chic17 Dec 1970
47Vietnamization17 Dec 1970
Season 6
26 May 1971 – 6 Dec 1971 · 11 episodes
1Dump Nixon?26 May 1971
3Separation of Church and State22 Apr 1971
6The Lawyer's Role24 Jun 1971
7War Crimes Part I7 Jul 1971
10Is It Possible to Be a Good Governor?15 Jul 1971
13The Problems of a Conservative Legislator15 Jul 1971
19Is America Hospitable to the Negro?2 Oct 1971
21The Case Against Freedom2 Oct 1971
25The Place of the Treaty in International Affairs2 Nov 1971
29The Edgar Smith Story: Part I6 Dec 1971
30The Edgar Smith Story: Part II6 Dec 1971
Season 7
12 Jan 1972 – 21 Dec 1972 · 12 episodes
1Vietnamization12 Jan 1972
3Vietnam: Looking Back17 Jan 1972
8The Meaning of China29 Feb 1972
10The Irish Problem25 Mar 1972
12The Greek Dilemma20 Apr 1972
19Richard Nixon and Young Conservatives16 Jun 1972
27Abortion Laws: Pro and Con25 Jul 1972
31Sex Education2 Oct 1972
32Hate America3 Oct 1972
40The Southern Imagination12 Dec 1972
41The Young21 Dec 1972
42A Conservative Look at Marijuana21 Dec 1972
Season 8
10 Jan 1973 – 7 Dec 1973 · 20 episodes
4What are the Challenges for Conservatives in 1973?10 Jan 1973
7Texas Politics23 Jan 1973
8How Does It Go with the Black Movement?23 Jan 1973
13Corporal Punishment27 Feb 1973
16The Equal Rights Amendment30 Mar 1973
17Proposals for Welfare23 Apr 1973
18What to Do About the Post Office?23 Apr 1973
19The Implications of Watergate16 May 1973
26Is There an Ecological Crisis?1 May 1973
28What Now for the Ghetto?24 Jul 1973
29World Federalism Today30 Jul 1973
30Russian Jewry and American Foreign Policy30 Jul 1973
34Has America Had It?20 Aug 1973
35The Energy Crisis and Energy Policy13 Sep 1973
36Amnesty13 Sep 1973
38The Nixon Presidency28 Sep 1973
39The Mechanism of Moral Development16 Oct 1973
40Heredity, IQ, and Social Issues16 Oct 1973
42The Middle East Explosion and American Detente12 Nov 1973
46The Jesus Movement7 Dec 1973
Season 9
23 Jan 1974 – 2 Dec 1974 · 23 episodes
2The Revisionist Historians23 Jan 1974
5The British Crisis12 Feb 1974
6Enoch Powell and the British Crisis13 Feb 1974
7Tax Reform21 Jan 1974
8Politics and Black Progress23 Jan 1974
11The Question of South Africa13 Mar 1974
12The Question of Rhodesia15 Mar 1974
13The Republican Party and Mr. Nixon3 May 1974
14The Blackmailing of the President10 May 1974
15Where Do We Go from Here in the Middle East?15 May 1974
16Should the United States Disarm?10 May 1974
19Amnesty3 Jun 1974
20Government and the Arts3 Jun 1974
21The Future of the GOP28 Jun 1974
23The Limits of Journalistic Investigation9 Jul 1974
24Shockley's Thesis10 Jun 1974
26Public Medicine10 Jun 1974
29The Political Responsibility of Artists28 Jun 1974
31The Nixon Experience and American Conservatism4 Sep 1974
33Chile and the CIA20 Sep 1974
35The Economy20 Sep 1974
41Democratic Culture15 Nov 1974
42Jews and American Politics2 Dec 1974
Season 10
5 Feb 1975 – 9 Oct 1975 · 12 episodes
8The Intellectual's Responsibilities in a Totalitarian Age5 Feb 1975
9William F. Buckley Jr., Malcolm Muggeridge, and the World5 Feb 1975
10Integrity and Journalism10 Mar 1975
13Feminism31 Mar 1975
15Who Killed Bobby Kennedy?11 Apr 1975
24The Ozone Controversy9 Jul 1975
25Tom Wolfe and The Painted Word9 Jul 1975
32The Politics of Henry Kissinger10 Sep 1975
33The British Mess14 Sep 1975
35How the Vietnam War Was Lost10 Sep 1975
36The Practical Limits of Liberalism3 Oct 1975
37Is Our Military Defense Adequate?9 Oct 1975
Season 11
26 Jan 1976 – 13 Dec 1976 · 9 episodes
6The Uses of the United Nations26 Jan 1976
8The Future of Spain23 Feb 1976
18Is There Any Soviet Justice?6 May 1976
24Who's More Electable: Ford or Reagan?15 Jul 1976
31Should Books like Little Black Sambo Be on Library Shelves?26 Aug 1976
33Subversion and the Law20 Sep 1976
45Deep Throat and the First Amendment13 Dec 1976
46The Death Penalty13 Dec 1976
47Ten Years of Firing Line (1966-1976): Part I13 Dec 1976
Season 12
1 Feb 1977 – 17 Nov 1977 · 11 episodes
6Borges South America's Titan1 Feb 1977
7Terror in Latin America1 Feb 1977
9Should the U.S. Pressure Argentina?31 Jan 1977
12Is There a Solution for Rhodesia?9 Mar 1977
20What's Happening in South Africa?12 May 1977
23What's Up with Eurocommunism?27 Jun 1977
26Human Rights in the USSR25 Jul 1977
27What Have We Learned from the Failure of British Socialism?25 Jul 1977
32The Problem of the Illegals14 Sep 1977
39Is There a Case for Private Property?7 Nov 1977
41Ferdinand Marcos: A Discussion17 Nov 1977
Season 13
13 Jan 1978 – 12 Dec 1978 · 13 episodes
1Debate: Resolved That the Senate Should Ratify the Proposed Panama Canal Treaties13 Jan 1978
2G. Gordon Liddy: An Enigma11 Jan 1978
4Exclusive Conversation with Chiang Ching-kuo12 Nov 1977
7Is Soviet Policy an Extension of Russian Policy?30 Jan 1978
8The Role of Liberals in the Republican Party16 Mar 1978
11The Guilt of Alger Hiss21 Mar 1978
12Debate: Resolved That the Price of Oil and Natural Gas Should Be Regulated by the Federal Government30 Mar 1978
20The Crisis of Intelligence31 May 1978
27The Rhodesian Dilemma21 Jul 1978
28Muggeridge Revisited27 Jun 1978
32Three vs. William F. Buckley Jr.21 Jul 1978
35The Mission of the Pope6 Sep 1978
44What Should Our China Policy Be?12 Dec 1978
Season 14
12 Feb 1979 – 13 Dec 1979 · 16 episodes
7NATO and European Security12 Feb 1979
8Reason and Politics12 Feb 1979
14The Rising Tide of Islam16 Mar 1979
17The Crisis of Nuclear Energy4 May 1979
22Real Music8 Jun 1979
23Lifting the Trade Ban on Rhodesia15 Jun 1979
30The Television Machine29 Jun 1979
34Human Rights in Vietnam6 Sep 1979
35SALT II and the U.S. Senate20 Sep 1979
36The Crisis in the U.S. Military20 Sep 1979
40Crime and Punishment: Gary Gilmore11 Oct 1979
41Can New York City Govern Itself?30 Oct 1979
42Is There a Role for the Private College?20 Oct 1979
45Debate: Resolved That the United States Should Refuse Recognition to the PLO, Part I28 Nov 1979
46Debate: Resolved That the United States Should Refuse Recognition to the PLO, Part II28 Nov 1979
48The Year That Was13 Dec 1979
Season 15
14 Jan 1980 – 9 Dec 1980 · 15 episodes
2Presidential Hopeful: Ronald Reagan14 Jan 1980
3The United States in the 1980s--Foreign Affairs17 Jan 1980
4The United States in the 1980s--Domestic Affairs17 Jan 1980
7Government Bailout14 Feb 1980
15The Fight over Catholic Orthodoxy22 Apr 1980
16Allard Lowenstein on Firing Line: A Retrospective22 Apr 1980
25Is Camp David Falling Apart?21 Jul 1980
27What Happened at Madison Square Garden?15 Aug 1980
28Defense and the Democrats15 Aug 1980
29Have We Learned Anything about Gun Control?21 Jul 1980
31The Crisis in Labour4 Sep 1980
33How Does One Find Faith?6 Sep 1980
34Do We Need Religion or Religious Institution?6 Sep 1980
43How Should Ex-Communists Cooperate?4 Dec 1980
44Why Is Jazz Neglected?9 Dec 1980
Season 16
5 Jan 1981 – 3 Dec 1981 · 18 episodes
1Are Ideology and the CIA Compatible?5 Jan 1981
2The Abscam Controversy5 Jan 1981
4Are We Menaced by Moral Majority?22 Jan 1981
13The Question of Gay Rights25 Mar 1981
20What to Do about Terrorism?5 Jun 1981
21John Kenneth Galbraith Looks Back5 Jun 1981
26Do We Need a Foreign Policy Doctrine?15 Jul 1981
29The Question of Namibia17 Jul 1981
31A Strategy for Cuba15 Jul 1981
32Does the Warren Report on the Kennedy Assassination Hold Up?10 Sep 1981
33How to Win Arguments10 Sep 1981
36Where Do We Go on Immigration?1 Oct 1981
37Is Modern Architecture Disastrous?1 Oct 1981
39Is There an Answer to Malthus?15 Oct 1981
40The Economic Lot of Minorities12 Nov 1981
41William F. Buckley Jr. on the Firing Line12 Nov 1981
44What Is There to Learn from the Killing of Dr. Tarnower?3 Dec 1981
45Why Are Our Intellectuals So Dumb?3 Dec 1981
Season 17
11 Jan 1982 – 27 Oct 1982 · 7 episodes
5The Issues Involved in Local Control of Reading Matter11 Jan 1982
12The Libertarian Credo2 Apr 1982
30The Economy and the Blacks, Part I13 Jul 1982
31The Economy and the Blacks, Part II13 Jul 1982
35Debate: Resolved That the Feds Should Get Out of Higher Education, Part I5 Oct 1982
36Debate: Resolved That the Feds Should Get Out of Higher Education, Part II5 Oct 1982
38The Roosevelt Legacy27 Oct 1982
Season 18
24 Jan 1983 – 3 Nov 1983 · 6 episodes
3Buckley's Turn to Explain Himself24 Jan 1983
7Confidence and Betrayal22 Feb 1983
11How to Speak, How to Listen14 Apr 1983
23Was Gandhi for Real?9 Jun 1983
30What Is Radio Free Europe Up To?15 Sep 1983
36The Economics and Politics of Race3 Nov 1983
Season 19
19 Feb 1984 – 11 Dec 1984 · 5 episodes
4What's on Malcolm Muggeridge's Mind?19 Feb 1984
29The Election: A View from New York31 Aug 1984
36The Dalai Lama Looks Back27 Sep 1984
44Where Is the GOP Headed?6 Dec 1984
46Is There A Liberal Crack-Up?11 Dec 1984
Season 20
22 May 1985 – 2 Dec 1985 · 4 episodes
18Psychiatry: New Explorations22 May 1985
25What Are Our Young Novelists Up To?17 Jul 1985
32Three Approaches to Terrorists26 Sep 1985
43What Does PEN Have to Offer?2 Dec 1985
Season 21
14 Jan 1986 – 16 Oct 1986 · 9 episodes
21966-1986: World Leaders14 Jan 1986
41966-1986: A Potpourri of Persuaders14 Jan 1986
5Bill Buckley and Firing Line Get Roasted14 Jan 1986
14Debate: Resolved That We Should Move towards Privatization, Including the Schools, Part I2 May 1986
15Debate: Resolved That We Should Move towards Privatization, Including the Schools, Part II2 May 1986
20Terrorism Viewed from Abroad30 May 1986
33For Central America: A Radical Prescription2 Oct 1986
35The Textbook Controversy in Tennessee10 Oct 1986
40Human Rights, Foreign Policy, and Ronald Reagan16 Oct 1986
Season 22
23 Feb 1987 – 1 Oct 1987 · 5 episodes
5Pull Out of NATO?23 Feb 1987
13Higher Education Has Failed Democracy15 Apr 1987
16Are We Getting Anywhere in the UN?27 May 1987
28The Implications of MacDonald v. McGinniss18 Sep 1987
36Three Young Latin Americans Wish to Be Heard1 Oct 1987
Season 23
7 Jan 1988 – 24 Aug 1988 · 4 episodes
2Do Capitalists Go Too Far?7 Jan 1988
4The Libertarian Candidate19 Jan 1988
13Dirty Rock Lyrics8 Jun 1988
23Contra Aid24 Aug 1988
Season 24
10 Jan 1989 – 17 Nov 1989 · 6 episodes
5Saint or Sinner: Junipero Serra10 Jan 1989
14Mother Teresa Talks with William F. Buckley Jr2 Jun 1989
18The Fight for Bach7 Jun 1989
30William F. Buckley Jr. Looks Back on Politics, Etc.16 Oct 1989
31William F. Buckley Jr. Looks Forward on Politics, Etc.16 Oct 1989
32President Kennedy and Prime Minister Macmillan, Part I17 Nov 1989
Season 25
22 Jan 1990 – 13 Dec 1990 · 7 episodes
2The Link between Attitude and Healing22 Jan 1990
12Is England Still Influencing America?22 May 1990
28Crime and Punishment20 Sep 1990
32Two Friends Talk, Part I11 Oct 1990
33Two Friends Talk, Part II11 Oct 1990
38What Do We Owe Our Country?13 Dec 1990
40New Insights on the Russian Revolution13 Dec 1990
Season 26
15 Jan 1991 – 29 Aug 1991 · 3 episodes
7Remembering Malcolm Muggeridge15 Jan 1991
14Is There a Problem of Nuclear Waste Disposal?4 Jun 1991
23Is the Democratic Party Falling Apart in the South?29 Aug 1991
Season 27
16 Sep 1992 – 8 Dec 1992 · 4 episodes
23Are Liberal Vulnerabilities Now Apparent?16 Sep 1992
25Why Are We in a Recession?6 Oct 1992
32What's Wrong with the Deficit?, Part I8 Dec 1992
33What's Wrong with the Deficit?, Part II8 Dec 1992
Season 28
12 Jan 1993 – 16 Aug 1993 · 5 episodes
4Do We Need a Federal Community Property Act?12 Jan 1993
14An Approach to Illegitimacy23 May 1993
35The Threat of Nuclear Destruction in the New World Order: New Voices, Part I16 Aug 1993
36The Threat of Nuclear Destruction in the New World Order: New Voices, Part II16 Aug 1993
37The Threat of Nuclear Destruction in the New World Order: New Voices, Part III16 Aug 1993
Season 29
26 Jan 1994 – 4 Oct 1994 · 3 episodes
2Are Medical Costs Controllable?26 Jan 1994
29Mini-Series on Crime, Part III: Do We Need Prisons at All4 Oct 1994
30Mini-Series on Crime, Part IV: Realistic Insights into Crime and Punishment4 Oct 1994
Season 30
Season 31
11 Jul 1996 · 1 episode
21Have We Learned Anything about the Good Society?11 Jul 1996
Season 32
23 Jan 1997 – 29 Oct 1997 · 5 episodes
3The Problems of Gay Life23 Jan 1997
8Is Newt Permanently Damaged?20 Mar 1997
13The Lucas Case and Private-Property Rights29 Apr 1997
33Is the Cyberworld a Threat?14 Oct 1997
34The Problems of Privacy29 Oct 1997
Season 33
13 Jan 1998 – 3 Dec 1998 · 6 episodes
4Did Camelot Have a Dark Side?13 Jan 1998
8Do Economics and Morality Have Anything in Common?7 Apr 1998
29Goldwater Revisited9 Jul 1998
31Looking Back on Bosnia9 Jul 1998
35On Impeachability18 Sep 1998
44The GOP and the Hispanic Vote3 Dec 1998
Season 34
13 Jan 1999 – 14 Dec 1999 · 9 episodes
1Is New York City Out from Under?13 Jan 1999
6Tom Wolfe and His Critics19 Jan 1999
8Legalize Pot?12 Jan 1999
14Kissinger's Years of Renewal15 Apr 1999
16Professor Galbraith Names Names18 May 1999
20Looking Back on Senator Joe McCarthy29 Jun 1999
31Philanthropy and the Conservative Movement4 Oct 1999
34The Conservative Search for a Foreign Policy2 Nov 1999