Matters of Policy & Politics

A National Treasure Indeed: Michael Auslin on the Declaration of Independence’s Endurance

Fri, 05 Jun 2026 08:39:14 -0700

On the eve of the 250th anniversary of America’s founding, how has the nation’s Declaration of Independence – drafted, debated and signed in a world shaped more by royalty than republicanism – managed to stand the test of time?

They quibbled over the language and the provisions, but in the end America’s Founding Fathers produced a 1,320-word document establishing a newborn republic’s belief in natural rights and self-governance. Were the founders who debated and ultimately signed the Declaration of Independence true visionaries or merely smart and realpolitik enough to find a new way to express the colonists’ longstanding desires for self-governance and liberty? Michael Auslin, a historian and the Hoover Institution’s Payson J. Treat Distinguished Research Fellow, discusses his acclaimed new book National Treasure: How the Declaration of Independence Made America. Among the topics discussed: the interplay between Thomas Jefferson and the committee tasked with producing what the author calls “a big bang of declaration”; the document’s various compromises required to attain unanimous consent; how the Declaration survived future wars; plus why other nations (revolutionary France in particular) drafting their own declarations fell short of the American standard.

Recorded on June 1, 2026.

California Update: AI to the (Fiscal) Rescue; Spencer for Hire in LA?

Fri, 22 May 2026 08:00:00 -0700

California’s revised state budget for the new fiscal year beginning in July comes with a plot twist – a deficit that’s no more, courtesy of an unexpected capital-gains tax windfall. But is the same entity that showered Sacramento with billions in tax revenue – California’s vibrant AI sector – also a source of long-term economic and policy concerns (tech-related job losses; competing with farmers for water and electricity)? And how does AI and the jittery state of California’s finances factor into Gov. Gavin Newsom’s presidential ambitions? Meanwhile, as the Golden State’s June 2 primary approaches, is it time to take reality-TV “villain” and Palisades Fire victim Spencer Pratt seriously as he gains ground in Los Angeles’ contentious mayoral race?

Recorded on May 20, 2026.

Declining Industry and Public Trust at the Local Level: Elizabeth Elder on America’s “Company Towns”

Fri, 15 May 2026 08:00:00 -0700

America is a land dotted with so-called “company towns” – population centers where a single business or industry dominates not only the local economy, but government and community ethos as well. But what happens when a town and an industry in decline part ways, leaving it to local government and leadership to take up the slack? Hoover fellow Elizabeth Mitchell Edler discusses what transpired in those portions of America (Appalachia and the Midwest) once dominated by a since-diminished coal industry and the lack of institutional confidence that followed – her interviews, polling and data research chronicled in her new book, Company Towns: Industry Power and the Historical Foundations of Public Mistrust.

Recorded on May 4, 2026.

“Security Through Cooperation”: Rose Gottemoeller on US-Russian Diplomacy Past, Present . . . and Future?

Fri, 08 May 2026 09:31:08 -0700

Before invasions of Ukraine and Crimea and various “resets” of America’s diplomatic approach toward the Kremlin, there was the “Boris and Bill Show” – two chummy and newly-installed presidents meeting multiple times at the tail-end of the 20th Century with the shared goal of bringing Russia into a post-Cold War world order as a peaceful, prosperous (and non-proliferating) society.

Rose Gottemoeller, a Hoover Institution research fellow and former Clinton and Obama administration national security aide, sets the record straight on the Clinton-Yeltsin summits, what she learned as the first American woman to lead nuclear arms talks, why Vladimir Putin went from offering help in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks to seeing America as a threat Russia’s security, and the challenges of serving as NATO’s deputy secretary general during the first Trump presidency.

It’s all chronicled in her new book, Security Through Cooperation: Space, Nuclear Weapons, and US-Russia Relations after the Cold War, a must-read for history buffs and students of the enigma that is Putin and the Russian mindset.

Like Oil and Water? Free-Market Environmentalism with Terry Anderson

Fri, 01 May 2026 09:30:00 -0700

America, a land rich in growth and prosperity but also blessed with an abundance of natural beauty, faces a quandary: how to keep its economy flourishing while at the same time safeguarding its environment. It’s the topic of the Hoover’s Institution’s upcoming “Markets vs. Mandates” conference. Terry Anderson, Hoover’s John and Jean De Nault Senior Fellow (adjunct) and one of the founders of “free-market environmentalism”, discusses what’s on the agenda at the Hoover symposium (tariffs, AI, federal-to-state regulatory shifts) and why tradeoffs are the key to America’s future, be it protecting resources, meeting energy needs and keeping the nation on the cutting edge of technology. Anderson points to different regions of the US where markets and mandates butt heads, including his native Montana and nearby Wyoming, Virginia’s embrace of energy-guzzling data centers, and a potential lithium bonanza in the Carolinas and parts of New England.

California Update: (Self-Inflicted?) Pain at the Pump; Governor’s Race in Flux; A Cannabis Black Market

Mon, 27 Apr 2026 09:35:50 -0700

The war in Iran finds its way to California in the form of higher fuel prices, but how much of the Golden’s State “pain at the pump” is driven by geopolitics versus decades of arguably misguided state energy policies? Meanwhile, a gubernatorial primary unique in its lack of a clear frontrunner becomes more muddled after former Rep. Eric Swalwell abruptly quits the race following accusations of sexual misconduct. Also muddled: post-COVID California and news that Golden State’s population centers haven’t fully bounced back six years after the pandemic ( a reflection of changing workstyles and a lack of affordable housing). Finally, where’s the smoke, there’s . . . a flourishing cannabis black market in California a decade after voters legalized (and levied a heavy tax) on recreational marijuana.

Recorded on April 22, 2026.

A Matter of Trust: Macke Raymond on “Unheard Voices” in America’s School Communities

Fri, 17 Apr 2026 14:00:00 -0700

While America’s education system doesn’t lack for shareholders (parents, educators, political and policy leaders, as well as business and community activists), there’s a question as to whether all concerns are being heard and respected. Margaret “Macke” Raymond, a Hoover Institution distinguished research fellow and director of Hoover’s program on K-12 Education, discusses the findings of Hoover’s Unheard Voices report – Raymond and her research team engaged with nine communities across America, each one beset with underperforming schools. What they discovered: parents and community leaders want to become more involved in the lives of their schools but suffer from a lack of information and context – and, in some cases, educators are reluctant to listen to outside voices.

Recorded on April 9, 2026.

David Shribman on Journalism’s Struggles, Restoring Institutional Trust, and Life After Trump

Fri, 03 Apr 2026 07:50:00 -0700

With the public’s trust in the media at historic lows and the industry trying to adapt to changing information-gathering tastes, what does the future hold for a struggling “Fourth Estate” (tradition news outlets) and an incipient “Fifth Estate” (bloggers and social media)? David Shribman, a columnist, academic and two-time Pulitzer Prize recipient, examines a changed landscape of print media ceding dominance to cable news networks, which in turn compete against an even speedier (and more reckless) social media. Also discussed: the Washington Post’s travails and how the New York Times one-upped its competitors by winning minds (puzzles) and stomachs (more food content); the future of political journalism without President Trump to entertain (and boost viewership and readership); the extent of bias within journalists’ ranks; understanding community concerns by reading (and replying to) letters-to-the-editor; what aspiring journalists should study during their college years (read the Bible, Shakespeare and plenty of history).

Recorded on March 10, 2026.

California Update: Cancelling a Debate . . . and a Labor Icon

Fri, 27 Mar 2026 13:48:32 -0700

Can California’s governor’s race get any airtime (a televised debate scratched after a controversy over four candidates who didn’t make the cut), much less any traction with a disinterested electorate?

Hoover senior fellow Lee Ohanian and distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen, both contributors to Hoover’s California on Your Mind web channel, discuss the latest in the Golden State including the public ostracization of labor icon Cesar Chavez after a New York Times exposé revealed dark secrets from his past; Los Angeles’ penchant for spending follies (an 8-mile bike bridge to nowhere); and flawed ballot measures (including a “mansion tax” that’s snarled SoCal housing construction); plus what three recent polls say about the Golden State’s next wave of political leaders – and if former vice president Kamala Harris will be a part of that cohort.

Recorded on March 26, 2026.

Oil Shocks, Energy Strategies, And George Shultz’s Wisdom

Fri, 20 Mar 2026 12:00:00 -0700

A worldwide oil shock triggered by hostilities in the Middle East raises questions about the viability of America’s energy strategy and the ability of the US and other developed nations to ride out the current storm. David Fedor, the Hoover Institution’s Stephenson Policy Fellow and a member of Hoover’s George P. Shultz Energy Policy Working Group, puts 2026’s oil drama in historical context (2008 and the 1970’s), explains why Californians pay more at the pump than most Americans, and touches on a few policy items that have Hoover’s attention: the state of US-India energy relations; a nuclear reactor approved for Wyoming; Indo-Pacific nations hamstrung by limited supplies of LNG; and Taiwan’s energy security. Fedor, who worked alongside Secretary Shultz for nearly a decade and a half, also touches on his mentor’s intellectual curiosity and how Shultz might parse these troubled times.

Recorded on March 13, 2026.

All Roads Leads To . . .? Barry Strauss on Ancient Rome, Modern Warfare

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 14:00:00 -0700

We know what fate befell Julius Caesar on March 15, 44 B.C., but how does ancient Rome’s treatment of its adversaries and allies and compare to the current American “excursion” in Iran and overall US foreign policy? Barry Strauss, the Hoover Institution’s Corliss Page Dean Senior Fellow and a military historian specializing in the rise and fall of Rome, separates fact from fiction regarding Caesar’s the events leading up to his assassination, as well as Rome’s belief in “preventive” wars, strategic alliances and great-powers competition. Also discussed: Hollywood’s fascination with all things Rome; similarities between Caesar and Donald Trump (communicative skills, strategic risk-taking, neither suffering from a lack of self-esteem); how the history of the republic differs (or doesn’t) if Caesar hadn’t met up with a horde of knife-wielding senators on that fateful day in mid-March.

Recorded on March 10, 2026.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Barry Strauss is the Corliss Page Dean Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution. He is also the Bryce and Edith M. Bowmar Professor of Humanistic Studies Emeritus at Cornell University, where he taught for over four decades. Strauss is a military and naval historian with a focus on ancient Greece and Rome and their lessons for today. “No one presents the military history of the ancient world with greater insight and panache than Strauss,” wrote Publishers Weekly. His books have been translated into twenty languages and include several bestsellers, The Battle of Salamis (2004), Masters of Command (2012), The Death of Caesar 2015), Ten Caesars (2019), The War that Made the Roman Empire (2022), and Jews vs. Rome: Two Centuries of Rebellion Against the World’s Mightiest Empire (2025). Strauss is a winner of the 2025 Bradley Prize, honoring his lifelong dedication to the study and teaching of Western civilization and classical and military history.

Follow Barry Strauss on social media: LinkedIn, X, Facebook, Instagram

Whalen writes on politics and current events for various national publications, as well as Hoover’s California On Your Mind web channel.
Whalen hosts Hoover’s Matters of Policy & Politics podcast and serves as the moderator of Hoover’s GoodFellows broadcast exploring history, economics, and geopolitical dynamics.

RELATED SOURCES

Masters of Command (2012)
The Death of Caesar (2015)
Ten Caesars (2019)
The War that Made the Roman Empire (2022)
Jews vs. Rome: Two Centuries of Rebellion Against the World’s Mightiest Empire (2025)

ABOUT THE SERIES

Matters of Policy & Politics, a podcast from the Hoover Institution, examines the direction of federal, state, and local leadership and elections, with an occasional examination of national security and geopolitical concerns, all featuring insightful analysis provided by Hoover Institution scholars and guests.

To join our newsletter and be the first to tune into the next episode, visit Matters of Policy & Politics.

India: Brain Gains and Growing Pains with Šumit Ganguly

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 08:00:00 -0800

Two decades shy of its 100th anniversary of statehood, how is India progressing in its goal of becoming an innovative, prosperous, greener and developed nation? Šumit Ganguly, a Hoover Institution senior fellow and director of Hoover’s Huntington Program on Strengthening US-India Relations, discusses Hoover’s newly released Annual Survey of India 2026. Among the survey topics explored: an assessment of India’s economy; the nation’s uncertain foreign policy; Indian education at a “crossroads”; and the nation’s contemporary challenges regarding science, technology and innovation policy. Also discussed: how India’s “strategic autonomy” and oil needs are affected by the war in the Middle East; economic competition with neighboring China; Prime Minister Modi’s complicated relationship with the American president and US tariff policy; and India keeping innovators from relocating to the other land.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Šumit Ganguly is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and director of its Huntington Program on Strengthening US-India Relations. He is also the Rabindranath Tagore Professor in Indian Cultures and Civilizations, Emeritus, at Indiana University in Bloomington, where he served as distinguished professor and professor of political science and directed programs on India studies and on American and global security. He was previously on the faculty of the University of Texas at Austin, Hunter College, the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, and James Madison College of Michigan State University. He has also taught at Columbia University, Sciences Po (Paris, France), the US Army War College, the University of Heidelberg (Germany), Northwestern University, and the Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University (Singapore). He serves on the board of directors of the American Friends of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.

RELATED SOURCES

Hoover Survey of India 2026 (Hoover Institution Press, 2026)
The US-India Nuclear Accord (Stanford University Press, 2026)
Huntington Program on Strengthening US-India Relations

ABOUT THE SERIES

To join our newsletter and be the first to tune into the next episode, visit Matters of Policy & Politics.

The State of American Citizenship

Fri, 27 Feb 2026 08:58:13 -0800

Assuming we already understand the parameters of “good citizenship” (obey the law; do no harm to others), how to decide what constitutes a “well-informed” citizen? Tom Schnaubelt, executive director of Hoover’s Revitalizing American Institutions (RAI) initiative, and Checker Finn, a Hoover senior fellow and chair of Hoover’s Working Group on Civics and American Citizenship, introduce Hoover’s pioneering “Civic Profile” which launches in early March – a three-part test that assesses civics-related values, knowledge, and engagement.

Also discussed: how to keep the civics “push” going past the coming American semi-quincentennial in early July (is a decades-long “civics renaissance” feasible?), plus other RAI endeavors currently underway at Hoover (national civics fellows, a networking Alliance for Civics in the Academy, “People, Politics and Places” fellowships that bring rural undergrad and grad students to the Stanford University campus, plus Hoover’s USA @ 250 lecture series on ideas, institutions, and civic traditions that have sustained America freedom dating back to the republic’s founding).

Recorded on February 25, 2026.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Chester E. Finn Jr. is the Volker Senior Fellow (adjunct) at the Hoover Institution and President Emeritus of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute. At Hoover, he chairs the Working Group on Civics and American Citizenship within the Center for Revitalizing American Institutions. He previously led Hoover’s Task Force on K-12 Education and now participates in the Hoover Education Success Initiative, as much of his career has focused on reforming primary and secondary schooling in the US. That included serving as a member of the Maryland State Board of Education and Maryland's Commission on Innovation and Excellence in Education, as well as Assistant US Secretary of Education and chair of the National Assessment Governing Board.

Thomas Schnaubelt is the Executive Director of the Center for Revitalizing American Institutions at the Hoover Institution. Prior to his role at the Hoover Institution, Schnaubelt served as a Lecturer and Senior Advisor on Civic Education at the Deliberative Democracy Lab, within the Center for Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies. Schnaubelt came to Stanford in 2009 and has served as the Associate Vice Provost for Education, the Executive Director of the Haas Center for Public Service, and a Resident Fellow in Branner Hall, where he and his wife oversaw the development and implementation of a living-learning community focused on public service and civic engagement. In 2015, Schnaubelt coordinated the launch of Cardinal Service, a university wide effort to elevate and expand public service as a distinctive feature of the Stanford experience, and he has launched and led several national initiatives focused on democratic engagement and social change education. Schnaubelt received a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from the University of Mississippi, a Master of Arts in Education from the University of Michigan, and Bachelor of Science in Physics from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

ABOUT THE SERIES

To join our newsletter and be the first to tune into the next episode, visit Matters of Policy & Politics.

The Book on (and of) Newsom; A Bedeviled City of Angels

Fri, 20 Feb 2026 09:34:10 -0800

California Governor Gavin Newsom pads his frequent-flier miles: after two trips to Europe already this year, a nationwide tour promoting his new memoir (and presidential prospects). Meanwhile, political upheaval finds its way to disaster-prone Los Angeles with a plot twist in an already contentious mayoral race and calls for the chair of LA’s 2028 Summer Olympics to resign over his ties to the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.

Hoover senior fellow Lee Ohanian and distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen, both contributors to Hoover’s California on Your Mind online journal, discuss the latest in the Golden State, including how Newsom’s autobiography squares with his governance record and the prospects of Los Angeles joining the ranks of cities ruled by “Democratic socialism”.

Recorded on February 19, 2026.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Lee E. Ohanian is a senior fellow (adjunct) at the Hoover Institution and a professor of economics and director of the Ettinger Family Program in Macroeconomic Research at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

His research focuses on economic crises, economic growth, and the impact of public policy on the economy. Ohanian is coeditor of Government Policies and Delayed Economic Recovery (Hoover Institution Press, 2012). He is a frequent media commentator and writes for Hoover’s web channel, California on Your Mind. He has won numerous teaching awards at UCLA and the University of Rochester.

ABOUT THE SERIES

To join our newsletter and be the first to tune into the next episode, visit Matters of Policy & Politics.

The Business of Love and the Cost of Parenting

Fri, 13 Feb 2026 08:00:00 -0800

Depending on one’s outlook and relationship status (and a willingness to spend lavishly on romantic gestures), Valentine's Day is an annual ritual to be loved or loathed. But is it living up to its unstated end goal – i.e., romance blossoming into love and commitment, which in turn leads to parenthood? Valerie Ramey, an economist and the Hoover Institution’s Thomas Sowell Senior Fellow, looks at the economic engine that is Valentines Day (literally “a day of wine and roses”), the various social factors that’ve contributed to America’s declining birth rate, plus why it is that modern-day parents engage in what she calls the "rug rat race” – mothers and fathers raising children in a more hands-on manner so as to assure their progeny are admitted to top-flight universities.

Recorded on February 12, 2026.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Valerie Ramey is the Thomas Sowell Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution. She is also a research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research, a Research Fellow of the Centre for Economic Policy and Research, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a Fellow of the Econometric Society.

Ramey has published numerous scholarly and policy-relevant articles on macroeconomic topics such as the sources of business cycles, the effects of monetary and fiscal policy, the effects oil price shocks, and the impact of volatility on growth. She has also written numerous articles on trends in wage inequality and trends in time use, such as the increase in time investments in children by educated parents. Her work has been featured in major media, such as the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times.

Bill Whalen, the Virginia Hobbs Carpenter Distinguished Policy Fellow in Journalism and a Hoover Institution research fellow since 1999, writes and comments on campaigns, elections and governance with an emphasis on California and America’s political landscapes. Whalen writes on politics and current events for various national publications, as well as Hoover’s California On Your Mind web channel.

Whalen hosts Hoover’s Matters of Policy & Politics podcast and serves as the moderator of Hoover’s GoodFellows broadcast exploring history, economics, and geopolitical dynamics.

RELATED SOURCES

The Rug Rat Race by Garey Ramey & Valerie A. Ramey

ABOUT THE SERIES

To join our newsletter and be the first to tune into the next episode, visit Matters of Policy & Politics.

The Robots Are Taking Over?

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 09:00:00 -0800

While the concept of robots supplanting humans may seem the stuff of science fiction, it is in fact advancing rapidly in all sorts of real-world applications – healthcare, manufacturing, even warfare. Allison Okamura, a Hoover science fellow, Stanford University engineering professor and contributor to this year’s Stanford Emerging Technology Review (SETR), discusses robotics’ growth in present-day and future societies. Among the topics discussed: how the 10 science and technology reports within the SETR review are interwoven; the integration of robotics into everyday life; a “100,000-year data gap” and massive shortage of training data for physical robot manipulation; Elon Musk’s new Optimus Gen 3 model and the feasibility of robotic workforces; the public’s comfort level with autonomous technology (would you take a Waymo to the airport?); what the future may hold (better robotic “brains” and “bodies” and soft shape-changing fabrics, greater intelligence and physical autonomy, improvements in robotic hands and humanoids’ dexterous manipulation).

Recorded on February 4, 2026.

RELATED SOURCES

Learn more about the Stanford Emerging Technology Review.
Learn more about the Technology Policy Accelerator.

“Arsenal of Democracy” Redux: Rebuilding, Rearming . . . and Making Sense of the Americas and Indo-Pacific

Fri, 30 Jan 2026 08:00:00 -0800

Evidence that history is repeating itself: Franklin Roosevelt’s plea in late 1940 to reimagine his nation as an “arsenal of democracy” willing to defy fascism and arm the free world, compared 85 years later to the question of America deterring China’s growing military prowess while also reexamining its role in the Caribbean (likewise an FDR obsession prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor). Hoover fellows and historians Joseph Ledford and Eyck Freymann discuss their respective fields of expertise (Western Hemisphere for Ledford and China-Taiwan for Freymann), how those two theaters are intertwined (could a crisis in the Indo-Pacific prompt China to create mischief in the Americas?), plus how to read Beijing’s ambitions (is Xi Jinping too risk-averse to invade Taiwan?) and Donald Trump’s designs on his “backyard” (is Venezuela the beginning or the end of the US engaging in the affairs of its regional neighbors?).

Recorded on January 27, 2026.

Divided We Stand? David Brady on America’s “New Electoral Instability”

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 08:00:00 -0800

How did America go from relative political stability in the postwar era—one party controlling Congress for the better part of four decades leading up to 1994—to the past three decades of revolving-door majorities on Capitol Hill and increasing partisan bitterness in our political discourse? David W. Brady, a renowned political scientist and the Hoover Institution’s Davies Family Senior Fellow, Emeritus, explains why in his latest book, From Dominance to Parity: America’s Political Parties and the New Era of Electoral Instability. Among the topics discussed: how the Roosevelt and Reagan landslides scrambled America’s voting blocs; why the 2008 Obama landslide wasn’t as transformational; the many dimensions of partisan shift (gender, age, income and education); the possibility of old-school moderate Democrats and Republicans repopulating the political landscape, or hyper-partisanship continuing to dominate future elections. Recorded on January 12, 2026.

California Update: New Year, “New” Newsom . . . Same Old Problems?

Fri, 16 Jan 2026 09:10:08 -0800

California’s new year begins with a “new” version of Gov. Gavin Newsom – offering Sacramento lawmakers a detailed and in-person State of the State Address, as opposed to recent years when the governor eschewed such pageantry. Hoover senior fellow Lee Ohanian and distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen, both contributors to Hoover’s California on Your Mind web channel, discuss Newsom’s “rosy” vision of California versus the realities of chronic homelessness, a lack of affordable housing, slow-track high-speed-rail construction, plus a revenue stream overly dependent upon the AI boom. Also discussed: reorganizing state constitutional offices; San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan’s emergence as a Newsom foil and possible gubernatorial candidate; a proposed billionaire tax driving capital out of California; and a lack of Iran-related protests on college campuses despite the considerable Iranian-American population in Los Angeles County.

Recorded on January 15, 2026.

Declarations of Independence: Peter Berkowitz on America and Israel’s Origins and Evolutions

Fri, 09 Jan 2026 08:00:00 -0800

What do America and Israel share other, other than shared values and a strategic alliance against the forces of tyranny? Try: declarations of independence and a celebration of individual rights that have stood the test of time (nearly 250 years for the US, nearly 80 years for Israel). Peter Berkowitz, the Hoover Institution’s Tad and Dianne Taube Senior Fellow and a celebrated constitutional scholar and lecturer, discusses what he witnessed fresh off a visit to the Middle East. Among the topics discussed: Israel at a crossroads in 2026 (peace in Gaza, perhaps another strike against Iran, a national election later this year) and its evolution as a free society versus where America currently stands. Berkowitz also reflects on his participation in the first Trump Administration State Department’s Commission on Unalienable Rights, building off what Thomas Jefferson penned back in 1776, plus the “Varieties of Conservatism in America” course he teaches as part of Stanford University’s Civics initiative and how it pertains to the competition (1776 and independence vs. 1619 and the introduction of slavery) to influence America’s origins to younger generations.

Recorded on January 5, 2026.

New Year, New Beginnings: William Damon on Finding a More Purposeful Life

Fri, 19 Dec 2025 10:00:00 -0800

Before long, holiday celebrations, family gatherings, and gift-sharing will give way to a new year and the question of resolutions and crafting a better self. William (Bill) Damon, a Hoover Institution senior fellow and Stanford University lifespan development psychologist, discusses his decades-long research into the quest for purposefulness in life, not so much self-improvement as it is being a positive contributor to the common good and the realization of purpose and integrity in work, creativity, family, and relations.

Recorded on December 17, 2025.

“A 100-Year Storm”: Ben Ginsberg on Bush v. Gore Turning 25, Restoring Confidence in U.S. Elections

Fri, 12 Dec 2025 10:04:51 -0800

Further evidence that time (and politics) flies by: it was 25 years ago this month that the U.S. Supreme Court settled the final outcome of both Florida’s presidential vote count and America’s choice for its 43rd president. Ben Ginsberg, the Hoover Institution’s Volker Distinguished Visiting Fellow, a preeminent authority on election law and a member of the Bush-Cheney’s legal team in the 36 days of post-election litigation and maneuvering back in 2000, discusses the two sides’ legal strategies, Bush v. Gore’s lasting impact on America’s political landscape, election-integrity matters approaching in 2026 (new voter-ID laws, the federal-state power struggle), plus his work at Hoover involving ways to restore the electorate’s trust in the voting process.

America’s Class Struggle: Eric Hanushek on Learning Declines and Hope for Revitalizing Education

Fri, 05 Dec 2025 08:00:00 -0800

If you think America’s schools fell into decline solely as a consequence of 2020’s pandemic and a year of alternate instruction models, guess again.

Eric Hanushek, the Hoover Institution’s Paul and Jean Hanna Senior Fellow and a leading scholar on the economics of education, discusses misperceptions in the Covid-education debate (learning and achievement were in decline years before the pandemic struck), why education reform remains elusive despite decades of talk and treasure, a few sleeper concerns (long-term absenteeism), lessons to be learned from learning and teaching innovations in Dallas and Mississippi, plus the future impact of learning loss on earning power and America’s GDP.

California Update: Prop 50 Legalities, L.A. Fire Confusion . . . and Bad News for Billionaires?

Fri, 21 Nov 2025 08:00:00 -0800

After a lopsided victory earlier this month, can California’s redistricting Proposition 50 survive a legal challenge? And why do last January’s devastating fires in Los Angeles continue to raise unsettling questions?

Hoover senior fellow Lee Ohanian and distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen, both contributors to Hoover’s California on Your Mind web channel, join Hoover senior product manager Jonathan Movroydis to discuss the latest in the Golden State including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s pending retirement, what the indictment of a former Newsom chief of staff says about Sacramento’s political culture, plus a tech-rich Northern California county’s search for more tax revenue – and, speaking of wealth, the politics and sensibility of a 5% wealth tax on California billionaires possibly headed for next year’s ballot.

Recorded on November 18, 2025.

“Don’t You Dare Apologize for the Military”: Admiral James Ellis on Veterans Day, Honoring Service

Tue, 11 Nov 2025 09:25:02 -0800

If you’re confused about the differences between Veterans Day, Memorial Day, and Armed Forces Day here in America, you’re not alone. Decades of government meddling and mixed messages have blurred the lines between honoring those who once served their country, those still on active or reserve duty, and those who made the ultimate sacrifice for freedom’s cause. Admiral James Ellis, the Hoover Institution’s Annenberg Distinguished Visiting Fellow, reflects on his nearly forty years of service on land and at sea (naval aviator, aircraft carrier "skipper" and head of the United State Strategic Command), the challenges facing veterans as they re-enter civilian life, plus ways to properly honor and improve the lives of America’s sizable veterans community.

From Stalinism To Reaganism: Daniel Flynn On Frank Meyer And “Fusion” Conservatism

Tue, 04 Nov 2025 10:30:00 -0800

How does one man whose formative years are largely defined by five “s’s” – sex, satanism, suicide, secret agents, and Stalinism – somehow wind up as a defining intellectual behind the rise of America’s conservative movement? Daniel Flynn, a Hoover visiting fellow and author of The Man Who Invented Conservatism: The Unlikely Life of Frank S. Meyer, takes us through an improbable journey that involves Princeton and Oxford, deportation, socialism, capitalism and Hayek, William F. Buckley and the founding of The National Review, Goldwater, Nixon and Reagan, plus a few unexpected cameos along the way (Bob Dylan, Joan Didion and the Berlin Wall’s architect, to name a few).

California Update: The 50-50 Proposition

Thu, 02 Oct 2025 11:44:31 -0700

As California enters the final phase leading up to its Nov. 4 special election and a vote on Proposition 50, plenty of unknowns surround the fate of the controversial ballot measure that would redraw California’s congressional districts to offset a Republican-led gerrymander in Texas.

Hoover senior fellow Lee Ohanian and distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen, both contributors to Hoover’s California on Your Mind web channel, discuss the tactics and messaging behind Prop 50 (does a pair of governors playing starring roles mean too much Gavin Newsom, too little Arnold Schwarzenegger?), why the upscale town of Calabasas ended up as a toxic waste site for Los Angeles fire debris, the failure of a prominent former legislator to gain traction in next year’s governor’s race despite her compelling life story, plus the travails of UCLA’s football program – what the Bruins’ struggles on and off the field say about the state of college football in the Golden State.

Recorded on September 30, 2025.

History in the Making: Victor Davis Hanson on Strategika’s Century Mark, Examining Wars Present and Past

Tue, 09 Sep 2025 08:30:00 -0700

For the past dozen years, Hoover’s online publication Strategika has examined contemporary conflicts and national security challenges by assembling academics of varied thought to re-examine past struggles. On the occasion of its 100th issue, historian Victor Davis Hanson, Hoover’s Martin and Ilie Anderson senior fellow and the man tasked with bringing the publication to life, discusses the institution’s growing commitment to the study of history (Hoover’s having a compliment of historians rivaling that of world-class universities) and how a Strategika-like approach explains complicated conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza. Also discussed: how Victor’s passion for military history stems from his male ancestors’ involvement in two world wars, his thoughts on how best to introduce young learners to classical opuses, plus the problem of university history departments discouraging intellectual diversity.

Celebrate Strategika’s 100th issue titled, The Current Status of Military History, by exploring the full collection of essays here.
For more episodes of Matters of Policy & Politics, subscribe here.

California Update: Pippa Can’t Win . . . Gavin Can’t Lose?

Sat, 23 Aug 2025 01:12:49 -0700

The big political news in California: its state legislature agreeing to a Nov. 4 special election to decide whether to temporarily return congressional redistricting to lawmakers – by doing so, California is adding more Democratic House seats and offsetting Republican gains in Texas via that state’s mid-decade redistricting efforts.

Hoover senior fellow Lee Ohanian and distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen, both contributors to Hoover’s California on Your Mind web channel, join Hoover senior product manager Jonathan Movroydis to discuss election wildcards (Gov. Gavin Newsom’s mixed record as the face of initiative campaigns; former governor Arnold Schwarzenegger as a voice against), what the ballot ploy means for Newsom’s presidential prospects (is he a winner 2028-wise regardless of the outcome?), plus its impact on next year’s gubernatorial race (if voters reject the plan, will Democratic hopefuls ease off democracy-in-danger rhetoric in favor of more tangible concerns like housing and public safety?).

Recorded on August 21, 2025.

All Roads Lead to . . .? Barry Strauss on Jews vs. Rome, the Fate of Empires and Republics

Tue, 19 Aug 2025 08:44:00 -0700

Three times in ancient history, the Jewish people revolted against the Roman Empire – the end result being genocide, enslavement, exile, and religious oppression. Barry Strauss, the Hoover Institution’s Corliss Page Dean senior fellow and author of the newly released book Jews Vs. Rome: Two Centuries of Rebellion Against the World’s Mightiest People, discusses what triggered the various uprisings (taxation, free will) and the lessons they offer in current world politics – specifically, how Israel’s friends and foes view the Jewish state. Also discussed: how the American and Roman empires/republics are similar yet different and, on a lighter note, why the entertainment world insists upon an ancient Rome full of mild British accents and good dental hygiene.

Like Father, Like Son? Joseph Torigian on Chinese Governance, Xi Jinping’s Paternal Influence

Tue, 29 Jul 2025 08:57:57 -0700

One way to examine the thinking and ruling style of Chinese President Xi Jinping: his father’s role in the rise and evolution of Chinese-brand communism. Hoover research fellow Joseph Torigian, author of the recently released The Party’s Interests Come First: The Life of Xi Zhongxun, Father of Xi Jinping, discusses how the elder Xi’s involvement in the Red Army, economic political reform, working alongside Zhou Enlai and dealing with ethnic minorities and organized religion – plus years of political exile after running afoul of Maoist sensibilities – all play into how his son runs the modern-day Chinese Communist Party.

California Update: He Can Run (For President), But Can He Hide (From His Record)? | Gavin Newsom

Tue, 22 Jul 2025 10:33:12 -0700

California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recent visit to early-primary South Carolina, followed by his return home and hinting at a special election to re-politicize California’s redistricting process in order to add more Democratic seats in Congress (as a counter to Texas’ legislature doing the same to pad the present House GOP majority), seems further evidence of the term-limited governor’s president ambitions. Yet as Newsom’s South Carolina experience showed, wherever he journeys, he also brings along the Golden State as political baggage.

Hoover senior fellow Lee Ohanian and distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen, both contributors to Hoover’s California on Your Mind periodical, join Jonathan Movroydis to discuss the latest in the Golden State including where Newsom stands as far as delivering on lofty gubernatorial promises with less than 18 months remaining in his second and final term, as well as how that record on such thorny policy matters as homelessness, new housing and high-speed rail construction might impact his presidential prospects.

Recorded on July 21, 2025.

Pollsters’ Perspectives: Did 2024 Realign US Politics ... Beyond the Age of Trump? | Revitalizing American Institutions | Hoover Institution

Wed, 18 Jun 2025 08:55:00 -0700

While last year’s US presidential election didn’t lack for historical quirks – an incumbent president dropping out of the race soon before his party’s convention; for only the second time, a former president returned to office – opinions differ as to the campaign’s long-term effect on America’s political landscape.

In a special edition of Matters of Policy & Politics hosted by Hoover distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen, we hear from a bipartisan slate of leading pollsters on the state of America’s two political parties. They provide perspectives on the 2024 election, including assessments of what did and did not work in terms of messaging, how voting blocs shifted, whether Democrats can rebrand and rebound by 2028 or anti-woke Republicans once again will prevail, plus the chances of Trump-style politics outlasting its term-limited namesake.

This episode is in partnership with the Center for Revitalizing American Institutions (RAI).

Trump Tariff Outcomes: Is the “Less-Worse” Case a Best-Case Scenario?

Thu, 12 Jun 2025 16:37:02 -0700

What’s the most likely outcome for President Trump’s tariff strategy – trading partners capitulating, America’s economy and exceptionalism crumbling, or something in the middle?

Hoover fellows and economists Michael Bordo and Mickey Levy discuss a recent paper they’ve published on the history of tariff impositions and four possible outcomes (none of them are good). Their conclusion: the odds favor a “less-worse” case of 12%-14% tariffs and deals with Canada and Mexico, with a “small but cumulative impact” on longer-run potential growth (maybe a mild recession) while the U.S. retains its global dominant status.

Recorded on June 6, 2025

California Update: (Misguided) Plans, Trains, and Automobiles

Fri, 06 Jun 2025 12:50:00 -0700

What do an electric-vehicle mandate, a structural budget deficit, and chronic homelessness and affordable housing woes have in common? The answer: they are policy headaches likely awaiting California’s next governor.

Hoover senior fellow Lee Ohanian and distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen, both contributors to Hoover’s California on Your Mind web channel, join Hoover senior product manager Jonathan Movroydis to discuss the latest in the Golden State including flaws in Governor Newsom’s plan requiring all new automobiles sold in California by 2035 to be zero-emission vehicles, another financial blow to California’s high-speed rail project, ongoing struggles with homeless and affordable agenda, plus a curious lack of celebrities auditioning for statewide offices. After that: 95th-birthday tributes to Clint Eastwood (May 31) and Hoover’s own Thomas Sowell (June 30).

Recorded on June 5, 2025.

California Update: The World’s 4th-Largest Economy – and the Home of “Shaq State”?

Mon, 05 May 2025 10:40:29 -0700

New data points to California as the world’s fourth-largest economy, supplanting Japan (with India likely soon surpassing the Golden State). What does that say about California as an economic powerhouse and a nation-state plagued by a dark economic underside (inflation, high cost of living, middle-class squeeze)?

Hoover senior fellow Lee Ohanian and distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen, both contributors to Hoover’s California on Your Mind web channel, join Hoover’s assistant director of content development Jonathan Movroydis to discuss California’s new global standing, the impact of looming Trump tariffs, the reemergence of former vice president Kamala Harris as she ponders whether to run for governor in 2026, political intrigue past, present, and future in Los Angeles, the ongoing struggles of California’s high-speed rail project, plus basketball great Shaquille O’Neal becoming the general manager of Sacramento State’s men’s basketball team – and whether state government likewise could benefit from a star athlete’s intervention.

Recorded on May 1, 2025.

Tariff-ic Or Tariff-ied? What Polling Says About Trump 2.0

Thu, 01 May 2025 14:42:18 -0700

Donald Trump’s first 100 days since returning to office have been prolific – the most executive orders issued in the early days of a presidency – and seemingly in a constant state of political turbulence.

What do the polls indicate about Trump’s performance to date? David Brady and Douglas Rivers, Hoover Institution senior fellows, and Stanford University political scientists, discuss how various policy choices – tariffs, immigration enforcement, legal imbroglios – have affected Trump’s approval, plus where a struggling Democrat Party stands as both parties ponder a midterm election still 550 days ahead.

Recorded on April 30, 2025.

Elective Surgery: Obamacare’s 15th Anniversary, Federal Healthcare Reform, and California’s Medi-Cal Woes

Fri, 04 Apr 2025 08:55:00 -0700

Once a policy lightning rod that ended political careers, the Affordable Care Act (aka, “Obamacare”) has proven to be remarkably resilient with last month marking the 15th anniversary of its being signed into law. Lanhee Chen, the Hoover Institution’s David and Diane Steffy Fellow in American Public Policy Studies and co-chair of Hoover’s Healthcare Policy Working Group, explains how the ACA managed to survive despite power shifts in Washington, what areas of healthcare Congress should address in 2025, and California’s inability to cover the cost of its Medi-Cal program (the state equivalent of Medicaid) due to rising demand among seniors and undocumented residents.

Recorded on April 3, 2025.

RELATED SOURCES

Fifteen Years Later: The ACA Has an HSA Problem by Lanhee J. Chen Tom Church Daniel L. Heil

California Update: Open Season on the Governor’s Open Mic

Fri, 28 Mar 2025 08:56:00 -0700

The good news for California governor Gavin Newsom is that his new podcast has the left and the right buzzing. The bad news is that neither side likes what is covered in his podcasts, as the governor makes nice with conservative and liberal provocateurs and thought leaders.

Hoover senior fellow Lee Ohanian and distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen, both contributors to Hoover’s California on Your Mind web channel, discuss where Newsom’s latest foray into podcasting comes up short; how a shortfall in the state’s health budget may tie into his political re-branding (or is podcasting more about Newsom becoming a media kingpin?); plus differences in state and city approaches to California’s homelessness issues. After that, with the NCAA’s “March Madness” in high gear, the fellows discuss the altered state of Golden State collegiate athletics – Stanford, UCLA, and USC’s changing fortunes and conferences.

Recorded on March 27, 2025.

Michael Hartney on the Federal Role in Education, Outcomes v. Totems, and Union Clout

Fri, 21 Mar 2025 08:54:37 -0700

President Trump’s signing of an executive order calling for the downsizing of the US Department of Education (DOE) raises concerns related to the federal versus state balance in K-12 policy. Michael Hartney, the Hoover Institution’s Bruni Family fellow, discusses the book he is currently writing on the 2020 pandemic’s lasting impact on schools, and then he examines Trump’s executive order on downsizing the DOE. Hartney talks about the lessons learned five years after COVID-19 temporary halted in-classroom instruction, and then Hartney discusses the potency of cultural issues in the greater education debate, plus whether teachers’ unions have the same political clout they enjoyed pre-COVID.

Recorded on March 20, 2025.

Achieving Geopolitical Objectives: Andrew Grotto on American “Economic Statecraft”

Wed, 19 Mar 2025 10:52:30 -0700

Curtailing strife and safeguarding America’s global standing requires military strength, diplomatic reach, a gravitational pull to the concepts of liberty and opportunity, and a strategy for economic growth beyond America’s shores. Andrew Grotto, a Hoover visiting fellow and veteran of two past White House national security teams, discusses the white paper he co-authored with Hoover’s H.R. McMaster on the need for a more structured and coordinated approach to US foreign policy, as well as how “economic statecraft” applies to settling the current wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, and how to win America’s “great power competition” with China (which includes a global economic component missing from the last century’s Cold War rivalry with the Soviet Union).

Recorded on March 18, 2025.

War and Peace . . . and a Changing Europe

Thu, 13 Mar 2025 08:55:00 -0700

Ukraine’s acceptance of a 30-day ceasefire, since rejected by Russia, shows the challenge in bringing an end to Eastern Europe’s three-year war of attrition. Meanwhile, Germany’s national election delivers a new chancellor (once a coalition government is brokered) who’s both a “transatlanticist” and a believer in a more independent Europe ramping up its self-defense. Russell Berman, a Hoover Institution senior fellow and Stanford University German studies professor, discusses the intricacies of a Ukraine-Russia peace deal (is Turkey the key as a potential peacekeeper?); NATO’s future; whether Britain and France will share nuclear weapons with Germany; plus the odds of an “alpha male” (or is it an Italian female?) emerging among European’s officeholders.

A “Middle School Dance” of Trust | Renewing Civics Education – Preparing for American Citizenship

Tue, 11 Mar 2025 04:08:00 -0700

In an Information Age during which decentralized news and information have contributed to a greater lack of trust in government and traditional media outlets, is it possible to restore confidence in both institutions? Nick Mastronardi, a Hoover Institution veteran fellow and software innovator in the field of public-sector communications, discusses advances in data collection and artificial intelligence and a positive impact on government behavior with Hoover Volker Senior Fellow (adjunct) “Checker” Finn, one of the nation’s preeminent authorities on education policy and innovation.

Recorded on January 14, 2025.

ABOUT THE SERIES

Educators across the land are preparing for Civic Learning Week in mid-March—with the capstone National Forum at the Hoover Institution on March 13—as the nation also gets ready for next year’s 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. In anticipation of both—and recognizing the urgent need to rekindle civic literacy via our schools and colleges—Renewing Civics Education – Preparing for American Citizenship, a five-part podcast series, takes on the challenges of citizenship education: why it matters, what it needs to do differently, what shortcomings it must overcome. The series features distinguished members of Hoover’s Working Group on Good American Citizenship, led by Volker Senior Fellow Chester Finn.

Cooperation, Not Compromise in the Classroom | Renewing Civics Education – Preparing for American Citizenship

Tue, 04 Mar 2025 08:55:00 -0800

Does a Stanford University initiative reinstating a century-old tradition of American civics learning offer a roadmap for the future of higher education? In this installment, Josiah Ober, a Hoover Institution senior fellow and a Stanford professor taking part in the Stanford Civics Initiative, discusses the path forward in citizenship education with Volker Senior Fellow (adjunct) “Checker” Finn, one of the nation’s preeminent authorities on education policy and innovation.

Recorded January 9, 2025.

ABOUT THE SERIES

California Update: Like a Good Neighbor . . .?

Thu, 27 Feb 2025 11:03:35 -0800

Los Angeles confronts the grim reality of a multi-year effort to clean up and rebuild after its devastating wildfires; Governor Gavin Newsom makes a big disaster-relief ask in Washington; and intrigue abounds in next year’s gubernatorial race. Hoover Institution senior fellow Lee Ohanian and distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen, both contributors to Hoover’s California on Your Mind web channel, join Hoover senior product manager Jonathan Movroydis to reflect on a smarter approach to fire response and prevention and what the future holds for swift reconstruction and affordable property insurance. They also discuss whether former vice president Kamala Harris is a shoo-in if she runs next year to succeed Newsom, plus the contrast between how red and blue states court industries (Tennessee luring In-N-Out investment and Newsom wanting to double Sacramento’s largesse for California’s struggling film industry).

Recorded on February 26, 2025.

Patriotism vs. Indoctrination | Renewing Civics Education – Preparing for American Citizenship

Tue, 25 Feb 2025 11:30:00 -0800

Can colleges and secondary schools teach American civics (i.e., an examination of the republic’s good and bad experiences) without being jingoistic? Peter Berkowitz, the Hoover Institution’s Tad and Dianne Taube senior fellow and teacher of a course in American conservatism that’s part of the Stanford Civics Initiative, contends that “patriotism” isn’t necessarily indoctrination. Still, reformers need to look beyond college and the late stages of high school. In a wide-ranging discussion with Volker Senior Fellow (adjunct) “Checker” Finn, Berkowitz suggests that the definition of “civics education” be widened to include core learning at the earliest stages of K-12 and a deeper look at how teachers approach their mission.

Recorded on January 14, 2025.

California Update: A Not-So-Special Session in Sacramento And Reasons for Hope in 2025

Tue, 18 Feb 2025 11:12:11 -0800

The following episode was recorded on December 10, 2024.

An adventurous year in California politics and policy ends with a special legislative session to “Trump-proof” the Golden State. Will a pair of would-be reformers – a newly elected mayor of San Francisco and a Los Angeles district attorney, both of whom ran against the status quo, be able to deliver the goods? Hoover senior fellow Lee Ohanian and distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen, both contributors to Hoover’s California on Your Mind web channel, join Hoover senior product manager Jonathan Movroydis to reflect on 2024’s lessons as well as this year’s winners and losers, plus causes for California-based optimism come January 2025.

High School Confidential (The Role of Civics in K-12 Ed) | Renewing Civics Education – Preparing for American Citizenship

Tue, 18 Feb 2025 08:55:00 -0800

Do high-school students – including those fortunate to attend America’s most prestigious universities – enter college with a solid understanding of American civics (i.e., the republic’s origin and design) or is it more a case of remedial learning? In this installment of Renewing Civics Education – Preparing for American Citizenship, Paul Peterson, a Hoover Institution senior fellow and Harvard University professor, reflects on his experiences teaching an introductory government course and offers thoughts on education reform – school choice, standardized testing – with Volker Senior Fellow (adjunct) “Checker” Finn, one of the nation’s preeminent authorities on education policy and innovation.

Recorded on January 9, 2025.

ABOUT THE SERIES

India, Before It Was Cool

Fri, 14 Feb 2025 13:28:55 -0800

A new survey released by the Hoover Institution – part of Hoover’s Huntington Program on Strengthening US-India Relations – offers a window into a handful of challenges facing the world’s fifth-largest economy and emerging world power. Sumit Ganguly, the inaugural director of the Huntington Program, joins Hoover research fellow Dinsha Mistree in a wide-ranging conservation about India including the timing of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s White House visit (can he avoid a tariff war?), an Indian foreign policy that’s long on partnerships but short on alliances, India’s role in a growing AI industry, plus what the future holds for the world’s-largest population whose demographics are changing as well as its tastes in work, leisure, and family planning.

“Don’t Know Much About” . . . America? | Renewing Civics Education – Preparing for American Citizenship

Tue, 11 Feb 2025 08:54:25 -0800

The Hoover Institution is launching a new limited podcast series featuring experts grappling with how to reinvigorate civics education across America.

Renewing Civics Education: Preparing for American Citizenship is a five-part podcast series that will feature a range of experts on aspects of civics, such as civics instruction, the role of the media in fostering an understanding of civics, and how civics programs in higher education can resist any forms of indoctrination.

The series premieres on Tuesday, February 11, with an episode featuring Distinguished Visiting Fellow Bill Whalen interviewing Senior Fellow Chester E. (Checker) Finn Jr., a national renowned scholar on education policy who leads Hoover’s Working Group on Good American Citizenship. Whalen and Finn will discuss the efforts by Finn and his working group colleagues to reinvigorate civics education across the K–12 and college landscapes.

Subsequent episodes will be hosted by Finn and released weekly in the lead-up to Civic Learning Week, which begins March 10 and culminates at the Hoover Institution on March 13, when the Center on Revitalizing American Institutions will cohost a one-day conference on civics education.

The episodes, which will run as part of the Matters of Policy & Politics podcast, are developed in response to the urgent need to rekindle civics literacy via our schools and colleges. This five-part series takes on the challenges of citizenship education: why it matters, what it needs to do differently, and what shortcomings it must overcome.

Programming will include the following:

A conversation between Bill Whalen and Checker Finn examines how US educators can improve civics instruction at the K–12 and collegiate levels.
Focusing on civics at the K–12 level, Finn speaks with Senior Fellow Paul E. Peterson about his experiences teaching an introductory government course and his thoughts on related topics including education reform, school choice, and standardized testing.
Examining the difference between instilling American patriotism and indoctrination, Senior Fellow Peter Berkowitz joins Finn to talk about the reforms he believes are necessary elements of civics education, not just in college but also in high school.
What do best practices of civics instruction at the undergraduate level look like? Senior Fellow Josiah Ober, who leads the Stanford Civics Initiative and co-leads the new Alliance for Civics in the Academy, joins Finn to talk about his roadmap for improving civics instruction.
Contending with the decline of trust in news media and its impact on civic knowledge and participation, Nick Mastronardi, a Hoover Institution veteran fellow and software innovator in the field of public-sector communications, discusses advances in data collection and artificial intelligence and how they can positively affect government behavior and civic interaction.

The programming will also draw on the Good American Citizenship Working Group’s existing projects, which assess the state of civics instruction across US schools and how it has evolved over time.

Episodes will be available on YouTube and many other podcast distributors.

For coverage opportunities, contact Jeffrey Marschner, 202-760-3187, jmarsch@stanford.edu.

California Update: Rising from the Ashes – What’s Next for Los Angeles?

Fri, 31 Jan 2025 09:26:23 -0800

Los Angeles’s devastating wildfires have prompted a series of troubling questions, ranging from the city and county’s reported lack of preparedness and apparently outdated water infrastructure to the crisis-management skills of state and local leaders. And are those same leaders capable of rebuilding both swiftly and in a commonsense manner, as opposed to years of regulatory gridlock?

Hoover senior fellow Lee Ohanian and distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen, both contributors to Hoover’s California on Your Mind web channel, join Hoover senior product manager Jonathan Movroydis to reflect on lessons learned from the wildfires, the impact on various political fortunes, plus can a Los Angeles already under pressure to present a more idealized version of itself in advance of the 2028 Summer Olympics – i.e., fewer homeless encampments, flowing traffic – remind the world that California is still capable of accomplishing great engineering tasks (unlike, say, the state’s failed experiment with high-speed rail)?

Recorded on January 30, 2025.

Now What Do We Do? | Saints, Sinners, & Salvageables

Fri, 13 Dec 2024 08:55:00 -0800

And so the great American election crisis that was destined to be, didn’t happen – the end-result stirring relatively little in the way of legal challenges or disruption of the constitutional process, with the public feeling better about the democratic process (or so the post-election polls suggest).

In this, the last of four installments on election integrity in the 2024 campaign cycle, Ben Ginsberg, the Hoover Institution’s Volker Distinguished Visiting Fellow and a preeminent authority on election law, joins Hoover distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen to discuss whether America’s crazy quilt of election systems and safeguards was formidable or merely fortunate in 2024, what laws a Republican Congress might pursue (voter ID?), plus future Hoover endeavors to help craft better ways of holding elections in America.

Recorded on December 11th, 2024.

America’s Shifting Latino Vote: Tectonics Trumps All?

Mon, 25 Nov 2024 08:00:00 -0800

Among the surprise results in this year’s American election: a victorious Donald Trump improving his numbers among Latino voters to a level not seen in 20 years and George W. Bush’s re-election (the only other time this century that the Republican choice won the popular vote).
David Leal, a Hoover Institution adjunct senior fellow and University of Texas-Austin professor of government specializing in American demographic changes, discusses why Latino voters turned Trump’s way, how 2024’s inroad impacts the idea of demography as destiny ( i.e., a growing minority population working to the Democrats’ advantage), plus Texas returning to its redder self despite talk of newcomers from other states making the Lone Star State more competitive.

Recorded on November 20, 2024.

California Update: The Golden State’s Black-and-Blue Election

Thu, 21 Nov 2024 09:30:00 -0800

The verdict on California’s November election? America’s largest “blue” state emerged black-and-blue as voters sent bruising, non-progressive messages regarding public safety, wage increases, and future approval of local bonds. Hoover senior fellow Lee Ohanian and distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen, both contributors to Hoover’s California on Your Mind web channel, join Hoover senior product manager Jonathan Movroydis to discuss the latest in the Golden State, including the political futures of vice president Kamala Harris and governor Gavin Newson (does she want his job?). They also discuss a special legislative session to “Trump-proof” the Golden State, plus the remote likelihood of Sacramento and Washington cooperating on changes to federal immigration policy.

Recorded on November 20, 2024.

Restoring Confidence in Congress: Will the House Come to Order?

Thu, 14 Nov 2024 11:34:23 -0800

By most metrics – a 16% job-approval rating, failing to deliver budgets much less conducting itself in a stately manner – the U.S. House of Representatives isn’t living up to the Founding Fathers’ ideals. How to restore the public’s confidence in the ways of Capitol Hill? Brandice Canes-Wrone, the Hoover Institution’s Maurice R. Greenberg senior fellow and the founding director of Hoover’s Center for Revitalizing American Institutions, joins former Illinois congressman and Hoover distinguished fellow Daniel Lipinski to discuss Revitalizing the House: Bipartisan Recommendations on Rules and Process – suggested ways to re-empower House members and committees and restore some semblance of the democratic process.

Recorded on November 12, 2024.

America Votes – The System Holds | Saints, Sinners, & Salvageables

Fri, 08 Nov 2024 08:55:00 -0800

And so the great election meltdown that was supposed to happen didn’t – across America this week, tens of millions of voters going about their business in a seemingly orderly fashion, with a decisive outcome favoring one presidential candidate and his party.

In this, the third of a four-part series on election integrity, Ben Ginsberg, the Hoover Institution’s Volker Distinguished Visiting Fellow and a preeminent authority on election law, joins Hoover distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen to discuss how voting played out on Election Day in America – results that surprised Ben, how different systems and vote-counting processes held up in battleground states, plus what election reforms a new Congress might want to pursue in 2025 (translation: requiring identification, greater uniformity and addressing non-citizen voting).

Recorded on November 7, 2024

California Update: Election Eve In The Golden State – The Times (And The L.A. Times) They Are A-Changin’

Fri, 01 Nov 2024 09:00:00 -0700

What to expect in a California election that shows some prominent big-city incumbents in trouble and an anti-crime ballot measure steamrolling to victory?

As Election Day approaches, Hoover senior fellow Lee Ohanian and distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen, both contributors to Hoover’s California on Your Mind web channel, join Hoover senior product manager Jonathan Movroydis to discuss the latest in the Golden State including the spectacle of government-envisioned “tiny houses” with not-so-tiny costs. They also discuss what a non-endorsement in the presidential race says about the troubled state of the state’s once-mightiest newspaper, and how Governor Gavin Newsom can move forward in 2025, depending on who becomes America’s 47th president.

Recorded on October 31, 2024.

Close Encounters Of The Coos County Kind | Saints, Sinners, & Salvageables

Tue, 29 Oct 2024 08:00:00 -0700

Justin Grimmer, a Hoover Institution senior fellow and Stanford University political scientist, joins Ben Ginsberg, the Hoover Institution’s Volker Distinguished Visiting Fellow and a preeminent authority on election law, to discuss what the former’s visit to Coos County, Oregon, revealed about trust in the election process and the challenges involved in debunking election-integrity myths. Their suggestions for curbing skepticism: losing candidates admitting defeat, encouraging the public to look “under the hood” at how elections are administered, and encouraging early voting to minimize dramatic vote swings after Election Day. Also discussed: the impact (or lack thereof) of voter-identification laws and reduced early-voting windows on turnout this fall.

Recorded on October 28, 2024

“The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” of Election Integrity | Saints, Sinners, & Salvageables

Tue, 15 Oct 2024 13:36:05 -0700

Wednesday, October 16, 2024 - 56 min listen
Hoover Institution | Stanford University

Like a storm headed to America’s shores, the November forecast calls for the sound and fury of a contentious election that challenges the public’s trust in democracy. Ben Ginsberg, the Hoover Institution’s Volker Distinguished Visiting Fellow is a preeminent authority on election law. Ginsberg revives his Saints, Sinners And Salvageables podcast series from two years ago with this kickoff installment examining whether battleground states are better prepared this election cycle than in recent election cycles, plus Ginsberg explores possible legal challenges that might happen before, during, and after the vote-count.

Recorded on October 14, 2024.

Games People Play

Wed, 09 Oct 2024 09:00:00 -0700

Why did the “best and brightest” of the Kennedy and Johnson administrations continue with a flawed Vietnam strategy despite years of wargaming simulations warning that there were no good outcomes for American involvement? Jacquelyn Schneider, the Hoover Institution’s Hargrove Hoover Fellow and director of Hoover’s Wargaming and Crisis Simulation Initiative, discusses the role of the 1960’s “SIGMA Games” in deciding Southeast Asia options, how wargaming influenced America Cold War strategy, its use in making sense of present-day enigmas (China, Russia), plus the challenges in playing out scenarios in the “final frontier” that is outer space.

Bill-Signing Recap – Deep Fakes, Deep Dodges...and Deeply Indebted to an NBA Owner

Wed, 02 Oct 2024 10:00:00 -0700

Who are the winners and losers now that California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed off on hundreds of legislative bills? Hoover senior fellow Lee Ohanian and distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen, both contributors to Hoover’s California on Your Mind web channel, join Hoover senior product manager Jonathan Movroydis to discuss why the past month in Sacramento was good news for teen-abuse victim Paris Hilton (Newsom signed a bill she championed) and Los Angeles Clipper’s owner Steve Ballmer (his new arena received a late-night alcohol exception); and bad news for Elon Musk (he didn’t get his way on a controversial AI measure as his social-media feud with the governor continues). Possibly the worst news is for Californians fond of direct democracy and election integrity (Newsom vetoed a voter ID requirement). Then, the legislature approved a constitutional amendment altering California’s recall process which voters will decide on in 2026.

What Polling Says About Trump, Harris And An Election “Doom Loop”

Fri, 27 Sep 2024 08:55:00 -0700

Is the current presidential election lining up along the same lines as the past two Trump referenda with a small number of swing states and an even smaller subset of issues (in 2024: jobs, inflation, immigration, and wars) deciding who will become America’s 47th president?

David Brady and Douglas Rivers, Hoover Institution senior fellows and managers of a tracking poll on the US electorate, discuss what’s different in a contest featuring known (Donald Trump) and lesser known (Kamala Harris) entities, what matters most to independent voters, the odds of one or both chambers of Congress flipping, plus whether Pennsylvania is the “new Florida” as ground zero for deciding presidential outcomes.

A (Better) Government for the People: Michael Boskin on the Future of Federalism

Tue, 17 Sep 2024 09:00:00 -0700

Since the founding of the republic, America’s leaders have pondered the question of federalism and the proper divide between national and local government regarding such thorny matters as infrastructure, healthcare financing, and education. Michael Boskin, the Hoover Institution’s Wohlford Family Senior Fellow and former chair of the White House’s Council of Economic Advisers, discusses American Federalism Today: Perspectives on Political and Economic Governance, a newly released book he edited based on the findings from a November 2023 Hoover conference on federalism. Boskin explains the urgent need for policy reforms (government waste in particular), plus what makes for effective government commissions (Boskin chaired a federal commission on the Consumer Price Index in the mid-1990’s).

Matters Of Policy & Politics: California Update: Kamala Raises the Roof, But Can She Deliver on Housing?

Tue, 27 Aug 2024 11:00:41 -0700

The Democratic National Convention turns out to be a tale of two Californians – Vice President Kamala Harris becoming her party’s standard-bearer; Governor Gavin Newsom left out of the speakers’ lineup (other than a two-minute cameo during the roll-call vote).

Hoover senior fellow Lee Ohanian and distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen, both contributors to Hoover’s California on Your Mind web channel, join Hoover senior product manager Jonathan Movroydis to discuss in the Golden State including Harris and Newsom’s reversals of fortune, the Golden State’s struggles with job-retention, plus whether a Harris presidency can succeed where a Newsom governorship seems destined to fail (she wants to build three million new homes nationally in her first term; Newsom is far behind on his downsized goal of 2.5 million new California homes by the decade’s end).

Matters Of Policy & Politics: Is “Kamalomics” A Return to Price Controls . . . and Counting Matzo Balls?

Thu, 22 Aug 2024 08:00:00 -0700

As Kamala Harris attempts to succeed where fellow Californian Richard Nixon fell short in 1960 – win the White House as a sitting vice president amidst a complicated economy – she takes a page from the Nixon presidency and wades into what government can do about the high cost of goods and services (specifically, food prices). Economist David Henderson, a Hoover Institution fellow and a I Blog to Differ commentator, explains what Nixon attempted a half-century ago and what Harris suggested in her pre-convention economics address. Henderson also explains the difference between price controls and curbing price-gouging plus the economic consequences of the federal government imposing its will on the free market.

Matters Of Policy & Politics: How Likely is a Gaza Cease-Fire and a Saudi Mega Deal?

Fri, 16 Aug 2024 07:00:00 -0700

For the past two weeks, after Hezbollah rockets struck a Golan Heights town and Israel forces retaliated with strikes on targets in Beirut and Tehran, the world is bracing for further violence in the Middle East, fearing the conflict will escalate into a regional war. Meanwhile, the Biden Administration presses for a cease-fire agreement in Gaza.

Hoover Institution fellow Cole Bunzel, who studies history and contemporary affairs of the Islamic Middle East, makes sense of Iran’s retaliatory timeline, discusses Israel’s options both militarily and diplomatically, and notes that a lame-duck American president (again) is trying to broker a Middle East peace arrangement amidst an election year; plus the prospects of a “mega” deal involving a US-Saudi bilateral treaty, Saudi-Israeli normalization, and possibly a road to Palestinian statehood.

Matters Of Policy & Politics: Hoover At 150

Thu, 08 Aug 2024 15:23:00 -0700

On August 10, celebrants will gather in West Branch, Iowa – Herbert Hoover’s birthplace, resting place, and home to his presidential library and museum – to celebrate the great man’s 150th birthday. Hoover biographer George Nash, who’ll be part of a panel discussion that day, discusses a remarkable 90-year life journey that took America’s future president from a nascent Stanford University to international mining ventures, to famine relief in Western Europe and the Soviet Union, and a post-presidency devoted to political philosophy and a “crusade against collectivism.” Nash also discusses Hoover’s sometimes complicated relationship with seven American presidents over the last 50 years of his life – and, along the way, finding time to establish an institution that bears his surname.

Matters Of Policy & Politics: California Update: Harris Goes Up, California Gets Its Close-Up

Tue, 30 Jul 2024 21:36:22 -0700

For the first time in 40 years, a Californian is set to become a major party’s presidential nominee. Meanwhile, governor Gavin Newsom issues an order to remove homeless encampments from city streets and continues to push back against critics of California’s $20 minimum wage for fast-food workers who claim that the new standard is a job-killer. Hoover senior fellow Lee Ohanian and distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen, both contributors to Hoover’s California on Your Mind web channel, discuss the Golden State including why vice president Kamala Harris’ ascent to the top of the Democratic presidential ticket upsets the political order in her home state (would Newsom accept a cabinet post should she win?), plus upcoming milestones for two US presidents with California ties – the 50th anniversary of Richard Nixon’s White House resignation and Herbert Hoover’s 150th birthday.

Matters Of Policy & Politics: Supreme Concerns

Wed, 03 Jul 2024 03:20:31 -0700

The Supreme Court saves the year’s most dramatic case for last – the question of whether Donald Trump can claim immunity from prosecution for actions he took while holding office. John Yoo, a Hoover Institution visiting fellow and Emanuel S. Heller Professor of Law at the University of California–Berkeley School of Law, dissects the court’s highly anticipated ruling. After that John talks about the significance of American’s Independence Day celebration, the health of the US Constitution, plus the proper balance of freedom and regulation – from the perspective of a constitutional scholar and a first-generation American.

Matters Of Policy & Politics: The Boiling Moat: Can Taiwan Stay Afloat? Matt Pottinger on the Future of Taiwan

Mon, 01 Jul 2024 02:46:57 -0700

Is a Chinese move on Taiwan inevitable (a quarantine, embargo or outright invasion this decade or next)? Or are there commonsense ways to ensure the island country’s freedom—and prevent a great-power conflict between Cold War rivals? Matt Pottinger, a Hoover Institution distinguished visiting fellow and former senior staffer at the White House’s National Security Council, joins Hoover Distinguished Policy fellow Bill Whalen to discuss the options he and other US-Sino experts have to offer in Hoover’s newly released The Boiling Moat: Urgent Steps to Defend Taiwan. Among the recommendations: ramping up military technology and capabilities; introducing a new pro-military mindset on the other side of the Pacific Rim; plus, America (following Israel’s example) understanding the benefits of a “warrior ethos.”

Matters Of Policy & Politics: California Update: It’s Not Just the Tacos That Are Fishy

Thu, 06 Jun 2024 18:04:33 -0700

While the Golden State struggles with the aftershock of its elevated fast-food minimum wage – California-based Rubio’s Coastal Grill, home of the fish taco, is filing for bankruptcy – and the legislature has to deal with the approaching deadline for a new state budget, which invites fiscal and policy skullduggery. Hoover senior fellow Lee Ohanian and distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen, both weekly contributors to Hoover’s California on Your Mind web channel, discuss the latest news in the Golden State including a nascent 2026 governor’s race (will vice president Kamala Harris “pull a Nixon” and give it a go?), plus a fond remembrance of the late Bill Walton – native San Diegan, UCLA basketball legend, citizen activist – who passed away just days after his beloved Pac-12 Conference likewise bid farewell.

Matters Of Policy & Politics: Presidential Debate Shake-Up: Who Trumped Whom? | Bill Whalen and Ben Ginsberg | Hoover Institution

Fri, 17 May 2024 17:23:06 -0700

President Biden and Donald Trump have agreed to a departure in presidential politics – two general-election debates in late June (a historical first) and early September, with a lone vice presidential debate somewhere in between. Ben Ginsberg, the Hoover Institution’s Volker Family Visiting Fellow and a nationally recognized election-integrity advocate and campaign counsel, discusses the merits of the new debate schedule, what it means for the future of the Commission on Presidential Debates (which both candidates purposely avoided) and national conventions and third-party candidacies, the impact on a changing media landscape, plus the feasibility of a third Biden-Trump debate in October if either the public demands or both campaigns feel compelled to do so.

Matters Of Policy & Politics: California Update | Bill Whalen and Lee Ohanian | Hoover Institution

Fri, 10 May 2024 01:14:16 -0700

Did a preeminent California university handle campus protests the right way, and why can’t the state prove that its homeless programs are working? Hoover senior fellow Lee Ohanian and distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen, both contributors to Hoover’s “California on Your Mind” web channel, discuss the latest news in the Golden State including third-party candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. qualifying for California’s November ballot, a fast-food wage hike that continues to cause economic heartburn, and Governor Gavin Newsom’s return to wanderlust (this time, a mid-May sojourn to the Vatican to preach about the perils of climate change).

Matters Of Policy & Politics: Bringing America Together | Bill Whalen and Bill Bradley | Hoover Institution

Mon, 29 Apr 2024 18:35:27 -0700

What happened to teamwork and the spirit of unity and common purpose – not just in sports, but in politics and in society? Former New Jersey senator and basketball legend Bill Bradley, the star of the one-man show Rolling Along, tells a tale that took him from a Missouri boyhood to a celebrated turn at Princeton, the bright lights of New York’s Madison Square Garden, and nearly 25 years in politics, followed by a post-political segue to academia, finance, and “story-telling.”

Matters Of Policy & Politics: America’s Economic Riddle | Bill Whalen and Mickey Levy | Hoover Institution

Thu, 18 Apr 2024 02:16:30 -0700

President Biden’s campaign swing through Pennsylvania this week is notable for two things – three days devoted to one “swing” state, and a nuanced message regarding the US economy that’s heavy on class-warfare rhetoric and light on inflationary concerns. Mickey Levy, a macroeconomist and Hoover Institution visiting fellow, explains the complicated picture of America’s economy – higher employment, higher productivity, and higher prices for goods and services; then Levy previews the upcoming Hoover Monetary Policy Conference and its annual look at the Federal Reserve’s performance.

Matters of Policy & Politics: Revisiting Freedom’s Cause: David Davenport and Checker Finn on Rejuvenating Civic Education | Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution

Wed, 17 Apr 2024 10:39:00 -0700

Evidence points to generations of Americans increasingly less informed as to their republic’s origins and system of checks and balances, so it is not surprising that more Americans are less engaged in their communities and are increasingly pessimistic about the future. Checker Finn, a Hoover Institution adjunct senior fellow and past chairman of Hoover’s K-12 Education, joins Hoover emeritus research fellow David Davenport, co-author of the soon-to-be-released A Republic If You Can Teach It: Fixing America’s Civic Education, to discuss better ways to engage K-12 and college students in the understanding and appreciation of the concept of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

Matters Of Policy & Politics: California Update: Southbound Economy, Media Hardball, and Remembering O.J.| Bill Whalen, Lee Ohanian, and Jonathan Movroydis | Hoover Institution

Thu, 11 Apr 2024 17:38:31 -0700

Recent economic news out of California isn’t all that “golden:” 400,000 jobs shed and the nation’s highest unemployment rate; and the Golden State soon to be demoted from fifth to six in terms of global economies. Hoover senior fellow Lee Ohanian and distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen, both contributors to Hoover’s “California on Your Mind” web channel, discuss why the West Coast economy has gone south (think: hostile business and jobs climate); and what’s behind governor Gavin Newsom’s recent spate of a bad publicity run that includes a harsh re-examination of his college baseball career. Finally, weighing the life and legacy of the late O.J. Simpson – and revealing the fate of the infamous white Ford Bronco (spoiler alert: start at Dollywood).

Matters of Policy & Politics: California Update - Proposition 1 Wasn’t the Yeast of the Governor’s Worries | Lee Ohanian and Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution

Wed, 13 Mar 2024 18:38:35 -0700

California’s Super Tuesday primary yielded a few surprises, including a low turnout that nearly doomed governor Newsom’s pet ballot measure and a San Francisco electorate moving rightward on local police tactics and welfare requirements. Hoover senior fellow Lee Ohanian and distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen, both contributors to Hoover’s “California on Your Mind” web channel, discuss election results, the controversy over Panera Bread and a gubernatorial chum seemingly exempted from a California minimum-wage increase for fast-food chains, plus the state legislature revisiting snack-food additives (potentially bad news for chips and Gatorade consumers), and the future of daylight savings time.

Matters Of Policy & Politics: Rep. Mike Gallagher on Congress, China and Public Service | Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution

Thu, 07 Mar 2024 17:16:58 -0800

Unusual for a member of Congress, the 40-year-old Wisconsin Rep. Mike Gallagher is retiring later this year after only four terms in the House of Representatives. In a wide-ranging interview, Gallagher discusses what brought him to Capitol Hill and why he’s decided to depart so relatively soon; life inside a fractious Republican caucus; his legacy as chair of a House select committee examining the threat of an ambitious Chinese Communist Party; plus lessons learned from political and military service (Gallagher is an ex-Marine who served alongside Hoover senior fellow and Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster in Iraq).

Matters Of Policy & Politics: California Update - Mental Vs. Fiscal Health, and Remembering a Rebuilder | Hoover Institution

Thu, 15 Feb 2024 17:22:56 -0800

California’s Proposition 1, a $6.38 billion bond addressing mental health treatment across the Golden State, seems destined for voter approval. Is it sound policy – and a sound expense for a state deeply in debt? Hoover senior fellow Lee Ohanian and distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen, both contributors to Hoover’s “California on Your Mind” web channel, join Hoover senior product manager Jonathan Movroydis to discuss the latest in the California, including a campaign to turn a coastal stretch of the Golden State into a new nation called “Pacifica”; the politics of “shrinkflation”; what this year’s US Senate race says about California’s top-two primary system; plus the legacy of the late C.C. Myers, who rebuilt the Santa Monica Freeway after 1994’s Northridge Earthquake.

California Update: DiFi’s Void, Deficit Dismay, Urban Dreams, Barbie Dolor | Bill Whalen, Lee Ohanian, and Jonathan Movroydis | Hoover Institution

Thu, 25 Jan 2024 17:23:11 -0800

Four US Senate candidates gathered for the first televised debate in advance of California’s March 5 primary; the state’s alarming budget deficit exposes fundamental problems with spending and taxes; and what are the odds of Silicon Valley luminaries building a new city form scratch in the heart of rural Solano County? Hoover senior fellow Lee Ohanian and distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen, both contributors to Hoover’s “California on Your Mind” web channel, join Hoover senior product manager Jonathan Movroydis to discuss the latest in the California, including Barbie’s rough Academy Award treatment – no Best Director or Actress nod – and what that says about filmdom’s perception of blockbusters and the female artists.

Matters of Policy & Politics: American Lion, Near East Hyenas: US Options in Yemen and Iran | Bill Whalen, Joel Rayburn, and Bernard Haykel | Hoover Institution

Thu, 18 Jan 2024 21:25:39 -0800

A new year begins with a familiar story – Middle East turmoil – and two plots twists of late: US forces striking Yemen’s Houthi rebels while trying to safeguard Red Sea maritime traffic; and Iran firing missiles in the directions of Pakistan, Iraq, and Syria, which tests western resolve. Joel Rayburn, a Hoover Institution visiting fellow and member of Hoover’s Middle East and the Islamic World Working Group, and Bernard Haykel, a Princeton University professor of Near Eastern Studies and noted expert on Yemen, discuss strategic options in the Middle East including how to curb Iranian aggression, strengthening ties with regional allies, and reintroducing the notion of American-led deterrence.

Matters of Policy & Politics: Iowa and Beyond: Three’s a (Republican) Crowd? | Bill Whalen, Dave Brady, and Doug Rivers | Hoover Institution

Thu, 11 Jan 2024 22:25:53 -0800

On the eve of Iowa’s presidential caucuses and the start of the 2024 primary season, what’s the inevitability of a Biden-Trump rematch? David Brady and Douglas Rivers, Hoover Institution senior fellows and Stanford University political scientists, discuss various political dynamics heading into Iowa and beyond including whether there’s room for three viable Republican candidates in January’s and February’s contests, the number of persuadable voters in a polarized “two-incumbent” general election, the role of third-party candidates as mischief-makers, plus alternate ways for selecting presidential nominees – i.e., is it time for national, regional or more “open” primaries?

Matters Of Policy & Politics: California Update: 2023 Ends on a Sour Financial Note (Except for Shohei Ohtani) | Bill Whalen, Lee Ohanian, and Jonathan Movroydis | Hoover Institution

Tue, 19 Dec 2023 18:55:35 -0800

What did we learn in 2023? California governor Gavin Newsom’s forays into national politics may have hurt his popularity back home; San Francisco’s pre-summit emergency clean-up proved that urban sanitation, like fame, can be fleeting.

Hoover senior fellow Lee Ohanian and distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen, both contributors to Hoover’s “California on Your Mind” web channel, join Hoover senior product manager Jonathan Movroydis to discuss the latest in the Golden State, including how California’s fiscal outlook went from a massive surplus to a titanic deficit, whether there’s light at the end of the tunnel for the state’s troubled high-speed rail project, plus Shohei Ohtani’s future in Dodger blue – and maybe a dodger of state income taxes.

Matters Of Policy & Politics: California Update: SF Cleans Up, LA Melts Down and Arnold’s Back (in Sacramento) | Bill Whalen, Lee Ohanian, and Jonathan Movroydis | Hoover Institution

Thu, 16 Nov 2023 17:22:45 -0800

A tale of not two but three California cities: what some have suggested was a hypocritical sanitizing of San Francisco ahead of this week’s APEC summit; the question of who and what caused a fire closing a portion of a Los Angeles freeway for weeks ahead; and in Sacramento, the 20th anniversary of Arnold Schwarzenegger taking office as California’s 38th governor. Hoover senior fellow Lee Ohanian and distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen, both contributors to Hoover’s “California on Your Mind” web channel, join Hoover senior product manager Jonathan Movroydis to discuss the latest in the Golden State, including the addition of “disinformation” and ethnic studies classes (the latter now a graduation requirement) to California’s K-12 curriculum.

Matters Of Policy & Politics: Milton Friedman: The Last Conservative | Bill Whalen and Jennifer Burns | Hoover Institution

Tue, 14 Nov 2023 06:00:00 -0800

Though arguably one of the most celebrated economists of the past century, there’s much to still be learned about the late Milton Friedman – his embrace of free markets and capitalism, his oft-times contrarian thinking on the likes of drug legalization, and the women who supported his research. Author Jennifer Burns, a Hoover Institution research fellow and Stanford University historian, discusses what she learned about the fabled Hoover senior research fellow (courtesy of Friedman’s papers in Hoover’s archives) in her new book, Milton Friedman: The Last Conservative.

Matters Of Policy & Politics: Michael Boskin: Defense Budgeting for a Safer World | Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution

Thu, 09 Nov 2023 19:39:13 -0800

Add to an already uncertain world: America’s uncertain ability to adequately budget for its national and global security needs – those needs more apparent given the US’s current involvement in two “hot” wars, plus “Cold War 2.0" with China. Michael Boskin, the Hoover Institution’s Wohlford Family Senior Fellow and former chair of the White House’s Council of Economic Advisors, discusses Defense Budgeting for a Safer World – a new Hoover Institution press release he co-edited that features nearly three dozen defense and national security experts (many of them, Hoover fellows) outlining better ways to deliver “more bang for the buck” and recruit and retain needed personnel.

Matters Of Policy & Politics: California Update: Bills That Lived or Died; Single-Payer Healthcare’s Resuscitation | Bill Whalen, Lee Ohanian, and Jonathan Movroydis | Hoover Institution

Thu, 19 Oct 2023 16:56:40 -0700

In Sacramento, the State Capitol’s annual bill-signing season ends, with California governor Gavin Newsom deciding the fate of hundreds of pieces of legislation. Hoover senior fellow Lee Ohanian and distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen, both contributors to Hoover’s “California on Your Mind” web channel, joins Hoover senior product manager Jonathan Movroydis to discuss the latest in the Golden State, including the governor’s use of the process to enhance his national image, his allergic reaction to a bill legalizing “magic mushrooms,” plus his re-embrace of the progressive dream of single-payer healthcare.

Silicon Triangle: Mary Kay Magistad on the Future of US-China Competition | Hoover Institution

Wed, 11 Oct 2023 05:00:00 -0700

Read "Scenarios for Future US-China Competition" here: https://www.hoover.org/sites/default/files/research/docs/SiliconTriangle_Chapter1_230828.pdf

Mary Kay Magistad and Kharis Templeman discuss four potential futures for US-China relations. These scenarios depend on whether the global economy becomes more integrated or bifurcated, and whether the US or China leads in semiconductor technology. They also cover key findings and policy recommendations around supply chain security, US-China competition, and Taiwan's future.

To learn more, go to https://www.hoover.org/silicon-triangle

Mary Kay Magistad is deputy director of the Asia Society’s Center on U.S.-China Relations. She is an award-winning journalist who lived and reported in Asia for more than two decades, including in China for NPR and PRI/BBC’s The World, and in Southeast Asia for NPR and the Washington Post.

Kharis Templeman is a research fellow at the Hoover Institution and program manager of the Hoover Project on Taiwan in the Indo-Pacific.

Silicon Triangle: The United States, Taiwan, China, and Global Semiconductor Security is a product of the Working Group on Semiconductors and the Security of the United States and Taiwan, a joint project of the Hoover Institution and the Asia Society Center on U.S.-China Relations.

Matters Of Policy & Politics: Ukraine and Russia: Empires, Genocide and a “Greatest Generation” | Bill Whalen and Norman Naimark | Hoover Institution

Thu, 05 Oct 2023 13:02:43 -0700

The Russia-Ukraine war is less about resources and more about empire, history, and two nations’ self-conceptions. Or so contends Norman Naimark, a Hoover Institution senior fellow and Stanford University history professor, who discusses how past and present cruelties involving the two combatants – common heritage, absorption, suppression and genocide, Vladimir Putin’s mindset, and the Ukrainian people’s resilience – factor into the past 19 months of fighting.

Matters Of Policy & Politics: Inflation, Disinflation, and Spending: When Fiscal and Monetary Worlds Collide | Bill Whalen and Mickey Levy | Hoover Institution

Fri, 29 Sep 2023 00:14:42 -0700

The good news: inflation isn’t what it was a year ago. The bad news: Americans still pay more for shelter, food, and energy – and may hold lawmakers accountable for the high costs in the next election. Mickey Levy, a Hoover Institution visiting scholar and senior economist at Berenberg Capital Markets, discusses the root causes of higher inflation, a more recent phase of “disinflation,” the Federal Reserve clinging to the notion of “transitory” higher prices, plus the consequences (and questionable wisdom) of the federal government engaging in economic stimuli.

Silicon Triangle: Glenn Tiffert on Why China Struggles to Produce Advanced Semiconductors | Hoover Institution

Thu, 28 Sep 2023 10:48:38 -0700

China's challenges in developing its semiconductor industry despite massive government subsidies. Tiffert explains that factors like lack of talent, economic inefficiencies, corruption, and reliance on foreign firms have hampered China's progress, but US export controls could unintentionally help China become self-sufficient over the long term. He explains the Silicon Triangle report's recommendation of "friend-shoring" semiconductor production to trusted allies rather than trying to onshore it all to the US.

Silicon Triangle: Matt Turpin On Mitigating China’s Nonmarket Behavior In Semiconductors | Hoover Institution

Fri, 22 Sep 2023 08:58:55 -0700

Matt Turpin discusses the intensifying competition between the US and China over dominance in the semiconductor industry. He discusses the strategies and policies the US is employing, such as export controls and domestic investment incentives, to try to maintain leadership in advanced semiconductors while limiting China's progress.

Matters Of Policy & Politics: California Update: “Lee Was Wrong”, Jerry Is Right? | Bill Whalen, Lee Ohanian, and Jonathan Movroydis | Hoover Institution

Wed, 20 Sep 2023 17:27:13 -0700

As Sacramento’s bill-signing season commences, Republican infighting is coming to Southern California, and does “Cincinnatus” need to return to office? Hoover senior fellow Lee Ohanian and distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen, both contributors to Hoover’s “California on Your Mind” web channel, join Hoover senior product manager Jonathan Movroydis to discuss the latest in the Golden State, including pending “first-in-the-nation” laws, a fast-food backroom deal, Ronald Reagan’s lessons in governing California, what Lee Ohanian’s discovered in five years of analyzing California policy, plus former governor Jerry Brown – aka, Cincinnatus – awaiting “sensible people to rise to the occasion.”

Silicon Triangle: H.-S. Philip Wong on the Implications of Technology Trends in the Semiconductor Industry | Hoover Institution

Thu, 14 Sep 2023 04:00:00 -0700

To read "Implications of Technology Trends in the Semiconductor Industry" by H.-S. Philip Wong and Jim Plummer, click the following link:
https://www.hoover.org/sites/default/files/research/docs/SiliconTriangle_Chapter2_230828.pdf

To learn more, go to https://www.hoover.org/silicon-triangle

H.-S. Philip Wong discusses the semiconductor supply chain, explaining the difference between chip design vs manufacturing and leading edge vs legacy chips. Wong notes the semiconductor field requires global collaboration on research to advance and is optimistic about future innovation post "Moore's Law" as societal needs will drive new breakthroughs.

Kharis Templeman is a research fellow at the Hoover Institution and program manager of the Hoover Project on Taiwan in the Indo-Pacific.

H.-S. Philip Wong is a professor of electrical engineering and the Willard R. and Inez Kerr Bell professor in the Stanford University School of Engineering, where he is the founding faculty director of its SystemX Alliance and director of the Stanford Nanofabrication Facility. From 2018 to 2020 he was vice president for corporate research at TSMC, where he remains as chief scientist in an advisory role.

Matters of Policy & Politics: Road to the White House: Is This The “Yogi Berra Election?” | Bill Whalen, David Brady, and Douglas Rivers | Hoover Institution

Thu, 07 Sep 2023 04:30:00 -0700

Does a repeat of the last presidential election take America into uncharted waters (an octogenarian incumbent vs. a predecessor on trial), or is it proof of Yogi Berra’s “déjà vu all over again” – as in 2016?

Will a small sliver of independent voters decide the fates of a controversy-plagued Donald Trump and a Democratic opponent with his own set of problems? David Brady and Douglas Rivers, Hoover Institution senior fellows and Stanford University political scientists, discuss President Biden’s and former President Trump’s poll numbers, the economy’s role in the election, plus how “independent” are non-aligned voters?

Silicon Triangle: Chris Ford on How the US Can Reduce Vulnerabilities in Semiconductor Supply Chains | Hoover Institution

Thu, 07 Sep 2023 04:00:00 -0700

Chris Ford discusses the need for an insurance policy to mitigate vulnerabilities in American semiconductor supply chains through government incentives, private sector investment, workforce development, and strategic stockpiling.

Matters Of Policy & Politics: Silicon Triangle: Semiconductors and Seminal Moments Across the Pacific | Bill Whalen, James Ellis, and Glenn Tiffert | Hoover Institution

Wed, 30 Aug 2023 20:35:51 -0700

Can America re-create a vibrant domestic semiconductor industry and, if so, what does that portend for an already strategically-vulnerable Taiwan? Glenn Tiffert, a Hoover Institution distinguished research fellow and co-chair of Hoover’s Project on China’s Global Sharp Power, and Retired Admiral James Ellis, Hoover’s Annenberg Distinguished Visiting Fellow and a carrier battle group commander during 1996’s “Third Taiwan Strait Crisis”, discuss Silicon Triangle: The United States, Taiwan, China and Global Semiconductor Security – a joint Hoover Institution report examining the Pacific Rim’s geopolitics.

Matters Of Policy & Politics: California Update: Riders on the Storm | Bill Whalen, Lee Ohanian, and Jonathan Movroydis | Hoover Institution

Thu, 24 Aug 2023 17:51:34 -0700

California’s first tropical storm in over eight decades exposes both physical and emotional frailties; the Golden State’s governor continues his shadow presidential campaign; and not a living Californian merits state “hall of fame” recognition. Hoover senior fellow Lee Ohanian and distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen, both contributors to Hoover’s “California on Your Mind” web channel, join Hoover senior writer Jonathan Movroydis to discuss the latest in the Golden State, including a second political giant of late to celebrate a 90th birthday.

Matters Of Policy & Politics: Healthcare Reform: In Need of Resuscitation | Bill Whalen and Lanhee Chen | Hoover Institution

Wed, 16 Aug 2023 18:47:14 -0700

Noticeably absent from both the floors of Congress and the presidential campaign trail: innovative ideas for lowering healthcare costs, easing the system’s regulatory burdens, and offering patients greater freedom to design their own plans. Lanhee Chen, Hoover’s David and Diane Steffy Fellow in American Public Policy Studies, discusses Hoover’s Choices for All project to revamp America’s healthcare system and he reflects on various health-related entitlement challenges that will soon overwhelm state and local governments (including rising Medicaid costs as well as Medicare costs related to America’s growing elderly population).