GoodFellows: Conversations from the Hoover Institution

Where There’s A Will….

Prolific author and Pulitzer Prize–winning columnist George Will joins Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster, and John Cochrane to discuss America’s drift away from the Founding Fathers’ intentions, the failure of its two-party system, the future of taxation and the US economy, challenges presented by a rising China—and his thoughts as he closes in on a landmark birthday (an early May celebration that will coincide with the release of Ferguson’s new book, Doom: The Politics of Catastrophe).

Recorded March 16, 2021

An American Empire—If You Can Keep It

This fall marks the 20th anniversary of US forces entering Afghanistan and, this month, the 18th anniversary of the Iraq invasion. With the last 2,500 American troops scheduled to soon leave Afghanistan, Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster, and John Cochrane discuss lessons from that engagement, the future of US military intervention abroad, and whether “endless wars” can be avoided.

Recorded March 9, 2021

Prey: Immigration, Islam, and the Erosion of Women’s Rights

How will Europe deal with a wave of violence against women perpetrated by male refugees from Islamic nations? How will America counter a “cancel culture” movement that seeks to stifle intellectual debate? Hoover research fellow Ayaan Hirsi Ali joins Hoover senior fellows H. R. McMaster and John Cochrane to discuss her new book, Prey: Immigration, Islam, and the Erosion of Women’s Rights, the parallels between Islamists and “Wokeists,” and her life as a target of both career- and life-threatening “cancel” efforts.

Recorded March 4, 2021

“The Place You Oughta Be”?

California is home to the world’s fifth-largest economy—and a world of problems: businesses exiting, chronic homelessness, a dearth of affordable housing, devastating wildfires, maddening political correctness. Lee Ohanian, a Hoover Institution senior fellow and columnist for Hoover’s California on Your Mind series, joins Hoover senior fellow Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster, and John Cochrane to discuss what is to become of the tarnished Golden State.

Recorded February 24, 2021

A “Post-American” Middle East?

Will the Abraham Accords endure, the nations of the Middle East continue to evolve their economies, and rival factions avoid conflict? Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H.R. McMaster, and John Cochrane discuss the future of the region, including America’s involvement—or diminished presence, as the Biden administration’s foreign policy takes root—in that troubled part of the world.

Recorded February 16, 2021

No Forward Passes

As the second impeachment trial of Donald Trump begins, what’s the path forward for the Republican Party—distance itself from Trump and risk losing his fan base, or embrace Trump and further alienate suburbanites and college-educated voters? Peter Robinson, the Hoover Institution’s Murdoch Distinguished Policy Fellow and host of Uncommon Knowledge (and a former Reagan White House speechwriter), joins Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster and John Cochrane to discuss the GOP’s brand, their shared memories of the late George Shultz, and one fellow’s disdain for the Super Bowl and the American version of “football.”

Recorded February 9, 2021

Dark Lights, Big Cities?

Are America’s and the world’s great cities forever changed by COVID-19’s side effects of distanced economies, population exoduses, and accelerated urban decay? Edward Glaeser, a Harvard University urban economist, joins Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster, and John Cochrane to discuss whether recent metropolitan decline is unique to the current health crisis or indicative of more permanent demographic shifts.

Recorded February 2, 2021

No Hugging, No Kissing

As California struggles to administer COVID vaccines in a timely manner, questions arise as to what demographic should go first and how the nation can better prepare for similar crises. Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a Stanford University professor of medicine whose recent research focuses on the epidemiology of COVID-19 as well as an evaluation of policy responses to the epidemic, joins Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster, and John Cochrane to discuss COVID lessons learned over the past year and a sensible approach moving forward.

Recorded January 26, 2021

Beer or Whiskey?

The Biden administration begins and, with it, questions as to how America’s 46th president will pull off the balancing act of uniting the nation, helping to curtail the pandemic, and finding the proper formula of executive authority versus the legislative process. Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster, and John Cochrane offer thoughts on the Biden inaugural, the shift in federal COVID policy, and a possible return to Obama-brand foreign policy.

Recorded January 20, 2021 3 PM PT

SNAFU . . . or FUBAR?

Supporters of President Trump storm the US Capitol; Congress mulls how to punish the president for the rioting; Big Tech cracks down on Trump and conservative social media—and we still have a full-blown pandemic. Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster, and John Cochrane discuss whether the confluence of events qualifies as a snafu (“situation normal, all fouled up”) or a more ominous fubar (“fouled up beyond all recognition”).

Recorded January 12, 2021 1 PM PT