GoodFellows: Conversations from the Hoover Institution

Slightly Hawkish?

With polls suggesting a Biden victory in November, Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster, and John Cochrane assess the impact of a change in power on US foreign policy. Their conclusion: not necessarily the same course as the previous Democratic administration—a new president perhaps more willing to use force.

Madison: The Musical

Is the 2020 American election destined for a decisive result or a series of legal challenges that will delay the outcome and throw the nation into tumult, possibly sparking a constitutional crisis? With Election Day now less than five weeks away, Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster, and John Cochrane and Hoover visiting fellow John Yoo—a constitutional law expert—discuss the various strains on America’s voting system.

Recorded September 29, 2020 2 PM PT

SPECIAL GUEST:

John Yoo is a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution, Emanuel S. Heller Professor of Law at the University of California–Berkeley School of Law, and a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. His most recent book is Defender in Chief: Donald Trump’s Fight for Presidential Power (St. Martin’s 2020).

Defending The Free World

In his three-plus decades of service to his country, Hoover senior fellow and former national security advisor H. R. McMaster fought for freedom’s cause and defended America’s national security interests abroad. The author of  the newly released book Battlegrounds: The Fight to Defend the Free World shares his world vision—rival powers’ mindsets and warnings of crises to come—with Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson and John Cochrane. 

Ten Miles From Stonehenge

Already plagued by a pandemic and a sickly economy, is California’s spate of wildfires and unhealthy air the tipping point for its disgruntled residents? Hoover Institution Senior Fellows Niall Ferguson, John Cochrane and Victor Davis Hanson discuss whether California can be fixed, or if it's time for a full-fledged “CalExit” to elsewhere in America.

Recorded September 15, 2020 1 PM PT

But Seriously, Folks . . .

With summer over and Americans (in theory, at least) returning to work, school, and familiar routines, what lies ahead for the remainder of 2020? Hoover Institution senior fellows Niall Ferguson. H. R. McMaster, and John Cochrane examine what might ensue in the way of pandemic, economics, geopolitics, and a contentious presidential election.

Recorded September 9, 2020 1 PM PT

Fiery But Mostly Peaceful

Its virtual national convention concluded, what is the Republican Party’s vision—is it the party of Trump moving forward? Hoover Institution senior fellows Niall Ferguson and John Cochrane and Hoover research fellow Lanhee Chen (the policy director for Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign) discuss the potency and lasting effect of Trumpism, the rising influence of social media, and whether the televised spectacle of urban unrest and violence works to the incumbent’s benefit.

SPECIAL GUEST:

Lanhee J. Chen, Ph.D. is the David and Diane Steffy Fellow in American Public Policy Studies at the Hoover Institution and Director of Domestic Policy Studies and Lecturer in the Public Policy Program at Stanford University. A veteran of several high-profile political campaigns, Chen has worked in politics, government, academia, and the private sector. He has advised numerous major campaigns, including four presidential efforts.

Recorded August 28, 2020 8 AM PT

A Little Revolution Now And Then . . .

Its virtual national convention now concluded, what is the Democratic Party’s vision? Hoover Institution Senior Fellows Niall Ferguson, H.R. McMaster and John Cochrane discuss whether the November election will spawn a policy push for the left and how a Biden presidency would balance old-guard liberal governance against a younger generation’s socialist and activist cravings.

Recorded August 20, 2020 1 PM PT

Tik Tok Pot Luck

This week, a special “potluck” edition of GoodFellows has Hoover Institution senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster, and John Cochrane serving up a spirited debate over the bureaucratic pandemic bungling and whether the social network TikTok is a data-mining threat to national security, plus thoughts on the addition of California senator Kamala Harris to the Democratic ticket.

Recorded August 11, 2020 1 PM PT

The Importance Of Institutions In A Time Of Crisis

Even pre-pandemic, America was experiencing a crisis in institutional confidence (with the noted exception of the military)—a lack of public trust in government, business, education, media, and faith organizations. Yuval Levin, a social and cultural scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, joins Hoover senior fellows and GoodFellows regulars John Cochrane and H. R. McMaster to discuss where America went astray and how the nation can rebuild from the grass roots up.

SPECIAL GUEST:

Yuval Levin is the director of Social, Cultural, and Constitutional Studies at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). He also holds the Beth and Ravenel Curry Chair in Public Policy. The founding and current editor of National Affairs, he is also a senior editor of The New Atlantis and a contributing editor to National Review.

Recorded August 4, 2020 12 PM PT

Chilling Out On Climate With Bjorn Lomborg

Earlier this year, the world’s elites agonized over climate change as the planet’s great existential crisis. And then along came a global pandemic. Hoover senior fellows John Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, and Hoover visiting fellow Bjorn Lomborg—this week’s guest “GoodFellow” and the author of a new book on the climate-change debate—discuss where the “environmental justice” movement is taking America and the world’s nations.

 

SPECIAL GUEST:

Bjorn Lomborg is a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution. Lomborg is president of the Copenhagen Consensus Center and visiting professor at Copenhagen Business School. His numerous books include The Skeptical Environmentalist, Cool It, How to Spend $75 Billion to Make the World a Better Place, The Nobel Laureates’ Guide to the Smartest Targets for the World: 2016–2030, and Prioritizing Development: A Cost Benefit Analysis of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals. 

 

Recorded July 28, 2020 9 AM PT