GoodFellows: Conversations from the Hoover Institution

Cruel Summer: McMaster’s Tour of Duty, the Debate, TSwift, and Yes, Churchill Was a Good Guy | GoodFellows | Hoover Institution

What was it like to navigate America’s national security apparatus all the while coping with a mercurial commander-in-chief? Hoover senior fellow H.R. McMaster tells all in his new best-seller At War with Ourselves: My Tour of Duty in the White House – with additional insights provided by Hoover senior fellow Niall Ferguson, whose forthcoming biography of Henry Kissinger likewise will touch on national security and White House intrigue. After that: Niall and H.R. dissect the previous night’s presidential debate, assess the impact of Taylor Swift’s endorsement of Kamala Harris (spoiler alert: boy-dad Niall’s not a “Swiftie”), and offer thoughts on the perils of non-historians peddling “anti-history” and where the two fellows were 23 years ago during the 9/11 attacks on America.

Recorded on September 11, 2024.

So It Goes: Niall Ferguson on Good Books, Bad Screens, a 1968 Redux, and Hobbits | GoodFellows | Hoover Institution

In a topsy-turvy election year, does America’s 2024 presidential contest summon ghosts from 1968 — or, is a late-breaking 1980-style landslide in the cards? Historian Niall Ferguson, the Hoover Institution’s Milbank Family Senior Fellow, appears solo on this “mini” edition of GoodFellows (or is it GoodFellow?) to discuss the current political landscape, what roles an aging electorate and the “gender gap” will play in America’s election, plus a fondness for tariffs shared by two very different Republicans: Donald Trump and William McKinley (aka “the tariff king”). Niall also discusses the challenges in raising two young sons in the Information Age, and his renewed appreciation for the works of Kurt Vonnegut.

Gettin’ Grumpy with It: John Cochrane on the Fed, Tariffs, and Why Dogs Rule | GoodFellows | Hoover Institution

John Cochrane, the Hoover Institution’s Rose-Marie and Jack Anderson Senior Fellow and the author of The Fiscal Theory of Price Level (2023), discusses misconceptions around how the Federal Reserve goes about its business; why economic policy factors into the great-power competition with China; his fascination with Calvin Coolidge; plus why (in John’s opinion) Portuguese Water Dogs are the kings of all canines.

Generally Speaking: McMaster on Trump Foreign Policy and Technology Warfare | GoodFellows | Hoover Institution

In a special mini version of GoodFellows (just one wise man, not the usual three), Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, the Hoover Institution’s Fouad and Michelle Ajami Senior Fellow and author of the soon-to-be-released At War with Ourselves: My Tour of Duty in the Trump White House, discusses a possible sea change in American foreign policy and the view from other world capitals. On the 40th anniversary of his commissioning as a US Army second lieutenant, McMaster reflects on the challenges that tested his West Point Class of 1984 (motto: “The Best of the Corps”) versus those awaiting the Class of 2024 (“Like None Before”).

We Win, They Lose, with Matthew Kroenig | GoodFellows: John H. Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H.R. McMaster, and Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution

Is a regional war across the Middle East about to erupt? And what to make of a Venezuelan regime that doesn’t honor election results? Matthew Kroenig, Vice President and Senior Director of the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security and coauthor of the book We Win They Lose: Republican Foreign Policy and the New Cold War, joins Hoover senior fellows John Cochrane and H.R. McMaster to discuss lessons from deterrence (or a lack thereof) past, present, and future. Next, John explains how a market meltdown underscores a fragile world economy, followed by a discussion of two historical milestones: 50 years since Richard Nixon’s resignation (with public trust in government today significantly lower than in Watergate’s heyday); and Herbert Hoover’s 150th birthday (as to his humanitarian pursuits, where would our fellows be without Hoover’s namesake institution?).

Unburdened By What Has Been | GoodFellows: John H. Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H.R. McMaster, and Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution

An already surreal political year becomes all the more quizzical as former president Donald Trump literally dodges an assassin’s bullet soon before making a surprise pick of Ohio senator J. D. Vance as his running mate; followed by President Biden unexpectedly ending his reelection bid and Vice President Kamala Harris swiftly becoming the Democratic Party’s presumptive presidential nominee. Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, John Cochrane, and H.R. McMaster do their best to make sense of these summertime blockbusters, including whether Harris alters her party’s course (triangulate or double down on the past four years?); the pros and cons of Trump-brand nationalism and that philosophy’s hold over a restyled Republican Party; Vance’s qualifications for national office; plus cautionary tales from Biden’s lone presidential term and the chances of more surprises to come before Election Day in America.  

The Senior Moment with Jonah Goldberg | GoodFellows: John H. Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H.R. McMaster, and Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution

The Dispatch’s Jonah Goldberg joins Good Fellows to discuss his differences with Niall Ferguson’s Soviet America essay, the Biden/Trump gerontocracy, and the European elections. Also, can someone help Niall choose a dog?

A GoodFellows Special: A Guide to Summer | GoodFellows: John H. Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H.R. McMaster, and Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution

How do a historian, an economist, and a geostrategist make the best use of their summers? In an abbreviated GoodFellows, Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, John Cochrane, and H.R. McMaster reveal a few of their summertime preferences: favorite leisurely pursuits (land, air, and sea), their go-to foods and drinks, family gatherings (all three are grandparents), recommended books and movies, plus what research and writing lies ahead (plenty of writing and travel). Among the revelations: summer aficionados they are, streaming “vidiots” they’re not; plus, on a conflicting Fourth of July, a dual citizen’s “special relationship” with his native UK and adopted America.

The Axis of Chaos, with Matt Pottinger | GoodFellows: John H. Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H.R. McMaster, and Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution

A new “cold war” presents a familiar challenge for America: how to curb a rival great power’s ambitions. Matt Pottinger, a Hoover Institution visiting fellow and editor of the forthcoming book The Boiling Moat: Urgent Steps to Defend Taiwan, joins Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, John Cochrane, and H.R. McMaster to discuss how best to discourage China from moving on its island neighbor. After that: the fellows debate the wisdom of the UK’s fast-tracked national election; plus what, if anything, has surprised them during this year’s round of episodes (spoiler alert: plenty of chickens—bad policies, poorly run universities—came home to roost).

The Counterfactual Show: Reimagining History, with Stephen Kotkin | GoodFellows: John H. Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H.R. McMaster, and Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution

Historians differ over the need to explore “counterfactuals”—the study of scenarios that never happened—and what they can tell us about historical causation. Stephen Kotkin, the Hoover Institution’s Kleinheinz Senior Fellow and noted historian of Russia, joins Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson and John Cochrane to discuss alternative historical outcomes: Stalin not surviving a two-front invasion in World War II and Churchill dying well beforehand; the American Revolution failing; the Beatles never spearheading pop music’s British Invasion; a Trump victory in 2020 and its potential effect on the current state of affairs in Ukraine and the Middle East; plus a world in which COVID never happened (spoiler alert: it might have impacted John and Niall’s book sales).