GoodFellows: Conversations on Economics, History & Geopolitics

Ivy-League Anti-Semitism with Bari Weiss, Regarding Henry, and Santa Hats | GoodFellows: John H. Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H.R. McMaster, and Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution

Failing to unequivocally denounce students’ calls for Jewish genocide has cost one university president her job and raises questions as to whether the current levels of anti-Semitic vitriol and political activism inside America’s elite schools suggests parallels to Nazi Germany. Bari Weiss, founder of the Free Press and host of the Honestly podcast, joins Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H.R. McMaster, and John Cochrane to discuss when and why America’s universities went astray and how to separate scholarship from political agendas.

Known Unknowns, the Rolling Stones, and Karl Rove | GoodFellows: John H. Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H.R. McMaster, and Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution

As the US prepares for a presidential vote (Iowans caucusing in fewer than 50 days) and a temporary truce halts the Israel-Hamas conflict, long-term uncertainty seems the order of the day. Karl Rove, Wall Street Journal political columnist and the “architect” behind George W. Bush’s presidential runs, joins Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson. H.R. McMaster, and John Cochrane to discuss the odds of a Biden-Trump rematch. Next the three fellows analyze the latest in the Middle East, including the peril of a broader regional conflict and the potential for eradicating Hamas. Finally, a “lightning round“ explores Vladimir Putin’s peace overtures, Sam Altman’s return to OpenAI, an ascendant Right on two continents, plus the legacy of the soon-to-be-touring Rolling Stones (Niall having no sympathy for any devil who doesn’t recognize the Stones as the greatest rock band).

Life During Wartime: Israel’s Resolve; Can Ukraine Still Win? | GoodFellows: John Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, H.R. McMaster, Russ Roberts, and Bill Whalen

Two conflicts present two challenges: a Ukrainian counteroffensive turned stalemate; and Israel’s survival as it confronts Hamas (and possibly Hezbollah and Iran). Russ Roberts, Hoover’s John and Jean De Nault Research Fellow and president of Jerusalem’s Shalem College, joins Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson. H.R. McMaster, and John Cochrane to discuss Israel’s morale and strategic choices amid a month-long wartime crisis. Then Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, former commanding general of US Army Europe, makes the case for anticipating a positive outcome—Ukraine expelling Russian forces, winning back its land—in a war nearing its 21-month mark.

A Bronx Tale: Ian Rowe on the Fight for Charter Schools | GoodFellows: John H. Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, Bill Whalen, and Ian Rowe | Hoover Institution

Ian Rowe, an American Enterprise Institute senior fellow and cofounder of the Bronx-based Vertex Partnership Academies, joins Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson and John Cochrane to discuss the future of public education and charter schools’ role in the quest for better outcomes.

What lessons does a virtues-based public charter high school in New York City offer to the ideal of education as a path to life success? Ian Rowe, an American Enterprise Institute senior fellow and cofounder of the Bronx-based Vertex Partnership Academies, joins Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson and John Cochrane to discuss the future of public education and charter schools’ role in the quest for better outcomes. After that: Niall and John weigh in on the potential for economic turmoil in a time of global instability; a hypothetical outsider as House Speaker; plus their like and dislike of the Olympic Games.

Understanding the New World (Dis)Order, with Stephen Kotkin | GoodFellows: John H. Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, and Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution

As Israel and Ukraine struggle for survival, a newer “axis of ill will”—formed by Russia, China and Iran—sows discord around the globe. Stephen Kotkin, the Hoover Institution’s Kleinheinz Senior Fellow and a vaunted historian, joins Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson and John Cochrane to assess options abroad and parallels to the past (are we reliving the 1930s, the 1970s, or both?). The trio then dons their speechwriters’ hats to suggest how President Biden can capture the moral high ground. The trio then discusses how President Biden can capture the moral high ground when he makes public statements about the crisis and America’s response to it.

The War in Israel and the War at Home | GoodFellows: John H. Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H.R. McMaster, and Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution

Recorded live at the Hoover Institution’s fall retreat: Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H.R. McMaster, and John Cochrane discuss unfolding events in the Middle East—Israel’s response, failures in intelligence gathering, plus America’s strategic choices vis-à-vis a complicit Iran. The trio then reflects on what an anti-Israeli backlash on the campuses of America’s elite universities—students and faculty denouncing the initial victims as aggressors, university leaders offering only lackluster “word salads”—says about the current state of higher education in the United States. 

Supreme Court, United Nations—What Next for Free Speech, the Free World? | GoodFellows: John H. Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, Eugene Volokh, and Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution

The US Supreme Court seems headed for a showdown with social media platforms over content and censorship; the United Nations’ 78th General Assembly underscores that body’s inability to curb totalitarian aggression. Eugene Volokh, a soon-to-be Hoover Institution senior fellow and a First Amendment law professor at UCLA, joins Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson and John Cochrane to discuss free speech in the Information Age and what comes next for universities following the court’s rebuke of race-factored admissions. This is followed by Niall and John discussing whether 20th-century international agencies remain true to their charters. On a lighter note, John and Niall also weigh in on government-run groceries, dress codes, and tipping servers (waiters yes, baristas no).

Doomsayers, a Doomed China, and . . . President McMaster? | GoodFellows: John Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H.R. McMaster, and Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution

In a special “mailbag” episode, Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, John Cochrane, and H.R. McMaster answer viewers’ questions, ranging from global geopolitics to American domestic affairs. Among the topics: Is China headed for an economic or military tipping point? What do the commentariat make of doomsaying Cassandras? And would two of the GoodFellows follow their colleague to the White House?

Tainted “Meat and Potatoes”— Andrew McCarthy on Political Trials, Public Tribulations | GoodFellows: John Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, Andrew McCarthy, H.R. McMaster, and Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution

Former president Donald Trump faces at least four criminal trials that could overshadow the Republicans’ presidential nominating process—and maybe fatally wound him in a general election—while a legal cloud hangs over President Biden due to an ongoing investigation into his son’s business affairs. Andrew McCarthy, a National Review contributing editor and former federal prosecutor, joins Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, John Cochrane, and H.R. McMaster to discuss how “lawfare” became a weaponized part of American politics and the corrosive effects it’s having on national elections and institutional trust.   

AI And A-Bombs: Is Everything A-Okay? | GoodFellows: John Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster, Fei-Fei Li, H.R. McMaster, Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution

On the 78th anniversary of the only wartime use of nuclear weapons, is the human race at another moral crossroads, fearing what artificial intelligence (AI) breakthroughs might unleash? Fei-Fei Li, co-director of Stanford University’s Institute for Human-Centered AI, joins Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, John Cochrane, and H.R. McMaster to discuss AI’s promise and peril, followed by the three “GoodFellows” revisiting Harry Truman’s decision to drop the bombs in 1945. Just as crucial to mankind’s future: they debate the likely winner in an as-yet-unscheduled MMA bout pitting Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg against X’s Elon Musk.