GoodFellows: Conversations from the Hoover Institution

Black Swans & Pink Flamingos

As opposed to the fictional exploits of James Bond and Jason Bourne, what are the realities of modern-day intelligence-gathering—and how does the US compete in a new age of cyber-espionage? Amy Zegart, the Hoover Institution’s Morris Arnold and Nona Jean Cox Senior Fellow and author of the newly released Spies, Lies, and Algorithms: The History and Future of American Intelligence, joins Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H .R. McMaster, and John Cochrane for a closer look at intelligence gathering, national security, and geopolitics.

Recorded February 1, 2022

Boris Bad Enough?

Britain’s party-throwing prime minister may soon be thrown out of office; Ukraine and Russia are seemingly on the brink of an armed conflict that could throw the entire continent into tumult; and how to deter Russian aggression (other than sanctions)? Andrew Sullivan, proprietor of Substack’s Weekly Dish and Dishcast podcast, joins Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster, and John Cochrane for a closer look at UK politics and European geopolitics.

Recorded January 25, 2022

Dodging Bullets—Real And Metaphorical

As gun sales soar in pandemic-stricken America, the GoodFellows ask, Who’s entitled to possess a firearm? What restrictions should there be? And how would an international right “to keep and bear arms” affect the world order? Charles C. W. Cooke, National Review senior writer and Second Amendment proponent, joins Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster, and John Cochrane to discuss America’s fascination with firearms.

Recorded January 18, 2022

Speaking Words of Wisdom

The new year begins by opening the viewer mailbag. Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster, and John Cochrane answer questions from viewers in more than 20 countries. They range from the likelihood of hostilities in Ukraine to academic freedom and the present health of American democracy—plus which of the Beatles they see themselves as, given that one viewer thinks the show is “fab.”

Recorded January 6, 2022

The Roaring 2021 – And That’s It

Inflation arrived, COVID stuck around in its various forms and the world became a lot more complicated in terms of nations edging to the brink of hostilities. Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H.R. McMaster and John Cochrane ring out the old and ring in the new, offering their takes on what transpired in 2021 and what to expect in the new year.

Recorded December 14, 2021

Schmidt Happens

A brighter future of better education and scientific breakthroughs? Or a dystopian future of technology-driven chaos? Eric Schmidt, former Google chairman and CEO and coauthor of the newly released The Age Of AI: And Our Human Future, joins Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster, and John Cochrane to discuss where artificial intelligence is leading mankind and the AI competition between the US and China, plus the feasibility of the “metaverse” and the nexus between work and longevity.

Recorded November 23, 2021

The Glenn Show

This week, distinguished visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution and professor of economics at Brown University Glenn Loury joins the GoodFellows to discuss the Rittenhouse verdict and the controversies about race, the media, and guns that arose from the trial and the coverage of the verdict. They also discuss media coverage after Darrell Brooks allegedly drove a car into a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin. Finally, as this episode is top loaded with economists (Cochrane and Loury), the fellows debate the causes and some possible solutions to the supply-chain issues currently plaguing the country and the world.

Recorded November 23, 2021

Food for Thought

Cryptocurrency’s future, fossil fuels and alternate energy sources, the humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia, a new university devoted to academic freedom emerging deep in the heart of Texas, plus ethnic food as the gateway to a better understanding of economics and immigration: all are part of a multicourse intellectual feast featuring Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster, and John Cochrane, with their guest, George Mason University  economist/blogger/podcaster/foodie Tyler Cowen.

Recorded November 9, 2021

Ejector Seat

The latest on the pandemic front: kids ages 5–12 receiving vaccines and a federal deadline for private employers to comply with new vaccine rules set for January. Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a Stanford University School of Medicine professor, joins Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster, and John Cochrane for a wide-ranging conversation on COVID-19, encompassing mask sensibility, vaccine efficacy, and where Anthony Fauci and public health officials went astray.

Recorded November 4, 2021

Meta Love Shack

Live from the Hoover Institution’s Fall Retreat: Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster, and John Cochrane discussing think tanks’ role in today’s world, Washington’s absurdist tax proposals, Facebook’s rebrand, and China’s hypersonic missile test as a Sputnik-like wake-up call—plus one GoodFellow’s affinity for the B-52’s (the band, not the bomber).

Recorded October 29, 2021