Conservative New York Times columnist David French joins Margaret Hoover to talk about the latest developments at Fox News, ethical questions engulfing the Supreme Court, and America’s political landscape heading into 2024. As President Joe Biden launches his reelection campaign, French, the author of “Divided We Fall,” reflects on the potential impact of a Trump-Biden rematch on an already-divided country. The political commentator also assesses the appeal of Ron DeSantis and the source of evan...
Apr 29, 2023•50 min
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, a political newcomer and rising star in the Democratic Party, sits down with Margaret Hoover in Annapolis to discuss his first legislative session and the progress made toward his priorities. Moore grew up on the brink of poverty after witnessing his father’s death at age three, struggled in school until he was sent to a military academy, and went on to become a Rhodes scholar, a White House fellow, and a best-selling author. Before being elected as Maryland’s first Blac...
Apr 22, 2023•52 min
Writer Thomas Chatterton Williams sits down with Margaret Hoover to explain why he decided to “unlearn” race and how he believes his approach could pave the way to equality. Williams, the son of a white mother and Black father who grew up seeing himself as Black, recalls how the birth of his light-skinned daughter led him to rethink entrenched racial categorizations. The author of “Self-Portrait in Black and White: Unlearning Race” responds to critics of his views and discusses the practicality ...
Apr 15, 2023•47 min
After the first indictment of a former president in U.S. history, longtime federal prosecutor Andrew Weissmann joins Margaret Hoover to discuss the 34 felony charges against Donald Trump and what may come next. Weissmann, who served as a lead prosecutor on special counsel Robert Mueller’s team investigating Trump, details the legal challenges ahead for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and Trump’s defense team. The law professor and podcast host responds to Republican criticisms of Bragg’s...
Apr 08, 2023•53 min
Model Paulina Porizkova sits down with Margaret Hoover to discuss her career in front of the camera and her recent book, “No Filter: The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful.” Born behind the Iron Curtain, Porizkova recounts her childhood in Soviet-controlled Czechoslovakia, her path to freedom, and her rise to become one of the top models of the 1980s and 1990s. Porizkova reflects on ageism in the modeling industry, what has and has not changed since her youth, and the challenges of presenting hers...
Apr 01, 2023•56 min
Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan sits down with Margaret Hoover to discuss his recent announcement that he will not seek the GOP nomination in 2024 and whether anyone else could successfully challenge Donald Trump in the primaries. Hogan reflects on his two terms as the popular Republican governor of a deep blue state, how his approach to politics could work for the party at the national level, and why the GOP base does not seem interested in following his lead. Hogan assesses fellow governors w...
Mar 18, 2023•43 min
Rep. Mike Gallagher, chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, sits down with Margaret Hoover to discuss his panel’s bipartisan mission to educate Americans about the CCP’s threat. The Wisconsin Republican argues that a new cold war with China has already begun and explains what he believes it will take to keep that war from turning hot. He reflects on his recent visit to Taiwan and the need for greater strategic clarity in the Taiwan Strait. Gallagher talks about th...
Mar 11, 2023•48 min
In this 2019 interview, former South Carolina Governor and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley talks to Margaret Hoover about her trailblazing career and her perspective on the future of the Republican Party. Haley–who recently announced a run against Donald Trump for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination–discusses representing Trump at the U.N., her support for his policies, and her reservations about his style. Haley also reflects on a pivotal moment in her governorship: the remov...
Feb 25, 2023•26 min
Brian O’Hara, the first new police chief appointed in Minneapolis since George Floyd’s murder, joins Margaret Hoover to discuss policing in America and the deep-seated issues impacting the relationships between communities and police across the country. O’Hara, who previously led reform efforts as a captain in the Newark Police Department, reflects on how his experience in New Jersey prepared him for his new role at the helm of another troubled department. With violent crime in Minneapolis start...
Feb 18, 2023•47 min
Economist Glenn Loury joins Margaret Hoover to discuss racial inequality in America, his resistance to the notion of systemic racism, and how his perspective has evolved since the 1980s. Loury, who was the first tenured Black economics professor at Harvard at age 33, explains why he now opposes affirmative action, even though he benefited from it early in his career. He also comments on the fallout from decades of mass incarceration and makes his case against providing reparations for slavery. L...
Feb 11, 2023•56 min
Barry Diller, chairman and senior executive of IAC and Expedia Group, joins Margaret Hoover to talk about the changing worlds of entertainment, technology, and politics. Diller, a former CEO of Paramount and Fox, reflects on the decline of the traditional movie business, the rise of streaming services, and how the Academy Awards have become “an antiquity.” The media mogul explains his objection to so-called “woke capitalism” and why he believes even offensive speech should be protected. As a lon...
Feb 04, 2023•50 min
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) joins Margaret Hoover to talk about her priorities in Congress, which include working toward bipartisan consensus on abortion, marijuana, and climate change. Mace blames both parties for driving up the nation’s debt in recent decades, but she supports a Republican strategy to use the debt limit as leverage to convince Democrats to accept spending cuts. She explains how her bill to balance the budget would work, though she acknowledges it would not be easy. As a member of...
Jan 28, 2023•55 min
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jon Meacham joins Margaret Hoover to talk about the lessons of America’s past and the threats to democracy looming in the future. Meacham, whose latest book “And There Was Light” focuses on President Abraham Lincoln, details the qualities of the country’s most successful presidents and the role their faith played in governing. The historian, who has helped craft speeches for President Joe Biden, discusses the political impact of the classified document controversy e...
Jan 21, 2023•54 min
Reverend Al Sharpton speaks to Margaret Hoover about his evolution as a civil rights leader from the 1980s to today, which is chronicled in the new documentary “Loudmouth.” Sharpton discusses his influences and why he developed his loud and dramatic style of activism to attract attention in New York. He also reflects on how Coretta Scott King ultimately convinced him to soften his rhetoric in order to stay true to his mission. Thirty-five years later, Sharpton defends his advocacy for Tawana Bra...
Jan 14, 2023•43 min
Two years after January 6th Capitol attack, former Vice President Mike Pence sits down with Margaret Hoover to discuss the events of that day, why he chose to defy Donald Trump, and what it all means for his political future. Pence, whose recent memoir, “So Help Me God,” details his decades in politics, reflects on his role as Trump’s vice president. He acknowledges some differences with Trump, but he defends most of the administration’s record. Pence explains why he publicly supported Trump’s l...
Jan 07, 2023•26 min
Cellist Yo-Yo Ma joins Margaret Hoover to discuss the power of music to bring people together and provide hope and comfort in a time of crisis. Long before COVID-19 hit, Ma was using his instrument to unite people, performing Bach suites in cities around the world and at the U.S.-Mexico border. He explains why he believes songs written centuries ago can connect humanity today. Ma also talks about performing during a pandemic, how technology has changed musical collaboration, and why he feels Zoo...
Dec 24, 2022•25 min
Misty Copeland, American Ballet Theatre’s first Black principal dancer, joins Margaret Hoover to discuss her career, her new memoir, and her relationship with her mentor, Raven Wilkinson. As Copeland details in The Wind at My Back, Wilkinson was a trailblazing Black ballerina who performed in the U.S. and Europe in the mid-20th century, but she has often been overlooked by history after her career was cut short by racism. Copeland recalls the lessons she learned from her mentor, reflects on how ...
Dec 17, 2022•52 min
Nobel Peace Prize-winning journalist Maria Ressa joins Margaret Hoover to talk about her reporting, her concerns about social media, and her new book, “How to Stand Up to a Dictator.” Ressa, who could face life in prison in the Philippines for speaking out against authoritarianism and corruption, explains why a free press is vital to democracy and why she is willing to risk her freedom to return to the country. She recounts delivering warnings to Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook executives years ago...
Dec 10, 2022•1 hr 7 min
Former Vice President Mike Pence sits down with Margaret Hoover to discuss January 6th, his political future, and why he still stands by most of the record of the Trump administration. Pence, out with a new memoir titled “So Help Me God,” details private conversations with Donald Trump about the 2020 election and defends his own rhetoric urging supporters to keep fighting in the weeks before January 6th. He recounts the lessons of his years in Congress and how he developed his approach to the jo...
Dec 03, 2022•1 hr
Former Attorney General William Barr reflects on his time in Donald Trump’s administration and tells Margaret Hoover why he thinks it would be a “tragedy” if Trump wins the GOP nomination. Barr–who left the DOJ amid Trump’s baseless claims of a stolen election in December 2020– defends his own pre-election warnings about the potential for voter fraud, denies Trump’s frequent tweets ever influenced his work, and explains why he feels descriptions of January 6th as an attempted coup are “overdrama...
Nov 19, 2022•1 hr 1 min
Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas joins Margaret Hoover to break down the results of the midterm elections, the weaker than anticipated performance of GOP candidates, and the direction of the party heading into 2024. Hutchinson, who is considering a 2024 presidential run, explains why he blames former President Donald Trump for the party’s losses in key races and why he believes there is an urgent need for Republicans to look to a post-Trump future. He warns of the danger in the rhetori...
Nov 12, 2022•43 min
New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman joins Magaret Hoover to discuss her coverage of former President Donald Trump and her new book, “Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America.” Haberman explains how the pursuit of fame has driven Trump throughout his life and how his years on “The Apprentice” set the stage for his political ascent. She also deconstructs some of the myths he has promoted about his life and his business record. The Pulitzer Prize winner discusses T...
Nov 05, 2022•46 min
Independent Senate candidate Evan McMullin talks to Margaret Hoover about his race against Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee, which could potentially determine which party controls the chamber. Although he is a lifelong conservative and he has vowed not to caucus with either party if he wins, McMullin’s bid to unseat Lee has the backing of Utah’s Democratic Party. He explains how he built a cross-partisan coalition that has made this Senate race the state’s most competitive one in decades. McMullin,...
Oct 29, 2022•50 min
Journalist and AEI senior fellow Matthew Continetti joins Margaret Hoover to discuss the evolution of the American right over the last century and its future. He explains how opposition to the New Deal, communism, and progressivism created the foundation for an enduring conservative agenda. Continetti, author of “The Right: The Hundred-Year War for American Conservatism” and a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, recounts the roles prominent political figures have played in the mo...
Oct 22, 2022•1 hr 5 min
As protests against Iran’s theocratic regime enter their second month, exiled Iranian journalist and activist Masih Alinejad joins Margaret Hoover to discuss the issues driving the demonstrations and her belief that this movement will succeed where past revolts against the government have failed. The protests were sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after she was detained by the regime’s morality police for showing her hair in public, but they have come to represent a rebellion again...
Oct 15, 2022•42 min
Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) sits down with Margaret Hoover to discuss her new memoir “The Forerunner: A Tale of Pain and Perseverance in America,” her activism, and her progressive agenda. Bush recalls how she overcame difficult experiences–including sexual assaults, abortions, and evictions–to become the first Black woman to represent Missouri in Congress. A member of the progressive “Squad” in the House, she is now seeking re-election for a second term. Bush entered politics after taking a leading ...
Oct 08, 2022•49 min
Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States Oksana Markarova sits down with Margaret Hoover to discuss Ukraine’s counter-offensive, Vladimir Putin’s latest nuclear threats, and new reports of war crimes by Russian forces. She also addresses Putin’s plan to mobilize 300,000 reservists, and she explains why her government does not support European countries opening their borders to Russian men fleeing conscription. Markarova details alleged acts of genocide in occcupied territories, denounces “sham”...
Oct 01, 2022•41 min
Former Colombian President Ivan Duque Marquez sits down with Margaret Hoover to discuss his four years in office, the country’s deep ties to the United States, and the economic and political challenges that loom on the horizon for both countries. Duque, who describes himself as a “radical centrist,” discusses Latin America’s recent shift toward the left, the dangers he sees in populism and polarization, and his concerns about the policies of his successor, former Marxist guerilla Gustavo Petro. ...
Sep 24, 2022•59 min
Filmmakers Ken Burns and Sarah Botstein join Margaret Hoover to discuss their new three-part documentary series, “The U.S. and the Holocaust,” which examines America’s response to Nazi atrocities, why the U.S. failed to take in more refugees, and how themes from the past echo today. They discuss how Hitler was inspired by the brutality levied on Native and Black Americans and how rampant anti-Semitism in the U.S. led President Franklin D. Roosevelt to limit the scope of the U.S. response to the ...
Sep 17, 2022•1 hr
Decorated veteran and author Elliot Ackerman joins Margaret Hoover to talk about his new book, “The Fifth Act: America’s End in Afghanistan,” his role in the civilian-led evacuation of Afghan allies, and what happens next. Ackerman discusses missteps in Afghanistan that spanned four presidencies, the Biden administration’s failure to plan for the worst-case scenario when U.S. troops withdrew, and how the war might have ended differently. Twenty-one years after the 9/11 attacks, Ackerman also ref...
Sep 10, 2022•46 min
