America is a land dotted with so-called “company towns” – population centers where a single business or industry dominates not only the local economy, but government and community ethos as well. But what happens when a town and an industry in decline part ways, leaving it to local government and leadership to take up the slack? Hoover fellow Elizabeth Mitchell Edler discusses what transpired in those portions of America (Appalachia and the Midwest) once dominated by a since-diminished coal indus...
May 15, 2026•54 min•Ep. 489
Before invasions of Ukraine and Crimea and various “resets” of America’s diplomatic approach toward the Kremlin, there was the “Boris and Bill Show” – two chummy and newly-installed presidents meeting multiple times at the tail-end of the 20th Century with the shared goal of bringing Russia into a post-Cold War world order as a peaceful, prosperous (and non-proliferating) society. Rose Gottemoeller, a Hoover Institution research fellow and former Clinton and Obama administration national securit...
May 08, 2026•57 min•Ep. 488
Before invasions of Ukraine and Crimea and various “resets” of America’s diplomatic approach toward the Kremlin, there was the “Boris and Bill Show” – two chummy and newly-installed presidents meeting multiple times at the tail-end of the 20th Century with the shared goal of bringing Russia into a post-Cold War world order as a peaceful, prosperous (and non-proliferating) society. Rose Gottemoeller, a Hoover Institution research fellow and former Clinton and Obama administration national securit...
May 08, 2026•58 min•Ep. 488
America, a land rich in growth and prosperity but also blessed with an abundance of natural beauty, faces a quandary: how to keep its economy flourishing while at the same time safeguarding its environment. It’s the topic of the Hoover’s Institution’s upcoming “ Markets vs. Mandates ” conference. Terry Anderson, Hoover’s John and Jean De Nault Senior Fellow (adjunct) and one of the founders of “free-market environmentalism”, discusses what’s on the agenda at the Hoover symposium (tariffs, AI, fe...
May 01, 2026•54 min•Ep. 487
The war in Iran finds its way to California in the form of higher fuel prices, but how much of the Golden’s State “pain at the pump” is driven by geopolitics versus decades of arguably misguided state energy policies? Meanwhile, a gubernatorial primary unique in its lack of a clear frontrunner becomes more muddled after former Rep. Eric Swalwell abruptly quits the race following accusations of sexual misconduct. Also muddled: post-COVID California and news that Golden State’s population centers ...
Apr 27, 2026•51 min•Ep. 486
While America’s education system doesn’t lack for shareholders (parents, educators, political and policy leaders, as well as business and community activists), there’s a question as to whether all concerns are being heard and respected. Margaret “Macke” Raymond, a Hoover Institution distinguished research fellow and director of Hoover’s program on K-12 Education , discusses the findings of Hoover’s Unheard Voices report – Raymond and her research team engaged with nine communities across America...
Apr 17, 2026•48 min•Ep. 485
With the public’s trust in the media at historic lows and the industry trying to adapt to changing information-gathering tastes, what does the future hold for a struggling “Fourth Estate” (tradition news outlets) and an incipient “Fifth Estate” (bloggers and social media)? David Shribman, a columnist, academic and two-time Pulitzer Prize recipient, examines a changed landscape of print media ceding dominance to cable news networks, which in turn compete against an even speedier (and more reckles...
Apr 03, 2026•57 min•Ep. 484
Can California’s governor’s race get any airtime (a televised debate scratched after a controversy over four candidates who didn’t make the cut), much less any traction with a disinterested electorate? Hoover senior fellow Lee Ohanian and distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen, both contributors to Hoover’s California on Your Mind web channel, discuss the latest in the Golden State including the public ostracization of labor icon Cesar Chavez after a New York Times exposé revealed dark secrets ...
Mar 27, 2026•45 min•Ep. 483
A worldwide oil shock triggered by hostilities in the Middle East raises questions about the viability of America’s energy strategy and the ability of the US and other developed nations to ride out the current storm. David Fedor, the Hoover Institution’s Stephenson Policy Fellow and a member of Hoover’s George P. Shultz Energy Policy Working Group, puts 2026’s oil drama in historical context (2008 and the 1970’s), explains why Californians pay more at the pump than most Americans, and touches on...
Mar 20, 2026•47 min•Ep. 482
We know what fate befell Julius Caesar on March 15, 44 B.C., but how does ancient Rome’s treatment of its adversaries and allies and compare to the current American “excursion” in Iran and overall US foreign policy? Barry Strauss, the Hoover Institution’s Corliss Page Dean Senior Fellow and a military historian specializing in the rise and fall of Rome, separates fact from fiction regarding Caesar’s the events leading up to his assassination, as well as Rome’s belief in “preventive” wars, strate...
Mar 13, 2026•52 min•Ep. 481
Two decades shy of its 100th anniversary of statehood, how is India progressing in its goal of becoming an innovative, prosperous, greener and developed nation? Šumit Ganguly, a Hoover Institution senior fellow and director of Hoover’s Huntington Program on Strengthening US-India Relations, discusses Hoover’s newly released Annual Survey of India 2026 . Among the survey topics explored: an assessment of India’s economy; the nation’s uncertain foreign policy; Indian education at a “crossroads”; a...
Mar 06, 2026•1 hr•Ep. 480
Assuming we already understand the parameters of “good citizenship” (obey the law; do no harm to others), how to decide what constitutes a “well-informed” citizen? Tom Schnaubelt, executive director of Hoover’s Revitalizing American Institutions (RAI) initiative , and Checker Finn, a Hoover senior fellow and chair of Hoover’s Working Group on Civics and American Citizenship , introduce Hoover’s pioneering “Civic Profile” which launches in early March – a three-part test that assesses civics-rela...
Feb 27, 2026•58 min•Ep. 479
California Governor Gavin Newsom pads his frequent-flier miles: after two trips to Europe already this year, a nationwide tour promoting his new memoir (and presidential prospects). Meanwhile, political upheaval finds its way to disaster-prone Los Angeles with a plot twist in an already contentious mayoral race and calls for the chair of LA’s 2028 Summer Olympics to resign over his ties to the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. Hoover senior fellow Lee Ohanian and distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen, ...
Feb 20, 2026•59 min•Ep. 478
Depending on one’s outlook and relationship status (and a willingness to spend lavishly on romantic gestures), Valentine's Day is an annual ritual to be loved or loathed. But is it living up to its unstated end goal – i.e., romance blossoming into love and commitment, which in turn leads to parenthood? Valerie Ramey, an economist and the Hoover Institution’s Thomas Sowell Senior Fellow, looks at the economic engine that is Valentines Day (literally “a day of wine and roses”), the various social ...
Feb 13, 2026•49 min•Ep. 477
While the concept of robots supplanting humans may seem the stuff of science fiction, it is in fact advancing rapidly in all sorts of real-world applications – healthcare, manufacturing, even warfare. Allison Okamura, a Hoover science fellow, Stanford University engineering professor and contributor to this year’s Stanford Emerging Technology Review (SETR), discusses robotics’ growth in present-day and future societies. Among the topics discussed: how the 10 science and technology reports within...
Feb 06, 2026•54 min•Ep. 476
Evidence that history is repeating itself: Franklin Roosevelt’s plea in late 1940 to reimagine his nation as an “ arsenal of democracy ” willing to defy fascism and arm the free world, compared 85 years later to the question of America deterring China’s growing military prowess while also reexamining its role in the Caribbean (likewise an FDR obsession prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor). Hoover fellows and historians Joseph Ledford and Eyck Freymann discuss their respective fields of ...
Jan 30, 2026•54 min•Ep. 475
How did America go from relative political stability in the postwar era—one party controlling Congress for the better part of four decades leading up to 1994—to the past three decades of revolving-door majorities on Capitol Hill and increasing partisan bitterness in our political discourse? David W. Brady, a renowned political scientist and the Hoover Institution’s Davies Family Senior Fellow, Emeritus, explains why in his latest book , From Dominance to Parity: America’s Political Parties and t...
Jan 23, 2026•56 min•Ep. 474
California’s new year begins with a “new” version of Gov. Gavin Newsom – offering Sacramento lawmakers a detailed and in-person State of the State Address, as opposed to recent years when the governor eschewed such pageantry. Hoover senior fellow Lee Ohanian and distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen, both contributors to Hoover’s California on Your Mind web channel, discuss Newsom’s “rosy” vision of California versus the realities of chronic homelessness, a lack of affordable housing, slow-tra...
Jan 16, 2026•50 min•Ep. 473
What do America and Israel share other, other than shared values and a strategic alliance against the forces of tyranny? Try: declarations of independence and a celebration of individual rights that have stood the test of time (nearly 250 years for the US, nearly 80 years for Israel). Peter Berkowitz, the Hoover Institution’s Tad and Dianne Taube Senior Fellow and a celebrated constitutional scholar and lecturer, discusses what he witnessed fresh off a visit to the Middle East. Among the topics ...
Jan 09, 2026•50 min•Ep. 472
Before long, holiday celebrations, family gatherings, and gift-sharing will give way to a new year and the question of resolutions and crafting a better self. William (Bill) Damon, a Hoover Institution senior fellow and Stanford University lifespan development psychologist, discusses his decades-long research into the quest for purposefulness in life, not so much self-improvement as it is being a positive contributor to the common good and the realization of purpose and integrity in work, creati...
Dec 19, 2025•51 min•Ep. 471
Further evidence that time (and politics) flies by: it was 25 years ago this month that the U.S. Supreme Court settled the final outcome of both Florida’s presidential vote count and America’s choice for its 43rd president. Ben Ginsberg, the Hoover Institution’s Volker Distinguished Visiting Fellow, a preeminent authority on election law and a member of the Bush-Cheney’s legal team in the 36 days of post-election litigation and maneuvering back in 2000, discusses the two sides’ legal strategies,...
Dec 12, 2025•51 min•Ep. 470
If you think America’s schools fell into decline solely as a consequence of 2020’s pandemic and a year of alternate instruction models, guess again. Eric Hanushek, the Hoover Institution’s Paul and Jean Hanna Senior Fellow and a leading scholar on the economics of education, discusses misperceptions in the Covid-education debate (learning and achievement were in decline years before the pandemic struck), why education reform remains elusive despite decades of talk and treasure, a few sleeper con...
Dec 05, 2025•58 min•Ep. 469
After a lopsided victory earlier this month, can California’s redistricting Proposition 50 survive a legal challenge? And why do last January’s devastating fires in Los Angeles continue to raise unsettling questions? Hoover senior fellow Lee Ohanian and distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen, both contributors to Hoover’s California on Your Mind web channel, join Hoover senior product manager Jonathan Movroydis to discuss the latest in the Golden State including former House Speaker Nancy Pelos...
Nov 21, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 468
If you’re confused about the differences between Veterans Day, Memorial Day, and Armed Forces Day here in America, you’re not alone. Decades of government meddling and mixed messages have blurred the lines between honoring those who once served their country, those still on active or reserve duty, and those who made the ultimate sacrifice for freedom’s cause. Admiral James Ellis, the Hoover Institution’s Annenberg Distinguished Visiting Fellow, reflects on his nearly forty years of service on la...
Nov 11, 2025•55 min•Ep. 467
How does one man whose formative years are largely defined by five “s’s” – sex, satanism, suicide, secret agents, and Stalinism – somehow wind up as a defining intellectual behind the rise of America’s conservative movement? Daniel Flynn, a Hoover visiting fellow and author of The Man Who Invented Conservatism: The Unlikely Life of Frank S. Meyer , takes us through an improbable journey that involves Princeton and Oxford, deportation, socialism, capitalism and Hayek, William F. Buckley and the f...
Nov 04, 2025•1 hr•Ep. 466
As California enters the final phase leading up to its Nov. 4 special election and a vote on Proposition 50, plenty of unknowns surround the fate of the controversial ballot measure that would redraw California’s congressional districts to offset a Republican-led gerrymander in Texas. Hoover senior fellow Lee Ohanian and distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen, both contributors to Hoover’s California on Your Mind web channel, discuss the tactics and messaging behind Prop 50 (does a pair of gove...
Oct 02, 2025•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 465
For the past dozen years, Hoover’s online publication Strategika has examined contemporary conflicts and national security challenges by assembling academics of varied thought to re-examine past struggles. On the occasion of its 100th issue, historian Victor Davis Hanson, Hoover’s Martin and Ilie Anderson senior fellow and the man tasked with bringing the publication to life, discusses the institution’s growing commitment to the study of history (Hoover’s having a compliment of historians rivali...
Sep 09, 2025•1 hr•Ep. 464
The big political news in California: its state legislature agreeing to a Nov. 4 special election to decide whether to temporarily return congressional redistricting to lawmakers – by doing so, California is adding more Democratic House seats and offsetting Republican gains in Texas via that state’s mid-decade redistricting efforts. Hoover senior fellow Lee Ohanian and distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen, both contributors to Hoover’s California on Your Mind web channel, join Hoover senior p...
Aug 23, 2025•56 min•Ep. 463
Three times in ancient history, the Jewish people revolted against the Roman Empire – the end result being genocide, enslavement, exile, and religious oppression. Barry Strauss, the Hoover Institution’s Corliss Page Dean senior fellow and author of the newly released book Jews Vs. Rome: Two Centuries of Rebellion Against the World’s Mightiest People , discusses what triggered the various uprisings (taxation, free will) and the lessons they offer in current world politics – specifically, how Isra...
Aug 19, 2025•49 min•Ep. 462
One way to examine the thinking and ruling style of Chinese President Xi Jinping: his father’s role in the rise and evolution of Chinese-brand communism. Hoover research fellow Joseph Torigian, author of the recently released The Party’s Interests Come First: The Life of Xi Zhongxun, Father of Xi Jinping , discusses how the elder Xi’s involvement in the Red Army, economic political reform, working alongside Zhou Enlai and dealing with ethnic minorities and organized religion – plus years of poli...
Jul 29, 2025•48 min•Ep. 461
