Matters of Policy & Politics
299 episodes - English - Latest episode: 10 days ago - ★★★★★ - 351 ratingsMatters of Policy & Politics is a Hoover Institution podcast devoted to matters of governance and balance of power at home and abroad. It is hosted by Hoover fellow Bill Whalen.
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Episodes
Matters of Policy & Politics: Revisiting Freedom’s Cause: David Davenport and Checker Finn on Rejuvenating Civic Education | Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution
April 17, 2024 17:39 - 56 minutes - 51.8 MBEvidence points to generations of Americans increasingly less informed as to their republic’s origins and system of checks and balances, so it is not surprising that more Americans are less engaged in their communities and are increasingly pessimistic about the future. Checker Finn, a Hoover Institution adjunct senior fellow and past chairman of Hoover’s K-12 Education, joins Hoover emeritus research fellow David Davenport, co-author of the soon-to-be-released A Republic If You Can Teach It:...
Matters Of Policy & Politics: California Update: Southbound Economy, Media Hardball, and Remembering O.J.| Bill Whalen, Lee Ohanian, and Jonathan Movroydis | Hoover Institution
April 12, 2024 00:38 - 51 minutes - 47.4 MBRecent economic news out of California isn’t all that “golden:” 400,000 jobs shed and the nation’s highest unemployment rate; and the Golden State soon to be demoted from fifth to six in terms of global economies. Hoover senior fellow Lee Ohanian and distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen, both contributors to Hoover’s “California on Your Mind” web channel, discuss why the West Coast economy has gone south (think: hostile business and jobs climate); and what’s behind governor Gavin Newsom’s...
Matters of Policy & Politics: California Update - Proposition 1 Wasn’t the Yeast of the Governor’s Worries | Lee Ohanian and Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution
March 14, 2024 01:38 - 1 hour - 57.4 MBCalifornia’s Super Tuesday primary yielded a few surprises, including a low turnout that nearly doomed governor Newsom’s pet ballot measure and a San Francisco electorate moving rightward on local police tactics and welfare requirements. Hoover senior fellow Lee Ohanian and distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen, both contributors to Hoover’s “California on Your Mind” web channel, discuss election results, the controversy over Panera Bread and a gubernatorial chum seemingly exempted from a ...
Matters Of Policy & Politics: Rep. Mike Gallagher on Congress, China and Public Service | Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution
March 08, 2024 01:16 - 57 minutes - 52.5 MBUnusual for a member of Congress, the 40-year-old Wisconsin Rep. Mike Gallagher is retiring later this year after only four terms in the House of Representatives. In a wide-ranging interview, Gallagher discusses what brought him to Capitol Hill and why he’s decided to depart so relatively soon; life inside a fractious Republican caucus; his legacy as chair of a House select committee examining the threat of an ambitious Chinese Communist Party; plus lessons learned from political and militar...
Matters Of Policy & Politics: California Update - Mental Vs. Fiscal Health, and Remembering a Rebuilder | Hoover Institution
February 16, 2024 01:22 - 50 minutes - 46.6 MBCalifornia’s Proposition 1, a $6.38 billion bond addressing mental health treatment across the Golden State, seems destined for voter approval. Is it sound policy – and a sound expense for a state deeply in debt? 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 California, including a campaign to turn a coastal st...
Matters Of Policy & Politics: California Update - Mental Vs. Fiscal Health, and Remembering a Rebuilder
February 16, 2024 01:22 - 50 minutes - 46.6 MBCalifornia’s Proposition 1, a $6.38 billion bond addressing mental health treatment across the Golden State, seems destined for voter approval. Is it sound policy – and a sound expense for a state deeply in debt? 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 California, including a campaign to turn a coastal st...
Matters Of Policy & Politics: California Update: DiFi’s Void, Deficit Dismay, Urban Dreams, Barbie Dolor | Bill Whalen, Lee Ohanian, and Jonathan Movroydis | Hoover Institution
January 26, 2024 01:23 - 55 minutes - 50.7 MBFour US Senate candidates gathered for the first televised debate in advance of California’s March 5 primary; the state’s alarming budget deficit exposes fundamental problems with spending and taxes; and what are the odds of Silicon Valley luminaries building a new city form scratch in the heart of rural Solano County? 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 m...
Matters of Policy & Politics: American Lion, Near East Hyenas: US Options in Yemen and Iran | Bill Whalen, Joel Rayburn, and Bernard Haykel | Hoover Institution
January 19, 2024 05:25 - 55 minutes - 50.7 MBA new year begins with a familiar story – Middle East turmoil – and two plots twists of late: US forces striking Yemen’s Houthi rebels while trying to safeguard Red Sea maritime traffic; and Iran firing missiles in the directions of Pakistan, Iraq, and Syria, which tests western resolve. Joel Rayburn, a Hoover Institution visiting fellow and member of Hoover’s Middle East and the Islamic World Working Group, and Bernard Haykel, a Princeton University professor of Near Eastern Studies and not...
Matters of Policy & Politics: Iowa and Beyond: Three’s a (Republican) Crowd? | Bill Whalen, Dave Brady, and Doug Rivers | Hoover Institution
January 12, 2024 06:25 - 54 minutes - 49.7 MBOn the eve of Iowa’s presidential caucuses and the start of the 2024 primary season, what’s the inevitability of a Biden-Trump rematch? David Brady and Douglas Rivers, Hoover Institution senior fellows and Stanford University political scientists, discuss various political dynamics heading into Iowa and beyond including whether there’s room for three viable Republican candidates in January’s and February’s contests, the number of persuadable voters in a polarized “two-incumbent” general elec...
Matters Of Policy & Politics: California Update: 2023 Ends on a Sour Financial Note (Except for Shohei Ohtani) | Bill Whalen, Lee Ohanian, and Jonathan Movroydis | Hoover Institution
December 20, 2023 02:55 - 50 minutes - 46 MBWhat did we learn in 2023? California governor Gavin Newsom’s forays into national politics may have hurt his popularity back home; San Francisco’s pre-summit emergency clean-up proved that urban sanitation, like fame, can be fleeting. 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 how C...
Matters Of Policy & Politics: California Update: SF Cleans Up, LA Melts Down and Arnold’s Back (in Sacramento) | Bill Whalen, Lee Ohanian, and Jonathan Movroydis | Hoover Institution
November 17, 2023 01:22 - 54 minutes - 50.2 MBA tale of not two but three California cities: what some have suggested was a hypocritical sanitizing of San Francisco ahead of this week’s APEC summit; the question of who and what caused a fire closing a portion of a Los Angeles freeway for weeks ahead; and in Sacramento, the 20th anniversary of Arnold Schwarzenegger taking office as California’s 38th governor. Hoover senior fellow Lee Ohanian and distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen, both contributors to Hoover’s “California on Your Mi...
Matters Of Policy & Politics: Milton Friedman: The Last Conservative | Bill Whalen and Jennifer Burns | Hoover Institution
November 14, 2023 14:00 - 52 minutes - 48 MBThough arguably one of the most celebrated economists of the past century, there’s much to still be learned about the late Milton Friedman – his embrace of free markets and capitalism, his oft-times contrarian thinking on the likes of drug legalization, and the women who supported his research. Author Jennifer Burns, a Hoover Institution research fellow and Stanford University historian, discusses what she learned about the fabled Hoover senior research fellow (courtesy of Friedman’s papers ...
Matters Of Policy & Politics: Michael Boskin: Defense Budgeting for a Safer World | Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution
November 10, 2023 03:39 - 49 minutes - 44.9 MBAdd to an already uncertain world: America’s uncertain ability to adequately budget for its national and global security needs – those needs more apparent given the US’s current involvement in two “hot” wars, plus “Cold War 2.0" with China. Michael Boskin, the Hoover Institution’s Wohlford Family Senior Fellow and former chair of the White House’s Council of Economic Advisors, discusses Defense Budgeting for a Safer World – a new Hoover Institution press release he co-edited that features ne...
Matters Of Policy & Politics: California Update: Bills That Lived or Died; Single-Payer Healthcare’s Resuscitation | Bill Whalen, Lee Ohanian, and Jonathan Movroydis | Hoover Institution
October 19, 2023 23:56 - 46 minutes - 42.2 MBIn Sacramento, the State Capitol’s annual bill-signing season ends, with California governor Gavin Newsom deciding the fate of hundreds of pieces of legislation. Hoover senior fellow Lee Ohanian and distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen, both contributors to Hoover’s “California on Your Mind” web channel, joins Hoover senior product manager Jonathan Movroydis to discuss the latest in the Golden State, including the governor’s use of the process to enhance his national image, his allergic r...
Silicon Triangle: Mary Kay Magistad on the Future of US-China Competition | Hoover Institution
October 11, 2023 12:00 - 37 minutes - 52.4 MBRead "Scenarios for Future US-China Competition" here: https://www.hoover.org/sites/default/files/research/docs/SiliconTriangle_Chapter1_230828.pdf Mary Kay Magistad and Kharis Templeman discuss four potential futures for US-China relations. These scenarios depend on whether the global economy becomes more integrated or bifurcated, and whether the US or China leads in semiconductor technology. They also cover key findings and policy recommendations around supply chain security, US-China com...
Matters Of Policy & Politics: Ukraine and Russia: Empires, Genocide and a “Greatest Generation” | Bill Whalen and Norman Naimark | Hoover Institution
October 05, 2023 20:02 - 49 minutes - 45 MBThe Russia-Ukraine war is less about resources and more about empire, history, and two nations’ self-conceptions. Or so contends Norman Naimark, a Hoover Institution senior fellow and Stanford University history professor, who discusses how past and present cruelties involving the two combatants – common heritage, absorption, suppression and genocide, Vladimir Putin’s mindset, and the Ukrainian people’s resilience – factor into the past 19 months of fighting.
Matters Of Policy & Politics: Inflation, Disinflation, and Spending: When Fiscal and Monetary Worlds Collide | Bill Whalen and Mickey Levy | Hoover Institution
September 29, 2023 07:14 - 46 minutes - 42.9 MBThe good news: inflation isn’t what it was a year ago. The bad news: Americans still pay more for shelter, food, and energy – and may hold lawmakers accountable for the high costs in the next election. Mickey Levy, a Hoover Institution visiting scholar and senior economist at Berenberg Capital Markets, discusses the root causes of higher inflation, a more recent phase of “disinflation,” the Federal Reserve clinging to the notion of “transitory” higher prices, plus the consequences (and quest...
Silicon Triangle: Glenn Tiffert on Why China Struggles to Produce Advanced Semiconductors | Hoover Institution
September 28, 2023 17:48 - 26 minutes - 36.4 MBChina's challenges in developing its semiconductor industry despite massive government subsidies. Tiffert explains that factors like lack of talent, economic inefficiencies, corruption, and reliance on foreign firms have hampered China's progress, but US export controls could unintentionally help China become self-sufficient over the long term. He explains the Silicon Triangle report's recommendation of "friend-shoring" semiconductor production to trusted allies rather than trying to onshore ...
Silicon Triangle: Matt Turpin On Mitigating China’s Nonmarket Behavior In Semiconductors | Hoover Institution
September 22, 2023 15:58 - 43 minutes - 60.1 MBMatt Turpin discusses the intensifying competition between the US and China over dominance in the semiconductor industry. He discusses the strategies and policies the US is employing, such as export controls and domestic investment incentives, to try to maintain leadership in advanced semiconductors while limiting China's progress.
Matters Of Policy & Politics: California Update: “Lee Was Wrong”, Jerry Is Right? | Bill Whalen, Lee Ohanian, and Jonathan Movroydis | Hoover Institution
September 21, 2023 00:27 - 51 minutes - 46.9 MBAs Sacramento’s bill-signing season commences, Republican infighting is coming to Southern California, and does “Cincinnatus” need to return to office? 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 pending “first-in-the-nation” laws, a fast-food backroom deal, Ronald Reagan’s lessons in ...
Silicon Triangle: H.-S. Philip Wong on the Implications of Technology Trends in the Semiconductor Industry | Hoover Institution
September 14, 2023 11:00 - 52 minutes - 72.1 MBTo read "Implications of Technology Trends in the Semiconductor Industry" by H.-S. Philip Wong and Jim Plummer, click the following link: https://www.hoover.org/sites/default/files/research/docs/SiliconTriangle_Chapter2_230828.pdf To learn more, go to https://www.hoover.org/silicon-triangle H.-S. Philip Wong discusses the semiconductor supply chain, explaining the difference between chip design vs manufacturing and leading edge vs legacy chips. Wong notes the semiconductor field requires...
Matters of Policy & Politics: Road to the White House: Is This The “Yogi Berra Election?” | Bill Whalen, David Brady, and Douglas Rivers | Hoover Institution
September 07, 2023 11:30 - 40 minutes - 37.5 MBDoes a repeat of the last presidential election take America into uncharted waters (an octogenarian incumbent vs. a predecessor on trial), or is it proof of Yogi Berra’s “déjà vu all over again” – as in 2016? Will a small sliver of independent voters decide the fates of a controversy-plagued Donald Trump and a Democratic opponent with his own set of problems? David Brady and Douglas Rivers, Hoover Institution senior fellows and Stanford University political scientists, discuss President Bid...
Silicon Triangle: Chris Ford on How the US Can Reduce Vulnerabilities in Semiconductor Supply Chains | Hoover Institution
September 07, 2023 11:00 - 39 minutes - 55 MBChris Ford discusses the need for an insurance policy to mitigate vulnerabilities in American semiconductor supply chains through government incentives, private sector investment, workforce development, and strategic stockpiling.
Matters Of Policy & Politics: Silicon Triangle: Semiconductors and Seminal Moments Across the Pacific | Bill Whalen, James Ellis, and Glenn Tiffert | Hoover Institution
August 31, 2023 03:35 - 51 minutes - 47.2 MBCan America re-create a vibrant domestic semiconductor industry and, if so, what does that portend for an already strategically-vulnerable Taiwan? Glenn Tiffert, a Hoover Institution distinguished research fellow and co-chair of Hoover’s Project on China’s Global Sharp Power, and Retired Admiral James Ellis, Hoover’s Annenberg Distinguished Visiting Fellow and a carrier battle group commander during 1996’s “Third Taiwan Strait Crisis”, discuss Silicon Triangle: The United States, Taiwan, Chi...
Matters Of Policy & Politics: California Update: Riders on the Storm | Bill Whalen, Lee Ohanian, and Jonathan Movroydis | Hoover Institution
August 25, 2023 00:51 - 50 minutes - 46.3 MBCalifornia’s first tropical storm in over eight decades exposes both physical and emotional frailties; the Golden State’s governor continues his shadow presidential campaign; and not a living Californian merits state “hall of fame” recognition. 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 writer Jonathan Movroydis to discuss the latest in the Golden State, including a seco...
Matters Of Policy & Politics: Healthcare Reform: In Need of Resuscitation | Bill Whalen and Lanhee Chen | Hoover Institution
August 17, 2023 01:47 - 46 minutes - 42.9 MBNoticeably absent from both the floors of Congress and the presidential campaign trail: innovative ideas for lowering healthcare costs, easing the system’s regulatory burdens, and offering patients greater freedom to design their own plans. Lanhee Chen, Hoover’s David and Diane Steffy Fellow in American Public Policy Studies, discusses Hoover’s Choices for All project to revamp America’s healthcare system and he reflects on various health-related entitlement challenges that will soon overwhe...
Matters Of Policy & Politics: The Summer of Barbie…and Curricular Backlashes | Bill Whalen, Lee Ohanian, and Jonathan Movroydis | Hoover Institution
July 25, 2023 02:38 - 59 minutes - 54.2 MBWith Hollywood at a standstill thanks to screenwriters and actors on strike, what to say about two summer blockbusters – Barbie and Oppenheimer – as California metaphors? 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 writer Jonathan Movroydis to discuss the economics and politics of the Hollywood strike, California’s K-12 math and social-science curriculum changes under fir...
Matters Of Policy & Politics: Supreme Court Fireworks: The Future of College Admissions | Bill Whalen and John Yoo | Hoover Institution
July 05, 2023 20:47 - 59 minutes - 109 MBFor a second straight summer, the Supreme Court issues a series of rulings that impact the nation’s social and political fabrics. John Yoo, a Hoover Institution visiting fellow and author of the newly released The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Supreme Court, explains the justices’ reasoning on race and free speech, what the future holds for college admissions (Harvard’s legacy factor now the subject of a lawsuit), plus the unusually personal nature of a few of the opinions.
Matters Of Policy & Politics: California Update: The Beautiful People Republic | Bill Whalen, Lee Ohanian, and Jonathan Movroydis | Hoover Institution
June 30, 2023 02:47 - 1 hour - 60.9 MBFlorida’s governor comes to San Francisco and uses the city’s decay as fodder for a presidential campaign ad, while improvement and innovation in California’s K-12 schools remains elusive thanks to the state’s political dynamics. 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 writer Jonathan Movroydis to discuss the latest in the Golden State, including the summer’s first he...
Matters Of Policy & Politics: Third Time’s More Charming: Macke Raymond on Charter School Progress | Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution
June 28, 2023 02:35 - 50 minutes - 46.2 MBA recent data study on America’s charter schools – the third in an ongoing series – shows students with average learning gains of six days in math and 16 days in reading for the academic years 2015-2019. Macke Raymond, a Hoover Institution Distinguished Research Fellow and founder and director of Stanford University’s Center for Research on Education Outcomes, which authored the study, discusses lessons learned and the status of the three-decade charter school movement, the push for better p...
Matters Of Policy & Politics: Levant Update: Tony Soprano Survives . . . in Syria | Bill Whalen and Joel Rayburn | Hoover Institution
June 23, 2023 03:29 - 49 minutes - 45.2 MBArguably the world’s most troubled region, the Levant continues to produce geopolitical obstacles and conundrums. Joel Rayburn, a Hoover visiting fellow and former US State Department Deputy Assistant Secretary for Levant Affairs explains how Bashar al-Assad (the Levant’s “Tony Soprano”) survived a civil war and sanctions, the Arab League readmitting Syria, the significance of regional lands conducting their own diplomacy without direct US involvement, the role of a fragile regime in Iran, p...
Matters Of Policy & Politics: Hacks, Attacks, and Pushing Back: Herb Lin on Cybersecurity | Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution
June 21, 2023 01:36 - 37 minutes - 33.9 MBA cyberattack on a European banking institution, the handiwork of a pro-Russian “hacktivist” collective, may be a preview of the next chapter in the war in Ukraine. Herb Lin, the Hoover Institution’s Hank J. Holland Fellow in Cyber Policy and Security, discusses possible motives behind the attack, various nations’ cyber-strategies – China in search of data, North Korea in need of cash – and the push and pull between the US government and the nation’s commercial and tech sectors over taking r...
Matters Of Policy & Politics: Cyber-Rattling: Jacquelyn Schneider on (War) Games People Play | Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution
June 13, 2023 00:29 - 43 minutes - 39.7 MBForty years after the movie WarGames showed the threat of a computer-driven nuclear holocaust, war-gaming has come to prominence as a way to foreshadow – and possibly deter – future conflicts. Jacquelyn Schneider, a Hoover fellow and director of Hoover’s Wargaming and Crisis Simulation Initiative, explains the fine art of quality war-gaming – and how the practice applies to current tensions between the US and China, and perhaps played a role in the current Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Matters Of Policy & Politics: California Update: Indulgent Dodgers, Indebted San Francisco | Bill Whalen, Lee Ohanian, and Jonathan Movroydis | Hoover Institution
June 02, 2023 00:37 - 45 minutes - 41.9 MBSan Francisco’s office values plummet as the city/county face a myriad of financial woes including a gaping budget shortfall and a public-transportation system approaching a “fiscal cliff.” 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 writer Jonathan Movroydis to discuss the latest in the Golden State, including what policies San Francisco could implement to rejuvenate its...
Matters Of Policy & Politics: Eye on the Prize: John Cochrane on Monetary Policy, the Fed’s Evolution, and Career Achievements | Bill Whalen and John Cochrane | Hoover Institution
May 19, 2023 00:26 - 46 minutes - 42.6 MBWhat are we to make of the debt-ceiling drama in Washington and why is there a need for the Federal Reserve to engage in greater self-examination? John Cochrane, the Hoover Institution’s Rose Marie and Jack Anderson senior fellow and a recipient of the 2023 Bradley Prize for his contributions to the study of economics, reflects on lessons learned from inflation, institutional drift, and the art of economic storytelling.
Matters Of Policy & Politics: California Update: What’s a Stay-at-Home Governor To Do? | Bill Whalen, Lee Ohanian, and Jonathan Movroydis | Hoover Institution
May 05, 2023 00:49 - 43 minutes - 39.4 MBSan Francisco’s fentanyl “crackdown” begins; California’s budget drama heats up inside the State Capitol; and Governor Gavin Newsom’s ongoing obsession with national politics prompts a media backlash back at home. 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 writer Jonathan Movroydis to discuss the latest in the Golden State, including what policy urgencies Newsom faces ot...
Matters Of Policy & Politics: Africa’s Future: The Great Powers’ “Second Scramble” for Influence and Leverage | Bill Whalen and Thomas Henriksen | Hoover Institution
April 28, 2023 00:38 - 42 minutes - 38.9 MBAt the dawn of the 20th Century, control of the African continent centered around European colonial desires – national pride, natural resources, and manpower. Hoover senior fellow emeritus Thomas Henriksen, author of America’s Wars: Interventions, Regime Change, and Insurgencies After the Cold War, describes what differs in this century other than the former colonies being independent nations—Russian and Chinese influence (think war financing and debt traps), terrorist-related “forever wars,...
Matters Of Policy & Politics: Did He Act Alone? Kevin Hassett on the Death of Curiosity, and the Birth of Economic Policy | Bill Whalen And Kevin Hassett | Hoover Institution
April 21, 2023 05:04 - 58 minutes - 53.2 MBOne economist believes that what is lacking in America today is too little in the way of intellectual curiosity. Kevin Hassett, a Hoover Institution distinguished visiting fellow and past chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisors (and a man very curious about the motives behind JFK’s assassination as well as a recent book about the assassination, The Oswalds: An Untold Account of Marina and Lee by Hoover colleague Paul Gregory), ponders why some topics – climate change and CO2 em...
2024’s Elephant Parade: Who Plays the Trump Card? | Bill Whalen and Ben Ginsberg | Hoover Institution
April 14, 2023 07:46 - 57 minutes - 104 MBShould he formalize his candidacy, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott would be the fifth Republican looking to unseat President Biden in 2024. How many other Republicans will join the field – and what are their odds of denying Donald Trump the GOP nomination? Ben Ginsberg, the Hoover Institution’s Volker Family Visiting Fellow and a nationally recognized political law advocate and veteran of past Republican presidential efforts, discusses the current state of the GOP “establishment,” Trump’s l...
A California Update: San Francisco’s “Doom Loop,” Newsom’s Wanderlust, Harris’ Bad Luck | Lee Ohanian, Bill Whalen, Jonathan Movroydis | Hoover Institution
April 07, 2023 01:08 - 59 minutes - 54.2 MBA lurid homicide in an upscale neighborhood underscores San Francisco’s various crises. Meanwhile, California governor Gavin Newsom tours America’s red states – begging the question of his interest in his day job. 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 writer Jonathan Movroydis to discuss the latest in the Golden State, including why Newsom’s promise to build million...
As the World Turns: Macron’s China “Sweet Tooth”; Politics or Realpolitik for Biden? | Bill Whalen and Russell Berman | Hoover Institution
April 05, 2023 03:04 - 41 minutes - 38.3 MBAmidst his country’s turmoil over pension reform, French president Emmanuel Macron courts Chinese president Xi Jinping, while Israel and the US are at odds over the Israel’s proposed judicial reform. Hoover senior fellow and former State Department senior advisor Russell Berman discusses the latest in Europe and the Middle East, including NATO’s commitment to arming Ukraine, Iran’s regional ambitions, and the Saudi government warming up to Chinese diplomacy – and currency – while cutting bac...
Campaign 2024: Waiting for Kohoutek, What’s Behind Door Number 3 | Bill Whalen, Dave Brady, and Doug Rivers | Hoover Institution
March 28, 2023 02:32 - 51 minutes - 46.7 MBDonald Trump’s legal woes aren’t the only unknowns as the 2024 election cycle begins. There’s a question of the identity of today’s GOP; a Democratic void should President Biden surprisingly not run; plus the wild card of a domestic crisis (an economic recession) and a foreign crisis (Ukraine). Hoover senior fellows Dave Brady and Doug Rivers, both Hoover senior fellows and Stanford political scientists, whose polling tracks the health of the two parties’, reflect on the state of the next pr...
California High-Speed Rail: More “Loco” Than “Motion” | Bill Whalen and Lee Ohanian | Hoover Institution
March 10, 2023 02:11 - 46 minutes - 43 MBWhy has California governor Gavin Newsom taken to denouncing Walgreens’ drug policy (hint: abortion-pill availability) and what should happen with the Golden State’s problematic high-speed rail project that’s more “loco” than “motion”? 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 why Newsom chose not to deliver a State of the State address, fe...
Chicago’s Mayor Gets Schooled | Bill Whalen and Michael Hartney | Hoover Institution
March 03, 2023 01:19 - 53 minutes - 48.6 MBA Chicago mayoral primary fueled by the issue of crime ends up with the incumbent’s ouster and an April runoff between two Democrats with opposing views on education – one espousing school choice, and the other backed by a powerful teachers’ union. Michael Hartney, a Hoover Institution fellow and author of How Policies Make Interest Groups: Governments, Unions, and American Education, discusses the oversized influence of teachers unions in policy-making, elections, and interest-group politic...
A Year After Putin’s Invasion: What is Next for Eastern Europe? | Bill Whalen and Tomasz Blusiewicz | Hoover Institution
February 24, 2023 04:11 - 56 minutes - 103 MBAs Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine passes its one-year milestone, what are the prospects of hostilities spreading across the European continent? Tomasz Blusiewicz, a Hoover Institution research fellow and a historian of modern Europe and Russia, reflects on the war’s legacy tapping into his roots as a Polish native, a Russian university professor, and a scholar and observer of the Baltic states’ as they emerged from their Cold War existence.
The Supreme Court: Student Loan Debt and “Hiding Elephants in Mouseholes” | Bill Whalen and Michael McConnell | Hoover Institution
February 16, 2023 06:58 - 56 minutes - 51.7 MBThe 2023 Supreme Court docket includes weighing the constitutionality of President Biden’s student loan debt-forgiveness plan, state legislatures’ roles in redistricting, and whether California can export woke business practices across state lines. Michael McConnell, a Hoover Institution senior fellow and Stanford Law School professor, explains why he took part in an amicus brief in the matter of loan forgiveness and what to expect from the conservative-majority court.
Vengeance, Virtue and “Who We Are” | Bill Whalen and Zachary Shore | Hoover Institution
February 10, 2023 04:33 - 42 minutes - 39.2 MBA look back at wartime moral dilemmas confronting America’s “greatest generation” – dropping atomic bombs, interning Japanese-Americans, whether to starve Axis populations – all raise questions concerning how present-day leaders will confront crises. Zachary Shore, a Hoover Institution national security fellow and Naval Postgraduate School professor, discusses lessons learned from World War II and the fine art of understanding enemies especially when dealing with the likes of Vladimir Putin ...
No Home Court Advantage in Atherton | Lee Ohanian, Bill Whalen, Jonathan Movroydis | Hoover Institution
February 03, 2023 05:54 - 48 minutes - 44.8 MBCan California governor Gavin Newsom play a role in the congressional debate over an assault weapons ban and what is the feasibility of reparations for San Francisco’s black community? 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 writer Jonathan Movroydis to discuss the latest in the Golden State, including NBA great Stephen Curry’s failed attempt to block a proposed housi...
How ‘Bout Them Cowboys? | Lee Ohanian, Bill Whalen, Jonathan Movroydis | Hoover Institution
January 21, 2023 04:04 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBThe aftermath of California’s devastating winter storms begs the questions: can state government clean up efficiently and effectively; and will lawmakers in Sacramento develop housing and regulatory policies to minimize the effects of future disasters? 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 writer Jonathan Movroydis to discuss lessons learned from the winter storms, ...
Make a Run for the Border | Lee Ohanian, Bill Whalen, Jonathan Movroydis | Hoover Institution
December 16, 2022 02:55 - 54 minutes - 49.9 MBWhy did California governor Gavin Newsom slip across the US-Mexico border and how can anyone explain the Golden State’s exorbitant gasoline prices? 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 writer Jonathan Movroydis to discuss the politics of California-style “pain at the pump;” why Newsom’s newfound interest in America’s immigration crisis plays into his national aspir...