GoodFellows: Conversations from the Hoover Institution
132 episodes - English - Latest episode: 2 days ago -In uncertain times what’s needed is not just clarity about today’s pandemic, but insight into the challenges that lie ahead as America recovers and returns to normal. GoodFellows, a weekly Hoover Institution broadcast, features senior fellows John Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, and H.R. McMaster discussing the social, economic, and geostrategic ramifications of this changed world.
Homepage Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Episodes
The Senior Moment with Jonah Goldberg | GoodFellows: John H. Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H.R. McMaster, and Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution
July 12, 2024 16:28 - 52 minutes - 72.7 MBThe Dispatch’s Jonah Goldberg joins Good Fellows to discuss his differences with Niall Ferguson’s Soviet America essay, the Biden/Trump gerontocracy, and the European elections. Also, can someone help Niall choose a dog?
A GoodFellows Special: A Guide to Summer | GoodFellows: John H. Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H.R. McMaster, and Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution
June 20, 2024 22:50 - 20 minutes - 28 MBHow do a historian, an economist, and a geostrategist make the best use of their summers? In an abbreviated GoodFellows, Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, John Cochrane, and H.R. McMaster reveal a few of their summertime preferences: favorite leisurely pursuits (land, air, and sea), their go-to foods and drinks, family gatherings (all three are grandparents), recommended books and movies, plus what research and writing lies ahead (plenty of writing and travel). Among the revelations: sum...
The Axis of Chaos, with Matt Pottinger | GoodFellows: John H. Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H.R. McMaster, and Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution
May 31, 2024 09:04 - 48 minutes - 66.1 MBA new “cold war” presents a familiar challenge for America: how to curb a rival great power’s ambitions. Matt Pottinger, a Hoover Institution visiting fellow and editor of the forthcoming book The Boiling Moat: Urgent Steps to Defend Taiwan, joins Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, John Cochrane, and H.R. McMaster to discuss how best to discourage China from moving on its island neighbor. After that: the fellows debate the wisdom of the UK’s fast-tracked national election; plus what, if a...
The Counterfactual Show: Reimagining History, with Stephen Kotkin | GoodFellows: John H. Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H.R. McMaster, and Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution
May 16, 2024 19:32 - 1 hour - 90.3 MBHistorians differ over the need to explore “counterfactuals”—the study of scenarios that never happened—and what they can tell us about historical causation. Stephen Kotkin, the Hoover Institution’s Kleinheinz Senior Fellow and noted historian of Russia, joins Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson and John Cochrane to discuss alternative historical outcomes: Stalin not surviving a two-front invasion in World War II and Churchill dying well beforehand; the American Revolution failing; the Beat...
TikTok’s Ticking Clock: National Security Vs. Free Speech; Dr. Evil And James Bond | GoodFellows: John H. Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H.R. McMaster, Amy Zegart, and Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution
May 03, 2024 20:06 - 57 minutes - 79.2 MBDid Israel’s failure to anticipate Hamas’s surprise attack in October 2023 stem from an overreliance on technical rather than human intelligence gathering? And is TikTok really a national security threat to America? Amy Zegart, the Hoover Institution’s Morris Arnold and Nona Jean Cox Senior Fellow and author of Spies, Lies, and Algorithms: The History and Future of American Intelligence, joins Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, John Cochrane, and H.R. McMaster to discuss Israel’s intel fa...
America’s Immigration Puzzle, Iran Strikes (Out) – And 60 Is The New 40 | GoodFellows: John H. Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H.R. McMaster, Reihan Salam, and Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution
April 19, 2024 20:09 - 58 minutes - 53.2 MBNearly 40 years since the nation last saw comprehensive reform on the matter, the consensus is that America’s immigration system is sorely in need of updating to 21st-century realities. Reihan Salam, Manhattan Institute president and author of the book Melting Pot or Civil War?, joins Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, John Cochrane, and H.R. McMaster to discuss a smarter approach to welcoming newcomers to America. After that: the fellows discuss the ramifications of Iran’s not-so-surpris...
NYT’s Bret Stephens on Israel, 4 Years of GoodFellows, and An Invite to JK Rowling | GoodFellows: John H. Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H.R. McMaster, and Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution
April 03, 2024 18:07 - 52 minutes - 72.5 MBAs the six-month anniversary of Hamas’s attack on Israel approaches, what to expect next in that struggle—and is the American president and Israeli prime minister’s working relationship beyond repair? New York Times columnist Bret Stephens joins Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, John Cochrane, and H.R. McMaster to discuss the war’s possible expansion into southern Lebanon and Stephens’s vision of a rebuilt Gaza as a Mediterranean version of Dubai. After that, a celebration of four years ...
China v. Ukraine with Elbridge Colby; TikTok's Clock; Election Meddling Is Cool Now? | GoodFellows: Niall Ferguson, H.R. McMaster, and Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution
March 21, 2024 01:29 - 57 minutes - 78.7 MBFacing hot wars in Eastern Europe and the Middle East and a prolonged cold war in East Asia, how does America adapt its military strategy and resources—and in which direction? Elbridge Colby, former Defense Department assistant secretary and cofounder of the Marathon Initiative, which studies great-power competition, joins Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson and H.R. McMaster to discuss his contention that rearming America’s military in anticipation of an eventual Chinese move on Taiwan tak...
Victor Davis Hanson On The State of the Union . . . and a Biden-Trump Rematch | GoodFellows: John H. Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H.R. McMaster, and Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution
March 08, 2024 09:37 - 1 hour - 93.8 MBFollowing Super Tuesday’s results, with the US presidential election still the better part of eight months away, a rematch between Joe Biden and Donald Trump is all but certain. Victor Davis Hanson, the Hoover Institution’s Martin and Illie Anderson Senior Fellow and author of the soon-to-be-released book The End of Everything: How Wars Descend into Annihilation, joins Hoover senior fellows John Cochrane and H.R. McMaster to discuss where Biden and Trump stand on “shrinkflation” and the US e...
Israel’s Options, Plus Navalny’s Legacy and Ranking the US Presidents, with Dan Senor | GoodFellows: John H. Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H.R. McMaster, and Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution
February 21, 2024 20:46 - 55 minutes - 76.1 MBWhy did Vladimir Putin call for an “inter-Palestinian meeting” in Moscow? And has Israel drawn a red line regarding a hostage release and an assault on the Gazan city of Rafah? Dan Senor, host of the Call Me Back podcast and author of two books on Israel, joins Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson (live from Jerusalem) and John Cochrane to discuss the moving parts and global ramifications of the Israel-Hamas conflict. Following that: remembering the late Alexei Navalny and what the future ho...
End Games: America Strikes Back, Congress Strikes Out On Immigration | GoodFellows: John H. Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H.R. McMaster, and Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution
February 10, 2024 02:55 - 53 minutes - 73.4 MBWhile the American reprisal against Iranian proxies across the Middle East is impressive in its harnessing of firepower, technology, and intelligence, does it advance the goals of deterrence and de-escalation? Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, John Cochrane, and H.R. McMaster discuss the pros and cons of the current US strategy and their concerns over the lack of an apparent end game. Following that: a conversation about Donald Trump’s appeal to voters and his detractors’ inability to u...
Davos, World War III, Essential Books, and No Swearing | GoodFellows: John H. Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H.R. McMaster, and Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution
January 25, 2024 23:52 - 53 minutes - 74.1 MBThis installment of GoodFellows is devoted to audience questions—viewers and listeners putting Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, John Cochrane, and H.R. McMaster through their intellectual paces. Among the topics broached: a possible re-embrace of Western heritage; the same pre–World War I mentality that dismissed the likelihood of a global conflict potentially enabling a third world war; India and Pakistan’s economic and geostrategic outlooks; Donald Trump’s second-term objectives, shou...
Empire or Republic?: The Choice in ’24 | GoodFellows: John H. Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H.R. McMaster, and Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution
January 11, 2024 04:37 - 59 minutes - 82 MBThe new year begins with a continuation of three topics that figured prominently in 2023: escalating hostilities in the Middle East; a possible return to more traditional higher education after shake-ups at several elite American universities; plus the uncertainty of certain economic assumptions (in 2023, a much-prophesied recession that never materialized). Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H.R. McMaster, and John Cochrane also discuss the odds of Cold War 2 morphing into World War III;...
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
December 12, 2023 21:01 - 1 hour - 92.9 MBFailing 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 ...
Known Unknowns, the Rolling Stones, and Karl Rove | GoodFellows: John H. Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H.R. McMaster, and Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution
November 29, 2023 01:08 - 1 hour - 92.9 MBAs 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, includin...
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
November 09, 2023 20:47 - 1 hour - 90.9 MBTwo 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 Eu...
A Bronx Tale: Ian Rowe on the Fight for Charter Schools | GoodFellows: John H. Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, Bill Whalen, and Ian Rowe | Hoover Institution
November 01, 2023 19:26 - 1 hour - 85.9 MBIan 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 t...
Understanding the New World (Dis)Order, with Stephen Kotkin | GoodFellows: John H. Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, and Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution
October 26, 2023 00:08 - 58 minutes - 79.8 MBAs 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 grou...
The War in Israel and the War at Home | GoodFellows: John H. Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H.R. McMaster, and Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution
October 18, 2023 08:32 - 56 minutes - 77.9 MBRecorded 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 lackl...
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
September 26, 2023 07:07 - 1 hour - 93.4 MBThe 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...
Doomsayers, a Doomed China, and . . . President McMaster? | GoodFellows: John Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H.R. McMaster, and Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution
September 07, 2023 19:22 - 1 hour - 89.2 MBIn 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
August 24, 2023 00:55 - 51 minutes - 70.9 MBFormer 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 ...
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
August 10, 2023 18:29 - 1 hour - 90.6 MBOn 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...
The Recession That Didn’t Bark | GoodFellows: John Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster | Hoover Institution
July 14, 2023 18:48 - 54 minutes - 74.6 MBThis week, the self-moderating GoodFellows (Bill Whalen is on vacation) ponder why the much predicted recession hasn’t materialized—at least not yet. The Fellows also discuss the national security implications of a recession and why some economists may be a little too optimistic about economic conditions in the near future. Then, we check back in on the war in Ukraine and close with some thoughts about summer, featuring a cameo appearance from General Funkenstein himself.
Mutiny Interrupted: Prigozhin Stands Down | GoodFellows: John Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster, Bill Whalen, and Dmitri Alperovitch| Hoover Institution
June 27, 2023 18:18 - 58 minutes - 80 MBA tumultuous 24 hours in Russia—ordinarily pro-Russia armed mercenaries marching on Moscow, Vladimir Putin’s whereabouts unknown—reveals the fragility of that wartime autocracy. Dmitri Alperovitch, founder of the Washington, DC–based think tank Silverado Policy Accelerator and host of the Geopolitics Decanted podcast, joins Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson and H.R. McMaster to discuss the reasons behind the Wagner Group mutiny, Vladimir Putin’s job security, and the impact the insurrecti...
There’s Nothing Stopping You Now: Coleman Hughes on Race and Poverty in America | GoodFellows: John Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster | Hoover Institution
May 17, 2023 19:54 - 56 minutes - 78.2 MBCalifornia weighs reparations for slavery’s descendants as America approaches the three-year anniversary of the murder of George Floyd—a Black man killed by a White police officer—in Minneapolis. Coleman Hughes, a columnist and podcaster who specializes in issues related to race and public policy, joins Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson and H.R. McMaster to discuss the legacy of Floyd’s death, the historical teaching of race, and the feasibility of a “color-blind” society. Plus, Niall and...
Charles In Charge: God Save the King with Douglas Murray | GoodFellows: John Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster | Hoover Institution
May 03, 2023 19:40 - 1 hour - 87.2 MBDoes the Shakespearean adage “uneasy lies the head that wears a crown” still apply to today’s United Kingdom? British author and journalist Douglas Murray joins Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H.R. McMaster, and John Cochrane to discuss King Charles III’s coronation and the monarch’s relevancy in modern times, plus the fragile state of the West given unbalanced alliances, threats to free markets, and strained social fabrics. But before that: the three “Goodfellows” remember the recentl...
Rage Against The Machine: The Good Fellows Discuss AI | GoodFellows: John Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster | Hoover Institution
April 20, 2023 19:26 - 59 minutes - 82.2 MBIs artificial intelligence a global killer or an emerging technology which, if properly harnessed, can improve mankind? And what’s the significance of a low-level National Guard member being able to expose US military secrets? Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H.R. McMaster, and John Cochrane discuss the promise and perils of ever-improving AI and what if any damage came from the so-called “Geeky Leaks” scandal, plus their views on marijuana legalization as the world braces for the annua...
Viewer Mail, Part II: Empires, War Crimes, and Bad Facial Hair | GoodFellows: John Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster | Hoover Institution
April 11, 2023 18:01 - 45 minutes - 63 MBIn this second installment of audience questions, viewers and listeners from nearly three dozen nations spanning six continents ask Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster and John Cochrane about the durability of America’s “empire,” Putin’s war crimes, Henry Kissinger’s worldview, and the future of Western universities. Preceding all of that: an on-the-ground report from Cochrane in Tokyo, who is amazed that “it’s possible to run a city that is not a zombie apocalypse.”
Viewer Mail, Part 1: Banks, Tanks, Prizes, And A Singing Serpent | GoodFellows: John Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster | Hoover Institution
March 28, 2023 19:36 - 46 minutes - 64.4 MBThe first of two episodes devoted solely to questions from the audience—viewers and listeners from nearly three dozen nations spanning six continents—who ask Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster, and John Cochrane whether a protracted war favors Russia or Ukraine; what is China’s geopolitical interest in the conflict; what are financial risks associated with Silicon Valley Bank’s travails; plus each GoodFellow’s first act if they were elected president of the United States.
Three Good Fellows and Not Enough Babies: A Conversation with Demographer Nicolas Eberstadt | GoodFellows: John Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster | Hoover Institution
March 14, 2023 23:11 - 58 minutes - 80.4 MBWhat do long-term demographic trends suggest about the world moving forward? American Enterprise Institute fellow Nicholas Eberstadt joins Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster, and John Cochrane for a conversation about shifting populations and societal behavior, followed by the three “GoodFellows” addressing the fallout from Silicon Valley Bank’s implosion and All Quiet on the Western Front’s strong showing at the 95th Academy Awards.
Weathering the Storms: Bjorn Lomborg on Climate Change, Global Priorities | GoodFellows: John Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster | Hoover Institution
March 01, 2023 19:48 - 1 hour - 86.9 MBWhile erratic weather and apocalyptic prophecies keep climate change in the headlines, a set of arguably more pressing global concerns goes less noticed. Bjorn Lomborg, a Hoover visiting fellow and president of the Copenhagen Consensus Center, discusses what his cost-benefit analysis says about curbing HIV/AIDS, malaria, and hunger, and the role of free trade and economic development in improving living conditions in Africa and impoverished lands.
Super Bowl, Shmooper Bowl with Victor Davis Hanson | GoodFellows: John Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster | Hoover Institution
February 08, 2023 04:43 - 1 hour - 86.2 MBA Chinese “civilian airship” wafts across the US heartland. Vladimir Putin ramps up the saber-rattling as the one-year anniversary of his Ukraine invasion nears. And could a single platinum coin be America’s debt elixir? Victor Davis Hanson, the Hoover Institution’s Martin and Illie Anderson Senior Fellow, joins Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster, and John Cochrane to discuss “eyes in the sky,” ground warfare, plus one soccer-and-rugby-loving fellow’s super disgust with the...
Super Bowl, Shmooper Bowl | GoodFellows: John Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster | Hoover Institution
February 08, 2023 04:43 - 1 hour - 86.2 MBA Chinese “civilian airship” wafts across the US heartland. Vladimir Putin ramps up the saber-rattling as the one-year anniversary of his Ukraine invasion nears. And could a single platinum coin be America’s debt elixir? Victor Davis Hanson, the Hoover Institution’s Martin and Illie Anderson Senior Fellow, joins Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster, and John Cochrane to discuss “eyes in the sky,” ground warfare, plus one soccer-and-rugby-loving fellow’s super disgust with the...
Tanks for the Memories | GoodFellows: John Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster | Hoover Institution
January 27, 2023 19:51 - 1 hour - 87.7 MBGoodFellows celebrates its 100th episode with Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster, and John Cochrane reflecting on social, economic, and geopolitical lessons learned since their first conversation nearly three years ago. Also debated: the merits of the World Economic Forum in Davos, the spectacle of climate-change bloviation, plus the strategic implications of sending American heavy tanks to Ukraine (Lt. Gen. McMaster knowing a thing or two about the topic, having led armore...
Sticks, Carrots...Baby Carrots: Rep. Mike Gallagher on the China Threat | GoodFellows: John Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster | Hoover Institution
January 18, 2023 23:57 - 1 hour - 94.5 MBIs the United States in a new “cold war” with China, and if so, what steps should be taken to get the attention of the government in Beijing (a military buildup? banning TikTok in the US)? Wisconsin congressman Mike Gallagher, chair of the newly created House Select Committee on China, joins Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster, and John Cochrane for a look at US-Sino relations.
The Year In Review, The Year Ahead: Ukraine’s Dominance, AI’s Emergence, “NapolElon’s” Waterloo? | GoodFellows: John Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster | Hoover Institution
December 14, 2022 20:09 - 54 minutes - 74.7 MBWhat did the GoodFellows learn in 2022, and what do they anticipate for 2023? Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster, and John Cochrane reflect on the war in Ukraine, cryptocurrency’s fall and inflation’s rise, ChatGPT’s upending of essay writing and other academic pursuits, plus whether Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter could prove to be his undoing—much like that of a 19th-century French emperor.
The BYO Show: China’s Totalitarian Gridlock, A Woke “Mind Virus,” And Futbal Vs. Football | GoodFellows: John Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster | Hoover Institution
November 30, 2022 19:54 - 59 minutes - 81.5 MBA post-holiday Goodfellows features the panelists bringing their own curiosities to the table. Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster, and John Cochrane discuss China’s COVID-restriction protests and restoring academic freedom of college campuses. Plus two “Goodfellows” weigh in with differing views on American “football” vs. the more global “futbal.”
Kale and Arugula? Kim Strassel on a New Congress, Old Challenges | GoodFellows: John Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster | Hoover Institution
November 16, 2022 23:21 - 1 hour - 89.2 MBA week after America’s midterm election, Washington faces the prospect of divided government for the next two years. Kimberly Strassel, the Wall Street Journal’s “Potomac Watch” columnist, joins Hoover senior fellows H. R. McMaster and John Cochrane for a reading of the midterm tea leaves and thoughts on what comes next in terms of congressional agendas, the war in Ukraine, the future oversight of cryptocurrency, and Elon Musk’s Twitter overhaul.
“Deep Thoughts”: Tyler Cowen on AI and the Future of Work | GoodFellows: John Cochrane, Niall Ferguson | Hoover Institution
November 10, 2022 23:47 - 1 hour - 86 MBA world where artificial intelligence completes your work and thoughts? And what’s the wiser bet: “short Meta” or “long Twitter”? Tyler Cowen, a George Mason University economist and coauthor of the Marginal Revolution blog, joins Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson and John Cochrane to discuss whether technological advancements will improve the human condition.
Pesci-ent Knowledge: Stephen Kotkin on Xi’s China, Putin’s Russia | GoodFellows: John Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster | Hoover Institution
November 04, 2022 08:21 - 1 hour - 100 MBCan China’s current authoritarian model hold without destroying its economy, and what’s the near-term outlook for the war in Ukraine? Stephen Kotkin, the Hoover Institution’s Kleinheinz Senior Fellow and an authority on geopolitics and authoritarian regimes (and a Joe Pesci soundalike) joins Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster, and John Cochrane to discuss the latest in Xi Jinping’s China and Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
Unsolicited Advice For The Next Congress | GoodFellows: John Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster | Hoover Institution
October 26, 2022 18:40 - 1 hour - 90.9 MBWith the US election approaching and apparently tilting Republicans’ way, the question is: What to do with their newfound power on Capitol Hill? Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster, and John Cochrane discuss how a 118th Congress under new management might address aid to Ukraine, the China “Cold War 2.0” dilemma, plus America’s economic, energy, and health concerns.
The “BYO” Show: China, Iran, and Truss (but Vilify) | GoodFellows: John Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster | Hoover Institution
October 19, 2022 20:05 - 1 hour - 57.1 MBRecorded on October 18, 2022 The British prime minister’s days seem numbered (yet again), as might those of Iran’s theocracy—and what to make of Chinese president Xi Jinping’s growing cult of personality? In a “bring your own topic” edition of GoodFellows, Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster, and John Cochrane discuss these worldly matters as well the coming clash between a wintry COVID spike and pandemic-weary populations. ABOUT THE SERIES GoodFellows, a weekly Hoover In...
“The Architect’s” Digest: Karl Rove On The 2022 Election And America’s Political Landscape | GoodFellows: John Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster | Hoover Institution
October 06, 2022 03:25 - 1 hour - 84.8 MBIs history repeating itself, with America reliving the political rancor and upheaval of the late 19th-century Gilded Age? Karl Rove, political strategist and the “architect” of George W. Bush’s presidential campaigns, joins Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster, and John Cochrane to discuss the impact of economics, world events, and cultural concerns on this year’s midterm vote.
Upheaval and Change in Russia, Iran, and Italy | GoodFellows: John Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster | Hoover Institution
September 27, 2022 23:51 - 54 minutes - 74.8 MBBritain’s new prime minister unveils a tax-cutting Rx for her ailing nation; Italy’s choice of a hard-right prime minister sends the media into a “fascist” tizzy; Iranians take to the street to protest a woman’s being killed after arrested for breaking that theocracy’s hijab law; and Vladimir Putin insists he’s “not bluffing” in threatening to go nuclear in Ukraine. Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster, and John Cochrane discuss the latest overseas news, including how to help...
Viewer Mail – Russia, Ukraine...And Noted Liberal George Washington | GoodFellows: John Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster | Hoover Institution
September 23, 2022 07:28 - 44 minutes - 60.8 MBThis week’s episode is devoted to audience questions – viewers and listeners from nearly thirty nations spanning six continents asking Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H.R. McMaster and John Cochrane for their thoughts on the war in Ukraine, future Napoleons, plus where they turn to for intellectual inspiration.
Live from Kyiv: The War, the Queen, and Europe’s Winter(s) of Discontent | GoodFellows: John Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster | Hoover Institution
September 12, 2022 21:24 - 37 minutes - 51 MBGoodFellows presents an abbreviated episode, with Hoover senior fellow Niall Ferguson on the ground in Ukraine (but not sporting an olive-green tee) as he joins senior fellow John Cochrane to discuss the war’s progress, the outlook for Zelenskyy and Putin, plus what the future holds for Britain’s national identity and the House of Windsor in the aftermath of Queen Elizabeth II’s passing. Recorded on September 10, 2022
Ameri-Can or Can’t?: China’s Looming Demographic and Economic Collapse
August 26, 2022 19:00 - 53 minutes - 73.4 MBIs this the “Chinese Century? Not necessarily, given that nation’s long-term demographic challenges (an aging population overtaking a contracting workforce). Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H.R. McMaster and John Cochrane discuss the geopolitical consequences of a China in decline – if it accelerates a move against Taiwan; should America be engaging in détente or a military buildup? Recorded on August 24, 2022
The Situation Zoom: Pelosi Visits Taiwan
August 04, 2022 18:44 - 34 minutes - 47.5 MBHouse Speaker Nancy Pelosi heads a congressional delegation to Taiwan, prompting an angry backlash from Beijing and an escalation of tensions. In an abbreviated version of GoodFellows, Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster, and John Cochrane discuss what, if any, impact the Speaker’s visit will have on US–Sino strategy and relations and the global balance of power moving forward. Recorded August 3, 2022
The Fellows of Summer
July 26, 2022 18:00 - 57 minutes - 79.4 MBAs promised, the GoodFellows (that’s John H. Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, and H. R. McMaster) take a break from their summer hiatus to discuss what has transpired in the world since their last appearance on YouTube. Topics covered include the war in Ukraine, the economy and inflation, and the hot topic of the moment: the climate and Europe’s search for reliable energy. Also, the GoodFellows make some summer reading suggestions! Recorded July 12, 2022