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.
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Episodes
Beer or Whiskey?
January 22, 2021 17:05 - 55 minutes - 76.3 MBThe Biden administration begins and, with it, questions as to how America’s 46th president will pull off the balancing act of uniting the nation, helping to curtail the pandemic, and finding the proper formula of executive authority versus the legislative process. Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster, and John Cochrane offer thoughts on the Biden inaugural, the shift in federal COVID policy, and a possible return to Obama-brand foreign policy. Recorded January 20, 2021 3 PM ...
SNAFU . . . or FUBAR?
January 13, 2021 18:31 - 1 hour - 94.2 MBSupporters of President Trump storm the US Capitol; Congress mulls how to punish the president for the rioting; Big Tech cracks down on Trump and conservative social media—and we still have a full-blown pandemic. Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster, and John Cochrane discuss whether the confluence of events qualifies as a snafu (“situation normal, all fouled up”) or a more ominous fubar (“fouled up beyond all recognition”). Recorded January 12, 2021 1 PM PT
One Nation Under A Groove
December 10, 2020 19:29 - 1 hour - 86.2 MBIn the final episode of the series for 2020, Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster, and John Cochrane reflect on lessons learned from the pandemic, Donald Trump’s future, the ruinous state of the Golden State, how society will differ in 2021, plus what gets them through their daily routines—a mixtape of UK punk, Philly-brand funk, and the soothing sounds of “Sweet Baby James” Taylor. Recorded December 8, 2020 4 PM PT
A Tale Of Three Waves
November 18, 2020 18:26 - 56 minutes - 77.7 MBAs America enters a period of deeper COVID restrictions on the eve of the holiday season, what will be the effects on families, livelihoods, and civil liberties? Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster and John Cochrane discuss what the future holds for curbing the pandemic, implementing vaccines, and returning to normalcy. Recorded November 17, 2020 1 PM PT
Two-Year-Olds With Hammers
November 11, 2020 19:00 - 1 hour - 85 MBThe likelihood of a change of power in Washington raises the question of how a nascent Biden administration would approach the pandemic, economics, and foreign policy. Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster, and John Cochrane share their thoughts on what policy detours or reversals our 46th president would undertake. Recorded November 10, 2020 1 PM PT
The Best Of All Possible Outcomes?
November 06, 2020 08:04 - 58 minutes - 80.6 MBWith votes still being counted, this much is apparent: the 2020 election didn’t produce a forecasted “blue wave”; radical “woke” ideas are likely dead on arrival in Washington. Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H.R. McMaster and John Cochrane discuss the message voters sent and the current health of American democracy. Also, Niall Ferguson remembers a fellow Scotsman, Sean Connery, who died last week at the age of 90. Recorded November 5, 2020 10 AM PT
Ready For Anything
November 03, 2020 19:14 - 55 minutes - 76.1 MBA Trump victory, a Biden victory, or a protracted cliffhanger? Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster, and John Cochrane discuss Election Day scenarios, issues that went unaddressed in 2020’s presidential contest, plus what lies ahead for both parties in dealing with their restless bases. Recorded October 30, 2020 5 PM PT
Breaking Up (Big Tech) Is Hard To Do
October 22, 2020 17:56 - 54 minutes - 75.2 MBThis week’s antitrust lawsuit against Google poses a pertinent question at the intersection of Big Tech and free speech: from rewriting statutes to dismantling market giants such as Amazon and Facebook, what actions is the federal government willing to take to ensure the interests of Americans? Hoover Senior Fellows Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster, and John Cochrane weigh the latest salvo in the ongoing hostilities between Washington and Silicon Valley. Recorded October 21, 2020 2 PM PT
Slightly Hawkish?
October 12, 2020 17:28 - 1 hour - 93.3 MBWith polls suggesting a Biden victory in November, Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster, and John Cochrane assess the impact of a change in power on US foreign policy. Their conclusion: not necessarily the same course as the previous Democratic administration—a new president perhaps more willing to use force.
Madison: The Musical
September 30, 2020 17:16 - 49 minutes - 68.3 MBIs the 2020 American election destined for a decisive result or a series of legal challenges that will delay the outcome and throw the nation into tumult, possibly sparking a constitutional crisis? With Election Day now less than five weeks away, Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster, and John Cochrane and Hoover visiting fellow John Yoo—a constitutional law expert—discuss the various strains on America’s voting system. Recorded September 29, 2020 2 PM PT SPECIAL GUEST: Joh...
Defending The Free World
September 24, 2020 17:44 - 58 minutes - 80.7 MBIn his three-plus decades of service to his country, Hoover senior fellow and former national security advisor H. R. McMaster fought for freedom’s cause and defended America’s national security interests abroad. The author of the newly released book Battlegrounds: The Fight to Defend the Free World shares his world vision—rival powers’ mindsets and warnings of crises to come—with Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson and John Cochrane.
Ten Miles From Stonehenge
September 16, 2020 18:51 - 55 minutes - 76.3 MBAlready plagued by a pandemic and a sickly economy, is California’s spate of wildfires and unhealthy air the tipping point for its disgruntled residents? Hoover Institution Senior Fellows Niall Ferguson, John Cochrane and Victor Davis Hanson discuss whether California can be fixed, or if it's time for a full-fledged “CalExit” to elsewhere in America. Recorded September 15, 2020 1 PM PT
But Seriously, Folks . . .
September 12, 2020 00:09 - 1 hour - 58.5 MBWith summer over and Americans (in theory, at least) returning to work, school, and familiar routines, what lies ahead for the remainder of 2020? Hoover Institution senior fellows Niall Ferguson. H. R. McMaster, and John Cochrane examine what might ensue in the way of pandemic, economics, geopolitics, and a contentious presidential election. Recorded September 9, 2020 1 PM PT
Fiery But Mostly Peaceful
August 29, 2020 07:24 - 50 minutes - 69.1 MBIts virtual national convention concluded, what is the Republican Party’s vision—is it the party of Trump moving forward? Hoover Institution senior fellows Niall Ferguson and John Cochrane and Hoover research fellow Lanhee Chen (the policy director for Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign) discuss the potency and lasting effect of Trumpism, the rising influence of social media, and whether the televised spectacle of urban unrest and violence works to the incumbent’s benefit. SPECIAL GUE...
A Little Revolution Now And Then . . .
August 21, 2020 07:29 - 59 minutes - 54.7 MBIts virtual national convention now concluded, what is the Democratic Party’s vision? Hoover Institution Senior Fellows Niall Ferguson, H.R. McMaster and John Cochrane discuss whether the November election will spawn a policy push for the left and how a Biden presidency would balance old-guard liberal governance against a younger generation’s socialist and activist cravings. Recorded August 20, 2020 1 PM PT
Tik Tok Pot Luck
August 12, 2020 07:42 - 58 minutes - 80.9 MBThis week, a special “potluck” edition of GoodFellows has Hoover Institution senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster, and John Cochrane serving up a spirited debate over the bureaucratic pandemic bungling and whether the social network TikTok is a data-mining threat to national security, plus thoughts on the addition of California senator Kamala Harris to the Democratic ticket. Recorded August 11, 2020 1 PM PT
The Importance Of Institutions In A Time Of Crisis
August 05, 2020 18:41 - 57 minutes - 53.1 MBEven pre-pandemic, America was experiencing a crisis in institutional confidence (with the noted exception of the military)—a lack of public trust in government, business, education, media, and faith organizations. Yuval Levin, a social and cultural scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, joins Hoover senior fellows and GoodFellows regulars John Cochrane and H. R. McMaster to discuss where America went astray and how the nation can rebuild from the grass roots up. SPECIAL GUEST: Yuva...
Chilling Out On Climate With Bjorn Lomborg
July 29, 2020 17:28 - 52 minutes - 47.9 MBEarlier this year, the world’s elites agonized over climate change as the planet’s great existential crisis. And then along came a global pandemic. Hoover senior fellows John Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, and Hoover visiting fellow Bjorn Lomborg—this week’s guest “GoodFellow” and the author of a new book on the climate-change debate—discuss where the “environmental justice” movement is taking America and the world’s nations. SPECIAL GUEST: Bjorn Lomborg is a visiting fellow at the Hoover In...
Back From The Future
July 22, 2020 17:45 - 1 hour - 84.8 MBSomething offbeat this week: the three “GoodFellows” hopping into a DeLorean time machine, à la Back to the Future, speeding two summers ahead and reporting back on what they see. Hoover senior fellows John Cochrane, Niall Ferguson and H. R. McMaster foresee a 2022 in which the coronavirus seems “so 2020,” the cancel culture overplays its hand, China suffers an internal backlash, and America pays a price for its spending and currency choices. Recorded July 21, 2020 1 PM PT
Cruel Summer: The Fight To Preserve Freedom Of Speech
July 15, 2020 19:46 - 59 minutes - 54.9 MBThis week the Good Fellows are joined by Hoover Institution Senior Fellow Victor Davis Hanson. The gentleman farmer from Selma, CA (and the author of The Case For Trump) is not known for pulling his punches, and this discussion is no different. The Good Fellows consider the recent resignation by New York Times editor Bari Weiss, the open letter published in Harper’s Magazine supporting free speech, the scourge of cancel culture in the academy and the media, as well as some ideas for enhanci...
Condoleezza Rice On COVID, Russia, And Putin
June 24, 2020 21:33 - 59 minutes - 81.9 MBTuesday, June 23, 2020 This week on GoodFellows, we tackle a very complex geopolitical topic: Russia and the effects the COVID-19 crisis has had on that country’s economy, internal politics, international relations and aspirations, and ability to influence other countries and regions. To help us, we are fortunate to have one of the world’s foremost experts on the subject, someone who has years of direct experience in dealing with Russia and with Vladimir Putin himself: Hoover fellow (and soo...
The Politics Of A Pandemic
June 17, 2020 19:46 - 47 minutes - 65.9 MBOur guest this week is Francis Fukuyama, the Olivier Nomellini Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies. His new article in Foreign Affairs, "The Pandemic and Political Order” provides the topic for this edition of GoodFellows. The piece poses a slew of intriguing questions and issues that the GoodFellows opine on: What will the world will look like post-COVID-19 pandemic? How will the global economy recover? Does the pandemic mark the end of Reaganism and Chic...
The End of Empathy
June 08, 2020 02:14 - 53 minutes - 73.5 MBIn this special edition of GoodFellows, we’re joined by Roland Fryer, Professor of Economics at Harvard University. His work on education, inequality, and race has been widely cited in media outlets and in Congressional testimony. In this wide ranging conversation on the events of the past 10 days, the GoodFellows (moderated by Niall Ferguson - Bill Whalen is off this week) discuss Roland’s experiences with law enforcement as a teenager, which informed his future work researching the use of ...
Carnivorous Moose
May 27, 2020 17:17 - 58 minutes - 80.7 MBEurope’s pandemic recovery includes a divided European Union struggling for consensus on a COVID relief plan. Hoover Senior Fellows Niall Ferguson, H.R. McMaster and John Cochrane discuss the health of the 27-nation EU, whose population surveys as economically progressive, more trusting of authoritarian states and less America-leaning. Recorded May 26, 2020 1 PM PT
International Man Of History
May 20, 2020 17:32 - 54 minutes - 74.7 MBImagine the three “GoodFellows” in charge of America’s government—a modern (and democratic) twist on ancient Rome’s triumvirate. Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster, and John Cochrane discuss the coronavirus-related steps they’d take if entrusted with deciding the nation’s health, economic, and geostrategic choices. Recorded May 19, 2020 1 PM PT
Education, Economics—and Woodpeckers
May 13, 2020 06:38 - 58 minutes - 80.9 MBA simple question for this week: where will we be a year now, assuming the COVID-19 pandemic has been tamed? Hoover senior fellows John Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, and H. R. McMaster debate COVID-19’s lasting effects on the economy, education, and the public’s willingness to risk its health—all while one of the GoodFellows does battle with an invading woodpecker. Recorded May 11, 2020
A “Wartime” President?
May 06, 2020 17:20 - 53 minutes - 48.7 MBThe “war” on COVID-19 continues a trend of affixing that word to life’s miseries (poverty, drugs, cancer). Hoover senior fellows John Cochrane, Niall Ferguson and H.R. McMaster debate whether “war” applies to pandemics, if Donald Trump’s “wartime presidency” is more akin to LBJ’s than FDR’s, plus Joe Biden’s odd fixation with the late Hoover economist Milton Friedman. Recorded May 5, 2020 1 PM PT
Your Wallet or Your Life?
May 03, 2020 07:18 - 52 minutes - 71.8 MBAs the nation’s states start loosening shelter-in-place restrictions developed in response to the coronavirus, governments weigh sometimes conflicting advice from the scientific and business communities. Hoover senior fellows John Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, and H. R. McMaster debate the right balance to strike in restarting a battered economy, COVID-19’s effect on America’s military readiness, and a scenario in which a second pandemic wave strikes shortly before the fall electio strike in res...
Cold War 2
April 22, 2020 14:10 - 58 minutes - 80.2 MBIf the US-Soviet standoff defined the second half of the 20th century, is a new “cold war” between America and China this generation’s defining economic and geostrategic engagement? Hoover senior fellows John Cochrane, Niall Ferguson and H. R. McMaster debate whether a new cold war indeed is under way and what defines the competition. (Spoiler alert: the three “GoodFellows” are not in agreement.) Recorded April 21, 2020 1PM PT
A Return to Normalcy?
April 15, 2020 18:50 - 56 minutes - 77.4 MBThe question on everyone’s mind: when will society revert to its pre-coronavirus existence, and is such a restoration remotely possible? Hoover senior fellows John Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, and H. R. McMaster reflect on the various factors—economic policies, governments restoring civil liberties, nations working in tandem, the search for a COVID-19 vaccine—that will lead to the “new normal.” Recorded April 14, 2020 2PM PT
Rue Britannia?
April 08, 2020 19:14 - 1 hour - 83.5 MBIn this episode of GoodFellows, a Hoover Institution weekly broadcast examining the ramifications of the global COVID-19 pandemic, senior fellows John Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, and H. R. McMaster exchange their thoughts on why governments fail to anticipate crises, British and European leadership in flux, and the right approach for re-engaging with China. Recorded April 7, 2020 11AM PT
Still A Free Society?
April 01, 2020 20:45 - 57 minutes - 105 MBIn the inaugural episode the Hoover GoodFellows have a lively discussion about how much civil liberties can be sacrificed in an emergency, what steps should be taken to prevent the health crisis from becoming an economic and financial crisis, and whether the decoupling of the US-China relationship will accelerate.