Wednesday, October 16, 2024 - 56 min listen Hoover Institution | Stanford University Like a storm headed to America’s shores, the November forecast calls for the sound and fury of a contentious election that challenges the public’s trust in democracy. Ben Ginsberg, the Hoover Institution’s Volker Distinguished Visiting Fellow is a preeminent authority on election law. Ginsberg revives his Saints, Sinners And Salvageables podcast series from two years ago with this kickoff installment examining whether battleground states are better prepared this election cycle than in recent election cycles, plus Ginsberg explores possible legal challenges that might happen before, during, and after the vote-count.  Recorded on October 14, 2024.

Why did the “best and brightest” of the Kennedy and Johnson administrations continue with a flawed Vietnam strategy despite years of wargaming simulations warning that there were no good outcomes for American involvement? Jacquelyn Schneider, the Hoover Institution’s Hargrove Hoover Fellow and director of Hoover’s Wargaming and Crisis Simulation Initiative, discusses the role of the 1960’s “SIGMA Games” in deciding Southeast Asia options, how wargaming influenced America Cold War strategy, its use in making sense of present-day enigmas (China, Russia), plus the challenges in playing out scenarios in the “final frontier” that is outer space.

Who are the winners and losers now that California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed off on hundreds of legislative bills? 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 why the past month in Sacramento was good news for teen-abuse victim Paris Hilton (Newsom signed a bill she championed) and Los Angeles Clipper’s owner Steve Ballmer (his new arena received a late-night alcohol exception); and bad news for Elon Musk (he didn’t get his way on a controversial AI measure as his social-media feud with the governor continues). Possibly the worst news is for Californians fond of direct democracy and election integrity (Newsom vetoed a voter ID requirement). Then, the legislature approved a constitutional amendment altering California’s recall process which voters will decide on in 2026.

Is the current presidential election lining up along the same lines as the past two Trump referenda with a small number of swing states and an even smaller subset of issues (in 2024: jobs, inflation, immigration, and wars) deciding who will become America’s 47th president? David Brady and Douglas Rivers, Hoover Institution senior fellows and managers of a tracking poll on the US electorate, discuss what’s different in a contest featuring known (Donald Trump) and lesser known (Kamala Harris) entities, what matters most to independent voters, the odds of one or both chambers of Congress flipping, plus whether Pennsylvania is the “new Florida” as ground zero for deciding presidential outcomes.  

Since the founding of the republic, America’s leaders have pondered the question of federalism and the proper divide between national and local government regarding such thorny matters as infrastructure, healthcare financing, and education. Michael Boskin, the Hoover Institution’s Wohlford Family Senior Fellow and former chair of the White House’s Council of Economic Advisers, discusses American Federalism Today: Perspectives on Political and Economic Governance, a newly released book he edited based on the findings from a November 2023 Hoover conference on federalism. Boskin explains the urgent need for policy reforms (government waste in particular), plus what makes for effective government commissions (Boskin chaired a federal commission on the Consumer Price Index in the mid-1990’s).

The Democratic National Convention turns out to be a tale of two Californians – Vice President Kamala Harris becoming her party’s standard-bearer; Governor Gavin Newsom left out of the speakers’ lineup (other than a two-minute cameo during the roll-call vote). 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 in the Golden State including Harris and Newsom’s reversals of fortune, the Golden State’s struggles with job-retention, plus whether a Harris presidency can succeed where a Newsom governorship seems destined to fail (she wants to build three million new homes nationally in her first term; Newsom is far behind on his downsized goal of 2.5 million new California homes by the decade’s end).

As Kamala Harris attempts to succeed where fellow Californian Richard Nixon fell short in 1960 – win the White House as a sitting vice president amidst a complicated economy – she takes a page from the Nixon presidency and wades into what government can do about the high cost of goods and services (specifically, food prices). Economist David Henderson, a Hoover Institution fellow and a I Blog to Differ commentator, explains what Nixon attempted a half-century ago and what Harris suggested in her pre-convention economics address. Henderson also explains the difference between price controls and curbing price-gouging plus the economic consequences of the federal government imposing its will on the free market.

For the past two weeks, after Hezbollah rockets struck a Golan Heights town and Israel forces retaliated with strikes on targets in Beirut and Tehran, the world is bracing for further violence in the Middle East, fearing the conflict will escalate into a regional war. Meanwhile, the Biden Administration presses for a cease-fire agreement in Gaza. Hoover Institution fellow Cole Bunzel, who studies history and contemporary affairs of the Islamic Middle East, makes sense of Iran’s retaliatory timeline, discusses Israel’s options both militarily and diplomatically, and notes that a lame-duck American president (again) is trying to broker a Middle East peace arrangement amidst an election year; plus the prospects of a “mega” deal involving a US-Saudi bilateral treaty, Saudi-Israeli normalization, and possibly a road to Palestinian statehood.

On August 10, celebrants will gather in West Branch, Iowa – Herbert Hoover’s birthplace, resting place, and home to his presidential library and museum – to celebrate the great man’s 150th birthday. Hoover biographer George Nash, who’ll be part of a panel discussion that day, discusses a remarkable 90-year life journey that took America’s future president from a nascent Stanford University to international mining ventures, to famine relief in Western Europe and the Soviet Union, and a post-presidency devoted to political philosophy and a “crusade against collectivism.” Nash also discusses Hoover’s sometimes complicated relationship with seven American presidents over the last 50 years of his life – and, along the way, finding time to establish an institution that bears his surname.

For the first time in 40 years, a Californian is set to become a major party’s presidential nominee. Meanwhile, governor Gavin Newsom issues an order to remove homeless encampments from city streets and continues to push back against critics of California’s $20 minimum wage for fast-food workers who claim that the new standard is a job-killer. Hoover senior fellow Lee Ohanian and distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen, both contributors to Hoover’s California on Your Mind web channel, discuss the Golden State including why vice president Kamala Harris’ ascent to the top of the Democratic presidential ticket upsets the political order in her home state (would Newsom accept a cabinet post should she win?), plus upcoming milestones for two US presidents with California ties – the 50th anniversary of Richard Nixon’s White House resignation and Herbert Hoover’s 150th birthday.

The Supreme Court saves the year’s most dramatic case for last – the question of whether Donald Trump can claim immunity from prosecution for actions he took while holding office. John Yoo, a Hoover Institution visiting fellow and Emanuel S. Heller Professor of Law at the University of California–Berkeley School of Law, dissects the court’s highly anticipated ruling. After that John talks about the significance of American’s Independence Day celebration, the health of the US Constitution, plus the proper balance of freedom and regulation – from the perspective of a constitutional scholar and a first-generation American.

Is a Chinese move on Taiwan inevitable (a quarantine, embargo or outright invasion this decade or next)? Or are there commonsense ways to ensure the island country’s freedom—and prevent a great-power conflict between Cold War rivals? Matt Pottinger, a Hoover Institution distinguished visiting fellow and former senior staffer at the White House’s National Security Council, joins Hoover Distinguished Policy fellow Bill Whalen to discuss the options he and other US-Sino experts have to offer in Hoover’s newly released The Boiling Moat: Urgent Steps to Defend Taiwan. Among the recommendations: ramping up military technology and capabilities; introducing a new pro-military mindset on the other side of the Pacific Rim; plus, America (following Israel’s example) understanding the benefits of a “warrior ethos.”

While the Golden State struggles with the aftershock of its elevated fast-food minimum wage – California-based Rubio’s Coastal Grill, home of the fish taco, is filing for bankruptcy – and the legislature has to deal with the approaching deadline for a new state budget, which invites fiscal and policy skullduggery. Hoover senior fellow Lee Ohanian and distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen, both weekly contributors to Hoover’s California on Your Mind web channel, discuss the latest news in the Golden State including a nascent 2026 governor’s race (will vice president Kamala Harris “pull a Nixon” and give it a go?), plus a fond remembrance of the late Bill Walton – native San Diegan, UCLA basketball legend, citizen activist – who passed away just days after his beloved Pac-12 Conference likewise bid farewell.

President Biden and Donald Trump have agreed to a departure in presidential politics – two general-election debates in late June (a historical first) and early September, with a lone vice presidential debate somewhere in between. Ben Ginsberg, the Hoover Institution’s Volker Family Visiting Fellow and a nationally recognized election-integrity advocate and campaign counsel, discusses the merits of the new debate schedule, what it means for the future of the Commission on Presidential Debates (which both candidates purposely avoided) and national conventions and third-party candidacies, the impact on a changing media landscape, plus the feasibility of a third Biden-Trump debate in October if either the public demands or both campaigns feel compelled to do so.

Did a preeminent California university handle campus protests the right way, and why can’t the state prove that its homeless programs are working? 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 news in the Golden State including third-party candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. qualifying for California’s November ballot, a fast-food wage hike that continues to cause economic heartburn, and Governor Gavin Newsom’s return to wanderlust (this time, a mid-May sojourn to the Vatican to preach about the perils of climate change).

What happened to teamwork and the spirit of unity and common purpose – not just in sports, but in politics and in society? Former New Jersey senator and basketball legend Bill Bradley, the star of the one-man show Rolling Along, tells a tale that took him from a Missouri boyhood to a celebrated turn at Princeton, the bright lights of New York’s Madison Square Garden, and nearly 25 years in politics, followed by a post-political segue to academia, finance, and “story-telling.”

President Biden’s campaign swing through Pennsylvania this week is notable for two things – three days devoted to one “swing” state, and a nuanced message regarding the US economy that’s heavy on class-warfare rhetoric and light on inflationary concerns. Mickey Levy, a macroeconomist and Hoover Institution visiting fellow, explains the complicated picture of America’s economy – higher employment, higher productivity, and higher prices for goods and services; then Levy previews the upcoming Hoover Monetary Policy Conference and its annual look at the Federal Reserve’s performance.

Evidence 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: Fixing America’s Civic Education, to discuss better ways to engage K-12 and college students in the understanding and appreciation of the concept of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

Recent 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 recent spate of a bad publicity run that includes a harsh re-examination of his college baseball career. Finally, weighing the life and legacy of the late O.J. Simpson – and revealing the fate of the infamous white Ford Bronco (spoiler alert: start at Dollywood).

California’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 California minimum-wage increase for fast-food chains, plus the state legislature revisiting snack-food additives (potentially bad news for chips and Gatorade consumers), and the future of daylight savings time.

Unusual 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 military service (Gallagher is an ex-Marine who served alongside Hoover senior fellow and Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster in Iraq).  

California’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 stretch of the Golden State into a new nation called “Pacifica”; the politics of “shrinkflation”; what this year’s US Senate race says about California’s top-two primary system; plus the legacy of the late C.C. Myers, who rebuilt the Santa Monica Freeway after 1994’s Northridge Earthquake.

Four 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 manager Jonathan Movroydis to discuss the latest in the California, including Barbie’s rough Academy Award treatment – no Best Director or Actress nod – and what that says about filmdom’s perception of blockbusters and the female artists.

A 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 noted expert on Yemen, discuss strategic options in the Middle East including how to curb Iranian aggression, strengthening ties with regional allies, and reintroducing the notion of American-led deterrence.  

On 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 election, the role of third-party candidates as mischief-makers, plus alternate ways for selecting presidential nominees – i.e., is it time for national, regional or more “open” primaries?

What 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 California’s fiscal outlook went from a massive surplus to a titanic deficit, whether there’s light at the end of the tunnel for the state’s troubled high-speed rail project, plus Shohei Ohtani’s future in Dodger blue – and maybe a dodger of state income taxes.

A 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 Mind” web channel, join Hoover senior product manager Jonathan Movroydis to discuss the latest in the Golden State, including the addition of “disinformation” and ethnic studies classes (the latter now a graduation requirement) to California’s K-12 curriculum.

Though 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 in Hoover’s archives)  in her new book, Milton Friedman: The Last Conservative.

Add 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 nearly three dozen defense and national security experts (many of them, Hoover fellows) outlining better ways to deliver “more bang for the buck” and recruit and retain needed personnel.

In 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, join 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 reaction to a bill legalizing “magic mushrooms,” plus his re-embrace of the progressive dream of single-payer healthcare.

Read "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 competition, and Taiwan's future. To learn more, go to https://www.hoover.org/silicon-triangle Mary Kay Magistad is deputy director of the Asia Society’s Center on U.S.-China Relations. She is an award-winning journalist who lived and reported in Asia for more than two decades, including in China for NPR and PRI/BBC’s The World, and in Southeast Asia for NPR and the Washington Post. Kharis Templeman is a research fellow at the Hoover Institution and program manager of the Hoover Project on Taiwan in the Indo-Pacific. Silicon Triangle: The United States, Taiwan, China, and Global Semiconductor Security is a product of the Working Group on Semiconductors and the Security of the United States and Taiwan, a joint project of the Hoover Institution and the Asia Society Center on U.S.-China Relations.

The 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.

The 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 questionable wisdom) of the federal government engaging in economic stimuli.

China'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 it all to the US.

Matt 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.

As 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 governing California, what Lee Ohanian’s discovered in five years of analyzing California policy, plus former governor Jerry Brown – aka, Cincinnatus – awaiting “sensible people to rise to the occasion.”

To 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 global collaboration on research to advance and is optimistic about future innovation post "Moore's Law" as societal needs will drive new breakthroughs. Kharis Templeman is a research fellow at the Hoover Institution and program manager of the Hoover Project on Taiwan in the Indo-Pacific. H.-S. Philip Wong is a professor of electrical engineering and the Willard R. and Inez Kerr Bell professor in the Stanford University School of Engineering, where he is the founding faculty director of its SystemX Alliance and director of the Stanford Nanofabrication Facility. From 2018 to 2020 he was vice president for corporate research at TSMC, where he remains as chief scientist in an advisory role.

Does 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 Biden’s and former President Trump’s poll numbers, the economy’s role in the election, plus how “independent” are non-aligned voters?

Chris 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.

Can 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, China and Global Semiconductor Security – a joint Hoover Institution report examining the Pacific Rim’s geopolitics.

California’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 second political giant of late to celebrate a 90th birthday.

Noticeably 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 overwhelm state and local governments (that includes rising Medicaid costs as well as Medicare costs related to America’s growing elderly population).

With 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 fire, plus a nascent field of Democrats hoping to be California’s next governor – including an eerie parallel between vice president Kamala Harris and Richard Nixon.

For 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.

Florida’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 heat wave, the oddities of 4th of July on the West Coast, plus a Vanity Fair profile of a California overly obsessed with crime, homelessness, local nabobs, and trendy cuisine.

A 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 performing traditional public schools, and a growing national conversation on classroom outcomes.

Arguably 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, plus the long shadows of Russia and China.

A 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 responsibility for future attacks.

Forty 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.

San 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 business sector, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ dust-up with a “progressive order of queer and trans nuns,” plus the left’s efforts to force a frail senator Dianne Feinstein into an early retirement.

What 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.

San 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 other than fiscal triage, plus a window into California’s cultural disparity that is the Lakers-Warriors NBA playoff series.

At 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, explains what differs in this century other than the former colonies are now independent nations – Russian and Chinese influence (think war-financing and debt traps), terrorist-related “forever wars,” and a question of direct American involvement, such as special-forces operations, and then last weekend’s evacuation of US embassy staff in Khartoum.

One 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 emissions, social justice, and income inequality – don’t receive the re-examination they should. Finally, Hassett offers a few thoughts on how to talk about economic policy in the current political landscape.

Should 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 loyal base and influence over the primary electorate, plus his current Hoover projects devoted to election integrity and re-instilling voter confidence.

A 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 millions of new homes has fizzled as well as vice president Kamala Harris’ inability to catch a break – her tour of Africa is overshadowed by Donald Trump’s legal woes.

Amidst 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 back on oil production.

Donald 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 presidential race.

Why 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, fentanyl-plagued San Francisco revisiting its sanctuary policy, and California bracing for (sigh) another round of battering rainstorms.

A 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 politics.  

As 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 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.  

A 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 and Xi Jinping.

Can 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 housing expansion in his hometown of Atherton and why the now-retired Tom Brady (or so he says) may be looking at a heftier California tax bill.

The 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, what do about San Francisco’s urban blight, plus the irony of a storied Texas franchise (the Dallas Cowboys) that choose to do business in the Golden State.

Why 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 aspirations; and what the future might hold for two California-based entities (Twitter and Disney).

What’s the story behind the student-workers’ strike at UC campuses across California, and what changes in homeless policy will a pair of mayors-elect bring to Los Angeles and San Jose? 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 feasibility of a state windfall tax on oil companies’ profits currently making the rounds in Sacramento.

November provides two political hurdles for many an American: a contentious election, followed by a heated conversation around the Thanksgiving table. Ben Ginsberg, the Hoover Institution’s Volker Distinguished Visiting Fellow and a preeminent authority on election law, is joined by political strategist Sarah Longwell and Hoover distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen to discuss how best to blend in election integrity alongside the rest of the Thanksgiving trimmings on the table.

After 2020’s contentious election, how well did America’s latest experiment in democracy fare? Ben Ginsberg, the Hoover Institution’s Volker Distinguished Visiting Fellow and a preeminent authority on election law, discusses why election deniers were rejected by voters in high-stakes races nationwide and offers a few thoughts on how to reform the voting process to improve the public’s trust in election outcomes. 

Why didn’t the anticipated “red wave” appear and what do last week’s results suggest about political polarization and the path moving forward for America’s two political parties? David Brady and Douglas Rivers, Hoover Institution senior fellows and Stanford University political scientists who regularly survey America’s electorate, offer a data dive into what led to GOP underachievement in this year’s midterm vote.

California’s election returns slowly trickle in (no surprise there), with the Golden State being the wildcard in terms of control of the U.S. House of Representatives. 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 election winners and losers, plus a whimsical look at what would be “a very expensive divorce” should California seriously explore secession from the union.

A potentially good night for Republicans, whom to blame on the Democratic side should the party lose control of half, if not all, of Congress, plus what are voters signaling? David Brady and Douglas Rivers, Hoover Institution senior fellows and Stanford University political scientists, preview what may be in store for America come Election Day, including the nuances of “wave” forecasts, voters’ concerns, and effective messaging.

What to watch for in the midterm election returns—and the chances that the battle for Congress goes into overtime thanks to runoffs, slow vote counts, and legal challenges. Hoover Institution visiting fellow Ben Ginsberg, a veteran campaign attorney and preeminent authority on election law, highlights key competitive races nationwide and how states differ in their approaches to voting and vote tallying. 

As polls show the economy and crime toping the charts of voter concerns (with abortion as a wild card), what about the hangover from the 2020 election and the January 6 assault on democracy? Hoover Institution visiting fellow Ben Ginsberg, a veteran campaign attorney and preeminent authority on election law, interviews Washington Post national reporter Amy Gardner and political strategist Matt Rhoades on the current campaign landscape, plus how the Left and the Right are ginning up their respective bases in America’s battleground states. 

California’s high-speed rail project grows ever more quizzical, the Golden State’s housing market slumps, and Sacramento’s Educrats seem in no rush to release K-12 test scores. 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 lack of candidates’ debates this fall and the emergence of actress/activist Jane Fonda as a voice for more taxes on California’s wealthy.

How to remove distrust and negative partisanship – the politics of maximum fear and maximum blame – from America’s voting population? Hoover Institution visiting fellow Ben Ginsberg, a veteran campaign attorney and preeminent authority on election law, interviews Citizen Data CEO Mindy Finn on what her findings suggest in how to re-instill confidence in an electorate consisting of (in her words) democracy “defenders,” “inhibitors,” and “shifters.”

President Biden’s assertion that the pandemic has ended notwithstanding, a new COVID wave seems likely during the holiday season. Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a Hoover senior fellow and Stanford University professor of medicine and epidemiological researcher, assesses the public’s appetite for a new round of restrictions as well as the ramifications of a new California law cracking down on medical “misinformation.” Dr. Bhattacharya also talks about the First Amendment implications of a lawsuit in federal court involving public-health dissenters, the Biden Administration officials, and media platforms.

What to do about the public’s eroding faith in elections and a lack of confidence in ballot tallies? Hoover Institution visiting fellow Ben Ginsberg, a preeminent authority on election law, interviews Neal Kelley, former registrar of voters for California’s Orange County, on safeguards in place at the county level to deter election fraud and suggested improvements in the casting and counting of votes

With polls showing alarming pluralities of voters not believing in the legitimacy of the last national election, how can we set the record straight on what transpired in 2020? Hoover Institution visiting fellow Ben Ginsberg, a preeminent authority on election law, interviews Center for Election Innovation & Research executive David Becker and CBS News chief Washington correspondent Major Garrett, coauthors of the newly released book The Big Truth: Upholding Democracy in the Age of “The Big Lie,” on fact versus fiction in America’s democratic process.

Big-money initiative wars over wealth taxes and online gaming dominate California’s airwaves; the Golden State’s plan for electric vehicles travels down an uncertain road; and a downturn in state revenue could mean trouble ahead. 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 spend-happy governor Gavin Newsom suddenly embracing fiscal conservatism through his veto messages.

How do elections officials prepare for midterm and presidential votes, and what improvements can be made to states’ voting systems? Hoover Institution visiting fellow Ben Ginsberg, a preeminent authority on election law, interviews Milwaukee Election Commission executive director Claire Woodall-Vogg and Colorado County Clerks Association executive director Matt Crane on the highs (quick and accurate vote counts) and lows (personal threats, election deniers) that come from administering elections in America’s battleground states.

In battleground states across the nation, disinformation and partisan accusations have fed a growing lack of public confidence in America’s democratic process. Hoover Institution visiting fellow Ben Ginsberg, a preeminent authority on election law, interviews NYU Law professor Bob Bauer and Maricopa County supervisor Bill Gates on the root causes for the electorate’s trust going off the rails and suggested reforms to reassure those doubters that future elections are conducted honestly, with their votes counted accurately.

The “Fourth Taiwan Strait Crisis” raises unsettling questions as to the future of that island nation, including Beijing’s ambitions and America’s resolve to respond militarily should an invasion occur. Kharis Templeman, a Hoover veteran fellow and a program manager for Hoover’s Project on Taiwan, was part of a Hoover/Stanford delegation that visited the island in late August. Templeman offers a perspective based on his observations from both sides of the Pacific Rim.

How to reinvest in and reinvigorate Newark, New Jersey, a city stricken by chronic poverty, unemployment and lack of investment capital? Hoover veteran fellow “Iron Mike” Steadman, a former Marine infantry officer, three-time college boxing champ, and CEO of the nonprofit IRONBOUND Boxing & Education, discusses his plans to get kids into the “squared circle” and young adults on an entrepreneurial path.

An irony in states across America: candidates seeking to become chief election officers who campaign and rail against the integrity of the democratic process. Hoover Institution visiting fellow Ben Ginsberg, a preeminent authority on election law, interviews former Kentucky secretary of state Trey Grayson and Politico reporter Zach Montellaro on the policy consequences should election deniers gain office, on current deficiencies within America’s voting systems, plus what state election officers can do ease the concerns of skeptics of our current democratic process.

Over the next few days, London will be filled to the brim with mourners paying their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II; billions around the world will watch her state funeral. Historian and Hoover visiting fellow Andrew Roberts discusses the end of an era in Great Britain, how Charles III should proceed in her absence, and how historians might choose to examine the queen if given access to her diaries and personal papers.   

On the eve of the 9/11 anniversary, another event that went largely unnoticed outside the military community: Aug. 30 and the one-year anniversary of the chaotic U.S. evacuation from Kabul. Joseph Felter, a Hoover Institution research fellow and former Army Special Forces officer once deployed to Afghanistan, discusses lessons learned from that day, current intelligence capabilities in Afghanistan, the future of U.S. relations with Pakistan and India, plus how the war on terror is presented to a new generation of officers at West Point.

Why is the right to vote important to a democracy? What legal protections should there be? How do we counter electoral refuseniks who won’t accept outcomes? Hoover Institution visiting fellow Ben Ginsberg, a preeminent authority on election law, interviews Stanford University political scientist Bruce Cain and Stanford Law School professor Nathaniel Persily on the struggle to restore the public’s confidence in the accuracy of elections.

As an FBI affidavit reveals details of what classified documents the FBI found in Donald Trump’s Palm Beach residence, the question is: will the Justice Department take the unprecedented step of prosecuting a former president? John Yoo, a Hoover Institution visiting fellow and UC-Berkeley law professor, weighs the legal options before Attorney General Merrick Garland, as well as how to restore the FBI’s tarnished image, plus the constitutionality of forgiving student-loan debt.

What can be done to avoid a repeat of 2020 and a re-questioning of the legitimacy and validity of American elections? Attorney Ben Ginsberg, a Hoover Institution visiting fellow and preeminent authority on election law, introduces Saints, Sinners and Salvageables – Restoring America’s Faith In Voting, a multi-part podcast in which the nation’s leading election officials discuss federal and state voting reforms and new ways to bring further transparency to the democratic process.

An online retail giant chooses not to expand in California, and Newsom’s change of heart regarding safe injection sites generates further presidential buzz. 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 farmworkers’ voting rights, fast-food oversight, and the irony of a renewable-loving California relying on one nuclear plant for its electricity needs.

Are Chinese and American forces on a collision course in the South China Sea? Admiral Roughead, the Hoover Institution’s Robert and Marion Oster Distinguished Military Fellow and the U.S. Navy’s 29th chief of naval operations, discusses China’s PLA Naval expansion, U.S. strategic concerns in the Western Pacific, plus the U.S. Navy’s construction, maintenance, and personnel needs.

Congress allocates $370 billion to address climate change while philanthropists offer billions more under the guise of environmental stewardship. Bjorn Lomborg, a Hoover Institution visiting fellow and environmental researcher, discusses ways to develop cheaper energy sources, along with a broader strategy addressing the quality-of-life needs of developed and developing lands.

As a result of California’s “wildfire season” now a year-long occurrence there is widespread difficulty in finding insurance, unsustainable pressure on the state’s insurance market, and a need to better anticipate and contain fire damage. Donnie Hasseltine and David Winnacker, members of Hoover’s inaugural class of veteran fellows, discuss their three-part plan to balance California’s competing housing and fire insurance demands.

Are we in a recession, what are the roots of the present inflationary spiral, what’s valid criticism of Federal Reserve policy and federal spending choices? John Cochrane, the Hoover Institution’s Rose-Marie and Jack Anderson senior fellow and proprietor of the Grumpy Economist blog, walks us these and other economic questions.

Will a California state law that’s survived a legal challenge now force the state’s independent truckers to unionize? 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 a possible supply chain crisis should truckers disobey the requirement, the feasibility of a new north-south water tunnel, a proposed bill that would allow some California cities to serve alcohol until 4 a.m., plus the peculiarity of governor Gavin Newsom raising his national profile while Golden State Democrats don’t seem much interested in a larger role in 2024’s presidential primaries.

California governor Gavin Newsom vacations in Montana despite his public feuds with other such red states and a California law banning official travel by state employees. 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 Newsom’s presidential prospects, the deflated state of San Francisco office space, plus UCLA and USC making a financial killing by relocating to the Big Ten Conference.

The Supreme Court’s recent rulings on abortion, guns, and other contentious social issues further complicates an already opaque political landscape. David Brady and Douglas Rivers, Hoover Institution senior fellows and Stanford University political scientists, discuss what if any opinion shifts their polling data suggests and what other political variables (inflation, an unpopular president) might affect November’s outcome.

The Supreme Court offers landmark decisions concerning abortion, Second Amendment rights, and public prayer at school activities. John Yoo, a Hoover Institution visiting fellow and UC-Berkeley law professor, discusses whether this year’s caseload marks the beginning of a historic conservative run on the high court, plus the internal dynamics of six right-leaning justices who sometimes differ on contentious jurisprudence.

San Francisco’s economy is a shell of its former self. California throws money at its homeless problem with mixed results, and Gavin Newsom resides on Donald Trump’s social-media website. 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 where the fabled “Babylon by the Bay” went wrong, the right remedies for homelessness, plus the political upside of a blue-state governor trashing America’s red states.

Inflation continues to rage as a recession nears, a market downturn erodes investments and savings, and the Biden White House struggles to find impactful solutions to America’s struggling economy. Kevin Hassett, a Hoover Institution Distinguished Visiting Fellow and past chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, explains what put America in its current economic misery, the merits of Federal Reserve policy, the outlook for investors, plus his remedies for bringing inflation under control.

Primary night in California yielded damning results for San Francisco’s now-recalled district attorney and the question of whether a law-and-order “earthquake” is afoot in the Golden State. Hoover Institution 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 their latest columns on emerging themes from Tuesday’s vote, plus what California may provide in the way of reparations for descendants of slavery.

Sacramento’s legislative deadline brings bad news for California’s affordable housing crunch (no new development on community-owned golf courses) and grim tidings for Big Tech (can parents sue for kids’ alleged screen “addiction”?) and Abraham Lincoln (will the state’s President’s Day holiday be supplanted?). 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 an encounter with a parent at a sporting event says about the mood of California’s Latino population and a chance for Republican inroads.

While the war in Ukraine continues to make front-page news, a historically troubled region of the world offers its usual array of intrigue and challenges to America’s strategic interests. Cole Bunzel, a Hoover Institution fellow who studies the Islamic Middle East, gives an update on the latest developments in Iran (deal or no deal), Syria (Russia’s presence), Israel (trouble in all directions), Saudi Arabia (chilled U.S. relations), as well as the ISIS caliphate (who’s in charge?).

California’s Democratic governor questions his party’s willingness to engage in culture wars, the Golden State seeks to attract businesses offended by red-state abortion policies, and lawmakers in Sacramento quibble over what to do with tens of billions in surplus revenue. 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 if any progress will be achieved on homelessness, a worsening drought, and California’ stuck-in-a-rut high-speed rail project.

California’s new math standards don’t add up, Twitter’s San Francisco days may be numbered if Elon Musk has his way, and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex may be royally tired of California. 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 forthcoming water restrictions in the Southland and Sacramento’s sudden complacency regarding gasoline prices.

Does a Florida judge’s decision to strike down the federal mandate for wearing masks mark a shift from pandemic to endemic thinking? Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a Hoover senior fellow, a Stanford University professor of medicine, and an epidemiological researcher, discusses the efficacy of mask-wearing, the nuances of the BA.2 variant, lessons from past lockdowns, plus a proposed bill in Sacramento that would suppress COVID dissenters in California’s medical community.

A legislative maneuver turning a tax break into a tax hike, coupled with a proposed one-day reduction in California’s work-week, begs the question of economic knowledge in Sacramento. 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 why is there a reflexive desire to tax; the impact of a four-day business week; a restless governor Newsom’s interest in the affairs of conservative states; plus the Oakland Athletics’ uncertain Golden State residency.

A major newspaper editorializes remorse over not covering the Hunter Biden laptop story when it first emerged soon before the November 2020 election – big news, little news, no real news at all? Carl Cannon, Real Clear Politics’ Washington bureau chief and a Hoover media fellow, discusses the state of political journalism, media bias, Elon Musk’s Twitter machinations, plus the health of the parties as the midterm election nears.

The COVID pandemic struck universities in various ways – a shift to online learning, declining enrollments, plus changes in standardized testing and admission requirements. Paul Peterson, a Hoover Institution senior fellow and director of the Program on Education Policy and Governance at Harvard, discusses the corollary between COVID policy and academic prestige, plus the long-term effects of shutting down college classrooms for multiple semesters.

Despite President Biden’s warning a week ago, a Russian-related cyberattack on American interests has yet to occur. Jacquelyn Schneider, a Hoover Institution fellow studying the intersection of technology, national security, and political psychology, with a special interest in cybersecurity, discusses the odds and merits of the Kremlin “going cyber,” how cyberwarfare factors into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, lessons learned for other geopolitical rivals, plus the changing face of 21st century warfare.

California governor Gavin Newsom and Democratic lawmakers differ on how to spend the state’s budget surplus – Newsom favors $400 vouchers for car-owners to offset higher gasoline prices; legislators favor a $200 giveaway to all adults and dependents. 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 feasibility of the proposals, plus the latest on California’s K-12 math curriculum, the Golden State’s role in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and the centrists’ inability to advance criminal justice reforms.

One month into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, does polling show a “rally ‘round the flag’” effect in America and President Biden enjoying a higher job-approval? David Brady and Douglas Rivers, Hoover Institution senior fellows and Stanford University political scientists, discuss American public sentiment towards the war in Ukraine, the added dynamics of inflation, a possible COVID relapse, and partisan primary outcomes as the midterm elections approach.

California’s governor delivered an 18-minute State of the State oration notable for its many omissions, including underperforming public schools and Sacramento’s notorious “boom or bust” revenue stream. 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 how market volatility may upend state budgeting, the latest on K-12 ethnic studies, the future of UC-Berkeley student enrollment, plus the field of contenders looking to oust Gavin Newsom this November.

Has the war in Ukraine and a reliance upon Russian fossil fuels prompted western European nations to reconsider their respective energy strategies? Bjorn Lomborg, a Hoover visiting fellow and environmental researcher, discusses ways for developed nations to reduce energy independence and battle climate change without necessarily devastating economies and lifestyles.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine begs questions of flawed military strategy, bad geostrategic gambits, plus how information true and false flows amidst a hostile invasion. Paul Gregory, a Russian-fluent Hoover research fellow, offers insight into how to interpret news coming out of Eastern Europe, the makeup of Ukrainians and Russians – and an update on his 16-year-old granddaughter (of Ukrainian descent) presently trying to stay out of harm’s way in Kyiv.

Gas prices soar in California, San Francisco voters lash out at three members of the county’s Board of Education, and a gubernatorially-declared “state of emergency” in the Golden State nears its second anniversary. 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 economic “pain at the pump,” whether the San Francisco recall is a harbinger of political rebukes to come, and does Gavin Newsom’s prolonged “emergency” constitute an abuse of executive authority.  

Only two months into 2022 and already a turbulent year for K-12 education: voters recalled three members of San Francisco’s Board of Education; parents and schools districts at odds over student masking; questions of funding priorities are moving ahead, and on and on. Austin Beutner, former Superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, discusses lessons learned from his tenure as the head of the nation’s second-largest school system during the pandemic, plus his plans to go to the ballot this November with an initiative to rejuvenate California’s student arts programs. 

Each year, California lawmakers fail to implement single-payer healthcare and curb homelessness – 2022 being no exception to the rule. 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 why this annual exercise in futility, the easing of mask mandates, the challenges in fast-tracking new housing construction, and adding more yellow school buses across the Golden State isn’t as black-and-white as it may seem.

This past weekend marked Ronald Reagan’s 111th birthday. Peter Robinson, the Hoover Institution’s Murdoch Distinguished Policy Fellow and a Reagan White House speechwriter, discusses the late president’s relevancy in this day and age – in the American heartland, on the global stage, and within a Republican Party whose current infighting contradicts Reagan’s “11th Commandment” of intraparty civility. 

On the back-burner in an otherwise ambitious first year of the Biden presidency: a dramatic overhaul of America’s immigration policies, a new pathway to citizenship, a revamp of family-based immigration, and additional diversity visas. Tim Kane, a Hoover Institution visiting fellow and author of the newly released The Immigrant Superpower: How Brains, Brawn and Bravery Made America Stronger, discusses America’s immigration conundrum past, present, and future and what policy changes might strengthen the nation.

A state assembly committee advances a single-payer healthcare scheme without debate, California’s public employees unions dodge a political bullet, Nancy Pelosi plans to stick around the House for at least two more years, and what does Sunday’s Rams-49ers clash say about the Golden State’s notorious north-south divide? 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 from the West Coast.

On the one-year anniversary of President Biden’s inauguration, his administration’s struggles seem to lend truth to the adage: campaigning is easy, governing is hard. Tom Bevan, Real Clear Politics publisher/co-founder and a Hoover Institution media fellow, assesses the good, the bad, and the ugly of the first 12 months of the Biden White House.

A big news week in Sacramento includes Governor Newsom unveiling a record $286 billion budget proposal and a Democratic lawmaker offering a massive tax increase to cover the cost of a statewide single-player healthcare system. 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 what Newsom’s spending blueprint says about California’s priorities and what effects a single-payer system would have on California’s economy and outbound migration.

An unusually long Supreme Court hearing (three hours in all) regarding two Biden Administration vaccine mandates raises thorny questions regarding federalism, states’ rights, and balance of power between the three branches of the federal government. John Yoo, a Hoover Institution fellow and UC-Berkeley School of Law professor, explains why conservative justices may strike down at least one mandate and the he previews two upcoming landmark cases involving Harvard’s admission practices and New York’s gun restrictions.

What issues resonate with today’s Republicans? How has the party morphed since the rise of Ronald Reagan? What is Donald Trump’s influence upon next year’s GOP primaries and beyond? David Brady and Douglas Rivers, Hoover Institution senior fellows and Stanford University political scientists, and co-authors (along with Hoover senior fellow Morris Fiorina) of a survey of self-identifying Republicans, discuss their findings and reflect on what transpired politically in 2021.

A pandemic, a recall election, a year-end crime wave and the question of how to invest a revenue windfall next year. 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 what transpired in the Golden State in 2021, and what 2022 may offer in the way of policy and political developments.

As a celebrated historian and prolific columnist, Niall Ferguson has plenty for which to be grateful. Ferguson, the Hoover Institution’s Milbank Family Senior Fellow, explains why Americans should be giving thanks this holiday season. Note: this was first broadcast a few years ago, before the pandemic disrupted our lives and complicated our holiday planning.

“Diversity math,” the changing fortunes of Gavin Newsom and Kamala Harris, a record revenue surplus in Sacramento, plus dubious outlooks for public pensions and high-speed rail. 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 Lee’s cooking on Thanksgiving Day.

In a few days, the Congressional Budget Office will either back or buck President Biden’s claim that the Build Back Better plan – aka, “human infrastructure” – “costs zero dollars”. Michael Boskin, the Hoover Institution’s Wohlford Family Senior Fellow and the Tully M. Friedman Professor of Economics at Stanford University, discusses the measure’s fiscal impact, inflationary concerns, plus the significance of President Biden’s choice for chairman of the Federal Reserve – also expected soon.

Never mind Virginia’s gubernatorial vote: California has its own education-related controversy in the form of a new diversity math curriculum. Hoover senior fellow Lee Ohanian and distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen discuss whether a parental backlash will occur in the Golden State, needed updates to California's water policy and government technology/computers, plus recall movements in San Francisco, and finally poor sportsmanship on display in a high-school football game in Inglewood.

As a younger generation of veterans transition from military service, how will they impact America’s communities? Jacquelyn Schneider, a Hoover fellow studying the intersection of technology, national security, and political psychology with a special interest in cybersecurity, discusses the Hoover Institution’s newly announced Veterans Fellowship Program (10 military veterans studying significant policy issues that will affect localities across America) and offers her thoughts on the younger generation “coming home” and the military’s role in campus life and the IT sector.

Does an off-year gubernatorial race in the Old Dominion constitute a preview of next year’s midterm election? David Brady and Douglas Rivers, Hoover Institution senior fellows and Stanford University political scientists, discuss whether Virginia is a bellwether, President Biden’s declining poll numbers, and why some progressive columnists are forecasting a Democratic congressional wipeout next year.

California’s bill-signing session concludes with hundreds of new state laws – many long on woke symbolism. Hoover senior fellow Lee Ohanian and distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen, both contributors to Hoover’s “California on Your Mind” web channel, discuss what this year’s legislative batch says about the Golden State, its war on fossil fuels, a new ethnic-studies mandate, Elon Musk’s decision to relocate Tesla’s headquarters to Texas, plus the Giants’-Dodgers baseball rivalry as a window into California’s north-south divide.

As public and private-sector employees struggle with COVID vaccine mandates, the Supreme Court returns to in-person arguments, and Donald Trump seeks an end to his Twitter suspension. John Yoo, a Hoover Institution visiting fellow and UC-Berkeley law professor, discusses the legality of vaccine mandates, the High Court’s likely moves on abortion, gun restriction, and religious education in what might be a landmark session, plus the chances of Trump tweeting anytime soon.

California Governor Gavin Newsom signs legislation meant to ease California’s housing crisis, but is it sensible – will it make homes in the Golden State more affordable? Hoover senior fellow Lee Ohanian and distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen, both contributors to Hoover’s “California on Your Mind” web channel, talk with Hoover senior writer Jonathan Movroydis about the Golden State’s housing conundrum, a new report on California’s economic health, and what to expect in the way of congressional redistricting later this year.

A new school year is underway, but what has the past year taught us about the political and policy clout of America’s teachers’ unions? Michael Hartney, a Hoover Institution national fellow, Boston College political scientist and author of a forthcoming book on the ascent of teachers’ unions, discusses the role that unions played during the past year’s school-reopening drama and what their agenda may resemble moving forward.

The election results are in and California’s governor has survived an attempt to recall him from office. Hoover senior fellow Lee Ohanian (the co-author of "Why Company Headquarters Are Leaving California in Unprecedented Numbers") and distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen, both contributors to Hoover’s California on Your Mind web channel, sit down with Hoover senior writer Jonathan Movroydis to discuss how Gavin Newsom managed to keep his job – and the policy implications for the Golden State and the nation moving forward.

A new study shows companies are leaving California at double the rate of the past three years due to taxes, over-regulation, and a high cost of living. Hoover senior fellow Lee Ohanian (the co-author of that report) and distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen, both contributors to Hoover’s “California on Your Mind” web channel, sit down with Hoover senior writer Jonathan Movroydis to discuss the plight of California’s business climate and the Golden State’s gubernatorial recall election. 

An admission at a recent press conference that his staff pre-determines the order of reporters’ questions points to an odd facet of the Biden presidency: behind-the-scenes choreography on public display. Debra Saunders, a Washington-based columnist, past Trump White House correspondent, and Hoover media fellow, discusses the current presidency’s media relationship – and, harkening back to her days covering California policy and politics, Gavin Newsom’s recall prospects and why San Francisco-style justice may enable Sirhan Sirhan’s release.

Donald Trump’s gone (from office) but not forgotten as many of the elements that contributed to his political ascent – immigration, overseas entanglements, cultural divide – are as potent as ever. Victor Davis Hanson, the Hoover Institution’s Martin and Illie Anderson Senior Fellow, discusses Trump’s presence in the political landscape and the prospects of “Trumpism” beliefs moving forward.

Taliban forces take control of Kabul and the visuals coming out of Afghanistan – Americans hastily evacuated, US-friendly Afghans desperate to join the exodus – evoke memories of Saigon in 1975. Joe Felter, a Hoover research fellow and counterinsurgency advisor in Afghanistan during his Army service, explains what went wrong in that nation and the impact on US foreign policy.  

As California’s gubernatorial recall election approaches, will Democrats rally behind their embattled governor or will Republicans continue to enjoy an advantage in voter enthusiasm, as polling suggests? Hoover senior fellow Lee Ohanian and distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen, both contributors to Hoover’s “California on Your Mind” web channel, sit down with Hoover senior writer Jonathan Movroydis to discuss how California Gov. Gavin Newsom might try to rouse the Democratic faithful.  

A new COVID variant raises complicated health-policy questions: should masking be mandated and proof of vaccination required to enter indoor spaces? What about the pace and imagination of research? Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a Stanford University professor of medicine and epidemiological researcher, separates fact from fiction related to the COVID “Delta” variant.  

With polls showing Californians almost evenly divided on whether to recall Gavin Newsom, just how concerned should California’s governor be? Hoover senior fellow Lee Ohanian and distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen, both contributors to Hoover’s “California on Your Mind” web channel, sit down with Hoover senior writer Jonathan Movroydis to discuss the upcoming recall candidates’ debate, plus the role of special-interest money in the special election. 

The U.S. Navy’s latest budget request, coupled with Chinese naval expansion, raises questions concerning America’s ability to project strength and respond to crises across the Pacific Rim. Admiral Gary Roughead, former Chief of Naval Operations and the Hoover Institution’s Robert and Marion Oster Distinguished Military Fellow, discusses America’s naval readiness, including doubts about a “fighting culture,” plus whether the military’s upper echelon has become too politicized.  

With only a week remaining for candidates to enter the race, California’s Sept. 14 recall election continues to take shape. Hoover senior fellow Lee Ohanian and distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen, both contributors to Hoover’s “California on Your Mind” web channel, sit down with Hoover senior writer Jonathan Movroydis to discuss the latest in the Golden State, including the gubernatorial challengers’ struggles in earning media attention. 

President Biden’s American Families Plan would take Washington in a new direction: expanding entitlements deep into the nation’s middle class. Daniel Heil, a Hoover Institution policy fellow, explains the ramifications should an additional 21 million Americans – and more than half the nation’s working-age households – become dependent upon the federal government. 

For some Americans, July 4th has a special meaning. Lt. Gen H.R. McMaster, the Hoover Institution’s Fouad and Michelle Ajami Senior Fellow, revisits his introduction to Independence Day as a Philadelphia native, reflects on times when the holiday found him defending freedom in the far corners of the world, plus his thoughts on how to educate young Americans on the roots of our wonderful republic. 

Should he survive a recall election later this year, would California Governor Gavin Newsom preside more cautiously, having survived the political near-death experience, or push even harder to the left? Hoover senior fellow Lee Ohanian and distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen, both contributors to Hoover’s “California on Your Mind” web channel, sit down with Hoover senior writer Jonathan Movroydis to discuss the latest in the Golden State.

Five months into his presidency, Joe Biden’s poll numbers show slippage among independents. David Brady and Douglas Rivers, Hoover Institution senior fellows and Stanford University political scientists, assess Biden’s popularity, where Republicans and Democrats depart on COVID vaccines and immigration, plus whether a 2022 midterm election still 500 days away could or won’t resemble 2010’s referendum on the Obama presidency.

A proposed “patriot” wealth tax in Washington and the call for America’s most moneyed individuals to hand over part of their fortunes to Washington leads to questions of motivation: more revenue for federal spending, or a loathing of capitalism. Hoover Institution research fellow and economist David Henderson discusses the accumulation of wealth in America and whether the “assault” on high-profile billionaires is a mere attack or the early stage of a longer siege. 

Alabama’s governor, Kay Ivey, has turned to the Hoover Institution for policy input on how to improve her state’s quality of living and economic prosperity. Stephen Haber, the Hoover Institution’s Peter and Helen Bing Senior Fellow and a member of the Hoover contingent advising Alabama officials, shares his thoughts on the building blocks for a futuristic American state – broadband-based education, cutting-edge university research, business incentives, better infrastructure, and access to outdoor recreation. 

While the Colonial Pipeline hack brought cybersecurity into the headlines, there’s an open question as to the efficacy of the “cyber” component of national security as the U.S. looks to update and modernize its nuclear arsenal. Herb Lin, the Hoover Institution’s Hank J. Holland Fellow in Cyber Policy and senior research scholar for cyber policy and security at Stanford University’s Center for International Security and Cooperation, discusses the challenges on the cybersecurity front.

From ancient Athens to the America of today, democracies have borne witness to the rise of grassroots populism. Terry Moe, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and the William Bennett Munro Professor of political science at Stanford University, discusses what it is to be a “populist” in this day and age – both in America and Europe – and whether Trump-brand populism, moving forward, is solely dependent on the former president’s participation.