GoodFellows: Conversations from the Hoover Institution
Hoover Institution
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 n...
Evil Empire 2.0: Tom Cotton on Europe’s Path to Peace and China’s Dangerous Hegemony
US and Ukrainian officials will meet on March 12 to talk peace in Eastern Europe; a new US approach to China may or may not be in the works; and the Trump administration’s gas-brake approach to imposing tariffs on trade partners has a Hoover economist baffled.
Arkansas senator Tom Cotton, chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee and author of Seven Things You Can’t Say About China, joins Hoover senior fellows John Cochrane and H.R. McMaster to discuss the latest in Ukraine and his concerns over China’s military, economic, and cultural hegemony. After that: The fellows dig deeper into the economic and strategic ramifications of Trump’s tariff ploys, followed by a “lightning round,” including the merits of a US “crypto strategic reserve”; the renaming an army fort in Georgia (H.R. having known the late general whose name was removed); the creator of Hamilton refusing to play a “Trumpier” Kennedy Center; plus what the two would give up for Lent if so inclined.
Recorded on March 7, 2025.
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The Great X Debate, with Matt Continetti: Vance v. Ferguson, Trump Diplomacy, DOGE, and Hackman
A one-week window into the Trump administration’s worldview—the president blaming Ukraine for Russia’s invasion; his vice president taking to social media to accuse a Hoover scholar of “historical illiteracy”; the US then refusing to join other UN members in condemning Russian aggression—raises the question: Is the Trump brand of confusion and controversy mere happenstance or a calculated means to an end?
American Enterprise Institute scholar, author, and columnist Matthew Continetti joins Hoover senior fellows John Cochrane, H.R. McMaster, and Niall Ferguson (the subject of the vice president’s lashing on X) to discuss Trump’s unorthodox style, the showcasing of executive orders, and his chances of success at home and overseas. Also discussed: the significance of Trump’s firing top military brass, a $5 million “gold card” for US residency, the Washington Post’s editorial shift to “personal liberties and free markets,” Scotland’s rugby disappointment at the hands (and legs) of England, plus the late Gene Hackman’s best performances.
Recorded on February 27, 2025.
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The Age of Empire Strikes Back: Stephen Kotkin on Trump, Wrestling, and the Use of American Power | GoodFellows | Hoover Institution
Three weeks into the nascent Trump presidency, the question of “power” arises: how the leader of the free world uses unique words, deeds, and threats to advance America’s interests globally, through a blend of grandiose promises (rebuilding Gaza), economic saber-rattling (tariffs on imported goods), and a “vibe shift” (woke bureaucracy under attack). Hoover Kleinheinz Senior Fellow Stephen Kotkin joins GoodFellows regulars Niall Ferguson and John Cochrane to discuss what such expressions of American power portend for a republic/empire showing signs of wear and tear—potentially crippling debt, a military perhaps unable to engage in multiple-theater conflicts, and more.
Recorded on February 10, 2025.
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Big Deal: Davos Man Returns; Colombia’s Social Media Smackdown; Is DeepSink AI’s “Sputnik Moment”? | GoodFellows | Hoover Institution
A week into Donald Trump’s “second first term,” the GoodFellows drink from the proverbial fire hose trying to keep up with the news: a flurry of presidential executive orders; a freezing of US foreign aid; policy spats with multiple nations; at Davos, the world’s globalists contending with MAGA; a Chinese advancement in artificial intelligence that prompted a market selloff and evokes memories of the Cold War’s space race.
Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, John Cochrane, and H.R. McMaster discuss the significance of the aid freeze; what Colombia’s agreement to accept deportees after threats of a tariff war portends for Trump-brand foreign policy; how the times have changed at Davos’s annual World Economic Forum; plus whether the emergence of China’s DeepSeek app will trigger a modern-day “moonshot” within the AI sector. Next, the fellows discuss matters they deem neglected (are Russia and Iran’s regimes on the ropes?), a DEI executive order, whether Trump’s revoking of security clearances and dignitary protection was justified or vindictive, plus the three fellows’ Super Bowl plans.
Recorded on January 28, 2025.
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Vibe Shifts: Enter Trump, Exit Biden, the Politics of Fires, “Silly Walking and Flying Eagles” | GoodFellows | Hoover Institution
Donald Trump’s “second first term”—an oddity of winning nonconsecutive presidential elections—begins with talk of dramatic policy shifts at home and abroad.
Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson and “Trump 45” veteran H.R. McMaster discuss the odds of a successful second Trump presidency; whether the man himself has changed; the most salient questions to ask Pentagon and State Department secretary-designates; whether Elon Musk’s government reform will be more DOGE or dog; what America’s allies and adversaries are thinking; plus the seriousness of acquiring Greenland or other Trump-speculated land grabs (Canada, the Panama Canal).
After that: the fellows opine on where the Biden presidency went off the rails (are historians to blame?), followed by a look at LA’s devastating wildfires and California’s shifting political landscape (the conflagration straight out of the pages of Niall’s 2021 book Doom: The Politics of Catastrophe), plus what prompted Mark Zuckerberg to abandon Meta’s fact-checking and DEI programs.
Recorded on January 15, 2025.
O GoodFellows: Conversations from the Hoover Institution
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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