Matters of Policy & Politics

The State of American Citizenship

Assuming we already understand the parameters of “good citizenship” (obey the law; do no harm to others), how to decide what constitutes a “well-informed” citizen? Tom Schnaubelt, executive director of Hoover’s Revitalizing American Institutions (RAI) initiative, and Checker Finn, a Hoover senior fellow and chair of Hoover’s Working Group on Civics and American Citizenship, introduce Hoover’s pioneering “Civic Profile” which launches in early March – a three-part test that assesses civics-related values, knowledge, and engagement.

Also discussed: how to keep the civics “push” going past the coming American semi-quincentennial in early July (is a decades-long “civics renaissance” feasible?), plus other RAI endeavors currently underway at Hoover (national civics fellows, a networking Alliance for Civics in the Academy, “People, Politics and Places” fellowships that bring rural undergrad and grad students to the Stanford University campus, plus Hoover’s USA @ 250 lecture series on ideas, institutions, and civic traditions that have sustained America freedom dating back to the republic’s founding).  

Recorded on February 25, 2026. 

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Chester E. Finn Jr. is the Volker Senior Fellow (adjunct) at the Hoover Institution and President Emeritus of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute. At Hoover, he chairs the Working Group on Civics and American Citizenship within the Center for Revitalizing American Institutions. He previously led Hoover’s Task Force on K-12 Education and now participates in the Hoover Education Success Initiative, as much of his career has focused on reforming primary and secondary schooling in the US. That included serving as a member of the Maryland State Board of Education and Maryland's Commission on Innovation and Excellence in Education, as well as Assistant US Secretary of Education and chair of the National Assessment Governing Board.

Thomas Schnaubelt is the Executive Director of the Center for Revitalizing American Institutions at the Hoover Institution. Prior to his role at the Hoover Institution, Schnaubelt served as a Lecturer and Senior Advisor on Civic Education at the Deliberative Democracy Lab, within the Center for Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies. Schnaubelt came to Stanford in 2009 and has served as the Associate Vice Provost for Education, the Executive Director of the Haas Center for Public Service, and a Resident Fellow in Branner Hall, where he and his wife oversaw the development and implementation of a living-learning community focused on public service and civic engagement. In 2015, Schnaubelt coordinated the launch of Cardinal Service, a university wide effort to elevate and expand public service as a distinctive feature of the Stanford experience, and he has launched and led several national initiatives focused on democratic engagement and social change education. Schnaubelt received a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from the University of Mississippi, a Master of Arts in Education from the University of Michigan, and Bachelor of Science in Physics from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

Bill Whalen, the Virginia Hobbs Carpenter Distinguished Policy Fellow in Journalism and a Hoover Institution research fellow since 1999, writes and comments on campaigns, elections, and governance with an emphasis on California and America’s political landscapes.

Whalen writes on politics and current events for various national publications, as well as Hoover’s California On Your Mind web channel.
Whalen hosts Hoover’s Matters of Policy & Politics podcast and serves as the moderator of Hoover’s GoodFellows broadcast exploring history, economics, and geopolitical dynamics.

ABOUT THE SERIES

Matters of Policy & Politics, a podcast from the Hoover Institution, examines the direction of federal, state, and local leadership and elections, with an occasional examination of national security and geopolitical concerns, all featuring insightful analysis provided by Hoover Institution scholars and guests.

To join our newsletter and be the first to tune into the next episode, visit Matters of Policy & Politics.

The Book on (and of) Newsom; A Bedeviled City of Angels

California Governor Gavin Newsom pads his frequent-flier miles: after two trips to Europe already this year, a nationwide tour promoting his new memoir (and presidential prospects). Meanwhile, political upheaval finds its way to disaster-prone Los Angeles with a plot twist in an already contentious mayoral race and calls for the chair of LA’s 2028 Summer Olympics to resign over his ties to the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. 

Hoover senior fellow Lee Ohanian and distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen, both contributors to Hoover’s California on Your Mind online journal, discuss the latest in the Golden State, including how Newsom’s autobiography squares with his governance record and the prospects of Los Angeles joining the ranks of cities ruled by “Democratic socialism”.

Recorded on February 19, 2026.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Lee E. Ohanian is a senior fellow (adjunct) at the Hoover Institution and a professor of economics and director of the Ettinger Family Program in Macroeconomic Research at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

His research focuses on economic crises, economic growth, and the impact of public policy on the economy. Ohanian is coeditor of Government Policies and Delayed Economic Recovery (Hoover Institution Press, 2012).  He is a frequent media commentator and writes for Hoover’s web channel, California on Your Mind. He has won numerous teaching awards at UCLA and the University of Rochester.

Bill Whalen, the Virginia Hobbs Carpenter Distinguished Policy Fellow in Journalism and a Hoover Institution research fellow since 1999, writes and comments on campaigns, elections, and governance with an emphasis on California and America’s political landscapes.

Whalen writes on politics and current events for various national publications, as well as Hoover’s California On Your Mind web channel.
Whalen hosts Hoover’s Matters of Policy & Politics podcast and serves as the moderator of Hoover’s GoodFellows broadcast exploring history, economics, and geopolitical dynamics.

ABOUT THE SERIES

Matters of Policy & Politics, a podcast from the Hoover Institution, examines the direction of federal, state, and local leadership and elections, with an occasional examination of national security and geopolitical concerns, all featuring insightful analysis provided by Hoover Institution scholars and guests.

To join our newsletter and be the first to tune into the next episode, visit Matters of Policy & Politics.

The Business of Love and the Cost of Parenting

Depending on one’s outlook and relationship status (and a willingness to spend lavishly on romantic gestures), Valentine's Day is an annual ritual to be loved or loathed. But is it living up to its unstated end goal – i.e., romance blossoming into love and commitment, which in turn leads to parenthood? Valerie Ramey, an economist and the Hoover Institution’s Thomas Sowell Senior Fellow, looks at the economic engine that is Valentines Day (literally “a day of wine and roses”), the various social factors that’ve contributed to America’s declining birth rate, plus why it is that modern-day parents engage in what she calls the "rug rat race” – mothers and fathers raising children in a more hands-on manner so as to assure their progeny are admitted to top-flight universities.

Recorded on February 12, 2026.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Valerie Ramey is the Thomas Sowell Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution.  She is also a research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research, a Research Fellow of the Centre for Economic Policy and Research, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a Fellow of the Econometric Society. 

Ramey has published numerous scholarly and policy-relevant articles on macroeconomic topics such as the sources of business cycles, the effects of monetary and fiscal policy, the effects oil price shocks, and the impact of volatility on growth.  She has also written numerous articles on trends in wage inequality and trends in time use, such as the increase in time investments in children by educated parents.  Her work has been featured in major media, such as the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times.

Bill Whalen, the Virginia Hobbs Carpenter Distinguished Policy Fellow in Journalism and a Hoover Institution research fellow since 1999, writes and comments on campaigns, elections and governance with an emphasis on California and America’s political landscapes. Whalen writes on politics and current events for various national publications, as well as Hoover’s California On Your Mind web channel.

Whalen hosts Hoover’s Matters of Policy & Politics podcast and serves as the moderator of Hoover’s GoodFellows broadcast exploring history, economics, and geopolitical dynamics.

RELATED SOURCES

• The Rug Rat Race by Garey Ramey & Valerie A. Ramey

ABOUT THE SERIES

Matters of Policy & Politics, a podcast from the Hoover Institution, examines the direction of federal, state, and local leadership and elections, with an occasional examination of national security and geopolitical concerns, all featuring insightful analysis provided by Hoover Institution scholars and guests.

To join our newsletter and be the first to tune into the next episode, visit Matters of Policy & Politics.

The Robots Are Taking Over?

While the concept of robots supplanting humans may seem the stuff of science fiction, it is in fact advancing rapidly in all sorts of real-world applications – healthcare, manufacturing, even warfare. Allison Okamura, a Hoover science fellow, Stanford University engineering professor and contributor to this year’s Stanford Emerging Technology Review (SETR), discusses robotics’ growth in present-day and future societies. Among the topics discussed: how the 10 science and technology reports within the SETR review are interwoven; the integration of robotics into everyday life; a “100,000-year data gap” and massive shortage of training data for physical robot manipulation; Elon Musk’s new Optimus Gen 3 model and the feasibility of robotic workforces; the public’s comfort level with autonomous technology (would you take a Waymo to the airport?); what the future may hold (better robotic “brains” and “bodies” and soft shape-changing fabrics, greater intelligence and physical autonomy, improvements in robotic hands and humanoids’ dexterous manipulation).

Recorded on February 4, 2026.

RELATED SOURCES

• Learn more about the Stanford Emerging Technology Review.

• Learn more about the Technology Policy Accelerator.

“Arsenal of Democracy” Redux: Rebuilding, Rearming . . . and Making Sense of the Americas and Indo-Pacific

Evidence that history is repeating itself: Franklin Roosevelt’s plea in late 1940 to reimagine his nation as an “arsenal of democracy” willing to defy fascism and arm the free world, compared 85 years later to the question of America deterring China’s growing military prowess while also reexamining its role in the Caribbean (likewise an FDR obsession prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor). Hoover fellows and historians Joseph Ledford and Eyck Freymann discuss their respective fields of expertise (Western Hemisphere for Ledford and China-Taiwan for Freymann), how those two theaters are intertwined (could a crisis in the Indo-Pacific prompt China to create mischief in the Americas?), plus how to read Beijing’s ambitions (is Xi Jinping too risk-averse to invade Taiwan?) and Donald Trump’s designs on his “backyard” (is Venezuela the beginning or the end of the US engaging in the affairs of its regional neighbors?).

Recorded on January 27, 2026.

Divided We Stand? David Brady on America’s “New Electoral Instability”

How did America go from relative political stability in the postwar era—one party controlling Congress for the better part of four decades leading up to 1994—to the past three decades of revolving-door majorities on Capitol Hill and increasing partisan bitterness in our political discourse? David W. Brady, a renowned political scientist and the Hoover Institution’s Davies Family Senior Fellow, Emeritus, explains why in his latest book, From Dominance to Parity: America’s Political Parties and the New Era of Electoral Instability. Among the topics discussed: how the Roosevelt and Reagan landslides scrambled America’s voting blocs; why the 2008 Obama landslide wasn’t as transformational; the many dimensions of partisan shift (gender, age, income and education); the possibility of old-school moderate Democrats and Republicans repopulating the political landscape, or hyper-partisanship continuing to dominate future elections.

 

Recorded on January 12, 2026.

California Update: New Year, “New” Newsom . . . Same Old Problems?

California’s new year begins with a “new” version of Gov. Gavin Newsom – offering Sacramento lawmakers a detailed and in-person State of the State Address, as opposed to recent years when the governor eschewed such pageantry. Hoover senior fellow Lee Ohanian and distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen, both contributors to Hoover’s California on Your Mind web channel, discuss Newsom’s “rosy” vision of California versus the realities of chronic homelessness, a lack of affordable housing, slow-track high-speed-rail construction, plus a revenue stream overly dependent upon the AI boom. Also discussed: reorganizing state constitutional offices; San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan’s emergence as a Newsom foil and possible gubernatorial candidate; a proposed billionaire tax driving capital out of California; and a lack of Iran-related protests on college campuses despite the considerable Iranian-American population in Los Angeles County.

Recorded on January 15, 2026.

Declarations of Independence: Peter Berkowitz on America and Israel’s Origins and Evolutions

What do America and Israel share other, other than shared values and a strategic alliance against the forces of tyranny? Try: declarations of independence and a celebration of individual rights that have stood the test of time (nearly 250 years for the US, nearly 80 years for Israel). Peter Berkowitz, the Hoover Institution’s Tad and Dianne Taube Senior Fellow and a celebrated constitutional scholar and lecturer, discusses what he witnessed fresh off a visit to the Middle East. Among the topics discussed: Israel at a crossroads in 2026 (peace in Gaza, perhaps another strike against Iran, a national election later this year) and its evolution as a free society versus where America currently stands. Berkowitz also reflects on his participation in the first Trump Administration State Department’s Commission on Unalienable Rights, building off what Thomas Jefferson penned back in 1776, plus the “Varieties of Conservatism in America” course he teaches as part of Stanford University’s Civics initiative and how it pertains to the competition (1776 and independence vs. 1619 and the introduction of slavery) to influence America’s origins to younger generations.

Recorded on January 5, 2026. 

New Year, New Beginnings: William Damon on Finding a More Purposeful Life

Before long, holiday celebrations, family gatherings, and gift-sharing will give way to a new year and the question of resolutions and crafting a better self. William (Bill) Damon, a Hoover Institution senior fellow and Stanford University lifespan development psychologist, discusses his decades-long research into the quest for purposefulness in life, not so much self-improvement as it is being a positive contributor to the common good and the realization of purpose and integrity in work, creativity, family, and relations. 

Recorded on December 17, 2025.

“A 100-Year Storm”: Ben Ginsberg on Bush v. Gore Turning 25, Restoring Confidence in U.S. Elections

Further evidence that time (and politics) flies by: it was 25 years ago this month that the U.S. Supreme Court settled the final outcome of both Florida’s presidential vote count and America’s choice for its 43^rd president. Ben Ginsberg, the Hoover Institution’s Volker Distinguished Visiting Fellow, a preeminent authority on election law and a member of the Bush-Cheney’s legal team in the 36 days of post-election litigation and maneuvering back in 2000, discusses the two sides’ legal strategies, Bush v. Gore’s lasting impact on America’s political landscape, election-integrity matters approaching in 2026 (new voter-ID laws, the federal-state power struggle), plus his work at Hoover involving ways to restore the electorate’s trust in the voting process.