Matters of Policy & Politics

California Update: Prop 50 Legalities, L.A. Fire Confusion . . . and Bad News for Billionaires?

After a lopsided victory earlier this month, can California’s redistricting Proposition 50 survive a legal challenge? And why do last January’s devastating fires in Los Angeles continue to raise unsettling questions?

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 former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s pending retirement, what the indictment of a former Newsom chief of staff says about Sacramento’s political culture, plus a tech-rich Northern California county’s search for more tax revenue – and, speaking of wealth, the politics and sensibility of a 5% wealth tax on California billionaires possibly headed for next year’s ballot.

Recorded on November 18, 2025.

“Don’t You Dare Apologize for the Military”: Admiral James Ellis on Veterans Day, Honoring Service

If you’re confused about the differences between Veterans Day, Memorial Day, and Armed Forces Day here in America, you’re not alone. Decades of government meddling and mixed messages have blurred the lines between honoring those who once served their country, those still on active or reserve duty, and those who made the ultimate sacrifice for freedom’s cause. Admiral James Ellis, the Hoover Institution’s Annenberg Distinguished Visiting Fellow, reflects on his nearly forty years of service on land and at sea (naval aviator, aircraft carrier "skipper" and head of the United State Strategic Command), the challenges facing veterans as they re-enter civilian life, plus ways to properly honor and improve the lives of America’s sizable veterans community. 

From Stalinism To Reaganism: Daniel Flynn On Frank Meyer And “Fusion” Conservatism

How does one man whose formative years are largely defined by five “s’s” – sex, satanism, suicide, secret agents, and Stalinism – somehow wind up as a defining intellectual behind the rise of America’s conservative movement? Daniel Flynn, a Hoover visiting fellow and author of The Man Who Invented Conservatism: The Unlikely Life of Frank S. Meyer, takes us through an improbable journey that involves Princeton and Oxford, deportation, socialism, capitalism and Hayek, William F. Buckley and the founding of The National Review, Goldwater, Nixon and Reagan, plus a few unexpected cameos along the way (Bob Dylan, Joan Didion and the Berlin Wall’s architect, to name a few).  

California Update: The 50-50 Proposition

As California enters the final phase leading up to its Nov. 4 special election and a vote on Proposition 50, plenty of unknowns surround the fate of the controversial ballot measure that would redraw California’s congressional districts to offset a Republican-led gerrymander in Texas.

Hoover senior fellow Lee Ohanian and distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen, both contributors to Hoover’s California on Your Mind web channel, discuss the tactics and messaging behind Prop 50 (does a pair of governors playing starring roles mean too much Gavin Newsom, too little Arnold Schwarzenegger?), why the upscale town of Calabasas ended up as a toxic waste site for Los Angeles fire debris, the failure of a prominent former legislator to gain traction in next year’s governor’s race despite her compelling life story, plus the travails of UCLA’s football program – what the Bruins’ struggles on and off the field say about the state of college football in the Golden State.

Recorded on September 30, 2025.

History in the Making: Victor Davis Hanson on Strategika’s Century Mark, Examining Wars Present and Past

For the past dozen years, Hoover’s online publication Strategika has examined contemporary conflicts and national security challenges by assembling academics of varied thought to re-examine past struggles. On the occasion of its 100^th issue, historian Victor Davis Hanson, Hoover’s Martin and Ilie Anderson senior fellow and the man tasked with bringing the publication to life, discusses the institution’s growing commitment to the study of history (Hoover’s having a compliment of historians rivaling that of world-class universities) and how a Strategika-like approach explains complicated conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza. Also discussed: how Victor’s passion for military history stems from his male ancestors’ involvement in two world wars, his thoughts on how best to introduce young learners to classical opuses, plus the problem of university history departments discouraging intellectual diversity.

• Celebrate Strategika’s 100^th issue titled, The Current Status of Military History, by exploring the full collection of essays here.
• For more episodes of Matters of Policy & Politics, subscribe here. 

 

California Update: Pippa Can’t Win . . . Gavin Can’t Lose?

The big political news in California: its state legislature agreeing to a Nov. 4 special election to decide whether to temporarily return congressional redistricting to lawmakers – by doing so, California is adding more Democratic House seats and offsetting Republican gains in Texas via that state’s mid-decade redistricting efforts.

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 election wildcards (Gov. Gavin Newsom’s mixed record as the face of initiative campaigns; former governor Arnold Schwarzenegger as a voice against), what the ballot ploy means for Newsom’s presidential prospects (is he a winner 2028-wise regardless of the outcome?), plus its impact on next year’s gubernatorial race (if voters reject the plan, will Democratic hopefuls ease off democracy-in-danger rhetoric in favor of more tangible concerns like housing and public safety?).

Recorded on August 21, 2025.

All Roads Lead to . . .? Barry Strauss on Jews vs. Rome, the Fate of Empires and Republics

Three times in ancient history, the Jewish people revolted against the Roman Empire – the end result being genocide, enslavement, exile, and religious oppression. Barry Strauss, the Hoover Institution’s Corliss Page Dean senior fellow and author of the newly released book Jews Vs. Rome: Two Centuries of Rebellion Against the World’s Mightiest People, discusses what triggered the various uprisings (taxation, free will) and the lessons they offer in current world politics – specifically, how Israel’s friends and foes view the Jewish state. Also discussed: how the American and Roman empires/republics are similar yet different and, on a lighter note, why the entertainment world insists upon an ancient Rome full of mild British accents and good dental hygiene.

Like Father, Like Son? Joseph Torigian on Chinese Governance, Xi Jinping’s Paternal Influence

One way to examine the thinking and ruling style of Chinese President Xi Jinping: his father’s role in the rise and evolution of Chinese-brand communism. Hoover research fellow Joseph Torigian, author of the recently released The Party’s Interests Come First: The Life of Xi Zhongxun, Father of Xi Jinping, discusses how the elder Xi’s involvement in the Red Army, economic political reform, working alongside Zhou Enlai and dealing with ethnic minorities and organized religion – plus years of political exile after running afoul of Maoist sensibilities – all play into how his son runs the modern-day Chinese Communist Party.

California Update: He Can Run (For President), But Can He Hide (From His Record)? | Gavin Newsom

California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recent visit to early-primary South Carolina, followed by his return home and hinting at a special election to re-politicize California’s redistricting process in order to add more Democratic seats in Congress (as a counter to Texas’ legislature doing the same to pad the present House GOP majority), seems further evidence of the term-limited governor’s president ambitions. Yet as Newsom’s South Carolina experience showed, wherever he journeys, he also brings along the Golden State as political baggage. 

Hoover senior fellow Lee Ohanian and distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen, both contributors to Hoover’s California on Your Mind periodical, join Jonathan Movroydis to discuss the latest in the Golden State including where Newsom stands as far as delivering on lofty gubernatorial promises with less than 18 months remaining in his second and final term, as well as how that record on such thorny policy matters as homelessness, new housing and high-speed rail construction might impact his presidential prospects.

Recorded on July 21, 2025. 

Pollsters’ Perspectives: Did 2024 Realign US Politics ... Beyond the Age of Trump? | Revitalizing American Institutions | Hoover Institution

While last year’s US presidential election didn’t lack for historical quirks – an incumbent president dropping out of the race soon before his party’s convention; for only the second time, a former president returned to office – opinions differ as to the campaign’s long-term effect on America’s political landscape. 

In a special edition of Matters of Policy & Politics hosted by Hoover distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen, we hear from a bipartisan slate of leading pollsters on the state of America’s two political parties. They provide perspectives on the 2024 election, including assessments of what did and did not work in terms of messaging, how voting blocs shifted, whether Democrats can rebrand and rebound by 2028 or anti-woke Republicans once again will prevail, plus the chances of Trump-style politics outlasting its term-limited namesake. 

This episode is in partnership with the Center for Revitalizing American Institutions (RAI).