Matters of Policy & Politics

Battleground Washington: Trump versus DC

Recorded on December 12, 2017 Washington, DC, is a complicated town full of competing interests vying to control the federal government. Michael Franc, director of the Hoover Institution’s research and initiatives program in the nation’s capital and a former congressional aide, takes us through the past year’s drama, saying why the town hasn’t adjusted to the Trump presidency and offering a holiday guide as to who’s been naughty and nice in 2017. Did you like the show? Please rate, review, and subscribe! (Playing time: 1:00:45)

The Media, the Message, and President Trump, Featuring Debra J. Saunders

Recorded on December 11, 2017 For years Hoover media fellow Debra J. Saunders was the San Francisco Chronicle’s token conservative columnist until moving to Washington to cover the Trump White House for the Las Vegas Review–Journal. In this podcast she offers a ringside account of White House daily press briefings, Trump’s contentious attitude toward reporters, and what an unpopular political media can do to restore its prestige. Did you like the show? Please rate, review, and subscribe! (Playing time: 52:35)

China’s Maritime Silk Road and American Naval Readiness, Featuring Admiral Gary Roughead

Recorded on December 11, 2017 As the US Navy carries out high-profile missions in the Persian Gulf and off the Korean coast, China’s navy quietly continues its expansion: a maritime silk road stretching across the Indian Ocean to the Gulf of Aden. Admiral Gary Roughead, former US Navy chief of naval operations and Hoover’s Robert and Marion Oster Distinguished Military Fellow, discusses the stakes in the Middle East and Indo-Pacific theatres and assesses the US Navy’s current operational, maintenance, and shipbuilding needs. Did you like the show? Please rate, review, and subscribe! (Playing time: 55:17)

Who’s in Charge of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau? Featuring Adam White

A question over who’s in charge of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has led to a standoff between the Trump administration and the Rebel Alliance: independent-minded CFPB staffers who believe they don’t report to the president. Hoover fellow Adam White discusses Trump’s battle with the administrative state, what 2018 could bring in regulatory reform, and whether the pace will pick up on Trump judicial nominees. Did you like the show? Please rate, review, and subscribe! (Playing time: 47:36)

Remembering Pearl Harbor

Seventy-six years ago, following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, America went to war. Victor Davis Hanson, Hoover senior fellow and author of The Second World Wars: How the First Global Conflict Was Fought and Won, discusses lessons learned from that conflict’s successes and failures and how they apply today. Did you like the show? Please rate, review, and subscribe! (Playing time: 50:30)

Unstable Majorities: Polarization, Party Sorting, and Political Stalemate Featuring Morris Fiorina

America at its worst divide since the Civil War? Not exactly, says Hoover senior fellow Morris Fiorina, the author of Unstable Majorities: Polarization, Party Sorting, and Political Stalemate. Fiorina contends that voters haven’t abandoned the center but that the two major parties have, the result being continued experimentation with the political order in Washington. Will 2018 see a continuation of the third great stretch of instability in national politics? Did you like the show? Please rate, review, and subscribe (Playing time: 38:50)

Lee Harvey Oswald Was My Friend Featuring Paul Gregory

In November 1963 Paul Gregory’s family resided in Fort Worth, Texas. As members of the city’s Russian immigrant community, they befriended Lee and Marina Oswald. Gregory recounts his time in the company of JFK’s assassin, possible motivations for Oswald’s committing the crime, and why he doesn’t buy into the many conspiracy theories surrounding the events in Dallas. Paul Gregory is a research fellow at the Hoover Institution. Did you like the show? Please rate, review, and subscribe! (Playing time: 32:28)

The Future of Germany Featuring Russell Berman

The good news for Angela Merkel is to be re-elected to a fourth term as German chancellor. The bad news is fashioning a working coalition of political parties divided over taxes, immigration, and climate policy. Hoover Institution senior fellow Russell Berman examines the options available to Germany’s chancellor, including any changes to her roles on the European and world stages. Did you like the show? Please rate, review, and subscribe! (Playing time: 37:25)

Hoover Fellow Doug Rivers Breaks Down the Virginia Election

A year after Donald Trump’s improbable win, voters went to the polls in Virginia to elect a new governor—a contest that was, in part, a referendum on Trump’s nascent presidency. Hoover senior fellow and renowned pollster Doug Rivers breaks down the Old Dominion vote and what the results say about the effectiveness of Republican and Democratic messaging on the verge of the 2018 midterm elections. Did you like the show? Please rate, review, and subscribe! (Playing time: 54:47)

Hamilton—the Man, the Myth —the Donald?

Lionized in print and on theater stages, Alexander Hamilton is a curious bookend for a new president who likewise calls Manhattan home, is steeped in capitalism, and uses the media to joust with his rivals. Elizabeth Cobbs, a Hoover Institution senior fellow and author of The Hamilton Affair: A Novel, separates fact from fiction regarding the famed Founding Father. Did you like the show? Please rate, review, and subscribe! (Playing time: 56:19)