Matters of Policy & Politics

Americans watched with forlorn fascination as devastating hurricanes laid waste to stretches of Florida and Texas. Hoover research fellow Alice Hill explains how the nation can better prepare for future natural disasters. The key word is “resilience.” Did you like the show? Please rate, review, and subscribe! (Playing time: 40:30)

Representative Ro Khanna, a California Democrat from Silicon Valley and vice chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, discusses the feasibility of re-creating the technology economy in other parts of the United States. Is there room for working with the Trump administration, or are his fellow Democrats preoccupied by Russia and impeachment talk? Like Area 45? Please rate, review, and subscribe now! (Playing time: 50:48)

Recorded on July 24, 2017 With schools in session across the country, Hoover senior fellow Paul Peterson details this year’s survey of American education by Education Next. Among the more notable results: teachers are wary of their colleagues’ performance; parents are increasingly dissatisfied with charter schools. Like Area 45? Please rate, review, and subscribe now! (Playing time: 42:03)

Where does President Trump stand in the opinion polls now that his second hundred days in office are complete? David Brady and Doug Rivers, both Hoover senior fellows and Stanford political scientists, reveal data showing where Republicans and independents stand on this presidency and what if any effect developing news in Charlottesville and North Korea might have on Trump’s popularity. Like Area 45? Please rate, review, and subscribe now! (Playing time: 48:12)

Recorded on July 26, 2017 So many of the presumptions going into the November election–Donald Trump swamped by a tidal wave of vengeful women, minorities, and progressives – didn’t pan out. Why? Morris Fiorina, a Hoover Institution senior fellow and Stanford University political scientist, sees a divide: not between red and blue states but between the cultural elites (journalists and academics) and nonelites (the voting public). Like Area 45? Please rate, review, and subscribe now! (Playing time: 37:55)

Recorded on July 20, 2017 How do you remedy Americans’ lack of historical knowledge? By picking up a copy of On This Date–from the Pilgrims to Today, Discovering America One Day At a Time. The book’s author, Carl Cannon, is the Real Clear Politics Washington bureau chief and Hoover media fellow. In the book he reflects on his favorite calendar dates and the current state of relations between the Trump White House and the DC press establishment. Like Area 45? Please rate, review, and subscribe now! (Playing time: 47:00)

Recorded on July 19, 2017 Six months into the Trump presidency the GOP Congress struggles with the promise of swift and dramatic reforms. Kevin Kosar, the R Street Institute’s vice president of policy and a ten-year veteran of Capitol Hill, discusses how the legislative branch became the weakest of government’s limbs. Like Area 45? Please rate, review, and subscribe now! (Playing time: 47:48)

One hundred and fifty days into his presidency, Donald Trump is on pace to issue the most executive orders for a first-year president since Harry Truman in 1945. Hoover research fellow Adam White reviews the highs and lows of Trump’s signing flurry–and discusses the need for the Trump White House to pick up the pace for executive and judicial appointments.Like Area 45? Please rate, review, and subscribe now! (Playing time:(43:56)

Summary As the nation prepares for its Fourth of July celebration, the question arises of where the Trump presidency fits in the mosaic of American leadership. David M. Kennedy, a Stanford University historian and Pulitzer Prize winner, discusses the current state of the Republic and whether Donald Trump is the second coming of Andrew Jackson, as Trump would have us believe, or similar to a more recent Oval Office occupant. (Playing time:38:11) Like Area 45? Please rate, review, and subscribe now!

As Donald Trump’s presidency passes the five-month mark, Hoover senior fellows Dave Brady and Doug Rivers share their polling on Trump’s support from Republicans and independents, plus his policy strengths and weaknesses. We also take a further look at the significance of the United Kingdom’s “snap” election, which Doug Rivers correctly forecasted (words not often said about pollsters these days!). New episodes of Area 45 are released each week. Please rate, review, and subscribe on iTunes, SoundCloud, or RSS on your favorite podcast platform. (Playing time: 38:43)