The Hoover Institution produces a range of several podcasts that align with the knowledge, expertise, and research interests of individual fellows. Additionally, Hoover also adapts campus events and popular broadcasts to audio and video format, so that they can be accessed anywhere, anytime, and on any streaming device.
Themes of the Hoover podcasts include economic matters, national security challenges, China and the Indo-Pacific region, K–12 education reform, constitutional jurisprudence, and timely discussions about politics and policy. Below is a list of current and popular Hoover podcasts:
Matters of Policy and Politics: Rebranded from its previous name, Area 45, this program features interviews by Virginia Hobbs Carpenter Distinguished Policy Fellow in Journalism Bill Whalen with other Hoover fellows about their research and policy insights on current events. Once a month, Whalen discusses California politics with senior fellow and economist Lee Ohanian. In recent episodes, Whalen has hosted John Yoo for analysis on the constitutionality of Facebook and Twitter’s ban of Donald Trump; Paul Peterson on COVID-19’s impact on the national school-choice movement; and Stephen Haber on Hoover’s partnership with the Alabama Innovation Commission to improve government responsiveness, foster technological expertise, and expand economic prosperity for its citizens.
EconTalk: An award-winning podcast hosted by John and Jean de Nault Research Fellow Russ Roberts, EconTalk features an eclectic set of guests, including economists, doctors, physiologists, historians, and philosophers. Listeners can learn how the health care system really works, the challenge of interpreting data, what caused the 2008 financial crisis, and more. Recent episodes have explored why the issue of poverty is so poorly misunderstood in America, lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, and the correlation between crime and access to quality education.
Law Talk: Law Talk features lively takes on legislation and constitutional jurisprudence with Visiting Fellow John Yoo and Peter and Kirsten Bedford Senior Fellow Richard Epstein. The two preeminent law professors regularly provide analysis of US Supreme Court cases and have recently assessed Florida governor Ron DeSantis’s efforts to rein in censorship by social media companies, and attempts by Republican-dominated state houses to overhaul voting laws.
The Pacific Century: Payson J. Treat Distinguished Research Fellow in Contemporary Asia Michael Auslin and John Yoo assess developments in Asia, especially the rise of China and its competition with the United States over global power and influence. On a weekly basis, Auslin and Yoo host experts on the region, including senior military officers, elected officials, titans of industry, and scholars from world-renowned universities and research institutions. This year, the duo hosted episodes with, among other notable guests, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt on what it takes for America to win the tech war against China; former secretary of state Mike Pompeo on the Trump administration’s China policy; and Rep. Mike Gallagher and former deputy national security advisor (and distinguished visiting fellow) Matt Pottinger on how China has attempted to pressure American businesses to lobby the Biden administration to adopt policies preferred by Beijing.
The Libertarian: The Libertarian is a weekly series featuring Richard Epstein’s unique perspectives in public policy and law. Epstein has lately opined on how the ACLU has embraced identity politics at the expense of its once great civil rights legacy; provided insights on why recent attempts to unionize an Amazon facility in Alabama have failed; and explained why global tax rates in other countries negatively impact American companies.
The Grumpy Economist: As a companion to his blog of the same name, The Grumpy Economist podcast presents the musings of Rose-Marie and Jack Anderson Senior Fellow John Cochrane on the news of the day from a humorous free-market perspective. Recent episodes have focused on how market forces can expedite the end of the COVID-19 pandemic; whether cities are facing a long-term population decline; and recent attempts to damage the liquidity of hedge funds by day traders coordinating their efforts on social media.
The Caravan Notebook: A product of the Herbert and Jane Dwight Working Group on the Middle East and the Islamic World, The Caravan Notebook regularly offers episodes hosted by Hoover scholars Russell Berman and Cole Bunzel that explore current events and cultural trends in the region. In recent episodes, former diplomat Ray Takeyh argued that the Islamic Republic of Iran is making the same mistakes as Muhammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, the last shah of Iran; retired Israel Defense Forces brigadier general Assaf Orion articulated the Jewish state’s grand strategy; and author Wesley Morgan discussed the prospects of peace and security in Afghanistan following American troop withdrawals.
To view the Hoover Institution’s entire podcast offerings, click here.
