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GoodFellows: Conversations on Economics, History & Geopolitics

Hoover Institution

100 episodes

GoodFellows: Conversations on Economics, History, & Geopolitics is a flagship videocast from the Hoover Institution where senior fellows John Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, and H.R. McMaster cut through the noise, challenge conventional wisdom, and explain what’s driving markets, power, and public policy. Drawing on rigorous economic analysis, deep historical perspective, and national security leadership at the highest levels, these leading thinkers deliver clear, trusted insight into the challenges facing the United States while debating the forces shaping the modern world.

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  1. Focus on the Mission, with Mike Pompeo | GoodFellows | Hoover Institution

    · 57 min · Episode 142

    After a “change” election that returned Donald Trump to the presidency, what can Americans expect in the way of foreign policy and national security departures from the current administration? Former US secretary of…

  2. The Comeback: The NYT’s Bret Stephens and the GoodFellows Recap the ’24 Election | GoodFellows | Hoover Institution

    · 1 h 03 min · Episode 141

    Donald Trump will return to the Oval Office in a manner few saw coming – he won America’s popular vote; his coattails may lead to Republican control of Congress – while progressive institutions (legacy media,…

  3. Butterfly Wings & Hurricanes: The GoodFellows & Andrew Roberts Revisit Historical Counterfactuals | GoodFellows | Hoover Institution

    · 58 min · Episode 139

    Imagine an alternate universe in which the American Revolution fails or where Russia rejects Leninism in its infant stage. Live from the Hoover Institution’s Fall Retreat, Lord Andrew Roberts, renowned historian and…

  4. Hope for Peace, Prepare for War, with Walter Russell Mead | GoodFellows | Hoover Institution

    · 1 h 04 min · Episode 140

    Why has Israel repeatedly disregarded and gone the opposite way from the White House’s entreaties regarding the Middle East? And does the West fully fathom that Ukraine is losing its war of attrition with Russia?…

  5. OK Boomers: Victor Davis Hanson, Pagers, Zelenskyy, and the Fellows “Talkin’ ‘Bout Their Generation” | GoodFellows | Hoover Institution

    · 1 h 08 min · Episode 138

    Hot-wiring pagers and walkie-talkies to take out Hezbollah operatives: Was Israel’s tactic—like something from an Ian Fleming novel—a justifiable act of national security or a violation of international law? Victor…

  6. Cruel Summer: McMaster’s Tour of Duty, the Debate, TSwift, and Yes, Churchill Was a Good Guy | GoodFellows | Hoover Institution

    · 56 min · Episode 137

    What was it like to navigate America’s national security apparatus all the while coping with a mercurial commander-in-chief? Hoover senior fellow H.R. McMaster tells all in his new best-seller At War with Ourselves: My…

  7. So It Goes: Niall Ferguson on Good Books, Bad Screens, a 1968 Redux, and Hobbits | GoodFellows | Hoover Institution

    · 48 min · Episode 136

    In a topsy-turvy election year, does America’s 2024 presidential contest summon ghosts from 1968 — or, is a late-breaking 1980-style landslide in the cards? Historian Niall Ferguson, the Hoover Institution’s Milbank…

  8. Gettin’ Grumpy with It: John Cochrane on the Fed, Tariffs, and Why Dogs Rule | GoodFellows | Hoover Institution

    · 44 min · Episode 135

    John Cochrane, the Hoover Institution’s Rose-Marie and Jack Anderson Senior Fellow and the author of The Fiscal Theory of Price Level (2023), discusses misconceptions around how the Federal Reserve goes about its…

  9. Generally Speaking: McMaster on Trump Foreign Policy and Technology Warfare | GoodFellows | Hoover Institution

    · 44 min · Episode 134

    In a special mini version of GoodFellows (just one wise man, not the usual three), Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, the Hoover Institution’s Fouad and Michelle Ajami Senior Fellow and author of the soon-to-be-released At War…

  10. We Win, They Lose, with Matthew Kroenig | GoodFellows: John H. Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H.R. McMaster, and Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution

    · 1 h 08 min · Episode 133

    Is a regional war across the Middle East about to erupt? And what to make of a Venezuelan regime that doesn’t honor election results? Matthew Kroenig, Vice President and Senior Director of the Atlantic Council’s…

  11. Unburdened By What Has Been | GoodFellows: John H. Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H.R. McMaster, and Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution

    · 1 h 01 min · Episode 132

    An already surreal political year becomes all the more quizzical as former president Donald Trump literally dodges an assassin’s bullet soon before making a surprise pick of Ohio senator J. D. Vance as his running…

  12. The Senior Moment with Jonah Goldberg | GoodFellows: John H. Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H.R. McMaster, and Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution

    · 53 min · Episode 131

    The Dispatch’s Jonah Goldberg joins Good Fellows to discuss his differences with Niall Ferguson’s Soviet America essay, the Biden/Trump gerontocracy, and the European elections. Also, can someone help Niall choose a dog?

  13. A GoodFellows Special: A Guide to Summer | GoodFellows: John H. Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H.R. McMaster, and Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution

    · 20 min · Episode 130

    How do a historian, an economist, and a geostrategist make the best use of their summers? In an abbreviated GoodFellows, Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, John Cochrane, and H.R. McMaster reveal a few of their…

  14. The Axis of Chaos, with Matt Pottinger | GoodFellows: John H. Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H.R. McMaster, and Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution

    · 48 min · Episode 129

    A new “cold war” presents a familiar challenge for America: how to curb a rival great power’s ambitions. Matt Pottinger, a Hoover Institution visiting fellow and editor of the forthcoming book The Boiling Moat: Urgent…

  15. The Counterfactual Show: Reimagining History, with Stephen Kotkin | GoodFellows: John H. Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H.R. McMaster, and Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution

    · 1 h 06 min · Episode 128

    Historians differ over the need to explore “counterfactuals”—the study of scenarios that never happened—and what they can tell us about historical causation. Stephen Kotkin, the Hoover Institution’s Kleinheinz Senior…

  16. TikTok’s Ticking Clock: National Security Vs. Free Speech; Dr. Evil And James Bond | GoodFellows: John H. Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H.R. McMaster, Amy Zegart, and Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution

    · 58 min · Episode 127

    Did Israel’s failure to anticipate Hamas’s surprise attack in October 2023 stem from an overreliance on technical rather than human intelligence gathering? And is TikTok really a national security threat to America?…

  17. America’s Immigration Puzzle, Iran Strikes (Out) – And 60 Is The New 40 | GoodFellows: John H. Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H.R. McMaster, Reihan Salam, and Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution

    · 58 min · Episode 126

    Nearly 40 years since the nation last saw comprehensive reform on the matter, the consensus is that America’s immigration system is sorely in need of updating to 21st-century realities. Reihan Salam, Manhattan…

  18. NYT’s Bret Stephens on Israel, 4 Years of GoodFellows, and An Invite to JK Rowling | GoodFellows: John H. Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H.R. McMaster, and Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution

    · 53 min · Episode 125

    As the six-month anniversary of Hamas’s attack on Israel approaches, what to expect next in that struggle—and is the American president and Israeli prime minister’s working relationship beyond repair? New York Times…

  19. China v. Ukraine with Elbridge Colby; TikTok's Clock; Election Meddling Is Cool Now? | GoodFellows: Niall Ferguson, H.R. McMaster, and Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution

    · 57 min · Episode 124

    Facing hot wars in Eastern Europe and the Middle East and a prolonged cold war in East Asia, how does America adapt its military strategy and resources—and in which direction? Elbridge Colby, former Defense Department…

  20. Victor Davis Hanson On The State of the Union . . . and a Biden-Trump Rematch | GoodFellows: John H. Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H.R. McMaster, and Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution

    · 1 h 08 min · Episode 123

    Following Super Tuesday’s results, with the US presidential election still the better part of eight months away, a rematch between Joe Biden and Donald Trump is all but certain. Victor Davis Hanson, the Hoover…

  21. Israel’s Options, Plus Navalny’s Legacy and Ranking the US Presidents, with Dan Senor | GoodFellows: John H. Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H.R. McMaster, and Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution

    · 55 min · Episode 122

    Why did Vladimir Putin call for an “inter-Palestinian meeting” in Moscow? And has Israel drawn a red line regarding a hostage release and an assault on the Gazan city of Rafah? Dan Senor, host of the Call Me Back…

  22. End Games: America Strikes Back, Congress Strikes Out On Immigration | GoodFellows: John H. Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H.R. McMaster, and Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution

    · 53 min · Episode 121

    While the American reprisal against Iranian proxies across the Middle East is impressive in its harnessing of firepower, technology, and intelligence, does it advance the goals of deterrence and de-escalation? Hoover…

  23. Davos, World War III, Essential Books, and No Swearing | GoodFellows: John H. Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H.R. McMaster, and Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution

    · 54 min · Episode 120

    This installment of GoodFellows is devoted to audience questions—viewers and listeners putting Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, John Cochrane, and H.R. McMaster through their intellectual paces. Among the topics…

  24. Empire or Republic?: The Choice in ’24 | GoodFellows: John H. Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H.R. McMaster, and Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution

    · 1 h 00 min · Episode 119

    The new year begins with a continuation of three topics that figured prominently in 2023: escalating hostilities in the Middle East; a possible return to more traditional higher education after shake-ups at several…

  25. Ivy-League Anti-Semitism with Bari Weiss, Regarding Henry, and Santa Hats | GoodFellows: John H. Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H.R. McMaster, and Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution

    · 1 h 08 min · Episode 118

    Failing to unequivocally denounce students’ calls for Jewish genocide has cost one university president her job and raises questions as to whether the current levels of anti-Semitic vitriol and political activism…

  26. Known Unknowns, the Rolling Stones, and Karl Rove | GoodFellows: John H. Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H.R. McMaster, and Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution

    · 1 h 08 min · Episode 117

    As the US prepares for a presidential vote (Iowans caucusing in fewer than 50 days) and a temporary truce halts the Israel-Hamas conflict, long-term uncertainty seems the order of the day. Karl Rove, Wall Street…

  27. Life During Wartime: Israel’s Resolve; Can Ukraine Still Win? | GoodFellows: John Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, H.R. McMaster, Russ Roberts, and Bill Whalen

    · 1 h 06 min · Episode 116

    Two conflicts present two challenges: a Ukrainian counteroffensive turned stalemate; and Israel’s survival as it confronts Hamas (and possibly Hezbollah and Iran). Russ Roberts, Hoover’s John and Jean De Nault Research…

  28. A Bronx Tale: Ian Rowe on the Fight for Charter Schools | GoodFellows: John H. Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, Bill Whalen, and Ian Rowe | Hoover Institution

    · 1 h 03 min · Episode 115

    Ian Rowe, an American Enterprise Institute senior fellow and cofounder of the Bronx-based Vertex Partnership Academies, joins Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson and John Cochrane to discuss the future of public…

  29. Understanding the New World (Dis)Order, with Stephen Kotkin | GoodFellows: John H. Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, and Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution

    · 58 min · Episode 114

    As Israel and Ukraine struggle for survival, a newer “axis of ill will”—formed by Russia, China and Iran—sows discord around the globe. Stephen Kotkin, the Hoover Institution’s Kleinheinz Senior Fellow and a vaunted…

  30. The War in Israel and the War at Home | GoodFellows: John H. Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H.R. McMaster, and Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution

    · 57 min · Episode 113

    Recorded live at the Hoover Institution’s fall retreat: Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H.R. McMaster, and John Cochrane discuss unfolding events in the Middle East—Israel’s response, failures in intelligence…

  31. Supreme Court, United Nations—What Next for Free Speech, the Free World? | GoodFellows: John H. Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, Eugene Volokh, and Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution

    · 1 h 08 min · Episode 112

    The US Supreme Court seems headed for a showdown with social media platforms over content and censorship; the United Nations’ 78th General Assembly underscores that body’s inability to curb totalitarian aggression.…

  32. Doomsayers, a Doomed China, and . . . President McMaster? | GoodFellows: John Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H.R. McMaster, and Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution

    · 1 h 05 min · Episode 111

    In a special “mailbag” episode, Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, John Cochrane, and H.R. McMaster answer viewers’ questions, ranging from global geopolitics to American domestic affairs. Among the topics: Is China…

  33. Tainted “Meat and Potatoes”— Andrew McCarthy on Political Trials, Public Tribulations | GoodFellows: John Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, Andrew McCarthy, H.R. McMaster, and Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution

    · 52 min · Episode 110

    Former president Donald Trump faces at least four criminal trials that could overshadow the Republicans’ presidential nominating process—and maybe fatally wound him in a general election—while a legal cloud hangs over…

  34. AI And A-Bombs: Is Everything A-Okay? | GoodFellows: John Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster, Fei-Fei Li, H.R. McMaster, Bill Whalen | Hoover Institution

    · 1 h 06 min · Episode 109

    On the 78th anniversary of the only wartime use of nuclear weapons, is the human race at another moral crossroads, fearing what artificial intelligence (AI) breakthroughs might unleash? Fei-Fei Li, co-director of…

  35. The Recession That Didn’t Bark | GoodFellows: John Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster | Hoover Institution

    · 54 min · Episode 108

    This week, the self-moderating GoodFellows (Bill Whalen is on vacation) ponder why the much predicted recession hasn’t materialized—at least not yet. The Fellows also discuss the national security implications of a…

  36. Mutiny Interrupted: Prigozhin Stands Down | GoodFellows: John Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster, Bill Whalen, and Dmitri Alperovitch| Hoover Institution

    · 58 min · Episode 107

    A tumultuous 24 hours in Russia—ordinarily pro-Russia armed mercenaries marching on Moscow, Vladimir Putin’s whereabouts unknown—reveals the fragility of that wartime autocracy. Dmitri Alperovitch, founder of the…

  37. There’s Nothing Stopping You Now: Coleman Hughes on Race and Poverty in America | GoodFellows: John Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster | Hoover Institution

    · 57 min · Episode 106

    California weighs reparations for slavery’s descendants as America approaches the three-year anniversary of the murder of George Floyd—a Black man killed by a White police officer—in Minneapolis. Coleman Hughes, a…

  38. Charles In Charge: God Save the King with Douglas Murray | GoodFellows: John Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster | Hoover Institution

    · 1 h 04 min · Episode 105

    Does the Shakespearean adage “uneasy lies the head that wears a crown” still apply to today’s United Kingdom? British author and journalist Douglas Murray joins Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H.R. McMaster, and…

  39. Rage Against The Machine: The Good Fellows Discuss AI | GoodFellows: John Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster | Hoover Institution

    · 1 h 00 min · Episode 104

    Is artificial intelligence a global killer or an emerging technology which, if properly harnessed, can improve mankind? And what’s the significance of a low-level National Guard member being able to expose US military…

  40. Viewer Mail, Part II: Empires, War Crimes, and Bad Facial Hair | GoodFellows: John Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster | Hoover Institution

    · 46 min · Episode 103

    In this second installment of audience questions, viewers and listeners from nearly three dozen nations spanning six continents ask Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster and John Cochrane about the…

  41. Viewer Mail, Part 1: Banks, Tanks, Prizes, And A Singing Serpent | GoodFellows: John Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster | Hoover Institution

    · 47 min · Episode 102

    The first of two episodes devoted solely to questions from the audience—viewers and listeners from nearly three dozen nations spanning six continents—who ask Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster, and…

  42. Three Good Fellows and Not Enough Babies: A Conversation with Demographer Nicolas Eberstadt | GoodFellows: John Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster | Hoover Institution

    · 59 min · Episode 101

    What do long-term demographic trends suggest about the world moving forward? American Enterprise Institute fellow Nicholas Eberstadt joins Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster, and John Cochrane for a…

  43. Weathering the Storms: Bjorn Lomborg on Climate Change, Global Priorities | GoodFellows: John Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster | Hoover Institution

    · 1 h 03 min · Episode 100

    While erratic weather and apocalyptic prophecies keep climate change in the headlines, a set of arguably more pressing global concerns goes less noticed. Bjorn Lomborg, a Hoover visiting fellow and president of the…

  44. Super Bowl, Shmooper Bowl with Victor Davis Hanson | GoodFellows: John Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster | Hoover Institution

    · 1 h 03 min · Episode 99

    A Chinese “civilian airship” wafts across the US heartland. Vladimir Putin ramps up the saber-rattling as the one-year anniversary of his Ukraine invasion nears. And could a single platinum coin be America’s debt…

  45. Tanks for the Memories | GoodFellows: John Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster | Hoover Institution

    · 1 h 04 min · Episode 98

    GoodFellows celebrates its 100th episode with Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster, and John Cochrane reflecting on social, economic, and geopolitical lessons learned since their first conversation…

  46. Sticks, Carrots...Baby Carrots: Rep. Mike Gallagher on the China Threat | GoodFellows: John Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster | Hoover Institution

    · 1 h 09 min · Episode 97

    Is the United States in a new “cold war” with China, and if so, what steps should be taken to get the attention of the government in Beijing (a military buildup? banning TikTok in the US)? Wisconsin congressman Mike…

  47. The Year In Review, The Year Ahead: Ukraine’s Dominance, AI’s Emergence, “NapolElon’s” Waterloo? | GoodFellows: John Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster | Hoover Institution

    · 54 min · Episode 96

    What did the GoodFellows learn in 2022, and what do they anticipate for 2023? Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster, and John Cochrane reflect on the war in Ukraine, cryptocurrency’s fall and inflation’s…

  48. The BYO Show: China’s Totalitarian Gridlock, A Woke “Mind Virus,” And Futbal Vs. Football | GoodFellows: John Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster | Hoover Institution

    · 59 min · Episode 95

    A post-holiday Goodfellows features the panelists bringing their own curiosities to the table. Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster, and John Cochrane discuss China’s COVID-restriction protests and…

  49. Kale and Arugula? Kim Strassel on a New Congress, Old Challenges | GoodFellows: John Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster | Hoover Institution

    · 1 h 05 min · Episode 94

    A week after America’s midterm election, Washington faces the prospect of divided government for the next two years. Kimberly Strassel, the Wall Street Journal’s “Potomac Watch” columnist, joins Hoover senior fellows…

  50. “Deep Thoughts”: Tyler Cowen on AI and the Future of Work | GoodFellows: John Cochrane, Niall Ferguson | Hoover Institution

    · 1 h 03 min · Episode 93

    A world where artificial intelligence completes your work and thoughts? And what’s the wiser bet: “short Meta” or “long Twitter”? Tyler Cowen, a George Mason University economist and coauthor of the Marginal Revolution…

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