An eventful election year concludes with the curtain soon to rise on a second Trump presidency and the possibility of dramatic changes to how Washington conducts itself.

Kimberley Strassel, the Wall Street Journal’s “Potomac Watch” columnist, joins Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, John Cochrane, and H.R. McMaster for a temperature check on Trump’s comeback: the odds of his ending lawfare and weeding out recalcitrant bureaucracy while also extending his 2017 tax cuts; plus whether Elon Musk’s DOGE initiative will indeed make the federal government more efficient. Later, the fellows offer their choices of 2024’s winners and losers, and what they got right and wrong this past year, as well as something big to expect in 2025. Finally, Sir Niall reflects on the emotional pull of knighthood, having recently been on the kneeling side of his investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle.

In a special “mailbag” episode, Hoover senior fellows Sir Niall Ferguson, John Cochrane, and H.R. McMaster answer audience questions ranging from current geopolitics quandaries and viable economic models to career and parenting advice, plus their personal choices of dream guests.

Among the topics: a neglected African continent; Russia’s military and economic sustainability and related policy options that the incoming Trump administration will face; parallels between Taiwan and pre–World War I Europe; rating Javier Milei’s performance in Argentina; job options for aspiring PhD candidates; plus the panel’s recommendations for foundational books to instill honor and patriotism in children (spoiler alert: Niall talking Tolkien). 

Submit your questions for our next mailbag episode at Hoover.org/AskGoodFellows and see if your question gets selected and answered!

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 state and CIA director Mike Pompeo joins Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, John Cochrane, and H.R. McMaster to discuss possible new directions for America’s national security apparatus. Also discussed: the Biden administration’s allowing Ukraine to fire long-range missiles into Russia; how to counter Chinese threats to Taiwan’s independence; Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s being declared a “war criminal” subject to arrest; plus the likelihood that Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency can reshape the federal government. 

Recorded on November 22, 2024.

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, Hollywood, wokeism, and a tired Democratic playbook) take a beating.

New York Times opinion columnist Bret Stephens joins Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, John Cochrane, and H.R. McMaster to discuss an American election that defied conventional wisdom – and how Trump should proceed in the weeks ahead (key cabinet appointments, foreign and economic policies) given the surprise gift of an Election Night mandate.

Recorded on November 7, 2024.

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 the Hoover Institution’s Bonnie and Tom McCloskey Distinguished Visiting Fellow, joins Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, John Cochrane, and H.R. McMaster to discuss various historical counterfactuals, including British forces winning the pivotal Battle of Saratoga in 1777; Vladimir Lenin being assassinated before Communism takes root in Russia; John F. Kennedy surviving his motorcade through Dallas; plus China rejecting economic reforms and instead refashioning itself as a second North Korea.  

Recorded on October 17, 2024.

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?

Walter Russell Mead, “Global View” columnist for the Wall Street Journal, joins Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, John Cochrane, and H.R. McMaster to discuss the latest developments in those two combat theaters. Next, the fellows choose policies they feel have gone neglected in America’s presidential election, weigh in on one pundit’s assessment that the US is headed for “the greatest mental health crisis in the history of the country” should Donald Trump prevail, and reflect on the passing of Grateful Dead founding member Phil Lesh. 

Recorded on October 28, 2024.

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 Davis Hanson, the Hoover Institution’s Martin and Illie Anderson Senior Fellow and a military historian and classicist, joins GoodFellows regulars John Cochrane and H.R. McMaster to discuss the latest in the Middle East, as well as whether it was wise for Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy to tour a munitions factory in the battleground state of Pennsylvania on the verge of America’s national election. Next, the three Baby Boomer panelists reflect on their generation’s legacy, plus which singer deserves a statue in the US Capitol alongside country music legend Johnny Cash.    

Recorded on September 24, 2024.

RELATED RESOURCES:

• The Secret History of the Shadow Campaign That Saved the 2020 Election by Molly Ball
• The Second World Wars: How the First Global Conflict Was Fought and Won by Victor Davis Hanson
• The Year That Broke Politics: Collusion and Chaos in the Presidential Election of 1968 by Luke A. Nichter
• Basic Economics by Thomas Sowell 
• Free to Choose: A Personal Statement by Milton Friedman and Rose Friedman
• With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa by E. B. Sledge
• Memoirs of General William Tecumseh Sherman by William Tecumseth Sherman

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 Tour of Duty in the White House – with additional insights provided by Hoover senior fellow Niall Ferguson, whose forthcoming biography of Henry Kissinger likewise will touch on national security and White House intrigue. After that: Niall and H.R. dissect the previous night’s presidential debate, assess the impact of Taylor Swift’s endorsement of Kamala Harris (spoiler alert: boy-dad Niall’s not a “Swiftie”), and offer thoughts on the perils of non-historians peddling “anti-history” and where the two fellows were 23 years ago during the 9/11 attacks on America.

Recorded on September 11, 2024.

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 Family Senior Fellow, appears solo on this “mini” edition of GoodFellows (or is it GoodFellow?) to discuss the current political landscape, what roles an aging electorate and the “gender gap” will play in America’s election, plus a fondness for tariffs shared by two very different Republicans: Donald Trump and William McKinley (aka “the tariff king”). Niall also discusses the challenges in raising two young sons in the Information Age, and his renewed appreciation for the works of Kurt Vonnegut.

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 business; why economic policy factors into the great-power competition with China; his fascination with Calvin Coolidge; plus why (in John’s opinion) Portuguese Water Dogs are the kings of all canines.

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 with Ourselves: My Tour of Duty in the Trump White House, discusses a possible sea change in American foreign policy and the view from other world capitals. On the 40th anniversary of his commissioning as a US Army second lieutenant, McMaster reflects on the challenges that tested his West Point Class of 1984 (motto: “The Best of the Corps”) versus those awaiting the Class of 2024 (“Like None Before”).