Factual Foundations of Policy

What can 250 years of American military history teach us about today’s challenges? Hoover senior fellow Michael Boskin talks with Brookings Institution senior fellow Michael O’Hanlon, author of To Dare Mighty Things: U.S. Defense Strategy Since 1775, about how American military strategy has evolved from the Revolution and the Civil War through two world wars, the Cold War, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Boskin and O’Hanlon examine where American strategy has succeeded, where it has fallen short, and why deterrence, containment, and alliances have often proved as important as battlefield victories. They also consider what those lessons mean for today’s challenges, including Russia’s war against Ukraine, China and Taiwan, NATO, emerging military technologies, defense spending, and O’Hanlon’s case for “resolute restraint” in American foreign policy. To learn more, visit hoover.org/tennenbaum.

In the wake of COVID, the rise of AI, and sweeping political change, education is being transformed— raising new questions about the future role of teachers’ unions. In a new episode, Michael Hartney and Melissa Lyon join host Tom Church to examine the role of teachers’ unions in American education at a time of declining student achievement, post-COVID learning loss, and rapid technological change. Drawing on research about union membership, collective bargaining, and teacher strikes, the discussion explores how unions shape both education policy and working conditions. It also reviews evidence on their effects on education spending, teacher compensation, and student outcomes. To learn more, visit hoover.org/tennenbaum.

The enhanced ACA premium tax credits have now expired. What does that mean for affordability, coverage levels, and the future of US healthcare reform? Lanhee Chen and Nancy-Ann DeParle discuss the policy tradeoffs ahead — and whether Washington can find common ground on what comes next. To learn more, visit hoover.org/tennenbaum.

Energy realities and climate policy provide the factual foundations necessary to understand the interaction of Energy Policy, National Security, Economic Prosperity, and Environmental Stewardship. The experts provide vital information on Energy supply, growing energy demand for AI, the limited impacts of climate policies on actual climate outcomes, and the need to accommodate energy realities as the basis for policy decisions.  Emphasis is placed on several realities; 1) The vast size of the US and global energy sector, 2) Whiole renewables have grown rapidly, they added to energy sources, on balance have not much replaced fossil fuels which have continued to grow and still account for 80% of energy supply, 3) The need for a full cycle evaluation of climate policies to assess their net impact. To learn more, visit hoover.org/tennenbaum.  

Daniel Yergin examines how American energy innovation reshaped global power dynamics while revealing the uncomfortable realities of an energy transition that pits wealthy nations' climate ambitions against developing countries' urgent need for economic growth. RELATED SOURCES: Read US Energy Security by Daniel Yergin. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:  Prefer the podcast version? Subscribe here.  

Paul Peterson examines how outdated teacher pay systems reward credentials over classroom results, while exploring charter schools' emerging success in urban education. Peterson also analyzes fresh approaches to educator compensation and traces the expansion of school choice despite fierce debates about its impact. Learn more about the Tennenbaum Program for Fact-Based Policy program.  Watch Part 1: What We Know About Our Schools and Achievement featuring Paul E. Peterson RELATED SOURCES: Read Introduction: What We Know About Our Schools by Michael J. Boskin. Read What We Know About Our Schools by Paul E. Peterson and Nora Gordon.  Read key points about teacher quality and compensation in K-12 education. Read key points about school choice in K-12 education. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:  Watch previous episodes of Factual Foundations of Policy on YouTube. Prefer the podcast version? Subscribe here.

Paul Peterson upends the narrative about failing American schools by revealing decades of surprising achievement gains. In this episode, he examines why these improvements get overlooked, analyzes how US students really perform globally, and explores what test scores tell us about our educational future. Learn more about the Tennenbaum Program for Fact-Based Policy program.  Watch Part 2: What We Know About Teachers and School Choice featuring Paul E. Peterson (available on Wednesday, February 5, 2025).  RELATED SOURCES: Read Introduction: What We Know About Our Schools by Michael J. Boskin. Read What We Know About Our Schools by Paul E. Peterson and Nora Gordon.  Read key points about achievement in K-12 education. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:  Watch previous episodes of Factual Foundations of Policy on YouTube. Prefer the podcast version? Subscribe here.

Do voter ID laws affect turnout? Does no-excuse absentee voting change electoral results? How would you find out? Hoover senior fellow Justin Grimmer goes through the research literature to separate fact from fiction.   Read "Evidence vs. Hyperbole: The Relationship between Election Laws and the Health of Democracy” by Justin Grimmer and Eitan Hersh.   Read “How Election Rules Affect Who Wins” by Justin Grimmer and Eitan Hersh.   Cited Paper: “Do non-citizens vote in U.S. elections?” Richmond, Chattha, and Earnest. Electoral Studies, 2014.  

Ben Ginsberg provides an overview of how election rules differ state-by-state and discusses mail-in voting, ballot processing rules, and the impact of federalism on election administration. Listen to Ben Ginsberg's podcast "Saints, Sinners, and Salvageables" here: https://www.hoover.org/saints-sinners-salvageables Read "Restoring Confidence in American Elections" by Bruce E. Cain and Benjamin Ginsberg (PDF) All National Conference of State Legislatures tables of election rules here: https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/voting-outside-the-polling-place

The Tennenbaum Program for Fact-Based Policy surveyed American voters about their knowledge of the federal budget and social safety net programs. MIchael Boskin discusses survey results from his paper "Policy Knowledge in the Public."