Dire Straits: Condoleezza Rice on The War with Iran | Hoover Institution

Does the current conflict in the Middle East suggest that America has learned from its recent past wars? Hoover Institution Director and former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice joins GoodFellows regulars Sir Niall Ferguson, John Cochrane and Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster to discuss the prospects of an oil “shock” prompted by a prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz as well as a political “shock” back in the US when voters go to the polls in November, China and Russia’s losses in terms of stature and friendly regimes, plus what the Anthropic-Pentagon legal kerfuffle suggests about the role of emerging technology in history’s first AI-enabled war and the problems in being portrayed as a societal menace. Afterwards: the fellows reflect on the 250th anniversary of Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations, billionaires in the crosshairs of the “affordability” debate, and why they won’t be watching the upcoming Academy Awards.   Subscribe to GoodFellows for clarity on today’s biggest social, economic, and geostrategic shifts — only on GoodFellows.

A week into US and Israeli military operations against Iran, where does the conflict stand? GoodFellows regulars Niall Ferguson, John Cochrane and H.R. McMaster discuss the odds of hostilities expanding, what the aftermath of “regime alteration” might resemble, a possible economic backlash should energy prices spike, plus a geopolitical shock felt in Beijing and Moscow. Subscribe to GoodFellows for clarity on today’s biggest social, economic, and geostrategic shifts — only on GoodFellows.

As his self-proclaimed 10-day window for dealing with Iran approaches its end, what are President Trump’s options? GoodFellows regulars Niall Ferguson, John Cochrane, and H.R. McMaster weigh the merits of a US military strike versus an interim diplomatic solution. They also probe the Epstein scandal’s impact on the British landscape and the Supreme Court’s ruling against the Trump administration’s use of emergency powers for tariff implementation. Later, in the “lightning round”: why US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was warmly received at the Munich Security Conference; the Pentagon’s desire to sever academic ties with Harvard University; Barack Obama’s suggesting that aliens exist; plus H.R.’s remembrance of film great Robert Duvall, aka Apocalypse Now’s Lt. Col. Bill “I Love the Smell of Napalm in the Morning” Kilgore.  Subscribe to GoodFellows for clarity on today’s biggest social, economic, and geostrategic shifts — only on GoodFellows.

Unlike the romanticized tale the Chinese Communist Party tells of itself—long marches and a long game of outlasting and outwitting its foes—the early years of the CCP were ones of unrepentant violence and a rise to power made possible only with external help. Frank Dikötter, the Hoover Institution’s Milias Senior Fellow and author of the forthcoming book, Red Dawn over China: How Communism Conquered a Quarter of Humanity, joins GoodFellows regulars Niall Ferguson, John Cochrane and H.R. McMaster to discuss what shaped the CCP from the years 1921–1949, plus parallels between Xi Jinping and Mao Zedong in terms of amassing power, purging rivals, and practicing economics and geopolitics. After that: the fellows debate the assertion by a New York Times columnist that Donald Trump has “lost the country,” as well as how much faith to put in economic indicators, plus songstress Billie Eilish’s belief that “no one is illegal on stolen land.”   Subscribe to GoodFellows for clarity on today’s biggest social, economic, and geostrategic shifts — only on GoodFellows.

Donald Trump’s drop-in at the World Economic Forum and the ensuing kerfuffle between the American president and the attending globalist elites raises the question: Who is winning on the world stage, Trump or his foes—or do they have more in common than is commonly recognized? Tyler Cowen, an economist, blogger, and Free Press columnist, joins GoodFellows regulars Niall Ferguson, John Cochrane, and H.R. McMaster to discuss Trump’s third presidential visit to the Davos, Switzerland, lion’s den, plus the rise of “democratic socialism” and “affordability politics” embodied in the ethos of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani. After that: the three fellows discuss lessons from Minneapolis in the aftermath of two protestors shot to death by federal immigration agents; the odds of American military strikes against Iran; the significance of China’s latest military purge; plus whether the show’s resident historians are comfortable with the (over)use of phrase “the right side of history.” Subscribe to GoodFellows for clarity on today’s biggest social, economic, and geostrategic shifts — only on GoodFellows.

As Iran’s theocracy teeters on the brink, the question turns to what the Trump administration’s abiding interest in other bad regimes (Venezuela, Cuba, Colombia) and its appetite for land acquisitions (greenbacks for Greenland?) say about the American president’s worldview. GoodFellows regulars Niall Ferguson, John Cochrane, and H.R. McMaster discuss policy options for Iran now that protests have turned tragic; the relative silence from the same campus leftists who fervently protested the war in Gaza; Nixonian echoes in Trump’s foreign policy; plus Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s emergence as a geopolitical jack-of-all-trades. In the second segment, John weighs in on the significance of the Justice Department’s criminal investigation into Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell; H.R. contends America’s designs on Greenland are no laughing matter; and Sir Niall previews what to expect from Trump’s appearance at the upcoming World Economic Forum in Davos. Finally, GoodFellows’ resident “Deadhead” bids a fond farewell to the late Bob Weir, guitarist and cofounder of the Grateful Dead. Subscribe to GoodFellows for clarity on today’s biggest social, economic, and geostrategic shifts — only on GoodFellows.

American special forces capture Venezuela’s president and his wife in a daring nighttime operation, returning the deposed first couple to the US to stand trial for alleged narcoterrorism. Meanwhile, protests in Iran over worsening living conditions, coupled with a cratered economy, threaten that theocracy’s future. GoodFellows regulars Niall Ferguson, John Cochrane, and H.R. McMaster kick off 2026 by discussing both the precedent and the consequences of the move on Maduro, whether other nations (i.e. China) will invoke their own “Monroe Doctrines” to justify regional power grabs, plus the chances of similar fates awaiting Greenland, Colombia, or Cuba. After that: the panel’s thoughts on whether Iran’s regime is in its dying days as conditions on the ground deteriorate; and the chances of political transformation spreading worldwide in 2026—a là the end of the first Cold War—potential signposts of freedom as America celebrates 250 years of individual liberty. Finally, the fellows send their best wishes to a pair of GoodFellows guests—former Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse and Hoover’s Victor Davis Hanson—as the two gentlemen do battle with cancer.   Subscribe to GoodFellows for clarity on today’s biggest social, economic, and geostrategic shifts — only on GoodFellows.  

Nearly a century ago, after years of investors on a champagne high and warning signs ignored, a stock market crash led to a descent into a global depression. Andrew Ross Sorkin, a New York Times financial journalist and author of the bestseller 1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History—and How It Shattered a Nation, joins GoodFellows regulars Niall Ferguson, John Cochrane, and H.R. McMaster to discuss how the events of 1929 resonate to this day, what’s misunderstood about the fabled crash, whether Herbert Hoover (only seven months into his presidency when disaster struck) gets a fair shake, plus what the future holds for Federal Reserve independence, the bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery, and Wall Street’s relationship with Washington. After that: The three fellows look back on 2025 with their choices for individual of the year, the most significant or ignored stories, what they learned in 2025, plus predictions and resolutions for the new year. Finally, a surprise visit by Hoover Institution visiting fellow Kris Kringle, who asks the panel for its holiday wishes (oddly enough, H.R. is never around when jolly old St. Nick shows up).      Subscribe to GoodFellows for clarity on today’s biggest social, economic, and geostrategic shifts — only on GoodFellows.

Two institutional sectors are in both steady and rapid decline in terms of public trust: Congress and academia. Ben Sasse, former US senator from Nebraska and president of two universities, joins GoodFellows regulars Niall Ferguson, John Cochrane, and H.R. McMaster to discuss what ails Congress and how to fix it (based on his eight years in the Senate), plus how America’s educational system has set a low bar for readying students for higher learning and life after college. Next the three fellows weigh the merits of the Trump administration’s new National Security Strategy and what strategy there is (or isn’t) regarding Venezuela and drug trafficking; the shortcomings of fuel-efficiency standards; whether they’d buy an American-made “tiny car” (no way, says our resident former tank driver); and, with the World Cup coming to America in 2026, how to clear up the confusion between US-brand “football” and the international “beautiful game” that goes by the same name (Sir Niall’s solution: Change US football to “armored rugby”).    Subscribe to GoodFellows for clarity on today’s biggest social, economic, and geostrategic shifts — only on GoodFellows.

Is the bitter war in Ukraine soon to wind down now that a peace settlement is being negotiated (think a Panmunjom-style compromise, not Munich-style appeasement), and how should America prepare for economic and military parity with China? In an episode devoted solely to viewers’ questions, Hoover senior fellows Sir Niall Ferguson, John Cochrane and H.R. McMaster delve into matters ranging from those somber (allaying twenty-somethings’ climate alarmism, “ideal” interest rates, the future of tank warfare as well as AI’s redesign of future workforces) to those more lighthearted (H.R.’s service nickname, the artist behind John’s wall hangings, and how the fellows would ride out a future pandemic). Finally, on the eve of America’s Thanksgiving holiday, the fellows count their blessings – especially “Papa” Ferguson, who recently joined John (aka, “Blah-Blah” to his grandchildren) and H.R. (likewise, his grandkids’ “Papa”) as a first-time grandfather. Subscribe to GoodFellows for clarity on today’s biggest social, economic, and geostrategic shifts — only on GoodFellows.