The Hoover Institution’s recent Carmel Valley Conference offered an intimate forum where Hoover fellows could address current policy challenges from a candid perspective. We are pleased to share two of the most popular talks from the conference by Hoover fellows Victor Davis Hanson and Kori Schake, adapted below as audio podcasts.
We hope you enjoy these presentations of ideas defining a free society.
Victor Davis Hanson, Martin and Illie Anderson Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution
What’s Happening on Our Campuses?
According to Victor Davis Hanson, calls for trigger warnings, campus diversity programs, and other policies aimed at shielding students from emotional discomfort and divergent opinions are warping the educational mission of US colleges. In addition to compromising educational quality, Hanson points out that those activities divert attention from more serious threats to student well-being, such as skyrocketing educational costs and student loan debt. Aside from youthful naiveté and progressive ideology, he blames a noncompetitive environment among and within colleges for many of the problems. He proposes accountability-based reforms such as university exit exams, academic freedom rankings, and closer donor oversight as possible solutions.
Kori Schake, research fellow, Hoover Institution
Defense Policy Challenges for the Next President
In this informative briefing, Kori Schake discusses the evolving threats to US interests that are waiting for the next presidential administration. Schake raises concerns about continued Iranian hostilities in the Straits of Hormuz, faltering soft US power in Iraq, and mounting civilian casualties from untargeted attacks in Syria. She discusses other developments giving rise to concern in Afghanistan, Russia, China, and North Korea but also points out recent areas of policy improvement. Schake then draws a conclusion with important implications for the next presidential administration: threats to the United States’ international interests are increasing, but the US response is lagging alarmingly behind.
