The Hoover Institution held its eleventh Southern California Conference on January 30, 2014, in Pasadena. That conference, part of a series that includes annual programs in both Pasadena and Century City, offered presentations by Hoover fellows on a wide range of public policy issues, from education to Middle East relations to the upcoming elections. Below is a selection of podcasts and chartcasts from the conference.
Podcasts
“Reflections on the Middle East”
James N. Mattis, an Annenberg Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution, discusses strategy, war, and politics in the Middle East; topics include the Arab Spring, modern terrorism and terrorist organizations, Iran’s influence in the region, and oil.
“Campaign 2014: Coming to Terms with the Upcoming Midterms”
Bill Whalen, a research fellow at the Hoover Institution, discusses the upcoming elections. Topics include patterns of stability and change in governorships, Congress, and the presidency; trends in recent elections from a Republican perspective; an overview of select races necessary for the GOP to have a majority in the Senate; and the role of perspective future presidential candidates in the midterm elections.
Chartcasts
“Getting the US Economy Back on Track with Better Economic Policies”
Lee Ohanian, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, discusses the present and future of economic policy in the United States. Topics include the effects of the great recession and how they compare to those of past recessions, tax reform, federal spending cuts, immigration, and education reforms.
“Endangering Prosperity: A Global View of the American School”
Paul E. Peterson, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, discusses the relationship between human capital and economic growth. Topics include recent US standing in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) tests, the US commitment to achievement growth, and the disparity between public perceptions and the reality of education in the United States.
“Who Owns History? The Use and Abuse of the Hoover Archives”
Eric Wakin, a research fellow at the Hoover Institution and the director of Hoover's Library and Archives, discusses the applications of Hoover's archival material Topics include a brief history of the Hoover Archives; Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's research in the USSR using Hoover materials, Hoover maps, and documents on the Soviet Union gulags; microfilmed Soviet documents from Afghanistan; a Chinese exhibit using Hoover materials; and Hoover's materials on the Long March.
