Today, Hoover announces a new home for the video versions of the long-running popular podcast EconTalk; Frank Dikötter explains why it would be a strategic blunder to mistake the appearances of China’s economy and military for the truth about its national power; and Michael McConnell explains why last Friday’s Supreme Court decision striking down the Trump administration’s tariff policies is likely to go down as a landmark in American jurisprudence.
Hoover Institution News
The Hoover Institution is now a partner in the production of EconTalk, an award-winning weekly podcast now celebrating its 20th year in production. EconTalk: Conversations for the Curious is hosted by Visiting Fellow Russ Roberts, who also serves as president of Shalem College in Jerusalem. In collaboration with Liberty Fund and the Library of Economics and Liberty, Hoover will be producing video versions of EconTalk— an early pioneer in the field of podcasting—and distributing them through its stable of social media channels, as well as on Hoover.org. “I am delighted to have the Hoover Institution’s support to further develop video editions of EconTalk and see them reach an even wider audience,” Roberts said. “Hoover has a fabulous team and a proven track record of developing compelling video.” Video episodes will appear exclusively on Hoover.org and Hoover’s social channels for the first two weeks after each episode is released. Read more here.
Confronting and Competing with China
China projects an image of stability, economic dynamism, and military strength through infrastructure expansion, rapid growth, and persistent propaganda. Yet beneath this appearance, explains Senior Fellow Frank Dikötter in a new episode of Policy Stories, lies a socialist system in which the state controls land, finance, and key industries, limiting market mechanisms and obscuring reliable economic measurement. Official statistics, heavy subsidies, and quota-driven growth complicate assessments of China’s true economic performance, while the regime’s messaging seeks to amplify perceptions of inevitable ascent and Western decline. Dikötter argues that misjudging China—whether by underestimating or exaggerating its power—can produce serious strategic errors for the US and its allies and partners. Watch here.
Revitalizing American Institutions
Last Friday, Senior Fellow Michael McConnell, professor at Stanford Law School, joined CNBC’s Money Movers to discuss the Supreme Court’s ruling on the Trump administration’s global tariff policies. McConnell, who represented plaintiffs in a case that became part of last Friday’s decision, said that “the basic ruling of the Court was pretty much exactly what we argued, that the IEEPA—International Economic Emergency Powers Act—does not mention tariffs; it uses the word regulation, but the term regulation has never been used to include the power to impose taxes.” McConnell, a former federal appellate judge, says that this opinion will have major implications for the line between “presidential authority and congressional authority,” saying, “I think this is going to be a landmark decision.” Watch here.
Security and Defense
In an essay for The Times (UK), Distinguished Visiting Fellow Rishi Sunak outlines how Britain and Europe can, and will need to, catch up with the state of the art in drone warfare to secure themselves against emerging threats. “Drones have changed the nature of war,” Sunak writes. “At the Munich Security Conference, Zelensky told me that 80 per cent of the casualties Ukraine is inflicting on the Russians are from unmanned vehicles.” The former British prime minister also notes, “A recent Nato exercise, Hedgehog 2025, where Nato forces faced off against Ukrainian drone operators, revealed just how ill-prepared western forces are for this new way of war.” Sunak concludes, “Defense has changed. Warfare has changed. We must adapt, and fast.” Read more here.
Revitalizing Education
At The74, Distinguished Policy Fellow Stephen Bowen and Hoover Education Success Initiative contributor Rebecca E. Wolfe argue that in education policy, states can’t afford to spend another session waiting for Washington to solve problems it hasn't solved in decades. “Years of investment in top-down innovation and reform have yielded many lessons but little actual progress,” they write. “A new white paper from the Hoover Institution reveals why this approach matters. ‘Can’t Get There from Here’ synthesizes decades of evidence on education innovation, as well as organizational, network and diffusion theory,” identifying “clear actions and decision points in which policymakers and education leaders can either help or hinder innovation.” Bowen and Wolfe explain how the white paper argues for investing in knowledge ecosystems; engaging educators in policymaking; supporting flexible implementation of education innovations; and providing educators with sustained resources “to develop tools, train educators and demonstrate impact over time.” Read more here.
The Middle East
On this week’s episode of EconTalk, Russ Roberts speaks with journalist and author Karen Elliott House. House explains how Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been dragging his nation into the modern world over the last decade. In the conversation, House and Roberts explore the crown prince’s mix of cultural liberalization and political dominance, and where his balancing act might lead his country in the future. Watch or listen here.
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