Today, Eugene Volokh and Jane Bambauer speak with a press freedom advocate about the facts of the Don Lemon prosecution and the case’s possible implications for future law enforcement and First Amendment activities; John Cochrane analyzes the key economic claims in a recent opinion essay by President Trump; and a new research essay details how successful education innovations can be scaled to serve more students.
Law and Policy
In a new and timely episode of Free Speech Unmuted, Senior Fellow Eugene Volokh and cohost Jane Bambauer are joined by press freedom advocate Seth Stern to dissect the federal prosecution of journalist Don Lemon. At issue is whether covering—and allegedly accompanying—a disruptive protest inside a church can make a journalist liable for criminal conspiracy under federal laws that ban disruption of worship services. The conversation probes the uneasy boundary between reporting and participation, the limits of First Amendment protection for journalists, and the claims of conspiracy by prosecutors. Is this a necessary enforcement of neutral criminal law—or a chilling signal that simply documenting controversial events can land reporters in the dock? How this case is resolved may shape the future of press freedom, and of law enforcement, far beyond Don Lemon himself. Listen here.
Answering Challenges to Advanced Economies
In a post at his Grumpy Economist Substack, Senior Fellow John H. Cochrane analyzes a recent op-ed in The Wall Street Journal by President Trump. Cochrane focuses on “the economic logic of the essay,” especially issues of “correlation vs. causation, budget constraints and accounting identities, and repeated game theory.” Cochrane questions whether “growth and greatness” have occurred because of tariffs or perhaps in spite of them. Cochrane sees “unheralded regulatory cuts” and “revolutionary energy policies” as more likely drivers of growth. Cochrane also examines the use of tariffs “as negotiating bludgeon,” acknowledging their current effectiveness at coercing trading partners but cautioning that allies “are hurting from the humiliation, and see a more dog-eat-dog world.” Read more here.
Reforming K–12 Education
A new white paper from the Hoover Institution, building on a study from the Education Futures Council, Ours to Solve, Once—and for All, provides the first comprehensive framework for understanding how locally developed teacher-originated educational innovations can successfully emerge, spread, and achieve lasting impact at scale. “Can’t Get There from Here: A Framework for the Start, Spread, and Scale of Bottom-Up Innovation in Education” by Rebecca E. Wolfe arrives as the 2025 National Assessment of Educational Progress confirms that decades of top-down reform have failed to improve—and in many cases have worsened—student outcomes. “Teachers are innovating every day in their classrooms, but those innovations rarely spread,” Wolfe said in reference to her paper. “The system is optimized for compliance, not improvement. We need to fundamentally rethink how we support and scale practitioner-driven change.” Read more here.
Healthcare Policy
The Hoover Institution’s Healthcare Policy Working Group convened a roundtable in Washington, DC, on January 23, bringing together experts from across the healthcare policy landscape to discuss recent changes to Medicaid and the path forward for the important state-federal program. The discussions were led by Research Fellow Lanhee J. Chen and Policy Fellows Tom Church and Daniel L. Heil. Attendees included current policymakers from the Trump administration, Congress, and states, as well as policy experts from a variety of academic institutions, think tanks, and advocacy groups. The discussion focused on the implementation challenges arising from the Medicaid provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, alongside specific state-based innovations necessary to improve the program, as well as federal reforms to improve the fiscal outlook for Medicaid. Read more here.
Arms Control
Research Fellow Rose Gottemoeller, arms control expert, testified today before the Senate Armed Services Committee on the topic of maintaining nuclear deterrence while also working to limit the proliferation of the world’s most powerful weapons. Gottemoeller argues that “stable deterrence is driven by predictability, and nuclear negotiations, done right, deliver predictability.” Gottemoeller also says that “communications inherent in a treaty relationship have a deterrent value in themselves,” as the US makes plain to adversary countries such as Russia that “we have your number, you cannot hide misbehavior from us.” Gottemoeller testifies that she supports a “continuation of New START limits [on producing nuclear warheads] for one year” but also endorses Trump administration efforts “to negotiate a better treaty.” Gottemoeller also argues that the US “must address the Chinese nuclear buildup.” Watch or read more here.
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