- Energy & Environment
- International Affairs
- Military
- Security & Defense
- Determining America's Role in the World
A worldwide oil shock triggered by hostilities in the Middle East raises questions about the viability of America’s energy strategy and the ability of the US and other developed nations to ride out the current storm. David Fedor, the Hoover Institution’s Stephenson Policy Fellow and a member of Hoover’s George P. Shultz Energy Policy Working Group, puts 2026’s oil drama in historical context (2008 and the 1970’s), explains why Californians pay more at the pump than most Americans, and touches on a few policy items that have Hoover’s attention: the state of US-India energy relations; a nuclear reactor approved for Wyoming; Indo-Pacific nations hamstrung by limited supplies of LNG; and Taiwan’s energy security. Fedor, who worked alongside Secretary Shultz for nearly a decade and a half, also touches on his mentor’s intellectual curiosity and how Shultz might parse these troubled times.
Recorded on March 13, 2026.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
David Fedor is the Stephenson Policy Fellow at the Hoover Institution, where he supports fellowship research within the George P. Shultz Energy Policy Working Group; Hoover’s national security–oriented Global Policy and Strategy Initiative; and the joint Hoover–Asia Society Working Group on Semiconductors and the Security of the United States and Taiwan. For nearly a decade, Fedor served on the Hoover staff of former US Secretary of State George Shultz. Formerly at Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation’s Asia Pacific Energy Research Center in Tokyo, Fedor has worked in economic and security policy analysis across the Indo-Pacific. He holds BS and MS degrees in Earth systems from Stanford University.
Bill Whalen, the Virginia Hobbs Carpenter Distinguished Policy Fellow in Journalism and a Hoover Institution research fellow since 1999, writes and comments on campaigns, elections, and governance with an emphasis on California and America’s political landscapes.
Whalen writes on politics and current events for various national publications, as well as Hoover’s California On Your Mind web channel.
Whalen hosts Hoover’s Matters of Policy & Politics podcast and serves as the moderator of Hoover’s GoodFellows broadcast exploring history, economics, and geopolitical dynamics.
ABOUT THE SERIES
Matters of Policy & Politics, a podcast from the Hoover Institution, examines the direction of federal, state, and local leadership and elections, with an occasional examination of national security and geopolitical concerns, all featuring insightful analysis provided by Hoover Institution scholars and guests.
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