Talks from the Hoover Institution

Hoover Institution
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Talks and interviews from Hoover Institution events.

  1. 2D AGO

    In Science We Trust? Understanding Americans’ Confidence In Science, Scientists, And Scientific Institutions

    Wednesday, April 1, 2026   Hoover Institution, Stanford University The Hoover Institution Center for Revitalizing American Institutions webinar series features speakers who are developing innovative ideas, conducting groundbreaking research, and taking important actions to improve trust and efficacy in American institutions. Speaker expertise and topics span governmental institutions, civic organizations and practice, and the role of public opinion and culture in shaping our democracy. The webinar series builds awareness about how we can individually and collectively revitalize American institutions to ensure our country’s democracy delivers on its promise. On April 1, 2026, from 10:00-11:30 a.m. PT., the Hoover Institution's Center for Revitalizing American Institutions, in partnership with the Hoover Technology Policy Accelerator, hosted an engaging conversation, In Science We Trust? Understanding Americans’ Confidence in Science, Scientists, and Scientific Institutions with Russ Altman, Mark Horowitz, Arthur Lupia, and Amy Zegart.                 This webinar examines how Americans think about and trust science in an era of rapid technological change, political polarization, and misinformation. Through data-driven analysis and discussion, panelists explore trends in public confidence toward scientists, the institutions that produce scientific knowledge, and the social and cultural factors that shape these attitudes. Attendees will gain a deeper understanding of what strengthens or undermines trust in science—and what that means for policymaking, education, and the health of American democracy.

    1h 30m

  2. MAR 26

    Rural Banditry And Boko Haram: Governance, Security, And International Engagement In Nigeria

    Thursday, March 26, 2026 Hoover Institution | Stanford University The Hoover History Lab hosted Rural Banditry and Boko Haram: Governance, Security, and International Engagement in Nigeria on Thursday, March 26, 2026. FEATURING Ebenezer Obadare Senior Fellow for Africa Studies | Council on Foreign Relations Ugochi Daniels  Deputy Director for General Operations | International Organization for Migration  Robin Renee Sanders Former US Ambassador to Nigeria

    2h 59m

  3. MAR 26

    Wargaming The Pacific: Lessons From The Naval War College's Interwar Games

    The Hoover Institution invites you to a virtual presentation of Wargaming the Pacific: Lessons from the Naval War College's Interwar Games on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, from 12:00-2:00 pm PT.  This webinar examines the interwar wargames conducted at the U.S. Naval War College before World War II and their foundational role in shaping U.S. naval doctrine and strategic planning. We explore how these games contributed to America’s success in the Pacific Theater, their enduring impact on U.S. military effectiveness, and the remarkable archival materials preserved by the Naval War College.

    1h 52m

  4. MAR 26

    Character And Country: The Responsibilities Of American Leadership

    Margaret Hoover moderated a conversation with General Jim Mattis, former U.S. Secretary of Defense, and Ryan Holiday, bestselling author and modern interpreter of Stoic philosophy, on the character that sustains a republic. Drawing on experience in military command, classical philosophy, and the enduring example of America’s founding generation, including their shared admiration for George Washington, the discussion explored the virtues that have defined American leadership at its best: discipline, moral courage, humility in the exercise of power, and a profound sense of duty. This live episode of Firing Line considered how those principles continue to define the American idea, and what they require of leaders and citizens alike in the decades ahead.

    1h 30m

  5. MAR 26

    Building Civic Unity In A Religiously Diverse Democracy

    The Alliance for Civics in the Academy hosts "Building Civic Unity in a Religiously Diverse Democracy" with Eboo Patel, Robert George, Fr. Francisco Nahoe, and Josh Ober on March 18, 2026, from 9:00-10:00 a.m. PT. Religious diversity is a defining feature of contemporary American democracy, yet it raises persistent questions about how civic unity is cultivated in shared public life. How can institutions of higher education prepare students to engage constructively across religious difference while sustaining common democratic commitments? This webinar explores the role of civic education in a religiously diverse democracy, examining pedagogical approaches, institutional frameworks, and normative principles that support civic unity without erasing pluralism.

    1 hr

  6. MAR 20

    Judicial Importance, Independence, And Legitimacy In Polarized Times

    The Hoover Institution Center for Revitalizing American Institutions webinar series features speakers who are developing innovative ideas, conducting groundbreaking research, and taking important actions to improve trust and efficacy in American institutions. Speaker expertise and topics span governmental institutions, civic organizations and practice, and the role of public opinion and culture in shaping our democracy. The webinar series builds awareness about how we can individually and collectively revitalize American institutions to ensure our country’s democracy delivers on its promise. The Center for Revitalizing American Institutions (RAI) held a webinar—co-sponsored by the Stanford Constitutional Law Center—about Judicial Importance, Independence, and Legitimacy in Polarized Times with Michael McConnell, Tom Clark, Genevieve Lakier, and Eugene Volokh on March 4, 2026, from 10:00-11:30 a.m. PT. Have federal courts been too permissive—or too obstructive—of President Trump’s agenda? The answer often depends on one’s political perspective. Yet across the spectrum, there’s broad agreement that the courts have come under intense pressure and scrutiny in recent years. As the country has grown more politically sorted, the judiciary’s role in our system of self-governance has evolved and, for some, grown more contested. Join us for a timely and thought-provoking webinar featuring scholars with diverse viewpoints who explore how the federal courts are functioning—and perceived—amid today’s polarized political landscape. Panelists examine questions such as: What is the judiciary’s role in safeguarding democracy? How can courts maintain legitimacy in a divided society? And how should we interpret recent high-profile rulings in the broader context of American constitutionalism?

    1h 23m

  7. MAR 18

    Niall Ferguson and Andrew Preston on the Invention of National Security

    Wednesday, March 11, 2026 Hoover Institution | Stanford University Hoover Institution fellow Niall Ferguson and Andrew Preston discuss Preston's latest book Total Defense: The New Deal and the Invention of National Security.

    15 min

  8. MAR 18

    Total Defense: The New Deal and the Invention of National Security

    Wednesday, March 11, 2026 Hoover Institution | Stanford University The Hoover Applied History Working Group held Total Defense: The New Deal and the Invention of National Security on Wednesday, March 11, 2026. ABOUT THE TALK  National security may seem like a timeless notion. States have always sought to fortify themselves, and the modern state derives its legitimacy from protecting its population. Yet national security in fact has a very particular, very American, history—and a surprising one at that. The concept of national security originates in the 1930s, as part of a White House campaign in response to the rise of fascism. Before then, national self-defense was defined in terms of protecting sovereign territory from invasion. But President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his circle worried that the US public, comforted by two vast oceans, did not take seriously the long-term risks posed by hypermilitarization abroad. New Dealers developed the doctrine of national security, Andrew Preston argues, to supplant the old idea of self-defense: now even geographically and temporally remote threats were to be understood as harms to be combated, while ideological competitors were perilous to the “American way of life.”   Total Defense shows it was no coincidence that a liberal like Roosevelt promoted this vision. National security, no less than social security, was a New Deal promise: the state was obliged to safeguard Americans as much from the guns and warships of Nazi Germany and imperial Japan as from unemployment and poverty in old age. The resulting shift in threat perception—among policymakers and ordinary citizens alike—transformed the United States, spearheading massive government expansion and placing the country on a permanent war footing.

    1h 15m
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Talks and interviews from Hoover Institution events.

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  • Creator
    Hoover Institution
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    101
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright by the Board of Trustees of Leland Stanford Junior University
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    Talks from the Hoover Institution

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