Hoover Daily Report

This Friday, we take a deep dive into the policy choices confronting Californians: Douglas Rivers and Michael Boskin analyze findings from two recent polls on policy preferences; Lee Ohanian provides a critical look at two measures that would increase taxation in California without addressing spending; and Lanhee Chen proposes a ballot initiative to make elections for California’s controller and treasurer offices nonpartisan.

Hoover Daily Report | October 30, 2026

Today, Michael McConnell remembers the contributions of Founder and Chief Justice John Marshall to the development of constitutional governance in the United States; Justin Grimmer considers the potential costs and benefits of adding voter identification requirements to California law; and Jon Hartley speaks with a University of Chicago economics professor about the history of macroeconomics—and why this field of study matters in shaping current economic policies.

Hoover Daily Report | October 29, 2026

Today, Joshua Rauh debates Berkeley’s Gabriel Zucman on CNBC about the merits of the proposed California wealth tax. John Cochrane explains why good intentions rarely translate into sound public policy. And Michael Bernstam says the deal with Russia for more diesel won’t lower prices for Americans.

Hoover Daily Report | October 28, 2026

Today, Eugene Volokh and Orin Kerr discuss Flock surveillance cameras and the Fourth Amendment; leading scholars of military history come together at Hoover to discuss conflicts and deterrence challenges in Iran, Ukraine, China, and beyond; and just in time for Halloween, Michael Boskin identifies five “tricks” that find their way into debates over policy. 

Hoover Daily Report | October 27, 2026

Today, the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board rebuts criticisms of Hoover scholars’ research on the California wealth tax; those scholars—Joshua Rauh, Benjamin Jaros, Gregory Kearney, and Siddharth Gundapaneni—offer their own detailed response to these critiques; and John Cochrane argues that the time has come for serious reforms to European welfare states, if not a fundamental rethinking of the state’s relationship to the citizen.

Hoover Daily Report | October 26, 2026

This Friday, Dan Wang reports on the ambitious effort to bring Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturing expertise to the Arizona desert; Niall Ferguson and Michael McFaul each offer an appraisal of the Trump administration’s foreign policy; and Michael McConnell examines the role of the Supreme Court amid the political controversies of the second Trump term.

Hoover Daily Report | October 23, 2026

Today, the Editorial Board of The Wall Street Journal amplifies the research of Hoover scholars Benjamin Jaros and Joshua Rauh on California’s Proposition 40 wealth tax; John Cochrane lays out foundational principles for designing and evaluating tax systems; and Niall Ferguson recalls the horrors of the Western Front in WWI, as well as how that conflict inspired Herbert Hoover to found the Hoover Institution to study war, revolution, and peace.

Hoover Daily Report | October 22, 2026

Today, Stephen Kotkin speaks with pioneering Stanford AI researcher Fei-Fei Li about her journey through academia and entrepreneurship to the forefront of spatial artificial intelligence; the GoodFellows discuss AI risks and policy with popular author and professor Cal Newport; and Niall Ferguson considers the possibility that mastery of AI might lead the United States and China to become new kinds of empires.

Hoover Daily Report | October 21, 2026

Today, Steven Davis honors the sacrifices of everyday American patriots that made independence from Great Britain a political reality; Lanhee Chen sits down with Andrew Roberts for a wide-ranging conversation on policy, history, and California’s future; and Condoleezza Rice speaks at Stanford about AI risks, Ukraine, and Israel. 

Hoover Daily Report | October 20, 2026

Today, Victor Davis Hanson appears on Uncommon Knowledge to discuss his new book on Trump’s troubled years ahead of winning his second term as president. John Cochrane announces new papers he’s written on inflation control. Jean Cannon writes about an intrepid lawyer who helped free more than a thousand people imprisoned in Castro’s Cuba. And Brandice Canes-Wrone and coauthors explore the political leanings of big political donors in comparison with their non-donor peers.

Hoover Daily Report | October 19, 2026