Uncommon Knowledge Audio Edition

Each branch of the federal government has strayed from its original purpose and no candidate for president will be able to fix the underlying issues that plague it. Governor Abbott makes his case for proposing a Convention of States to make amendments to restore constitutional order.

General Jack Keane briefly describes the history and rise of ISIS and its aim in the Middle East. Keane then discusses the concrete steps America should take to defeat ISIS, including partnerships with Sunni tribes and a more comprehensive air war.

In Part II of our interview with Charles Koch, he covers politics and the role of corporations in our society. Koch, making the case to end corporate welfare, tells us what he admires about Bernie Sanders and why he is less sanguine about President George W. Bush. He also believes technology can be used to promote free market ideals over democratic socialism, especially for the younger generation.

Charles Koch discusses his journey, from engaging in manual labor as a youth to attending MIT and working as a consultant. Having learned the principles of classical liberalism through his education and work, he now applies those principles to building and managing Koch Industries. He attributes much of his success to creating value for others and operating with integrity.

From members of Congress more concerned about reelection than debating the real problems to a president espousing post-constitutional ideas, Americans need a renewed understanding of the Constitution. Senator Sasse discusses the issues plaguing Congress and how the current president ignores the Constitution when it suits him. However serious the challenges that America is facing, Senator Sasse believes it is not too late to restore the Constitution and thus Congress.

Karl Rove discusses the amazing life and election of William McKinley. From his time as a soldier in the Civil War to his campaign in 1896, Karl Rove makes the case that McKinley was not only an effective campaigner for president but also someone who brought the nation together during a divisive time.

Recorded on January 25, 2016 Hoover Institution fellow Michael McFaul and John O'Sullivan discuss the many problems Europe is facing including an aggressive Russia, Brexit, NATO and the asylum crisis in Germany. McFaul and O'Sullivan give their analysis of these problems and what it means for the future of Europe.

Secretary Shultz talks about his time in the Reagan White House, from negotiations with Andrey Gromyko to the meetings between Reagan and Gorbachev in Reykjavik. It’s a fascinating recount of the Reagan years through Shultz’s eyes, ending with what he believes are important characteristics for any future president and leader to have.

Recorded on July 9, 2015 The piano has been an important part of life for Condoleezza Rice and George Barth, her teacher. Although not as popular in today's culture, for them classical music is challenging but worth the effort to understand the piano's importance and beauty. As secretary of state, Rice would play the piano as a way of remembering where she came from and a way to refocus. In short, she said playing the piano made her a better secretary of state.

Recorded on October 7, 2015 - Niall Ferguson discusses the first half of Henry Kissinger's life, beginning with his being a young boy in Germany to becoming an intellectual celebrity at Harvard and finally an adviser to both Nelson Rockefeller and John Kennedy, leading Kissinger to becoming a national security adviser to Richard Nixon in 1968.

Recorded on July 29, 2015 - As part 2 begins, Lenin is dead and Stalin is trying to consolidate power. Although various people were vying for the position, Stalin had already effectively taken over Lenin’s job. Lenin’s last will and testament says bad things about all his successors, with Trotsky coming out the best, yet does nothing to dislodge Stalin from power. Stalin continues, through hard work and cunning, to gather power but also because people believed that he stood for the principles of the revolution.

Recorded on July 29, 2015 - Part 1: Stalin was born in a small town in Georgia in which he was educated to become a priest. After succeeding in school and becoming a devout follower of the faith, Stalin left the priesthood and became a communist revolutionary. World War I and the revolutions of 1917 set the stage for Stalin and the Communists to take power in Russia.

Hoover Institution fellow Thomas Sowell discusses poverty around the world and in the United States. Poverty in America, he says, compared to the rest of the world, is not severe. Many poor people in poverty in the United States have one or two cars, central heating, and cell phones. The real problem for the poor is the destruction of the family, which Sowell argues dramatically increased once welfare policies were introduced in the 1960s.

John Yoo, former deputy assistant attorney general for President George Bush and now a professor at the University of California at Berkeley, and Hugh Hewitt, former Reagan administration official and now a talk radio host, discuss the Constitution and current events in America. Topics range from Obamacare to the Middle East, the future of the United States, and how the Constitution applies to today’s problems.

Recorded on July 16, 2015 - Hoover fellows Charles Hill and James Mattis discuss the Iran deal and the state of the world on Uncommon Knowledge with Hoover fellow Peter Robinson. In their view the United States has handed over its leading role to Iran and provided a dowry along with it. Iran will become the leading power in the region as the United States pulls back; as the sanctions are lifted Iran will start making a lot of money. No matter what Congress does at this point, the sanctions are gone. Furthermore, the president will veto anything Congress comes up with to move the deal forward. This de facto treaty circumvents the Constitution. If we want better deals and a stronger presence in the international community, then the United States needs to compromise, and listen to one another other, and encourage other points of view, especially from the three branches of government. If the United States pulls back from the international community, we will need to relearn the lessons we learned after World Wa

Senator John Hoeven discusses the Keystone pipeline, energy policy, the Middle East, and politics, noting that our country moves forward with investments that make our energy secure and environmentally sound. Horizontal drilling and fracking, for example, reduce the environmental impact of producing oil and gas, thus lowering greenhouse gas emissions. We can be energy secure by producing more energy; to do that we need the right mix of pipelines, rails, roads, and technology to move energy around the country as safely as possible. Energy is a foundational industry; when we have low-cost dependable energy then industry is stronger and we are more secure as a country.

In this episode of Uncommon Knowledge, Peter sits down with Senator Tom Cotton, a Republican from Arkansas, to examine the many issues facing the nation today. Cotton graduated from Harvard Law School in 2001 and then served with the US Army in Iraq. In 2013 Cotton was elected to the House of Representatives; he was sworn in as a member of the US Senate in January 2015. (Playing time: 39:12)

In this episode, the host of Uncommon Knowledge speaks with Jim Hake, founder of Spirit of America, a nonprofit organization created to save lives and support the missions of US soldiers abroad. Hake’s goal was to go beyond what the government could do, with the motive of seeing America succeed. Begun in 2003, the idea gained enormous support, including from General Jim Mattis, commander of some of the first missions in Iraq. Today, Spirit of America is working around the world, sending our troops material needs, from sewing machines to Frisbees, wherever there is a need.

In this episode, Uncommon Knowledge is honored to have retired four-star General James Mattis. General Mattis retired from the Marine Corps as a full general in 2013, where he served as the eleventh commander of the United States Central Command. He also served as the commander for NATO supreme allied transformation, and as commander of the United States Joint Forces Command. Mattis is now an Annenberg Distinguished Visiting Fellow fellow at the Hoover Institution. (Playing time: 40:56)

In this episode of Uncommon Knowledge Dartmouth professors of government Jennifer Lind and William Wohlforth join Peter for an in-depth conversation about foreign policy and national security strategies in an ever-changing environment. Jennifer Lind is an associate professor of government; her most recent book is Sorry States: Apologies in International Politics. William Wohlforth is the Daniel Webster Professor of Government; his most recent book is World Out of Balance: International Relations and the Challenge of American Primacy. (Playing time: 41:53)