Supporters claim California’s proposed "Billionaire Tax" is needed to offset Medi-Cal cuts. New Hoover research finds the wealth tax wouldn't solve the problem and that the state's Medicaid funding challenges stem largely from Sacramento, not DC.

For decades, Hong Kong’s candlelight vigils honored the Tiananmen Massacre victims. Today, under China's National Security Law, remembrance itself is under attack. Join Rowena He and Larry Diamond at Hoover on 6/4 to examine memory, truth, and resistance in the face of authoritarian erasure.

One upcoming ballot measure in California would expand the state's taxing power. A lesser-known measure would limit it. Hoover Senior Fellow Josh Rauh ran the numbers and broke down how the proposal casts doubts on the prospect of any revenue gain. Read more on @reason.com.

Is there a real AI backlash on college campuses? How will AI reshape the higher learning experience? Hoover's Jacob Light joins Susan Pendergrass on the @showmeinstitute.bsky.social podcast for a conversation on AI and the future of college.

Wealth taxes are back on the policy agenda, framed as a way to raise revenue from the ultra-rich. Grumpy Economist John Cochrane argues that wealth taxes perform poorly because they tax returns to investment, reducing incentives to build businesses, invest, and grow the economy.

Biology is becoming a general-purpose technology, and the shift may be happening faster than governments realize. Drew Endy and a team of scholars offer a forward-looking roadmap on how we must act strategically on biosecurity now.

The future of warfare is already here. Is the US positioned to win wars in this new tech era? Visiting Fellow and Anduril President Christian Brose joined @nytimes.com Interesting Times with Ross Douthat to discuss how AI is reshaping the battlefield and the ethical limits of machine-led warfare.

El Salvador’s success at defeating gangs has also led to abuses of the innocent, writes Dany Diaz Mejia on Freedom Frequency. Brave voices tell that part of the story.

Historian and Hoover Senior Fellow Stephen Kotkin joins Peter Robinson on Uncommon Knowledge to answer five key questions on Iran, China, Ukraine, and America’s future.

On our latest podcast episode, Jackie Schneider (@jackieschneider.bsky.social) argues that analogies comparing cyber threats to Pearl Harbor or 9/11 is irresponsible. Instead, her research shows how the centralization of nuclear networks directly impacts their vulnerability.

Imagine a workplace where artificially intelligent systems don’t just assist with tasks but actually participate in deciding how the office should be run. In preparation for that future, Josiah Ober says we need clear rules to protect human agency and connection.

Lyuba’s Hope follows Russian opposition leader Lyubov Sobol, whose fight for a democratic post-Putin Russia has led to arrests, hunger strikes, political repression, attempted poisoning, and exile. The Hoover History Lab will host a screening on 6/3. RSVP ⤵️

Top-Two primaries work for democracy, argues Senior Fellow Paul E. Peterson. In his latest post on The Modern Federalist, he explains why the Top-Two system encourages elected officials to govern responsibly.

Hoover Science Fellow Drew Endy joined a @wunc.org conversation discussing AI-powered robot labs and what it means for the future of science and society, especially when scientists are able to start running experiments without ever setting foot in a lab.

On @theguardian.com, Hoover Senior Fellow Timothy Garton Ash (@fromtga.bsky.social) outlines eight ways democracies can defeat Vladimir Putin's "external ambitions," from staying the course in Ukraine to deterring a Russian attack on NATO territory in the high-risk 2027–28 window.

Technological panic is a poor guide to public policy, says Grumpy Economist John Cochrane. In his latest rant, Cochrane challenges the impulse to treat AI as a civilizational emergency and urges policymakers to first address the problems already limiting work and institutional performance.

A new Hoover study suggests California's proposed "Billionaire Tax" is a fiscally incoherent response to federal Medicaid funding changes, despite proponents' claims that the levy would address a "$19B-per-year budget hole" caused by Washington.

On our latest podcast episode, Dr. Jackie Schneider (@jackieschneider.bsky.social) challenges common assumptions about the cyber-nuclear nexus. Moving beyond Hollywood scenarios, she applies percolation theory to show how network centralization impacts vulnerability.

DeepSeek's R1 release in 2025 caught U.S. policymakers flat-footed, but the AI research community saw it coming. A new framework from Hoover's Tech Futures Lab asks why that gap, the one between what is knowable and what gets acted on, keeps opening, and how to close it before the next surprise.

TOMORROW: What does the future of American energy look like? Join Hoover, Stanford's Bill Lane Center for the American West, and @stanfordenergy.bsky.social to hear from policy and energy leaders as they explore what comes next, from nuclear power to permitting reform.

For seven years, Dan Wang watched China transform at a blistering speed. Now his insights are shaping how policymakers and world leaders think about technology, power, and the future of US-China relations. @urochester.bsky.social profile on Wang, Hoover Fellow and author of "Breakneck" ⤵️

The current US national security structure is ill-suited for today's strategic competition era. A new essay by David Fedor and John Deutch addresses the radical changes needed in defense policies, institutions, and expenditures to confront this challenge.

Rather than ban AI in the classroom, we should teach every student how to build their own evals and turn AI into an object of study, empowering every citizen to test whether AI holds their values, writes Andy Hall.

New research from Ben Jaros and William Dougan finds that proposed wealth taxes would function as massive tax increases on capital income—raising effective rates so high that the returns needed to break even exceed most commonly achievable market returns.

What kind of citizen are you? Hoover's Civic Profile tool helps Americans explore their civic values, knowledge, and engagement to spark reflection, dialogue, and stronger citizenship as America approaches its 250th anniversary. 🇺🇸

Notes on Freedom presents a vital collection of wisdom from the Hoover Institution, exploring the enduring values that illuminate our nation's past, inspire our present, and offer hope for the future. Pre-order the book here ⤵️

In a special @firinglineshow.bsky.social, Gen. Jim Mattis and Ryan Holiday explore the character that sustains a republic. Drawing on military experience, classical philosophy, and the example of America’s founding generation, they explored the virtues that have defined American leadership.

Accountability shouldn’t stop at the 8th grade. For the first time, states will get meaningful 12th grade NAEP data, providing a clearer picture of whether students are actualy prepared for careers, college, and citizenship. Hoover's Chester Finn shares more.

A healthy democracy depends on strong local journalism. At a Hoover panel moderated by @janinezac.bsky.social at Stanford, journalists and media leaders examined what it will take to sustain a stable future for local news, public trust, and democratic accountability in the digital age.

Lee Ohanian writes that Sacramento is again leaning on the taxpayers who already supply a far disproportionate share of the state’s revenue. Californians should recognize the dangers of this approach before the golden geese have flown, he warns.

Admiral Gary Roughead argues the old rules of warfare are changing. In today’s conflicts, victory no longer belongs to the biggest force or most advanced technology—it belongs to the side that learns, adapts, and iterates faster than its enemy.

Why does everything cost more today? Hoover Research Fellow Patrick McLaughlin joins the Let People Prosper show with Vance Ginn to break down how excessive regulation slows growth, suppresses innovation, reduces productivity, and drives up costs for everyday Americans.

Know a high school or college poet? Hoover's national spoken word competition asks young poets to answer one question: What do America's founding ideals demand from us now? Winners get $2,500 + a trip to Stanford. Check out all details 👇

In September 1961, as the Berlin Wall crisis escalated, US officials ran a wargame at Camp David to test decisions before facing them in real life. The new Hoover Wargaming Archive preserves these lessons for future crises. In Reflections, Jacquelyn Schneider explains why wargaming matters.

Hoover Director Condoleezza Rice helped lead America through consequential moments. On @petermallouk.bsky.social's Icons and Ideas, she breaks down growing up during the Civil Rights Movement, leadership under pressure, shifting global order, China, Russia, AI, and the future of American power.

Salt Typhoon, an alleged Chinese cyber operation, quietly infiltrated US telecom networks and targeted influential Americans, including presidential candidates. Visiting Fellow Anne Neuberger, then Deputy National Security Adviser, explains what the attack reveals about the future of cyber warfare.

Kevin Warsh, longtime @hooverinstitution.bsky.social fellow, will take over as Federal Reserve chair tomorrow. SIEPR's John Cochrane has a terrific piece on all that Warsh is up against in his new role. #Stagflation, anyone? Link👇

China is moving fast. Is America falling behind? Anduril founder Palmer Luckey joins Peter Robinson on Uncommon Knowledge to discuss AI warfare, drones, Silicon Valley, defense innovation, and why America must rebuild its industrial and military strength before it's too late.

Hoover Senior Fellow Michael McFaul writes that, despite the pomp and ceremony, the US-China Summit made little progress in advancing American national interests—at least for now. @mcfaulmike.bsky.social

“People want to live in California, but the government is making it increasingly impossible for them to afford to do so,” Hoover's Jon Hartley argues in a California Post op-ed. Hartley examines the revised budget presented in Sacramento last week.

@hooverinstitution.bsky.social hosts a discussion on Lighting Candles in Darkness: From Tiananmen to Hong Kong on Thursday, June 4, 2026 from 4:00 - 5:00 pm PT in the George P. Shultz Building, Shultz Auditorium. tinyurl.com/3sjpd4uu #Tiananmen #China #CCP

Cryptography is the invisible infrastructure that enables the internet. How can we keep it safe? The 2026 Stanford Emerging Tech Review zooms in on the technologies protecting the digital world and the policy choices that can ensure security keeps pace with innovation.

A generation of Cubans grew up believing freedom would never come. Rosa Maria Paya says that mindset is changing. Carrying on her slain father's work, Paya believes the time is right for Western nations to "take sides with the Cuban people" and pressure Havana into democratic reforms.

California is heading toward one of the country’s most consequential state tax debates: a proposed "Billionaire Tax" versus a ballot measure intended to prohibit wealth taxes altogether. Hoover's Josh Rauh examines the high-stakes test of fiscal policy and constitutional limits.

Visiting Fellow Matt Turpin argues that the US-China summit last week “could have been an email” and says that by now, “it should be obvious to everyone that no ‘grand bargain’ between Washington and Beijing is possible."

In 1964, top economists and scientists warned automation would end work and trigger political crisis. They called it “The Cybernation Revolution.” They were wrong then, but AI agents make this debate feel very real again. Andy Hall revisits the past to envision what AI means for our future.

Why don't physicians start hospitals anymore? It's a simple answer: we don't let them. Brian Miller joins Hoover's Tom Church on his podcast, 584 Vetoes, to discuss how employee-owned hospitals would drive clinical innovation, entrepreneurship, and lower costs…if we let them.

America was built on speeches, poems, and people bold enough to speak up. Now it’s your turn. Hoover's national spoken word competition asks high school and college students to answer one question: What do America's founding ideals demand from us now? $2,500 prize + trip to Stanford. Details 👇

On Elizabeth Economy's latest China Considered, Sarah Beran explains why major US-China summits are often about formalizing progress made through months of behind-the-scenes diplomacy, with AI safety emerging as an increasingly important issue. Full episode ⤵️

Once upon a time, the US and Russia met regularly as friends with mutual interests. Former arms negotiator Rose Gottemoeller joins Matters of Policy & Politics to discuss the summits, the collapse of trust, Putin's worldview, and whether diplomacy can still be rebuilt after Ukraine.