With the public’s trust in the media at historic lows and the industry trying to adapt to changing information-gathering tastes, what does the future hold for a struggling “Fourth Estate” (tradition news outlets) and an incipient “Fifth Estate” (bloggers and social media)? David Shribman, a columnist, academic and two-time Pulitzer Prize recipient, examines a changed landscape of print media ceding dominance to cable news networks, which in turn compete against an even speedier (and more reckless) social media. Also discussed: the Washington Post’s travails and how the New York Times one-upped its competitors by winning minds (puzzles) and stomachs (more food content); the future of political journalism without President Trump to entertain (and boost viewership and readership); the extent of bias within journalists’ ranks; understanding community concerns by reading (and replying to) letters-to-the-editor; what aspiring journalists should study during their college years (read the Bible, Shakespeare and plenty of history).

Recorded on March 10, 2026.

Can California’s governor’s race get any airtime (a televised debate scratched after a controversy over four candidates who didn’t make the cut), much less any traction with a disinterested electorate?

Hoover senior fellow Lee Ohanian and distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen, both contributors to Hoover’s California on Your Mind web channel, discuss the latest in the Golden State including the public ostracization of labor icon Cesar Chavez after a New York Times exposé revealed dark secrets from his past; Los Angeles’ penchant for spending follies (an 8-mile bike bridge to nowhere); and flawed ballot measures (including a “mansion tax” that’s snarled SoCal housing construction); plus what three recent polls say about the Golden State’s next wave of political leaders – and if former vice president Kamala Harris will be a part of that cohort.

Recorded on March 26, 2026.

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.