In this podcast, Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, John Cochrane, and H.R. McMaster answer viewers' questions, discussing topics like China's economic or military tipping point, the reliability of doom mongers, US debt and interest rates, productivity and innovation, US foreign policy towards NATO under a potential Trump presidency, and hypothetical roles in a future President McMaster administration.

Amy Zegart, Niall Ferguson, John Cochrane, and H.R. McMaster discuss Israel's intel failure, TikTok's national security threat, campus unrest, anti-American sentiment, and Austrian economics in South America. They also debate the best fast-food burger and playfully discuss their chances in a UFC fight.

John Cochrane is the Rose-Marie and Jack Anderson Senior Fellow in Economics at the Hoover Institution and the author of a new book, The Fiscal Theory of the Price Level. In this wide-ranging conversation, Cochrane discusses the root causes of inflation, what we can (and can’t) do about it, the economists who influenced his thinking, and how his father inspired him to become an academic.

Two conflicts present two challenges: a Ukrainian counteroffensive turned stalemate; and Israel’s survival as it confronts Hamas (and possibly Hezbollah and Iran). Russ Roberts, Hoover’s John and Jean De Nault Research Fellow and president of Jerusalem’s Shalem College, joins Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson. H.R. McMaster, and John Cochrane to discuss Israel’s morale and strategic choices amid a month-long wartime crisis. Then Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, former commanding general of US Army Europe, makes the case for anticipating a positive outcome—Ukraine expelling Russian forces, winning back its land—in a war nearing its 21-month mark.

Karl Rove, Niall Ferguson, H.R. McMaster, and John Cochrane discuss the odds of a Biden-Trump rematch. They analyze the latest in the Middle East, including the potential for eradicating Hamas. The 'lightning round' explores Vladimir Putin’s peace overtures, Sam Altman's return to OpenAI, an ascendant Right on two continents, and the legacy of the Rolling Stones.

NYT columnist Bret Stephens joins Hoover fellows to discuss Israel's future post Hamas attack, potential expansion into Lebanon, and Gaza's transformation into a Dubai. They reflect on four years of the podcast, showcasing predictions on inflation and Trump. Geopolitical challenges, weak international relations, and pandemic impacts are analyzed. Audience questions on Ukraine's NATO membership and deterrence strategies against Russian invasion are explored.

What unites John Cochrane the finance economist and “grumpy” policy blogger with John Cochrane the accomplished glider pilot? For John, the answer is that each derives from the same habit of mind which seeks to reduce things down to a few fundamental principles and a simple logical structure. And thus, piloting a glider can be understood as an application of optimal portfolio theory, and all of monetary policy can be made to fit within the structure of a single equation. John joined Tyler to apply that habit of mind to a number of puzzles, including why real interest rates don’t equalize across countries, what explains why high trading volumes and active management persist in finance, how the pandemic has affected his opinion of habit formation theories, his fiscal theory of price level and inflation, the danger of a US sovereign debt crisis, why he thinks Bitcoin will eventually die, his idea for health-status insurance, becoming a national gliding champion, how a Renaissance historian for a father and a book translator for a mother shaped him intellectually, what’s causing the leftward drift in economics, the need to increase competition among universities, how he became libertarian, the benefits of blogging, and more. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video. Recorded January 4th, 2021 Other ways to connect Follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Tyler on Twitter  Follow John on Twitter Email us: cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu Subscribe at our newsletter page to have the latest Conversations with Tyler news sent straight to your inbox. 

Economist John Cochrane discusses how competitive markets provide essential incentives for innovation and economic progress. The conversation explores the balance between fairness and efficiency in economic systems, contrasting capitalism and communism. It also touches on the role of productivity growth, education, and the debate between free markets and stakeholder models.

Bari Weiss, Niall Ferguson, HR McMaster, and John Cochrane discuss anti-Semitism in elite universities, the parallels to Nazi Germany, politicization of academia, the prevalence of anti-Semitism in American education, Henry Kissinger's vilification, understanding peripheral players in Cold War, reevaluating foreign policy, and holiday traditions.

Welcome to our limited edition crypto series. In this episode, we welcome back Professor John Cochrane, who was a guest on the Rational Reminder series, to talk everything money. Professor Cochrane has immense experience on the topic and is a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford, as well as Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research. He is also a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research, an adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute, and was a professor of finance at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He is also the author of several books and writes a popular blog called The Grumpy Economist. In this episode, we take a deep dive into the concept of money. We learn what numeraire is, how a numeraire is defined, and explore some of the intricacies of money. We also discuss and unpack the differences between fiscal theory and monetary theory, along with other ideas regarding the value of money. We then delve into how all this relates to cryptocurrencies, what future he sees for crypto, and much more. Tuning into this episode, listeners will challenge their thinking about the economy and how economic relations work.   Key Points From This Episode:   Professor John Cochrane explains to us the short version of fiscal theory. [0:04:35] Find out the definition of numeraire and how it is determined within an economy. [0:05:21] Learn whether government backing is required to define a numeraire. [0:07:05] What Professor John Cochrane thinks is the primary function of money. [0:08:55] Whether money needs to be a medium of exchange that stores value. [0:09:45] He explains why money is valuable according to fiscal theory. [0:11:22] The role of taxes in adding to the value of money according to fiscal theory. [0:12:59] How fiscal theory’s explanation for why money is valuable differs from the monetarist explanation. [0:13:33] Find out whether the term ‘fiat’ is still a good adjective to describe money in a fiscal world. [0:17:24] We learn if ‘fiat’ is an appropriate term to describe money according to the monetarist view. [0:19:10] What the government debt valuation equations suggest about the stability of the price level. [0:20:21] An outline of what happens when discount rates become volatile. [0:23:29] Ways in which sticky prices affect the stability of the price level. [0:27:24] Whether the supply of money is still a useful perspective today. [0:31:01] Why monetarism theory has gained so much traction. [0:33:51] He unpacks the purpose of monetarism theory. [0:35:21] How fiscal and monetary actions set expected and unexpected inflation regarding fiscal theory. [0:37:10] The level of fiscal and monetary coordination required for price stability. [0:39:58] Whether the level of coordination needed is realistic considering the independence of the central bank. [0:42:10] Ways in which monetary policy debt sales and fiscal policy debt sales differ. [0:45:02] What effect the size of the central bank's balance sheet has on the price level. [0:49:52] Repercussions of inside money issued by private banks on the price level. [0:53:06] Statistical tests available that can be used to prove fiscal theory. [0:58:55] Find out why COVID-related effects on the economy lead to inflation. [1:04:17] Breakdown of the fiscal explanation for the US inflation of the 1970s. [1:11:24] Reasons why inflation targets have been successful in some countries and not in others. [1:16:14] A discussion about whether we have always lived in a fiscal-based economy. [1:19:24] Whether citizens should behave differently living in a fiscal world. [1:27:51] How the value of the dollar will be affected if more people buy cryptocurrencies. [1:28:49] Professor John Cochrane shares if he thinks anonymous digital cash is a good thing. [1:30:51] We discuss what the future has in store with regard to fiscal theory. [1:39:31]