Firing Line with Margaret Hoover

Independent Senate candidate Evan McMullin talks to Margaret Hoover about his race against Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee, which could potentially determine which party controls the chamber. Although he is a lifelong conservative and he has vowed not to caucus with either party if he wins, McMullin’s bid to unseat Lee has the backing of Utah’s Democratic Party. He explains how he built a cross-part...

Journalist and AEI senior fellow Matthew Continetti joins Margaret Hoover to discuss the evolution of the American right over the last century and its future. He explains how opposition to the New Deal, communism, and progressivism created the foundation for an enduring conservative agenda. Continetti, author of “The Right: The Hundred-Year War for American Conservatism” and a senior fellow at the...

As protests against Iran’s theocratic regime enter their second month, exiled Iranian journalist and activist Masih Alinejad joins Margaret Hoover to discuss the issues driving the demonstrations and her belief that this movement will succeed where past revolts against the government have failed. The protests were sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after she was detained by the regime...

Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) sits down with Margaret Hoover to discuss her new memoir “The Forerunner: A Tale of Pain and Perseverance in America,” her activism, and her progressive agenda. Bush recalls how she overcame difficult experiences–including sexual assaults, abortions, and evictions–to become the first Black woman to represent Missouri in Congress. A member of the progressive “Squad” in the Ho...

Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States Oksana Markarova sits down with Margaret Hoover to discuss Ukraine’s counter-offensive, Vladimir Putin’s latest nuclear threats, and new reports of war crimes by Russian forces. She also addresses Putin’s plan to mobilize 300,000 reservists, and she explains why her government does not support European countries opening their borders to Russian men fleeing...

Former Colombian President Ivan Duque Marquez sits down with Margaret Hoover to discuss his four years in office, the country’s deep ties to the United States, and the economic and political challenges that loom on the horizon for both countries. Duque, who describes himself as a “radical centrist,” discusses Latin America’s recent shift toward the left, the dangers he sees in populism and polariz...

Filmmakers Ken Burns and Sarah Botstein join Margaret Hoover to discuss their new three-part documentary series, “The U.S. and the Holocaust,” which examines America’s response to Nazi atrocities, why the U.S. failed to take in more refugees, and how themes from the past echo today. They discuss how Hitler was inspired by the brutality levied on Native and Black Americans and how rampant anti-Semi...

Decorated veteran and author Elliot Ackerman joins Margaret Hoover to talk about his new book, “The Fifth Act: America’s End in Afghanistan,” his role in the civilian-led evacuation of Afghan allies, and what happens next. Ackerman discusses missteps in Afghanistan that spanned four presidencies, the Biden administration’s failure to plan for the worst-case scenario when U.S. troops withdrew, and...

Singer-songwriter Kenny Loggins joins Margaret Hoover to talk about his new memoir “Still Alright,” his five decades in the music industry, and what’s next for his legendary career. Loggins details a songwriting process that has produced iconic songs since he was a teenager, including “Danny’s Song” and “House at Pooh Corner.” He also opens up about his creative and personal struggles, as well as...

Sen. Mike Lee joins Margaret Hoover to discuss his new book, “Saving Nine: The Fight Against the Left's Audacious Plan to Pack the Supreme Court and Destroy American Liberty,” as well as his role in former President Donald Trump’s efforts to challenge the 2020 election. The Utah Republican, who ultimately voted to certify the election results, defends his text message exchanges with then-White Hou...

Organizational psychologist Adam Grant joins Margaret Hoover to talk about the importance of reconsidering one’s established views, and why he believes doing so could be the key to healing America’s divisions. The Wharton professor’s most recent bestseller, “Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know,” explores the science of thinking and rethinking, as well as the most effective strate...

Sen. Chris Murphy joins Margaret Hoover to discuss the passage of the first major bipartisan gun reform legislation since 1994 and his mission to end America’s epidemic of gun violence. The Connecticut Democrat explains how the new bill might have prevented recent mass shootings like the July 4th parade in Highland Park, Illinois and discusses the fallacy of “good guys with guns” at Robb Elementar...

Author James Kirchick joins Margaret Hoover to talk about his new bestseller, “Secret City: The Hidden History of Gay Washington,” and the facts and fiction about gay men and women in politics and government from the FDR administration to the end of the 20th century. Gays within the federal government persistently faced suspicion, harassment, and ostracization, even as they filled vital jobs in th...

Former New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman joins Margaret Hoover to discuss the ramifications of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, the nearly 50-year-old decision that had granted a constitutional right to an abortion. “Women will die,” the pro-choice Republican warns as GOP-led states race to restrict abortion access. She also expresses concerns that the Supreme Court’s conservati...

Republican election lawyer Ben Ginsberg joins Margaret Hoover to discuss speaking out against his party over former President Donald Trump’s false election fraud claims and his recent testimony before the House January 6th Committee. Ginsberg, who represented GOP candidates for nearly 40 years, details the fallout from Trump’s election lies and the reforms to the 135-year-old Electoral Count Act t...

Sen. Rev. Raphael Warnock, D-GA, joins Margaret Hoover to talk about the future of American democracy, his high-stakes reelection battle with football legend Herschel Walker, and his new book, “A Way Out of No Way: A Memoir of Truth, Transformation, and the New American Story.” As the findings of the January 6th Committee unfold, Warnock discusses the contrast between the America on display during...

Margaret Atwood, the renowned writer of dystopian fiction including “The Handmaid's Tale,”  joins Margaret Hoover to discuss the prospect of a post-Roe v. Wade America as the country is facing this very likelihood. This updated and refreshed episode features an interview conducted just weeks before the leak of a draft Supreme Court opinion that would reverse the landmark 1973 decision that es...

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt joins Margaret Hoover to discuss advances in artificial intelligence, the impact that the technology could have on humanity, and how to prepare for the future it will bring. Schmidt, who co-authored “The Age of A.I.” with Henry Kissinger and MIT computer scientist Daniel Huttenlocher, details how artificial intelligence could spur dramatic changes in medicine, warfar...

Legal experts Mary Ziegler and Ed Whelan join Margaret Hoover to debate the constitutional issues raised by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s leaked draft opinion that would overturn the court’s landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. Whelan, a former clerk for Justice Antonin Scalia, outlines the conservative argument against the notion of a constitutional right to abortion and calls Roe v. Wade a...

United States Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield joins Margaret Hoover to talk about the global response to Russia’s war in Ukraine, the conflict’s escalating consequences, and what the conflict has revealed about the need for reform at the U.N. Thomas-Greenfield has spent decades in the Foreign Service, working for both Republican and Democratic administrations. In addition...

Author Tina Brown joins Margaret Hoover to discuss her new book, “The Palace Papers,” and the “perilous” state of the British monarchy in the twilight of Queen Elizabeth’s reign. Brown, who interviewed more than 100 sources with knowledge of the Royal Family, explains what the 96-year-old matriarch means to the British people, how the crown might modernize under her son Charles and grandson Willia...

Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch joins Margaret Hoover to discuss the next phase of Russia’s invasion, the successes and failures of the Biden administration’s response, and the potential global ramifications of the conflict. Yovanovitch, author of the new book “Lessons from the Edge,” offers insight from her decades in the foreign service, including several years stationed in K...

Actor Matt Damon and engineer Gary White join Margaret Hoover to talk about the work of the organization they co-founded to confront the global water crisis, Water.org, and their new book, “The Worth of Water: Our Story of Chasing Solutions to the World's Greatest Challenge.” With 771 million people around the world living without safe water and sanitation, Water.org facilitates small loans for fa...

As the Senate votes to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, Judiciary Committee member Sen. Chris Coons, D-DE, joins Margaret Hoover in Washington to discuss the increasingly politicized confirmation process, the outside groups pressuring lawmakers to oppose qualified nominees, and the decline of public trust in the nation’s highest court. Coons acknowledges his own votes agai...

Grammy Award-winning banjo player Rhiannon Giddens joins Margaret Hoover to discuss her pursuit of the true history of her instrument and why she has set out to change perceptions of the banjo as an icon of white mountain culture. Giddens traces her path from a childhood in a mixed-race family in North Carolina to studying opera at Oberlin to learning the Black string band tradition at the feet of...