Hoover Daily Report | July 31, 2025

Today, Jacquelyn Schneider and coauthor Julia Macdonald call for strategic innovation in American drone warfare doctrine; Chris Herhalt speaks with two former Hoover Veteran Fellows about their experiences in the Veteran Fellowship Program and how it supports consequential public service projects; and in a new Department of Energy report, Steven E. Koonin and coauthors critically examine the role of greenhouse gasses in climate change. 

Hoover Daily Report | July 31, 2025

Episode Transcript

>> Male Speaker (00:00):
Welcome to the Hoover Daily Report.
Ideas Advancing Freedom,it's Thursday, July 31st, 2025.

>> Female Speaker (00:07):
Today, Jacqueline Schneider and co author Julia McDonald
call for strategic innovation inAmerican drone warfare doctrine.
Chris Herhalt speaks with two formerHoover veteran fellows about their
experiences inthe Veteran Fellowship Program and
how it supports consequentialpublic service projects.
And in a new Department of Energy report,Stephen E Koonin and

(00:28):
co authors critically examine the roleof greenhouse gases in climate change.
Apply to join the 2025 to 2026 cohortof Hoover's Veteran Fellowship Program
at Hoover.org, the applicationcloses tonight at 11:59 PM PST.

>> Male Speaker (00:43):
How to lose the Drone War, Writing at Foreign Affairs,
Hoover Fellow Jacqueline Schneider andco author Julia McDonald
argue that the United States will, oncethe leader in unmanned combat systems,
has fallen behind in drone warfare.
The authors stress that the Americanmilitary lags nations including Ukraine,
Russia, and Israel not only in thetechnological development of drones but

(01:07):
also in the updating ofdoctrines concerning their use.
Schneider and MacDonald trace thedevelopment of American drone warfare over
the latter half of the 20th century toshow how beliefs about the nature of
future conflict have resulted ina drone force that is not prepared for
the realities of contemporary combat.
As the authors conclude, withoutreevaluating the American way of war,

(01:29):
no amount of new drones will be able todefend the United States against wars
it doesn't want to fight.
Schneider and McDonald co hosteda limited Hoover podcast series,
the Hand Behind Unmanned, exploring keythemes in the history of autonomous
weaponry from their 2025Book of the same name.

>> Female Speaker (01:47):
Hoover Veteran Fellowship Program Alumni Profiles,
Donnie Haseltine and Dave Winiker,in a new Q&A at Defining Ideas,
former Hoover veteranfellows Donnie Haseltine and
Dave Winiker spoke to Chris Herhalt abouthow their service in the Marine Corps,
their year at Hoover, andtheir partnership together allowed them
to build new tools to help communitiesprepare for the threat of wildfires.

(02:10):
The pair built XyloPlan and Zonehavenapplications that generate strategies,
predictions, cost estimates, andother data for fire chiefs and
town officials looking to harden theirneighborhoods against forest fires.
Haseltine and Winiker discussthe ways their year at Hoover,
help them find solutions, connect withstakeholders, and cut through the noise

(02:30):
that often characterizesdebates about wildfire policy.
They also address common misconceptionsassociated with fire preparedness.

>> Male Speaker (02:38):
A critical review of impacts of greenhouse gas emissions on
the US Climate,Senior Fellow Stephen E Koonin and
fellow members of the Department of EnergyClimate Working Group have released a new
report examining the impact of greenhousegas emissions on America's climate,
extreme weather events,and societal well-being.
The report challenges the classificationof carbon dioxide as a pollutant and

(03:00):
critiques certain projections of futuregreenhouse gas emissions on which
climate change models are often based on.
The authors argue that the combinationof overly sensitive models and
implausible extreme scenarios for
future emissions yields exaggeratedprojections of future warming.
The report also examinestrends in extreme weather and
sea level rise over time in support of theargument that recent weather events and

(03:23):
ocean measurements fit withinbroader historical patterns.
The closing chapters of the report makethe case that US policies intended to curb
greenhouse gas emissions can come ata high societal cost, yet, quote,
have undetectably small directimpacts on the global climate.

>> Female Speaker (03:40):
The Milk Tea Alliance, Inside Asia's Struggle Against Autocracy
in Beijing, in recent years,young activists across Asia have
forged creative alliances to confrontauthoritarianism and oppression.
Despite the distinct political contextsof Burma, Thailand, and Hong Kong, these
movements have found common ground intheir shared resistance to autocracy and

(04:01):
and in many cases also to Beijing'sgrowing influence in the region and
the world.
The Milk Tea Alliance, a loosely definedand largely online constellation named for
the iconic drinks of theirrespective cultures,
symbolizes this transnational solidarity.
In this book talk on his new volume,
Milk Tea Inside Asia's Struggle AgainstAutocracy and Beijing, author and

(04:24):
history professor Jeffrey Wasserstromexplores this transnational phenomenon and
examines the diverse tactics andstrategies employed by young activists
united in their fightagainst authoritarianism.
Distinguished Research FellowGlenn Tiffert moderated the event,
hosted by Hoover's program on the US,china, and the World.

>> Male Speaker (04:44):
Democracy in Britain the Lord's Work, in a new piece for
Defining Ideas, Senior Fellow David L Lealanalyzes a measure working its way
through the British Parliament intended,quote,
to weaken the capacity of Parliament'ssecond chamber, the House of Lords,
by expelling from that chamberthe last of its hereditary members.
Leal, a professor of government whoteaches courses on British politics,

(05:08):
places this move in historical context.
Opponents of the remaining aristocratsparticipating in the upper chamber of
Parliament have been active forat least a hundred years, says Leal.
But now the move to expel the final 86hereditary peers from the House of Lords
is poised to succeed in what Leal termsan own goal for British governance.

(05:28):
Leal argues that homogenizing the Houseof Lords will unfortunately reduce
the collective experience, knowledge and
wisdom of the Chamber whileproviding no meaningful benefits.

>> Female Speaker (05:38):
This month in Hoover History, groundbreaking for
new Hoover building, on July 7th, 2015,
the Hoover Institution conducted aceremonial groundbreaking for a new 50,000
square foot building adjacent to HooverTower on the Stanford University campus.
Named for its primary and generousbenefactors, David and Joan Tretel,

(05:58):
the Hoover Institution's two storybuilding now houses a 400 seat auditorium
named in honor of Everett Sparky Hauk andhis wife Jane, and a 440 seat dining and
multipurpose room, Blount hall,in honor of Bill Blount.

>> Male Speaker (06:12):
That's your Hoover Daily report for Thursday, July 31st, 2025.
Each weekday we bring you research,analysis and commentary focused on public
policy, national security, and the ideasshaping American society and government.
The Hoover Institution at StanfordUniversity is grounded in constitutional
principles with a commitment tosustaining the safeguards of the American

(06:35):
way of life.
Thank you for listening.
For links to all the articles andinterviews mentioned today,
visit Hoover.org/ HDR.