September 25, 2025 • 6 mins
Today, Niall Ferguson explains how drones are rapidly changing warfare; economist Arthur Laffer joins Jon Hartley for a discussion of tax policy and the 50-year history of his “Laffer curve” concept; and Condoleezza Rice speaks with US Secretary of Education Linda McMahon about the 2025 edition of the authoritative “Education at a Glance” report.
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>> Male Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Hoover Daily Report, Ideas Advancing Freedom.
It's Thursday, September 25th, 2025.
>> Female Speaker 1 (00:07):
Today, Niall Ferguson explains how drones are rapidly changing
warfare.
Economist Arthur Laffer joins John Hartleyfor a discussion of tax policy and
the 50 year history ofhis Laffer Curve concept.
And Condoleezza Rice speaks with U.S.secretary of Education Linda McMahon about
the 2025 edition of the authoritativeEducation at a Glance report.
>> Male Speaker 1 (00:28):
I've seen the future of war.
Europe isn't ready for it.
Previewing at his substack a recentcolumn for the Free Press,
Senior Fellow Neil Ferguson shares keyinsights into the future of armed conflict
from his recent trip to Ukraine.
The war of the future is already here andyou are not sufficiently scared of it,
warns Ferguson.
Extrapolating from trends already presenton the battlefields of eastern Ukraine,
(00:52):
the historian argues that fortoday's war planners,
the the goal is vast AI enabledswarms of drones with edge computing.
We are getting there fast.
Ferguson emphasizes in this piece that fewhave fully grasped the implications of
drone centric warfare for great powermilitary preparedness going forward.
Focusing on European sluggishnessto adapt, Ferguson writes,
(01:13):
the people of Poland, Romania, Estonia,and perhaps Denmark all now know that
Russian drones are capableof entering their airspace.
But have they trulygrasped what that implies?
>> Female Speaker 1 (01:24):
Art Laffer on Tax policy and
the 50 year history of the Laffer Curvefor the latest episode of Capitalism and
freedom in the 21st century, host and
policy fellow John Hartley speaks withrenowned economist Arthur Laffer.
Laffer is most well known forproposing the Laffer Curve, a graphical
relationship between tax rates andcorresponding levels of total tax revenue.
(01:45):
Laffer is also the founder andchairman of Laffer Associates,
an economic research and consulting firm.
Dr. Laffer's economic acumen and
influence in triggering a worldwide taxcutting movement in the 1980s have earned
him the distinction in many publicationsas the father of supply side economics.
On the show, Hartley asks Lafferabout his origins as an economist and
(02:07):
his relationships with the lateHoover fellows George P.
Schultz and Milton Friedman.
The 50 Year History of the Laffer Curvethe shape of the Laffer Curve, the effects
of the 2017 tax cuts and Jobs act on fixedinvestment and revenue, and much more.
>> Male Speaker 1 (02:24):
Education at a Glance the Hoover Institution was proud to
host the US launch of the 2025Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development, or OECD.
Education at a Glance Report Education ata Glance is the authoritative source for
information on the state ofeducation around the world.
It provides data on the structure,finances, and performance of education
(02:46):
systems across OECD countries and a numberof accession and partner countries.
More than 100 charts andtables in this year's report,
as well as links to much moreavailable on the Educational Database,
provide key information on the outputof educational institutions,
the impact of learning across countries,access, participation and
(03:07):
progression in education, the financialresources invested in education and
teachers, the learning environment,and the organization of schools.
In opening remarks, Hoover InstitutionDirector Condoleezza Rice spoke with
US Secretary of Education Linda McMahonabout the role of education at a Glance in
assessing educational outcomes.
>> Female Speaker 1 (03:28):
When Teachers Union Demands are a Political Wedge Issue in
an op ed column forthe 74 Hoover Fellow, Michael T.
Hartney explores the public's responseto teachers unions engaging in political
advoc fornon educational progressive causes.
Hartney explains his ownresearch into public support for
teacher strikes over a variety ofhypothetical issues, educational and not.
(03:50):
The results showed a strikingpartisan split, he writes.
Respondents who identified as Democratswere overwhelmingly supportive
of both types of strike campaigns,with more than 7 in 10 backing teachers.
But self identified Republicansdrew a sharp distinction.
Nearly four in 10 said they wouldsupport a strike in their community for
(04:11):
higher teacher pay, but fewer thanone in five respondents approved of
the hypothetical strike over generalprogressive causes in their community.
The risk in teachers unions takingan increasingly broad political approach,
says Hartney, is that they could become,quote, ever more isolated and partisan,
stronger in blue enclaves,weaker outside them.
>> Male Speaker 1 (04:34):
Dan Wong's Breakneck Named Finalist for
Financial Times Book ofthe Year Award Breakneck China's Quest to
Engineer the Future by Hoover History LabResearch Fellow Dan Wong has advanced
to the shortlist of six finalists forthe prestigious 2025 Financial Times and
Schroeder's Business Bookof the Year Award.
Wong's book outlines coredifferences between the U.S.
(04:56):
a lawyerly state where the law oftenblocks ambitious physical projects and and
its arch rival, China, an engineeringstate that empowers infrastructure,
innovation, and industrial ambition.
Wang was previously a fellow at the YaleLaw School's Paul Tsai China center and
a lecturer at Yale University's Macmillancenter for International and Area Studies.
(05:17):
From 2017 to 2023,
he worked in China as the technologyanalyst at Gavakal Dragonomics.
Based in Hong Kong,Beijing and then Shanghai.
Wong has discussed Breakneckextensively in podcasts and essays for
various prominent media outlets.
You can view these episodes and
articles by clicking the link onhis name in the online edition of
(05:37):
the Hoover Daily Report>> Female Speaker 1: This month in Hoover
history HR McMaster named the Fouad andMichelle Ajami Senior Fellow.
In September of 2018,Lt Gen HR McMaster, US army, retired,
was appointed the Fouad andMichelle Ajami, Senior Fellow.
McMaster returned to Hoover,
where he was a National Securityaffairs fellow from 2002 to 2003.
(06:01):
Following his service as the 26thassistant to the President for
National Security affairs, he served withdistinction in the United States army for
34 years before retiring in June 2018.
That's your Hoover Daily report for Thursday, September 25,
2025.
Each weekday we bring you research,analysis and
commentary focused on public policy,national security, and
(06:23):
the ideas shaping American soc,society and government.
The Hoover Institution at StanfordUniversity is grounded in constitutional
principles with a commitment tosustaining the safeguards of the American
way of life.
Thank you for listening.
For links to all the articles andinterviews mentioned today,
visit hoover.org/hdr.
Welcome to the Hoover Daily Report, Ideas Advancing Freedom.
It's Thursday, September 25th, 2025.
>> Female Speaker 1 (00:07):
Today, Niall Ferguson explains how drones are rapidly changing
warfare.
Economist Arthur Laffer joins John Hartleyfor a discussion of tax policy and
the 50 year history ofhis Laffer Curve concept.
And Condoleezza Rice speaks with U.S.secretary of Education Linda McMahon about
the 2025 edition of the authoritativeEducation at a Glance report.
>> Male Speaker 1 (00:28):
I've seen the future of war.
Europe isn't ready for it.
Previewing at his substack a recentcolumn for the Free Press,
Senior Fellow Neil Ferguson shares keyinsights into the future of armed conflict
from his recent trip to Ukraine.
The war of the future is already here andyou are not sufficiently scared of it,
warns Ferguson.
Extrapolating from trends already presenton the battlefields of eastern Ukraine,
(00:52):
the historian argues that fortoday's war planners,
the the goal is vast AI enabledswarms of drones with edge computing.
We are getting there fast.
Ferguson emphasizes in this piece that fewhave fully grasped the implications of
drone centric warfare for great powermilitary preparedness going forward.
Focusing on European sluggishnessto adapt, Ferguson writes,
(01:13):
the people of Poland, Romania, Estonia,and perhaps Denmark all now know that
Russian drones are capableof entering their airspace.
But have they trulygrasped what that implies?
>> Female Speaker 1 (01:24):
Art Laffer on Tax policy and
the 50 year history of the Laffer Curvefor the latest episode of Capitalism and
freedom in the 21st century, host and
policy fellow John Hartley speaks withrenowned economist Arthur Laffer.
Laffer is most well known forproposing the Laffer Curve, a graphical
relationship between tax rates andcorresponding levels of total tax revenue.
(01:45):
Laffer is also the founder andchairman of Laffer Associates,
an economic research and consulting firm.
Dr. Laffer's economic acumen and
influence in triggering a worldwide taxcutting movement in the 1980s have earned
him the distinction in many publicationsas the father of supply side economics.
On the show, Hartley asks Lafferabout his origins as an economist and
(02:07):
his relationships with the lateHoover fellows George P.
Schultz and Milton Friedman.
The 50 Year History of the Laffer Curvethe shape of the Laffer Curve, the effects
of the 2017 tax cuts and Jobs act on fixedinvestment and revenue, and much more.
>> Male Speaker 1 (02:24):
Education at a Glance the Hoover Institution was proud to
host the US launch of the 2025Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development, or OECD.
Education at a Glance Report Education ata Glance is the authoritative source for
information on the state ofeducation around the world.
It provides data on the structure,finances, and performance of education
(02:46):
systems across OECD countries and a numberof accession and partner countries.
More than 100 charts andtables in this year's report,
as well as links to much moreavailable on the Educational Database,
provide key information on the outputof educational institutions,
the impact of learning across countries,access, participation and
(03:07):
progression in education, the financialresources invested in education and
teachers, the learning environment,and the organization of schools.
In opening remarks, Hoover InstitutionDirector Condoleezza Rice spoke with
US Secretary of Education Linda McMahonabout the role of education at a Glance in
assessing educational outcomes.
>> Female Speaker 1 (03:28):
When Teachers Union Demands are a Political Wedge Issue in
an op ed column forthe 74 Hoover Fellow, Michael T.
Hartney explores the public's responseto teachers unions engaging in political
advoc fornon educational progressive causes.
Hartney explains his ownresearch into public support for
teacher strikes over a variety ofhypothetical issues, educational and not.
(03:50):
The results showed a strikingpartisan split, he writes.
Respondents who identified as Democratswere overwhelmingly supportive
of both types of strike campaigns,with more than 7 in 10 backing teachers.
But self identified Republicansdrew a sharp distinction.
Nearly four in 10 said they wouldsupport a strike in their community for
(04:11):
higher teacher pay, but fewer thanone in five respondents approved of
the hypothetical strike over generalprogressive causes in their community.
The risk in teachers unions takingan increasingly broad political approach,
says Hartney, is that they could become,quote, ever more isolated and partisan,
stronger in blue enclaves,weaker outside them.
>> Male Speaker 1 (04:34):
Dan Wong's Breakneck Named Finalist for
Financial Times Book ofthe Year Award Breakneck China's Quest to
Engineer the Future by Hoover History LabResearch Fellow Dan Wong has advanced
to the shortlist of six finalists forthe prestigious 2025 Financial Times and
Schroeder's Business Bookof the Year Award.
Wong's book outlines coredifferences between the U.S.
(04:56):
a lawyerly state where the law oftenblocks ambitious physical projects and and
its arch rival, China, an engineeringstate that empowers infrastructure,
innovation, and industrial ambition.
Wang was previously a fellow at the YaleLaw School's Paul Tsai China center and
a lecturer at Yale University's Macmillancenter for International and Area Studies.
(05:17):
From 2017 to 2023,
he worked in China as the technologyanalyst at Gavakal Dragonomics.
Based in Hong Kong,Beijing and then Shanghai.
Wong has discussed Breakneckextensively in podcasts and essays for
various prominent media outlets.
You can view these episodes and
articles by clicking the link onhis name in the online edition of
(05:37):
the Hoover Daily Report>> Female Speaker 1: This month in Hoover
history HR McMaster named the Fouad andMichelle Ajami Senior Fellow.
In September of 2018,Lt Gen HR McMaster, US army, retired,
was appointed the Fouad andMichelle Ajami, Senior Fellow.
McMaster returned to Hoover,
where he was a National Securityaffairs fellow from 2002 to 2003.
(06:01):
Following his service as the 26thassistant to the President for
National Security affairs, he served withdistinction in the United States army for
34 years before retiring in June 2018.
That's your Hoover Daily report for Thursday, September 25,
2025.
Each weekday we bring you research,analysis and
commentary focused on public policy,national security, and
(06:23):
the ideas shaping American soc,society and government.
The Hoover Institution at StanfordUniversity is grounded in constitutional
principles with a commitment tosustaining the safeguards of the American
way of life.
Thank you for listening.
For links to all the articles andinterviews mentioned today,
visit hoover.org/hdr.
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