Much like the fragile parchment on which a new republic’s principles and grievances were outlined, America’s Declaration of Independence endures to this day – quite the accomplishment given a Continental Congress struggling to help George Washington wage war and a few Founding Fathers who’d rather not have been in Philadelphia that summer (beginning with Thomas Jefferson). Michael Auslin, a Hoover Institution distinguished research fellow and author of National Treasure: How the Declaration of Independence Made America, discusses whether the “spirit of ‘76” is alive and well in 2026.

After that: the fellows address the possibility of a disruptive “October Surprise” in advance of America’s November election – if such a shock comes in the form of a terrorist event (would it make political sense for Iran to try to embarrass an already-struggling President Trump?) or a financial crisis (October historically a time of market panics and crashes)? Finally, in the “Lightning Round”: the Chicago-born Pope employs a little divine intervention to boost the White Sox’s playoff chances; are a few comforting words by industry leaders the beginning of a more optimist AI “vibe shift”?; U.S. War Secretary Pete Hegseth’s criteria for joining America’s fighting forces (“beardos” and “weirdos” need not apply); Tucker Carlson’s curious take on Germany’s invasion of Poland; on the 57th anniversary of the first televised episode of Monty Python’s Flying Circus, the question of what happened to the longstanding tradition of British satire and comedy (our resident Boomers recalling a few of their favorite Python skits that most Gen-Zers probably won’t understand or appreciate).

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America’s complicated relationship with China doesn’t lack for subplots – tariffs, territorial designs, human rights and espionage. But does the superpowers’ Cold War-like competition over artificial intelligence supersede all other U.S.-Sino concerns? On the eve of the year’s second Trump-Xi summit, Hoover fellow Eyck Freymann discusses the state of the superpowers’ rivalry and the possibility of a Chinese move on Taiwan in the near future (Freymann being the author of 2026’s Defending Taiwan: A Strategy to Prevent War with China, envisions an “all-domain pressure campaign” that slowly strangles the island nation). After that: Sir Niall recounts his recent visit to Kyiv (his fifth time in Ukraine since Russia’s invasion) and the odds of Vladimir Putin finding an “off-ramp” after a 55-month war of attrition (or, with his back to the wall, will Russia’s leader opt instead for a modern-day “Ludendorff Offensive”?). Finally, the fellows weigh in on the Fed’s recent rate increase, President Trump stepping up America’s strategic footprints in Greenland and Poland, plus what the 1619 Project’s Nikole Hanna-Jones’ mea culpa for purposely placing her daughter in a low-performing public school – the daughter now struggling with high-school academics – says about the state of education in America (and showcasing one’s offspring in the pages of The New York Times).

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The rubber meets the road in California this fall when a proposed one-time 5% tax on the state’s billionaire class – wealth taxes being a longtime progressive hobby horse – faces a public vote in the form of Proposition 40. Joshua Rauh, the Hoover Institution’s George P. Shultz Senior Fellow in economics and author of a data analysis of Prop 40’s fiscal and economic impacts, explains why the measure would be a “disaster” if enacted and whether the policy battle marks the beginning of more public engagement on the part of the wealthiest Californians or instead will speed up their exodus from the Golden State. After that: the fellows reflect on the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on America – where they were that fateful day and 9/11’s legacy as it pertains to the war on terror, social divides and global alliances (if a similar attack happened today, would Vladimir Putin still be the first world leader to offer assistance to the American president?). Finally, in the “Lightning Round”: the pros and cons of an ascendant world senior population; the merits of “financial engineering” as governments spend and borrow more; disorder in the ranks as more of America’s military leaders part ways with the Pentagon; young conservatives’ “Nixonmaxxing” (and revising presidential history).

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