Uncommon Knowledge

How did Donald Trump go from political defeat and the aftermath of January 6 to a second term in the White House? Historian Victor Davis Hanson discusses his latest book, The Counter-Revolution: The Fall and Rise of Donald Trump and the MAGA Movement. Hanson argues that the prosecutions of Trump strengthened his candidacy, evidenced by his gains among Black and Hispanic male voters. Hanson also...

Hoover Institution economist Joshua Rauh examines America’s mounting federal debt and the political obstacles to controlling government spending. Rauh explains why higher taxes and faster economic growth alone cannot close the budget gap, warns that rising interest costs could trigger an inflationary crisis, and argues for slowing entitlement spending growth. The conversation also covers...

In this special, crossover edition of Secrets of Statecraft and Uncommon Knowledge with Peter Robinson, Andrew Roberts is the guest and is interviewed by Peter Robinson. Roberts explains why great individuals still shape history—and why Winston Churchill remains history’s ultimate example. Roberts also confronts attacks on Churchill’s record, explains Britain’s decision to fight Hitler in 1940,...

For most of his life, Charles Murray was a casual agnostic who assumed smart people had left religion behind. Now he’s not so sure. Murray joins Peter Robinson to discuss the evidence that forced him to reconsider God, the soul, and Christianity—from near-death experiences and the mysterious Shroud of Turin to the historical reliability of the Gospels and the Resurrection. It’s the story of an...

"America was an investment before it was a nation." That idea anchors this conversation between SEC Chairman Paul Atkins and Peter Robinson. Atkins argues that vibrant capital markets are essential to American prosperity and explains why he believes excessive regulation has discouraged companies from going public and innovators from building in the United States. The discussion also covers...

Victor Davis Hanson—fifth-generation rancher in California’s San Joaquin Valley, classicist, military historian, Hoover Institution senior fellow, and author of more than two dozen books, including The Case For Trump, The Second World Wars, and The Dying Citizen—joins Peter Robinson to discuss the American founding and its critics. Drawing on ancient Greece and Rome, Magna Carta, the French...

Renowned historian and Hoover Institution senior fellow Frank Dikötter discusses his new book, Red Dawn Over China: How Communism Conquered a Quarter of Humanity. Drawing from tightly controlled Chinese Communist Party archives and Soviet Comintern documents, Dikötter systematically dismantles decades of romanticized Western myths—originally popularized by journalist Edgar Snow—surrounding the...

Stephen Kotkin returns to Uncommon Knowledge for another round of five questions, this time on Iran, China, Ukraine, and the future of the American republic. Kotkin argues that America still possesses unmatched strengths — economic, technological, military, and cultural — but warns that self-inflicted political dysfunction could squander them. Kotkin dissects Trump’s Iran strategy, explains why...

Why is America struggling to keep pace with China? Can Silicon Valley help rebuild US military power? And what happens when artificial intelligence transforms warfare? Anduril founder Palmer Luckey joins Peter Robinson to argue that America must rethink everything from defense procurement to manufacturing, innovation, and national identity itself. Luckey explains why he founded Anduril Industries...

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis joins Uncommon Knowledge with Peter Robinson at the Governor’s Mansion in Tallahassee to explain how Florida transformed from a razor-thin swing state into one of the fastest-growing and most politically distinct states in the country. DeSantis outlines his governing philosophy—pairing conservative policy with a focus on competence—and details the results: rapid...