How bad was Election Night in America for Donald Trump and his party? Aside from the brutal math (arguably the GOP’s worst midterm meltdown since 1974’s Watergate backlash), the question arises as to what's next for s chastised President and rival Democrats with unanticipated majorities in Congress. Jonah Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Dispatch and a veteran observer of American politics, joins GoodFellows regulars Sir Niall Ferguson and John Cochrane (and moderator Bill Whalen) to parse what was behind the anti-Trump referendum (affordability, corruption, and Israel?) and the path forward in Washington – i.e., will policy (economics, ethics reform) or payback (investigations, impeachments) carry the day in 2027? Afterward, in the “Lightning Round”, the fellows make sense of election intrigue in Israel and Brazil, the emergence of data centers as NIMBY villains à la nuclear power a generation ago, whether canines should be bred for combat, Elon Musk’s SpaceX stock-share, plus American expats regretting their newfound European existence (turns out an America in which air conditioners and washing machines aren’t a luxury ain’t so bad after all). Finally, Sir Niall explains why he sports a red poppy every November and the significance of the UK’s Remembrance Day.

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While the public clamors for some semblance of government regulation of the burgeoning artificial intelligence sector, the question remains: how to prevent doom scenarios without compromising the industry’s innovative spirit. Cal Newport, a Georgetown University computer scientist and frequent writer on AI matters, discusses questions he wants Congress to ask and suggests ways to keep AI from undermining secondary and college learning processes (are Georgetown’s phone-free “cognition cloisters” the answer?). After that, the fellows discuss what’s fueling the fiery riots across Western Europe (is it time that European nations paid attention to Javier Milei’s reforms in Argentina?) and what compelled President Trump to threaten Ukraine with blocked access to the Starlink satellite internet service (is it what comes from too many conversations with Vladimir Putin?). Finally, in the “Lightning Round”: thoughts on Hoover economist Bob Hall receiving a Nobel Prize, what America’s midterm elections might bring, and the likelihood of any of the three academics buying Elon Musk’s “flying” roadster (the answer, it seems: when pigs fly!).

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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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