Uncommon Knowledge

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 President Trump’s tariff policies, why California’s proposed billionaire tax could drive taxpayers out of the state, and lessons from states such as Texas and Florida. Subscribe to Uncommon Knowledge at hoover.org/uk

This special episode of Uncommon Knowledge with Peter Robinson features our most requested guest: Hoover senior fellow and acclaimed economist and author Dr. Thomas Sowell. But rather than discussing Sowell’s many books, this conversation explores the full arc of Sowell’s life — from his childhood, along a dirt road in North Carolina, through his years in Harlem, the Marine Corps, Harvard, and ultimately to his long tenure at the Hoover Institution. Through rich storytelling and candid reflection, Sowell recounts his early struggles and triumphs: growing up in poverty yet surrounded by love, discovering books and ideas in a Harlem library, working his way through school and menial jobs, and eventually earning degrees from Harvard, Columbia, and the University of Chicago. Along the way, he shares how experience and evidence—not ideology—shaped his transformation from a young Marxist to one of America’s most influential champions of free markets and individual responsibility. The interview reveals the wit, humility, and intellectual rigor behind the man who has spent decades challenging conventional wisdom. From tales of family and resilience to his enduring skepticism of government programs, Sowell’s reflections illuminate a life defined by hard work, empirical reasoning, and independence of mind. This is Thomas Sowell’s American story—told in his own words. Recorded on December 19, 2024. Subscribe to Uncommon Knowledge at hoover.org/uk

Yale historian and memoirist Carlos Eire recounts his extraordinary journey from being an 11-year-old Cuban boy in Operation Peter Pan—sent to the United States to escape Fidel Castro’s regime—to becoming a National Book Award–winning author and chaired professor at Yale. Eire discusses the painful separation from his family, the challenges of assimilation, and the lifelong tension between his Cuban and American identities, themes he explores in his acclaimed memoirs Waiting for Snow in Havana and Learning to Die in Miami. The conversation also delves into Eire’s recent book They Flew: A History of the Impossible, which examines early modern testimonies of levitation, bilocation, and miracles, and how belief, culture, and skepticism shaped their reception. Eire also reflects on Cuban history, the failures of the Castro regime, the broader Hispanic experience in America, and the enduring clash between materialist skepticism and openness to mystery. Subscribe to Uncommon Knowledge at hoover.org/uk

August 15th, 2025 is the 80th anniversary of the surrender of the Japanese to Allied Forces in the Pacific, ending World War II . To mark the occasion, Peter Robinson sits down with Jonathan Horn and Ian Toll to examine the most contested decision of World War II: the use of atomic weapons against Japan.