The Supreme Court saves the year’s most dramatic case for last – the question of whether Donald Trump can claim immunity from prosecution for actions he took while holding office. John Yoo, a Hoover Institution visiting fellow and Emanuel S. Heller Professor of Law at the University of California–Berkeley School of Law, dissects the court’s highly anticipated ruling. After that John talks about the significance of American’s Independence Day celebration, the health of the US Constitution, plus the proper balance of freedom and regulation – from the perspective of a constitutional scholar and a first-generation American.

Is a Chinese move on Taiwan inevitable (a quarantine, embargo or outright invasion this decade or next)? Or are there commonsense ways to ensure the island country’s freedom—and prevent a great-power conflict between Cold War rivals? Matt Pottinger, a Hoover Institution distinguished visiting fellow and former senior staffer at the White House’s National Security Council, joins Hoover Distinguished Policy fellow Bill Whalen to discuss the options he and other US-Sino experts have to offer in Hoover’s newly released The Boiling Moat: Urgent Steps to Defend Taiwan. Among the recommendations: ramping up military technology and capabilities; introducing a new pro-military mindset on the other side of the Pacific Rim; plus, America (following Israel’s example) understanding the benefits of a “warrior ethos.”

While the Golden State struggles with the aftershock of its elevated fast-food minimum wage – California-based Rubio’s Coastal Grill, home of the fish taco, is filing for bankruptcy – and the legislature has to deal with the approaching deadline for a new state budget, which invites fiscal and policy skullduggery. Hoover senior fellow Lee Ohanian and distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen, both weekly contributors to Hoover’s California on Your Mind web channel, discuss the latest news in the Golden State including a nascent 2026 governor’s race (will vice president Kamala Harris “pull a Nixon” and give it a go?), plus a fond remembrance of the late Bill Walton – native San Diegan, UCLA basketball legend, citizen activist – who passed away just days after his beloved Pac-12 Conference likewise bid farewell.