Niall Ferguson on Cold War II and the Rise of Anti-History

School of War · May 22, 2026 · 1h 20m

Sir Niall Ferguson, Milbank Family Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and columnist at The Free Press, joins the show in front of a live audience to discuss the perilous moment we find ourselves in and how it all relates to history. What is the status of the Iran war? What is influencing President Donald Trump’s policymaking? How do we defeat a dangerous wave of “anti-history”? And are we on the brink of a world war, a cold war, or something in between?

03:35 - Historical analogies for today

09:51 - Short war illusion

15:14 - We’re in a Cold War II

18:12 - Putin’s essay from 2021

19:50 -…