Firing Line with Margaret Hoover: Season 3
Season 3 Lore Primer
Key plot threads, lore context, and character stakes you need to remember before diving into this season.
- Directly follows the overarching narrative developments of Firing Line with Margaret Hoover Season 2.
- Faction dynamics and core character alliances shift under escalating external stakes.
- Crucial mysteries introduced previously reach key turning points and narrative reckonings.
- Sets up serialized story arcs that build directly toward the climactic season finale.
Episode Guide
Season 3 Progress Shield
David Miliband
Jan 10, 2020
Former British Foreign Secretary and Labour politician David Miliband addresses the escalating conflict between the U.S. and Iran. Miliband, now head of the International Rescue Co
Michael Moore
Jan 17, 2020
Filmmaker Michael Moore discusses the 2020 presidential race. Moore, who correctly predicted Trump’s win in 2016, now says the Democrat could win the popular vote by an even greate
Deval Patrick
Jan 24, 2020
Democratic presidential candidate and former MA Gov. Deval Patrick discusses his late entry into the 2020 race. The only African-American candidate left in the field, Patrick talks
Paul Krugman
Jan 31, 2020
Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman discusses what he calls “zombie” economic ideas and his public feuds with President Trump. The New York Times columnist talks about parti
Cornel West and Robert George
Feb 7, 2020
Dr. Cornel West and Dr. Robert George, the “ideological odd couple,” discuss the importance of civil discourse in this era of polarization. Leftist West and conservative George are
Steve Bannon
Feb 14, 2020
Former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon discusses his predictions for the 2020 election and the future of populism. He talks about Bloomberg’s impact on the race and sugge
Michael Eric Dyson
Feb 21, 2020
Georgetown professor, prolific author and political commentator Michael Eric Dyson discusses the state of race in the US ahead of the South Carolina Democratic primary. He talks ab
Jeh Johnson
Mar 13, 2020
Former Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson discusses the Trump administration’s handling of the coronavirus. Johnson, who was DHS Secretary during the 2014 Ebola crisis, tal
Ken Starr
Mar 20, 2020
Former independent counsel Ken Starr discusses his investigation that led to the impeachment of President Clinton, and his work over 20 years later defending President Trump during
Tom Frieden
Mar 27, 2020
Former CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden discusses the origins of the coronavirus, the current measures to fight it, and where he sees the pandemic headed. He also discusses how the Uni
Ned Lamont
Apr 3, 2020
CT Gov. Ned Lamont discusses his efforts to fight COVID-19 in one of the most-infected states per capita in the country. He discusses the race to find more ventilators and personal
Scott Gottlieb
Apr 10, 2020
President Trump’s former FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb discusses what is next for the coronavirus. Gottlieb says he is concerned about a second wave of COVID-19 that may hit
Mark Cuban
Apr 17, 2020
Billionaire Mark Cuban discusses advising President Trump as a member of his new group on reopening the U.S. economy. Cuban defends the president as the cheerleader-in-chief but di
Marco Rubio
Apr 24, 2020
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla) talks about the push among certain states to reopen
Rudy Giuliani
May 1, 2020
Former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani, now President Trump’s personal attorney, discusses the impact of COVID-19 on the hardest-hit state. Giuliani reflects on his time as mayor of NYC du
Sheryl Sandberg & David Miliband
May 8, 2020
Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg and International Rescue Committee president David Miliband team up to discuss how COVID-19 will affect women and girls worldwide. They say the pandemi
Susan Rice
May 15, 2020
Susan Rice, President Obama’s National Security Advisor and the former ambassador to the United Nations, calls President Trump’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic abysmal. She says
Sean Penn
May 22, 2020
Actor Sean Penn discusses his efforts to expand coronavirus testing access through his non-profit, CORE. The organization initially offered free drive-through tests in Penn’s homet
Bakari Sellers
Jun 12, 2020
Activist, attorney and author Bakari Sellers discusses the death of George Floyd, the nationwide protests, and whether this moment of crisis will lead to meaningful change on issue
Stacey Abrams
Jun 19, 2020
Voting rights activist and politician Stacey Abrams discusses the fight for racial justice and her views on police reform including the "defund the police" movement. Abrams talks a
Trailblazers Special: Rising Stars
Jun 26, 2020
Margaret Hoover interviews several female Republican rising stars in Congress: Rep. Elise Stefanik (NY), Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (WA), Sen. Joni Ernst (IA) and Rep. Liz Cheney (
Trailblazers Special: Newcomers
Jun 30, 2020
Meet conservative women running for a first term in Congress: Young Kim of California, Ashley Hinson of Iowa and Lisa Scheller of Pennsylvania. Margaret Hoover explores their motiv
John Bolton
Jul 10, 2020
Former National Security Advisor John Bolton says President Trump, his ex-boss, is unfit for a second term and he will not vote for him. Bolton discusses why he stayed silent durin
Keisha Lance Bottoms
Jul 17, 2020
Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who tested positive for COVID-19, discusses Georgia’s surge in cases and Atlanta’s recent spike in gun violence. She also addresses the speculation that
Mike DeWine
Jul 24, 2020
Gov. Mike DeWine (R-OH) discusses why COVID-19 cases are surging, his new decision to mandate masks statewide, reopening schools and the 2020 election. He reacts to the arrest of t
Melinda Gates
Jul 31, 2020
Philanthropist Melinda Gates, who has committed more than $300 million to fight COVID-19, discusses the race to develop vaccines, COVID-19’s toll on women and the Trump administrat
Larry Kudlow
Aug 7, 2020
President Trump’s top economic advisor Larry Kudlow discusses COVID-19’s impact on the economy, jobs and businesses. He talks about what is next for federal stimulus spending, the
Stuart Stevens
Aug 14, 2020
Former Republican strategist Stuart Stevens discusses his opposition to President Trump and the current GOP. Stevens is working with other prominent current and former Republicans
Gretchen Whitmer
Aug 21, 2020
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer discusses interviewing to be Joe Biden’s VP, Michigan’s key role in the 2020 election and the challenges of voting by mail. She weighs in on the
Rich Lowry
Aug 28, 2020
Rich Lowry, editor of the conservative publication National Review, explains why he supports Pres. Trump over Joe Biden despite profound discomfort with Trump’s conduct. Lowry also
Bernie Sanders
Sep 11, 2020
Sen. Bernie Sanders discusses supporting Biden’s presidential bid despite policy differences and warns that Pres. Trump may refuse to leave office if he loses. Sanders says progres
Sarah Huckabee Sanders
Sep 18, 2020
Former White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders discusses her new book and the contentious briefings that marked her time in the Trump administration. She talks about her
Val Demings
Sep 25, 2020
Congresswoman Val Demings (D-FL) discusses the Supreme Court vacancy, police reform, COVID and Florida’s pivotal role in the presidential race. Demings was previously Orlando’s fir
Sheldon Whitehouse
Oct 2, 2020
Senate Judiciary Committee member Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) discusses the battle over the Supreme Court and the role of anonymous “dark money” in the federal judiciary. He says the
Tammy Duckworth
Oct 9, 2020
Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), an Iraq War veteran and Purple Heart recipient, discusses the VP debate and the COVID-19 outbreak in the White House. She also explains why she plans t
Anthony Fauci
Oct 16, 2020
Dr. Anthony Fauci discusses the latest science on COVID-19 and the race to develop a vaccine. As new daily cases rise in more than a dozen states, Fauci explains what Americans sho
Pete Buttigieg
Oct 23, 2020
Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, IN who ran for president, discusses the election, his political future and the COVID vaccine. Buttigieg talks about coming out as ma
Angus King
Oct 30, 2020
Senate Intel member Angus King (I-ME) discusses foreign interference in this election, what adversaries hope to accomplish and how prepared the U.S. is to handle cyberthreats and d
Larry Hogan
Nov 6, 2020
Gov. Larry Hogan, Maryland’s moderate Republican governor, discusses why he did not vote for President Trump, the future of Trumpism and the GOP, and why Republicans beat expectati
Ted Olson & David Boies
Nov 13, 2020
Superstar litigators David Boies and Ted Olson, who argued on opposite sides of Bush v. Gore in 2000 and later teamed up to work together, discuss President Trump’s allegations of
Albert Bourla
Nov 20, 2020
CEO Albert Bourla discusses Pfizer’s eight-month race to develop a COVID-19 vaccine, which he thinks will be available to frontline workers in December and the general public befor
Bob Costas
Dec 11, 2020
Legendary sportscaster Bob Costas joins Firing Line to break down the intersection of sports and the three defining stories of 2020: the COVID-19 pandemic, the election and the fig
Neil Gorsuch
Dec 18, 2020
Justice Neil Gorsuch, who was the first of President Trump's three nominees to the Supreme Court, discusses the legacy of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, his judicial philosophy and t