Firing Line with Margaret Hoover: Season 5
Season 5 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 4.
- 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 5 Progress Shield
Adam Kinzinger
Jan 7, 2022
Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-IL, one of two Republicans on the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack, discusses what lawmakers have learned and what questions remain unanswered
Fareed Zakaria
Jan 14, 2022
Author and anchor Fareed Zakaria discusses the lessons of Covid-19 as the world enters the third year of the pandemic; Zakaria, who as a student brought William F. Buckley Jr. to Y
Indra Nooyi
Jan 21, 2022
Former PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi discusses her rise up America’s corporate ladder after emigrating from India. She also weighs in on the future of the workplace, the care economy and
Eva Moskowitz
Jan 28, 2022
Success Academy CEO Eva Moskowitz makes the case for school choice as her network of charter schools in NYC outperforms schools across the state. She discusses the role of teachers
Lonnie Bunch
Feb 4, 2022
Secretary of the Smithsonian Lonnie Bunch kicks off Black History Month with a discussion on the importance of studying a complete history, the role of museums in society and his c
Enes Kanter Freedom
Feb 11, 2022
NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom, a prominent critic of his native Turkey and China, discusses the genocide of the Uyghurs, his call for a boycott of the Beijing Olympic Games, and h
Michael McFaul
Feb 18, 2022
Michael McFaul, the U.S. ambassador to Russia in the Obama administration, discusses the rising tensions as Russian troops surround Ukraine and appear poised to invade. He assesses
William B. Taylor
Mar 11, 2022
Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine William Taylor discusses Russia's invasion of its neighbor and Ukraine's resistance, the response of the U.S. and allies economically and militari
Margaret Atwood
Mar 18, 2022
“The Handmaid’s Tale” author Margaret Atwood discusses her dystopian classic and being a consultant on the hit Hulu series based on it. Atwood reflects on using fiction and essays
Lynsey Addario
Mar 25, 2022
Pulitzer Prize-winning war photojournalist Lynsey Addario joins from Kyiv to discuss shooting a defining image that exposed Putin’s war crimes in Ukraine, finding humanity amid hor
Rhiannon Giddens
Apr 1, 2022
Grammy Award-winning musician Rhiannon Giddens discusses what her journey from opera to Black string band music taught her about her own identity, her mission to reclaim the true h
Chris Coons
Apr 8, 2022
Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) discusses the confirmation of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court but says public trust in the institution is falling. He responds to Russian w
Matt Damon and Gary White
Apr 15, 2022
Oscar-winner Matt Damon and water expert Gary White discuss their goal to end the global water crisis for 771 million people in their lifetimes. They explain how they use microfina
Marie Yovanovitch
Apr 22, 2022
Former US Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch discusses Putin's new offensive, Ukrainian resolve, and whether Russian atrocities are genocide. The impeachment witness analyzes
Tina Brown
Apr 29, 2022
Legendary journalist Tina Brown discusses her new book about the royals, with reporting on Megxit, Prince Andrew, and what happens after Queen Elizabeth's reign. She weighs in on t
Linda Thomas-Greenfield
May 6, 2022
U.S. Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield discusses holding Putin accountable for war crimes and tackling the global food security crisis that Russia's invasion of Ukraine
Ed Whelan and Mary Ziegler
May 13, 2022
Legal scholars Mary Ziegler and Ed Whelan discuss their differing views on the Supreme Court’s leaked draft opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade, the future of abortion law in A
Eric Schmidt
May 20, 2022
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt discusses how artificial intelligence will change the world and impact the future of jobs, medicine and warfare. He says we need to prepare for the d
Raphael Warnock
Jun 17, 2022
Sen. Raphael Warnock (D), Georgia's first Black US senator and a minister, discusses the economy, Jan. 6, and other key midterm issues. Warnock is up against ex-football star Hersc
Ben Ginsberg
Jun 24, 2022
Republican election lawyer Ben Ginsberg discusses speaking out against Trump and other election deniers at the January 6 hearings. He weighs in on efforts to reform federal electio
Christine Todd Whitman
Jul 1, 2022
Pro-choice Republican and fmr. NJ Gov. Christine Todd Whitman calls the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe judicial activism and says women will be harmed. She reflects on ho
James Kirchick
Jul 8, 2022
Author James Kirchick discusses his New York Times bestseller “Secret City: The Hidden History of Gay Washington,” a chronicle of gay powerbrokers from the FDR presidency through t
Chris Murphy
Jul 15, 2022
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-CT, discusses his first success in a decade-long fight to stop America’s gun violence epidemic and explains how the new law may have stopped the Highland Park
Adam Grant
Jul 22, 2022
Organizational psychologist and bestselling author Adam Grant examines the value of rethinking deeply-held beliefs in an ever-changing world. He discusses how that approach could r
Mike Lee
Jul 29, 2022
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) discusses his support for Trump leading up to Jan. 6, whether Trump’s inaction that day violated his oath, and what it may mean for 2024. He also makes his cas
Kenny Loggins
Sep 2, 2022
Legendary singer-songwriter Kenny Loggins discusses writing enduring hits for films like “Top Gun” and "Footloose," reuniting with Jim Messina, and other highs and lows of his 50-y
Elliot Ackerman
Sep 9, 2022
One year after U.S. troops left Afghanistan and 21 years after 9/11, Marine veteran and author Elliot Ackerman reflects on the war’s strategic failures, his own efforts to get Afgh
Ken Burns and Sarah Botstein
Sep 16, 2022
Ken Burns and Sarah Botstein discuss their new documentary series,“The U.S. and the Holocaust,” which examines America's response to Nazi atrocities, why the U.S. failed to take in
Iván Duque
Sep 23, 2022
Former Colombian President Iván Duque Márquez warns against the rise of left-wing populism in Colombia and across Latin America. He also discusses the war on drugs, the crisis in V
Oksana Markarova
Sep 30, 2022
Ukrainian Amb. to the U.S. Oksana Markarova discusses Russia’s nuclear threats as Putin annexes territory and mobilizes 300,000 reservists. She weighs in on Russian war crimes that
Cori Bush
Oct 7, 2022
Progressive 'Squad' member Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) discusses surviving sexual assault and her experience with abortion as she is out with a memoir. She discusses her role in the Bla
Masih Alinejad
Oct 14, 2022
Exiled Iranian journalist and activist Masih Alinejad calls the protests in Iran over the government's brutal treatment of women a revolution that will bring down the regime. She a
Matthew Continetti
Oct 21, 2022
Author and journalist Matthew Continetti discusses the evolution and future of the American conservative movement. He examines how figures like William F. Buckley Jr., Ronald Reaga
Evan McMullin
Oct 28, 2022
Independent conservative candidate Evan McMullin discusses his race against Utah's Republican Sen. Mike Lee, which could decide control of the Senate. McMullin criticizes Lee's sup
Maggie Haberman
Nov 4, 2022
Pulitzer-prize winning New York Times journalist Maggie Haberman gives the inside account of interviewing Donald Trump for her new biography. She discusses the latest on the invest
Asa Hutchinson
Nov 11, 2022
Republican Governor of Arkansas Asa Hutchinson assesses the GOP’s weak performance in the 2022 midterm elections, how key issues like abortion played into the race, how it may affe
William Barr
Nov 18, 2022
Former Attorney General William Barr denounces Trump's 2024 bid and says his ex-boss should step aside. Barr discusses his high-profile resignation from the Trump administration, t
Mike Pence
Dec 2, 2022
Vice President Mike Pence defends the work of the Trump administration while explaining his break with President Trump over January 6. He discusses the investigations of Trump, his
Maria Ressa
Dec 9, 2022
Maria Ressa, a Nobel Peace Prize-winning journalist who faces life in prison for standing up to authoritarianism in the Philippines, discusses how the spread of false news through
Misty Copeland
Dec 16, 2022
Misty Copeland discusses becoming American Ballet Theatre's first Black principal dancer and the role her mentor, trailblazing Black ballerina Raven Wilkinson, played in her rise.