Before Herbert Hoover ever became president, he and his wife, Lou Henry Hoover, shared a secret most Americans didn’t know: They were fluent in Mandarin Chinese — and they used it inside the White House as a private code.
In this episode, Gordy explores how the Hoovers’ years living in China shaped their worldview — from the Boxer Rebellion to their habit of speaking Mandarin during sensitive conversations. Discover how a mining engineer and a Stanford-trained geologist became the only presidential couple fluent in Chinese, and how their time abroad transformed their understanding of global cooperation.
A story of intellect, adventure, and the most unexpected use of Mandarin in U.S. history. No days off. Smartest Year Ever.
Sources:
Library of Congress. Herbert Hoover Papers. Manuscript Division, Washington, D.C.
National Park Service. (2025). Herbert Hoover National Historic Site.
Hoover Institution Archives, Stanford University. Lou Henry Hoover Correspondence and Diaries.
Encyclopedia Britannica. (2025). Herbert Hoover.
PBS. American Experience: Herbert Hoover.
Brands, H. W. (2016). The Presidents: Herbert Hoover. Simon & Schuster.
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