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The Brookings Current

The Brookings Institution

The Brookings Current brings you smart, timely, and quick analysis from experts at the Brookings Institution on breaking news and current policy conversations. In these short episodes, learn not only what's happening, but why and how to make sense of it.

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July 17 · 22 min
USMCA fails to renew—but it's not over yet
On July 1, the U.S. government declined to renew the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA)—but that's not the end for the region's free trade agreement. Kari Heerman spoke with Christopher Sands and Duncan Wood about what went wrong, what went right, and what comes next for North American economic relations. Episode transcript and show notes. Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu.
July 10 · 24 min
A fractured front? Inside the Ankara NATO summit
At the NATO summit in Ankara, wary European leaders sought an equilibrium with the United States. Against a backdrop of ongoing conflict in Iran and Ukraine, Aslı Aydıntaşbaş asked Thomas Wright and Mara Karlin about the dynamics at play. Episode transcript and show notes. Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu.
June 25 · 23 min
Will the Strait of Hormuz reopen after the US-Iran deal?
After the United States and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding to end the war, Aslı Aydıntaşbaş spoke to Brookings experts Kari Heerman and Bruce Jones about its geopolitical implications, building on their recent articles in the series "Blowback: How the Iran war may change the world." Episode transcript and show notes. Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu.
June 4 · 22 min
Understanding Pope Leo's AI encyclical
Pope Leo XIV's first encyclical is a 42,000-word Vatican treatise that elevates "the protection of the human person in the age of artificial intelligence." Nicol Turner Lee, senior fellow and director for the Center for Technology Innovation, and Elham Tabassi, senior fellow and director for the AI and Emerging Tech Initiative, spoke to Valerie Wirtschafter, fellow in Foreign Policy, about the implications of this groundbreaking document. Episode transcript and show notes. Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu.
May 27 · 26 min
2 members of Congress on improving American education
On this episode of The Brookings Current, Brookings Senior Fellow Rashawn Ray sits down with two former teachers-turned-lawmakers: Reps. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) and Kevin Kiley (I-Calif.), members of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. They engage in a candid dialogue on the state of K-12 education amid changing student demographics, the introduction of AI in the classroom, and the challenge of workforce preparation. Show notes and transcript. Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu.
May 21 · 23 min
Has the US lost the Iran war?
Brookings Senior Fellow Robert Kagan writes in The Atlantic that U.S. defeat in Iran war "is not only possible but likely." In this episode of The Brookings Current, Kagan is joined by Melanie Sisson and Michael O'Hanlon, also senior fellows in Foreign Policy, to discuss their latest thinking on the war, and whether it has weakened America's hand in the region. Show notes and transcript. Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu.
May 13 · 21 min
The Iran war is making energy more expensive for everyone
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has brought the largest energy disruption the world has seen in decades. Adie Tomer, senior fellow in Metro, talks with Samantha Gross, director of the Energy Security and Climate Initiative, to break down the implications of this crisis for American consumers and the United States. Show notes and transcript. Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu.
May 5 · 25 min
How executive orders are reshaping Black America
The Trump administration has used executive orders to expand immigration enforcement, overhaul elections, and gut diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. Keon Gilbert, director of the Race, Prosperity, and Inclusion Initiative, discusses the disproportionate impact on Black Americans with Jonathan Cox of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation and Tonantzin Carmona, a fellow at Brookings Metro. Show notes and transcript. Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu.
April 23 · 25 min
Will the Iran ceasefire hold?
With an indefinite ceasefire in place and continued attacks in the Strait of Hormuz, the war in Iran has reached a turning point. Given the chasm between the strategic interests of the United States and Iran, where does the conflict go from here? In this episode of The Current, Brookings Fellow Aslı Aydıntaşbaş is joined by Vice President of Foreign Policy Suzanne Maloney and Visiting Fellow Mara Karlin to discuss the impact of the war, the status of negotiations between the US and Iran, and potential off-ramps for President Trump to seek an end to the conflict. Show notes and transcript. Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu.
April 13 · 21 min
What does the future hold for the IRS and Postal Service?
The IRS and the Postal Service are close to their breaking points. On this episode of The Current, Katie Dunn Tenpas speaks with Senior Fellows Elena Patel and Vanessa Williamson about how cuts have impacted the agencies' mission,, if they can be saved, and what all this means for taxpayers. Show notes and transcript. Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu.
April 7 · 18 min
Rahm Emanuel: Both parties are failing American students
Culture wars have distracted America's K-12 system at the expense of students, says former U.S. Ambassador and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. On this episode of The Current, Emanuel sits down with Jon Valant, director of the Brown Center on Education Policy, to diagnose what went wrong and how some schools are trying to get it right. Show notes and transcript. Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu.
April 2 · 18 min
Off the court: How one basketball star's death is saving lives
Research shows that investing in programs and places for youth to participate in sports can reduce gun violence. But what can the people most directly affected do in the wake of tragedy? In this episode, part two of a conversation, Brookings Senior Fellow Rashawn Ray speaks with Taren Weaver-Smith, mother of Darius Lee, a rising basketball star whose life ended by gun violence, and Ron Cottrell, Darius' coach at Houston Christian University. Show notes and transcript. Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu.
April 1 · 14 min
What does China want from a Trump-Xi summit?
This episode of The Current features excerpts from a new Brookings podcast, The Beijing Brief, on which scholars from the China Center at Brookings discuss a range of issues in the U.S.-China relationship. On this episode, they focus on why the Trump-Xi summit was delayed and what the rescheduled summit could look like. Show notes and transcript. Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu.
March 26 · 18 min
Beyond the Bracket: How basketball can prevent gun violence
Can investing in youth sports—especially in certain neighborhoods where children are particularly vulnerable—reduce gun violence? In this episode, Rashawn Ray, senior Brookings Governance Studies fellow, leads a conversation on the role that basketball can play in community building and reducing violent conflict. Joining him are Hanna Love, Brookings fellow; Howard Levy, head men's basketball coach at Mercer County Community College and a founder of Play Smart Save Lives; and Craig Robinson, executive director of the National Association of Basketball Coaches. Show notes and transcript. Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu.
March 19 · 23 min
How Minneapolis-Saint Paul community leaders responded to Operation Metro Surge
Brookings Metro Senior Fellow Joe Parilla speaks with Alma Flores, executive director of the Latino Economic Development Center, and Peter Frosch, CEO of the GREATER MSP Partnership, about how their Minnesota-based organizations responded to the crisis brought about by Operation Metro Surge, the federal immigration enforcement operation in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul area. Show notes and transcript. Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu.
March 11 · 24 min
Can Iran's regime survive the war?
Two weeks into the United States' and Israel's war with Iran, there are increasingly urgent questions about Iran's future and the Trump administration's objectives. In this episode of The Current, Brookings Fellow Aslı Aydıntaşbaş is joined by Vice President of Foreign Policy Suzanne Maloney and Visiting Fellow Mara Karlin to discuss the state of the war, the Iranian regime, and the global ripple effects of the conflict. Show notes and transcript. Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu.
March 5 · 11 min
What's next for the Iran war? Experts discuss.
This week, Brookings experts convened to discuss the Iran war and its implications for Iran, the Middle East, and international security. This episode of The Current offers highlights from that event, moderated by Michael O'Hanlon, and including panelists Philip Gordon, Mara Karlin, Jeff Feltman, and Suzanne Maloney. Show notes and transcript. Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu.
February 27 · 28 min
Americans are not as divided by race as it seems
In new research, scholars at the Center for Community Uplift at Brookings and Gallup find a high degree of interracial cooperation across key aspects of American life such as work, relationships, and family. In this episode of The Current, Brookings Senior Fellow Andre Perry discusses the report's findings and implications for policy, with Dr. Ibram X. Kendi of Howard University and Washington Post White House reporter Cleve Wootson, Jr. Show notes and transcript. Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu.
February 19 · 18 min
From the halls of the Munich Security Conference
With the annual Munich Security Conference now wrapped, Brookings expert Constanze Stelzenmüller brings back insights from the conversations unfolding on the ground. In her conversation with Aslı Aydintaşbaş, Stelzenmüller, director of the Center on the United States and Europe at Brookings, reflects on the main stage speeches from Secretary of State Marco Rubio and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and shares what she learned from reactions in the hallways. Show notes and transcript. Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu.
February 12 · 25 min
What's the state of our Union?
The first State of the Union address of President Trump's second term is coming up, but Brookings scholars aren't waiting for the speech to take the country's pulse. In this episode, E.J. Dionne asks Molly Reynolds, Wendy Edelberg, and Melanie Sisson to offer their views on the governance, economic, and global security challenges that characterize America's state of the Union today. Show notes and transcript. Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu.

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