The Current

As part of the Brookings Election '24 initiative, Samantha Gross, director of the Energy Security and Climate Initiative at Brookings, talks about the energy and climate policy issues in the U.S. presidential election as voters think about how either a Harris administration or a second Trump administration would approach these matters. Show notes and transcript: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/competing-energy-and-climate-visions-in-the-2024-presidential-election/ Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to [email protected].

On Sunday, July 21st, President Joe Biden announced that he would no longer seek the Democratic Party's nomination for president in the election against Donald Trump this November. He then endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for the nomination. To talk about this momentous development in the 2024 presidential election, E.J. Dionne joins The Current. He is the W. Averell Harriman Chair and senior fellow in Governance Studies here at Brookings. He's also a syndicated columnist for The Washington Post and university professor in the foundations of democracy and culture at Georgetown University. Show notes and transcript: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/as-joe-biden-exits-the-presidential-race-whats-next-for-kamala-harris/ Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to [email protected].

As NATO turns 75, alliance leaders gathered in Washington, presenting a united front in support of Ukraine's survival against the threat of Russia. Brookings Visiting Fellow James Goldgeier reviews the NATO summit's outcomes, how the organization is trying to prepare for the uncertainty of American leadership after November, and the broader challenges—and partners—in NATO's future. Show notes and transcript: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-state-of-nato-at-75-and-beyond Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to [email protected].

Last week, President Joe Biden and former President Trump met in Atlanta for a presidential debate. After the event, most observers focused heavily on Biden's seemingly poor performance, while paying Trump's many untruths and exaggerations far less attention. And now some Biden supporters are hoping he'll quit the race and allow another candidate to replace him. To talk about those issues and to answer the big question, do presidential debates matter?, Governance Studies Senior Fellow Elaine Kamarck, founding director of the Center for Effective Public Management, joins The Current. She's author of numerous works including Primary Politics: Everything You Need to Know about How America Nominates Its Presidential Candidates, now updated in its fourth edition for the 2024 presidential contest. Show notes and transcript: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/after-the-first-presidential-debate-whats-next-for-biden-and-trump/ Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to [email protected].

Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) have the potential to amplify the spread of mis- and disinformation in elections around the world. In this historic election year, Valerie Wirtschafter breaks down where generative AI has already played a role in disinformation campaigns and how policymakers, tech companies, and voters can build up guardrails to protect the integrity of election information. Show notes and transcript: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/what-role-is-ai-playing-in-election-disinformation Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to [email protected].

The Horn of Africa, home to over 200 million people, is experiencing high levels of fragility from both violence and climate change. The World Food Program says that the current conflict in Sudan is "risking the world's largest hunger crisis across the region." Jeffrey Feltman, visiting fellow in International Diplomacy in the Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology at Brookings, joins The Current to talk about the humanitarian and security crisis unfolding in Sudan and the Horn of Africa. Show notes and transcript: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/what-can-be-done-about-sudans-deepening-humanitarian-catastrophe/ Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to [email protected].

On May 30, former president Donald Trump was found guilty by a Manhattan jury of 34 felony counts of falsification of business records in the first degree. The case revolved around payments made before the 2016 presidential election to adult film actress Stephanie Clifford, aka Stormy Daniels, in exchange for her silence about her allegation of an affair she had with Mr. Trump a few years prior. To talk about what the trial verdict suggests for governance, politics, and the rule of law, Norm Eisen, senior fellow in Governance Studies at Brookings and chair of the Anti-Corruption, Democracy and Security Project, joins The Current. Show notes and transcript: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/what-the-trump-hush-money-trial-verdict-means-for-politics-and-the-rule-of-law/ Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to [email protected].

Following President Putin's visit to Beijing, Angela Stent and Yun Sun examine Russian and Chinese cooperation over the last two years, how China benefits from the relationship, what to watch for as their economic, military, and diplomatic relations continue to evolve. Show notes and transcript: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-dynamics-of-the-russia-china-partnership Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to [email protected].

Cities and states have a variety of policy options to help combat high housing costs. Brookings Metro Senior Fellow Jenny Schuetz and Gary Geiler, assistant director of San Diego's Development Services Department, discuss how accessory dwelling units (ADUs) can be part of cities' toolkits for adding affordable housing. Show notes and transcript: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/cities-need-more-housing-adus-can-help The Current is part of the Brookings Podcast Network. Find this and all Brookings podcasts on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Send feedback email to [email protected].

Brookings scholar Constanze Stelzenmüller, director of the Center on the United States in Europe and a senior fellow in Foreign Policy at Brookings, talks about whether foreign policy issues matter to U.S. voters, and also what's at stake for the world in the outcome of the U.S. presidential election. Show notes and transcript The Current is part of the Brookings Podcast Network. Find this and all Brookings podcasts on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Send feedback email to [email protected].

The U.S. House of Representatives passed four bi-partisan bills in a $95 billion foreign aid package with monies going to aid Ukraine, to the Indo-Pacific region to counter China, to offensive and defensive weapons to Israel, and to humanitarian aid for Gaza and elsewhere. Molly Reynolds, senior fellow in Governance Studies at Brookings, joins The Current to talk about how these bills were passed in a deeply divided House of Representatives and the potential risk to Rep. Mike Johnson's speakership. Show notes and transcript Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to [email protected].

The recent collapse of the Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore after being struck by a container ship is both a human tragedy and an economic disaster. Six construction workers doing repair work on the bridge lost their lives when it plunged into the cold Patapsco River. The wreckage of the bridge now sits in the channel that connects Baltimore Harbor to the Chesapeake Bay, effectively closing the Port of Baltimore. Joe Kane, a fellow in Brookings Metro, talks about the economic impacts of the disaster and prospects for rebuilding the bridge.

The U.S. has recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic's economic disruption with a strong economy, but a strong economy alone doesn't address all the challenges Americans face. As part of the Brookings Election '24 initiative, Wendy Edelberg talks about where the economy is doing better - increasing wages, decreasing inflation - and other areas where social policies can step in to fill the gaps on housing, child poverty, and more. Show notes and transcript: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/what-a-strong-economy-can-and-cant-fix Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to [email protected].

The third Summit for Democracy takes place March 18 to 20, in Seoul, South Korea. The theme of the summit is democracy for future generations. To talk about the summit's critical importance and the role of anti-corruption work in the support of democracy, Ambassador Norm Eisen joins The Current. Eisen is a senior fellow in Governance Studies at Brookings and chair of the Anti-corruption, Democracy, and Security Project. Show notes and transcript Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to [email protected].

"Russia has failed in its biggest goals, but those failures may be reversed. Ukraine's successes are not guaranteed to endure, and at the moment, momentum seems to be shifting at least modestly in Russia's favor." Two years after Russia's full-scale military invasion of Ukraine, Michael O'Hanlon takes stock of where the war stands and what happens if the U.S. House of Representatives fails to authorize additional financial and military aid. Show notes and transcript: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/is-russia-winning-in-ukraine/ Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to [email protected].

This week, Pakistan holds national elections. Voters in the world's fifth most populous nation go to the polls to elect representatives to Pakistan's parliament, and from that, the next prime minister. To talk about what's at stake for Pakistan, the turmoil surrounding some of the major candidates, and what the outcome could mean for the region and the world, Madiha Afzal, a fellow in Foreign Policy, the Center for Middle East Policy, and the Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology at Brookings, joins The Current. Show notes and transcript Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to [email protected].

For the first episode of 2024, the new president of Brookings, Cecilia Rouse, sits down with The Current to share her thoughts on priorities facing the nation today and how Brookings can provide sound research to inform policy to improve the lives of those across America. Show notes and transcript: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/meet-cecilia-rouse-new-brookings-president Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to [email protected].

As the Israeli offensive in Gaza moves south toward Khan Younis, and as some hostages come home while many more remain captive, Natan Sachs joins the podcast from Israel to reflect on the public mood, Israel's operational goals, the ongoing threat of wider regional escalation, and what might come next. Show notes and transcript: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/taking-stock-of-the-ongoing-war-in-israel-and-gaza Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to [email protected].

Corrupt regimes around the world threaten global democracy and security. On this episode of The Current, Norman Eisen, senior fellow in Governance Studies and chair of the newly launched global Anti-Corruption, Democracy, and Security (ACDS) project at Brookings, talks about the project and explains why fighting corruption and promoting good governance are key to strengthen democracy and security. Show notes and transcript Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to [email protected].

President Biden and President Xi met on Wednesday in San Francisco during the APEC summit at a time of highly strained relations between China and the U.S. Patricia Kim discussed some of the outcomes of their meeting and stressed the ongoing need for Beijing and Washington "to depoliticize diplomacy and functional channels of communication and make them a regular feature of the U.S.-China relationship." Show notes and transcript: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/will-positive-momentum-from-the-biden-xi-meeting-last Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to [email protected].

Thousands of migrants are heading north through Mexico toward the U.S. border. The number of Border Patrol encounters with migrants and asylum seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border continues to be high. And for two years in a row, the number of illegal crossings has exceeded 2 million. Meanwhile, border security remains a hot political issue as Republicans in Congress and on the campaign trail accuse President Biden of having an "open border policy." Vanda Felbab-Brown, a senior fellow in Foreign Policy at Brookings offers insight about what's happening on the border. Show notes and transcript. Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to [email protected].

On October 30th, President Joe Biden issued an executive order on "safe, secure, and trustworthy artificial intelligence." The E.O. sets new standards for AI safety and security, has new privacy provisions, and much more. Nicol Turner Lee, a senior fellow in governance studies and director of the Center for Technology Innovation, joins The Current to talk about the scope and implications of the AI E.O. Show notes and transcript. Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to [email protected].

A new Department of Labor rule aims to expand protections for retirement savers by updating standards on different types of financial investment advice. Ben Harris explains what the new rule does and other steps the Biden administration could take to increase Americans' retirement security. Show notes and transcript: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/what-does-new-rule-on-investment-advice-mean-for-retirement-security Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to [email protected]. The Current is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) has served just six years in the House of Representatives before being elected as the new speaker of the House. Molly Reynolds explains how his relative inexperience could hurt or help, especially in upcoming negotiations to avert a government shutdown in November. Show notes and transcript: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/who-is-new-speaker-of-the-house-mike-johnson Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to [email protected]. The Current is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

The war between Israel and Hamas militants operating out of Gaza has produced horrific images, but also misinformation and disinformation about actions on both sides. This mis- and disinformation spreads through social media like X, the former Twitter, and confuses our understanding of what's happening. On this episode of The Current, Valerie Wirtschafter, a fellow in Foreign Policy and the Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technology Initiative at Brookings, discusses how disinformation spreads, how we can spot it, and how we can better consume information coming out of conflicts like the one in the Middle East.

President Biden visited Israel as a show of U.S. support and announced new humanitarian aid to Gaza, but subsequent Arab leader summit fell through in the wake of the al Ahli hospital bombing. Jeffrey Feltman weighs in on how Biden's show of empathy - but also caution - was received by Israelis, the urgent need for humanitarian relief in Gaza, and the dangers of escalation from Hezbollah in Lebanon. Show notes and transcript: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/biden-in-israel-and-us-diplomacy-on-the-israel-gaza-crisis Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to [email protected]. The Current is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

Hamas' surprise attack on Israel this weekend is drawing comparisons to 9/11 and the 1973 Yom Kippur War. In an online discussion, Brookings experts Natan Sachs, Shibley Telhami, Suzanne Maloney, and Molly Reynolds weighed in on Israel's response to the attacks, Iran's involvement, the regional repercussions, and how domestic politics will bear on the U.S. response, moderated by Michael O'Hanlon. Show notes and transcript: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/war-in-israel-and-gaza/ Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to [email protected]. The Current is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

This week, the House of Representatives ousted Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House, a position he had held since January. The final vote was 216 to 210, with eight Republicans joining all voting Democrats and passing a motion to vacate, introduced by Florida Representative Matt Gaetz. Sarah Binder, senior fellow in Governance Studies at Brookings, joins the show to discuss what happened and what it means for governance in Congress. Show notes and transcript. Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to [email protected]. The Current is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

The 2023 U.N. General Assembly saw increased calls from countries of the "Global South" for a greater role in global governance and the major multilateral institutions. Bruce Jones explains how the U.S., China, and Russia are competing for the Global South's attention, why calls to reform of the U.N. Security Council may now have a chance, and highlights a new multilateral framework called the Partnership for Atlantic Cooperation. Show notes and transcript: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/un-reform-and-the-global-south-at-the-2023-general-assembly Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to [email protected]. The Current is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

This past weekend, India hosted its first G-20 summit, the annual gathering of leaders from the world's largest economies. To assess highlights from the summit and India's global role moving forward, Tanvi Madan, senior Fellow in Foreign Policy at Brookings, joins the program. Madan is host of the new Global India podcast, debuting this month from the Brookings Podcast Network. Show notes and transcript. Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to [email protected]. The Current is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

On Wednesday night, eight contenders for the Republican Party presidential nomination appeared on a Milwaukee stage together for the first GOP debate. Donald Trump, currently leading in the polls, was not among them. On this episode, Elaine Kamarck, founding director of the Center for Effective Public Management and a senior fellow in Governance Studies at Brookings, offers her analysis of what happened and what it portends moving toward the first primaries in January. Show notes and transcript. Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to [email protected]. The Current is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

The coup that ousted Niger's President Mohamed Bazoum in a late July follows a string of similar military takeovers in Burkina Faso, Guinea, and Mali. Landry Signé discusses how Niger and other democracies in the Sahel have struggled to build systems of accountability and deliver public services, and the need for international, regional, and local alignment to strengthen economic security. Show notes and transcript: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/what-underlies-the-coup-in-niger Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to [email protected]. The Current is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

Israel's Knesset passed a bill that strips Israel's Supreme Court of the power to declare government decisions unreasonable. The so-called "reasonableness bill" passed with a 64 to 0 vote after all members of the Knesset's governing coalition voted for it and all members of the opposition left the chamber. Passage of the bill has sparked turmoil in the country. Natan Sachs, director of the Center for Middle East Policy at Brookings and a senior fellow in Foreign Policy, discusses what's happening in Israel. Show notes and transcript: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/how-will-the-supreme-courts-affirmative-action-ruling-affect-college-admissions Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to [email protected]. The Current is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

The Supreme Court's decision ending race-based admissions policies at colleges and universities leaves in place other forms of affirmative action like legacy preferences and early admissions — affirmative action policies that disproportionately benefit white students, says Katharine Meyer. Meyer looks at how underrepresented student enrollment dropped in states that previously banned race-based affirmative action, and how some have tried to increase student diversity through race-neutral methods. Show notes and transcript: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/how-will-the-supreme-courts-affirmative-action-ruling-affect-college-admissions Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to [email protected]. The Current is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

This weekend's fast-moving but short-lived revolt by Wagner Group mercenaries led by Yevgeny Prigozhin leaves many unanswered questions about what this signals for Russian President Vladimir Putin's grip on power, what will happen to the Wagner Group after this, and the ramifications for Russia's war on Ukraine. In a discussion moderated by Susan Glasser, Angela Stent, Michael O'Hanlon, and Constanze Stelzenmüller try to make sense of what happened, how to interpret it, and the longer-term implications for Russian stability and European security. Show notes and transcript: https://www.brookings.edu/podcast-episode/putin-imperiled-what-to-know-about-the-wagner-groups-russian-revolt/ Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to [email protected]. The Current is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

Aaron Klein explains the U.S. SEC's lawsuit against cryptocurrency companies Binance and Coinbase, the current state of crypto regulation, and the continuing debate over cryptocurrency's core purpose. Show notes and transcript: https://www.brookings.edu/podcast-episode/what-do-the-secs-lawsuits-signal-for-the-future-of-cryptocurrency/ Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to [email protected]. The Current is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

The potential security implications of China's corporate control of TikTok's parent company ByteDance have scaled up in recent years as U.S.-China relations have soured and China has expanded its domestic social, political, and economic controls. But Congress' potential answer — the RESTRICT Act — has its flaws. Cam Kerry examines TikTok's challenges, other ways to address the security concerns beyond an outright ban, and the need for comprehensive privacy legislation. Show notes and transcript: https://www.brookings.edu/podcast-episode/how-is-congress-handling-the-tiktok-conundrum/ Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to [email protected]. The Current is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

With former President Jimmy Carter in hospice care, Bill Galston looks back at Carter's administration and his "exemplary and influential" post-presidential dedication to good works, and reflects on the dynamics that shape how we think about presidents' successes and failures. Show notes and transcript: https://www.brookings.edu/podcast-episode/how-will-we-remember-jimmy-carters-presidential-legacy Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to [email protected]. The Current is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

President Erdoğan "has been one of the symbols of democracy's global decline" and Turkey's upcoming elections will have consequences not only for Turkey, but the world, says Aslı Aydintaşbaş. In the latest episode of The Current, Aydintaşbaş assesses how public opinion of Erdoğan has shifted after the recent devastating earthquake and why the political opposition has coalesced around Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. Show notes and transcript: https://www.brookings.edu/podcast-episode/whats-at-stake-in-turkeys-elections Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to [email protected]. The Current is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

Former CEO of MasterCard Ajay Banga has been nominated to be the next president of the World Bank following the early resignation of outgoing President David Malpass. Homi Kharas explains the challenges ahead for the World Bank to integrate climate change into its economic development agenda and how Banga's background in large-scale financial services may be brought to bear to expand the bank's efforts. Show notes and transcript: https://www.brookings.edu/podcast-episode/who-is-ajay-banga-us-nominee-for-world-bank-president/ Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to [email protected]. The Current is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

In his visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued "a strident call for calm" over recent escalating violence, while also voicing concerns over Prime Minister Netanyahu's efforts to weaken Israel's Supreme Court. Natan Sachs discusses the new hardline government, what changes to the judiciary could mean for Israel's democracy, and where the U.S. could potentially have influence. Transcript and show notes: https://www.brookings.edu/podcast-episode/how-is-the-us-weighing-in-with-israels-new-hardline-government/ Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to [email protected]. The Current is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

After the U.S. reached its debt limit last week, Secretary Janet Yellen announced that the Treasury will engage in extraordinary measure to prevent the U.S. from defaulting on its debt, but it remains to be seen how and when Congress will take action. Brookings experts David Wessel, Bill Gale, Molly Reynolds, Wendy Edelberg explain the debt ceiling, the economic ramifications of default, and the politics of finding a solution. Transcript and show notes: https://www.brookings.edu/podcast-episode/whats-happening-with-the-debt-ceiling-again/

On the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Élysée, Constanze Stelzenmüller and Tara Varma examine the French-German cooperative framework, and France and Germany's role as a driver for European partnership, leadership, and answering the challenge of Russia's war in Ukraine. Transcript and show notes: https://www.brookings.edu/podcast-episode/60-years-later-can-france-and-germany-fulfill-the-ambitions-of-the-treaty-of-elysee/ Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to [email protected]. The Current is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

In Moore v. Harper, the U.S. Supreme Court considers a case from North Carolina about whether state legislatures have unrestricted powers in how they administer federal elections, including the drawing of congressional district maps. Russell Wheeler explains the independent state legislature theory at the heart of the case, and what the Court's ruling could mean for partisan gerrymandering and the future of how states run elections. Show notes and transcript: https://www.brookings.edu/podcast-episode/moore-v-harper-who-has-the-power-to-set-state-election-rules/ Follow Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to [email protected] and follow us and tweet us at @policypodcasts on Twitter. The Current is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

China's 20th Party Congress demonstrated that none of Beijing's recent troubles, from public anger over COVID lockdowns to economic slowdowns and rising international tensions, have dented President Xi Jinping's grip on power, says Patricia Kim. In this episode, Kim examines what leadership personnel changes and Xi's domestic focus on national security mean for China's near-term trajectory. Show notes: https://brook.gs/3Tw0ttk Follow Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to [email protected] and follow us and tweet us at @policypodcasts on Twitter. The Current is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

Amid a host of challenges, the three major priorities of this year's United Nations General Assembly will be Russia's war against Ukraine, climate change, and food shortages. Bruce Jones explains the sideline diplomacy happening in New York, and the rising tension between Western countries' focus on geopolitics and the global South's need for progress on climate change. Show notes and transcript: https://brook.gs/3QKpJdj Follow Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to [email protected] and follow us and tweet us at @policypodcasts on Twitter. The Current is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

One year after the U.S. troop withdrawal, Afghanistan faces a collapsed economy, humanitarian crisis, and a Taliban regime essentially unchanged from that of 1996-2001. Madiha Afzal discusses the Taliban's restrictions on civil society, the segregation of women and girls from public life, and the need for more creative policies to alleviate Afghan people's suffering without helping the Taliban. Show notes and transcript: https://brook.gs/3TuLZug Follow Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to [email protected] and follow us and tweet us at @policypodcasts on Twitter. The Current is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

After President Biden's release of his plan for student debt relief, Andre Perry explains the impact loan forgiveness will have on student debt holders, the role of student debt in racial wealth and income inequality, and how to keep higher education attainable for the public. Show notes and transcript: https://brook.gs/3QVr9Ct Follow Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to [email protected] and follow us and tweet us at @policypodcasts on Twitter. The Current is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

Sri Lanka's new president, Ranil Wickremesinghe, took office last week as the country faces economic collapse, political instability, and ongoing food and fuel shortages. Constantino Xavier looks at how Sri Lanka's governing choices over many years led to crisis, the difficult reforms ahead, and the implications of Sri Lanka's collapse for other developing nations throughout Asia and Africa. Show notes and transcript: https://brook.gs/3zqQEFm Follow Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to [email protected] and follow us and tweet us at @policypodcasts on Twitter. The Current is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

Following the stunning assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Mireya Solís describes Abe's policy legacies, the role he continued to play in shaping the direction of the country, and the ramifications of his assassination for Japan's politics. Show notes and transcript: https://brook.gs/3yNFLND Follow Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to [email protected] and follow us and tweet us at @policypodcasts on Twitter. The Current is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.