2 members of Congress on improving American education
Release Date: 05/27/2026
Understanding Pope Leo’s AI encyclical
The Brookings Current
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. Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Send feedback email to .
info_outline
2 members of Congress on improving American education
The Brookings Current
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. . Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Send feedback email to .
info_outline
Has the US lost the Iran war?
The Brookings Current
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. . Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Send feedback email to .
info_outline
The Iran war is making energy more expensive for everyone
The Brookings Current
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. . Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Send feedback email to .
info_outline
How executive orders are reshaping Black America
The Brookings Current
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. . Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Send feedback email to .
info_outline
Will the Iran ceasefire hold?
The Brookings Current
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. . Follow The Current and...
info_outline
What does the future hold for the IRS and Postal Service?
The Brookings Current
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. . Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Send feedback email to .
info_outline
Rahm Emanuel: Both parties are failing American students
The Brookings Current
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. . Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Send feedback email to .
info_outline
Off the court: How one basketball star’s death is saving lives
The Brookings Current
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. . Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Send feedback email to .
info_outline
What does China want from a Trump-Xi summit?
The Brookings Current
This episode of The Current features excerpts from a new Brookings podcast, , 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. . Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Send feedback email to .
info_outlineOn 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.
Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu.