Brookings Metro at 25: Building a more prosperous, just, and resilient future
The Brookings Cafeteria
Last month, Brookings Metro, formerly the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program, turned 25. Since Brookings Metro’s conception in 1996, America’s cities and urban communities have changed dramatically. On this episode of the Brookings Cafeteria podcast, you’ll hear from metropolitan experts on how America’s local communities have changed, where things stand at this crucial moment in time amid generational federal investment, and what it will take in the future for every community in America to be prosperous, just, and resilient. Show notes and transcript: Follow Brookings...
info_outline
Ten commitments to save democracy
The Brookings Cafeteria
The two-day, virtual Summit for Democracy convened by President Biden and that wrapped up on December 10 aimed to rally nations around the world against growing authoritarianism. The podcast’s two guests in this episode have long been involved in the work of supporting democracy and thwarting democratic backsliding, both in the U.S. and abroad, and they are co-authors of a new report on how to advance democracy. Norm Eisen is a senior fellow in Governance Studies at Brookings, former U.S. ambassador to the Czech Republic, and former White House ethics czar; and Susan Corke is director of the...
info_outline
17 Rooms, a new podcast for the Sustainable Development Goals
The Brookings Cafeteria
This is a rebroadcast of the first episode of a new show from the Brookings Podcast Network—”17 Rooms,” a podcast about actions, insights, and community for the Sustainable Development Goals (or SDGs) and the people driving them. In “17 Rooms,” co-hosts John McArthur—who directs the Center for Sustainable Development at Brookings, and Zia Khan—senior vice president for innovation at The Rockefeller Foundation, talk with thought leaders and practitioners who are pushing to make change across all 17 of the SDGs as part of the 17 Rooms initiative, where people from diverse...
info_outline
When is a public policy racist?
The Brookings Cafeteria
Jim Crow laws that prevented Black citizens from voting are clearly racist, as are redlining practices that excluded Black homebuyers from white neighborhoods. But what about laws and regulations that don’t rely on disparate treatment based on race? Can such policies still be racist? Bill Gale explores these questions in his new research, including in a paper titled “Public Finance and Racism.” He is the Arjay and Frances Fearing Miller Chair in Federal Economic Policy, a senior fellow in Economic Studies, and co-director of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. Also on this episode,...
info_outline
Computer science education builds skills for life
The Brookings Cafeteria
Computer science education in K-12 schools matters, not because it’s about training the next generation of computer programmers, but because computer science education builds skills for life, say the guests on this episode. Emiliana Vegas, senior fellow and co-director of the Center for Universal Education at Brookings, and Michael Hansen, senior fellow in the Brown Center for Education Policy at Brookings, are co-authors, along with Brian Fowler, of a new report, “Building Skills for Life: How to expand and improve computer science education around the world,” and they join me on the...
info_outline
Putin, Trump, and the road to authoritarianism
The Brookings Cafeteria
On this episode, a discussion with experts Fiona Hill and Angela Stent on Russia’s re-emergence as a great power after the Cold War ended, under the leadership of Vladimir Putin, and also more broadly on how economic change, deindustrialization, and other forces open doors for populist leaders to rise in places like Russia, and the United States and the United Kingdom as well, as we’ve seen in recent years. Stent is a nonresident senior fellow with the Center on the United States and Europe at Brookings and senior adviser to the Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies and...
info_outline
Cyberbullying and bystander intervention
The Brookings Cafeteria
Seventy percent of people report that they have done something abusive to someone else online, and a majority report being cyberbullied themselves. Nearly 90 percent of teenagers report witnessing online bullying. In a new report published by Brookings, “Bystander intervention on social media: Examining cyberbullying and reactions to systemic racism,” researchers examine the cyberbullying phenomenon, especially its racial aspect, and the strategies onlookers use to intervene. On this episode, two report authors discuss their findings: Rashawn Ray, senior fellow in Governance Studies at...
info_outline
What does success at the Glasgow climate conference (COP26) look like?
The Brookings Cafeteria
Global leaders are gathering in Glasgow in the coming weeks as the United Kingdom hosts the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties, known as COP26. As global temperatures continue to rise, the calls for action on addressing the climate change threat rise as well. On this episode of the Brookings Cafeteria podcast, a leading expert on global climate policy and financing for climate action, Amar Bhattacharya, senior fellow in the Center for Sustainable Development at Brookings, shares his perspective on what will make COP26 successful, what sustainable and inclusive...
info_outline
Ending the state and local taxes (SALT) deduction
The Brookings Cafeteria
Millions of American taxpayers itemize their deductions, one of which is for state and local taxes, or the SALT deduction. Most of these filers are at the upper end of the income distribution and live in high-income urban areas. On this episode, Senior Fellow Richard Reeves, director of the Future of the Middle Class Initiative at Brookings, says the SALT deduction mostly benefits the wealthiest taxpayers, gives little or no benefit to the middle class, and should be eliminated entirely. He also talks about the unusual politics of the debate in Washington, where Democratic leaders are calling...
info_outline
Politics and the pandemic in Latino and Native American communities
The Brookings Cafeteria
This episode features an interview with an expert who calls immigration and the Latino vote a golden opportunity for Democrats in 2022. Gabriel Sanchez is a David M. Rubenstein Fellow in Governance Studies at Brookings and a professor of political science at the University of New Mexico. In the interview, he discusses a range of policy issues including why COVID-19 has had such a devastating impact on Latino families, why vaccination rates are so high in Native American communities, and why immigration policy remains so important headed into the midterm elections. Sanchez is also Founding...
info_outlineNathan Hultman, a nonresident senior fellow in Global Economy and Development, addresses the future of governmental response to climate change following President Trump's decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement.
Also in this episode: Martha Ross, a senior fellow at the Metropolitan Policy Program, takes a closer look at out-of-work Americans in our regular "Metro Lens" segment.
Subscribe to Brookings podcasts here or on Apple Podcasts, send feedback email to [email protected], and follow us and tweet us at @policypodcasts on Twitter.
The Brookings Cafeteria is a part of the Brookings Podcast Network.