97: Reflecting on the Texas Hill Country Floods
Baker Briefing
As Harris County judge, led the emergency response to weather disasters in the Houston region for nearly 12 years. is the former mayor of Kemah, Texas, and served on two Texas commissions studying the aftermath of deadly Hurricanes Rita and Ike. They draw on their experience in disaster mitigation and response and offer reflections on the devastating Texas Hill Country floods, the second deadliest flood event in state history, as a special legislative session begins in Austin and lawmakers put forth proposals for strengthening weather communications and warning systems. ...
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Best Of: Christian Nationalism and American Democracy
Baker Briefing
What is Christian nationalism, and why is it having a moment in U.S. politics? And what does it mean for democracy in our increasingly diverse and pluralistic society? The ideology’s influence hasn’t faded with the dawn of the second Donald Trump administration, and it’s worth returning to this episode, originally released in October 2024, in which our Religion and Public Policy Program experts and explain what Christian nationalism is (and isn’t), what its proponents want to accomplish, and what makes the current iteration of the movement different from what we’ve...
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96: How Will Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill Impact the US Economy?
Baker Briefing
, director of our Center for Tax and Budget Policy and host of “The Two-Handed Economist,” analyzed the macroeconomic impacts of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act — the sprawling tax-and-spending package now signed into law by President Donald Trump — using the Diamond-Zodrow model of the U.S. economy. The results? The package could modestly boost GDP — but the long-term benefits are limited. It will drastically increase the debt-to-GDP ratio, leading to a crowd-out of private capital and a decline in investment over time. Hear Diamond lay out the good, the bad, and the ugly in the...
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95: Israel and a Changed Middle East
Baker Briefing
The Middle East has undergone major shifts over the past 18 months, not least the Israel-Iran war that lasted for 12 days earlier this month and saw Israeli and U.S. attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities. A conversation with former diplomats and this past May illustrates the political dynamics shaping the future of power in the region, Israel’s war in Gaza, and the evolving U.S.-Israel relationship. This conversation was recorded at a Baker Institute on May 15, 2025. Featured guests: Former Ambassador Daniel Kurtzer, S. Daniel Abraham Professor of Middle East...
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94: Global Sports and Soft Power Diplomacy
Baker Briefing
The U.S. is currently hosting the FIFA Men’s Club World Cup, an international competition between soccer club teams and the prelude to the larger and more widely anticipated FIFA Men’s World Cup hosted next summer across 16 North American cities. (The latter tournament is played between countries, instead of clubs.) Fellow explains why these competitions and other global sports tournaments aren’t just entertainment, but a space where politics, economics, and diplomacy increasingly intersect, with a look in particular at the case of Saudi Arabia and its Crown Prince Mohammad...
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93: Claudia Sheinbaum’s Balancing Act (Part 2)
Baker Briefing
This is the second episode in a two-part conversation on the challenges facing Mexico domestically and in its relationship with the United States. , director of the Center for the U.S. and Mexico, joins “Baker Briefing” to examine the host of issues facing the U.S.-Mexico relationship under Presidents Donald Trump and Claudia Sheinbaum. His conversation with covers tariffs and the future of the North American trade agreement, Trump’s executive order designating cartels as terrorists — which has led to U.S. visa restrictions for some Mexican politicians — and the brewing...
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92: Claudia Sheinbaum’s Balancing Act (Part 1)
Baker Briefing
This is the first episode in a two-part conversation on the challenges facing Mexico domestically and in its relationship with the United States. Mexico held its first judicial elections on June 1, following last year’s sweeping overhaul of the judiciary. Center for the U.S. and Mexico director joins “Baker Briefing” to discuss the implications of the reforms and other domestic challenges facing President Claudia Sheinbaum as she carries forward the political project of former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador — including Mexico’s complex public safety landscape...
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Introducing the ‘Texas Briefing’ Podcast
Baker Briefing
Introducing “,” a new podcast that brings expert insights into the challenges shaping life in the Lone Star State. Institute scholars and their guests will untangle issues in health, the economy, climate resilience, and more to understand how policy matters are impacting communities, from the Panhandle to the Gulf Coast. In our first series, senior health policy fellow explores issues in reproductive health — including new abortion legislation, teen access to contraception, and the impact of the abortion ban on the state’s OB-GYN workforce pipeline — with guests Eleanor...
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91: Putting Safety First in the Firearm Policy Debate
Baker Briefing
Drs. Sandra McKay and Eric Fleegler, both experts in the Baker Institute , joined “Baker Briefing” to discuss the worsening gun injury epidemic ahead of our on June 6. They discussed areas of consensus among firearm-owners and non-owners alike, including child access prevention laws and age purchasing regulations, and prospects for commonsense gun legislation at the Texas and national levels. Featured guests: Sandra McKay, M.D., FAAP, Eric Fleegler, M.D., MPH, Mentioned in this episode: Christopher F. Kulesza et al., “The...
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90: As the US Steps Back, Can China Fill the Void?
Baker Briefing
In its first months, the second Trump administration has upended the alliances, institutions, and norms that have anchored U.S. foreign policy for decades — hiking tariffs on virtually all countries, downplaying U.S. military commitments, and all but dismantling the U.S. Agency for International Development. Meanwhile, as the U.S. steps back from a world order that’s largely of its own making, China is attempting to fill the void. , director of the Baker Institute , joined “Baker Briefing” to discuss what China’s global soft power campaign looks like and how successful...
info_outlineLike other urban districts around the country, Houston Independent School District (HISD) has seen enrollment drop significantly over the past decade. But while the district’s schools are under capacity overall, with an average campus utilization rate of 77%, some of its campuses are meanwhile facing a paradoxical challenge: overcrowding.
Bill King, co-author of a recent Center for Tax and Budget Policy report on disparities in HISD campus utilization, and Erin Baumgartner, director of the Houston Education Research Consortium at Rice’s Kinder Institute for Urban Policy, joined the “Baker Briefing” podcast to explore what’s causing the imbalance, how the state’s proposed school voucher legislation could factor in, and paths forward for HISD.
This conversation was recorded on March 18, 2025. Read the report from King and co-authors Joyce Beebe and John Diamond:
https://www.bakerinstitute.org/research/disparities-houston-school-campus-utilization