93: 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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92: 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...
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91: What Lies Ahead for Syria?
Baker Briefing
Syria’s 13-year civil war came to a stunning end on Dec. 8, 2024, when rebel fighters led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham succeeded in toppling the brutal dictatorship of Bashar Assad. With the country now deeply fragmented and impoverished, what will the future of governance be under the transitional government of Ahmad al-Sharaa? , an assistant professor of political science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, joined “Baker Briefing” to discuss the regional reaction to Dec. 8, the structural challenges...
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90: Hospital Price Transparency Rules Still Aren’t Working
Baker Briefing
Federal hospital price transparency rules went into effect in 2021. Four years later, hospitals across the country — including the four largest hospitals in the Texas Medical Center, as assessed in a new Baker Institute — still aren’t complying. On this episode of “Baker Briefing,” explains why opacity in pricing is a key driver of rising health care costs and what policymakers can do to tackle the problem. Mentioned in this episode: Derek Jenkins, Sasathorn Tapaneeyakul, and Vivian Ho, “,” Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, September 6, 2024....
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89: America’s AI Strategy Is Falling Short
Baker Briefing
We’re in a new era of discovery in the history of artificial intelligence, but rapid advances in the technology are also bringing major risks. , a leading expert in computational engineering and Baker Institute fellow, joins the podcast to discuss the ethical and strategic choices on AI facing the U.S. amid its competition with China and the unintended consequences of outsourcing our thinking to machines. Mentioned in this episode: Moshe Vardi, “Big Tech, You Need Academia. Speak Up!,” Communications of the ACM 68, no. 5 (2025): 5, . This conversation was...
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88: Trump’s Sprawling Deportation Campaign
Baker Briefing
With its aggressive mass deportation campaign, the Trump administration is attempting to reshape long-standing U.S. immigration policy — and increasingly defying constitutional guardrails in the process. On this episode, experts examine the legal and social implications of the administration’s unconventional targeting of legal permanent and temporary residents, asylum seekers, and even foreign students, and well as the administration’s overt challenges to judicial authority and due process rights. Host was joined by , director of the Baker Institute Center for the...
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87: Introducing Our New Show: ‘The Two-Handed Economist’
Baker Briefing
Introducing “” — a new podcast with timely analysis of economic policy developments from , director of the . Why a two-handed economist? President Harry Truman famously asked for a one-handed economist, tired of hearing, “On the one hand, this,” and “On the other hand, that.” On “The Two-Handed Economist,” we embrace the complexity that a one-handed economist might shy away from. dives deep into the economic fallout from the Trump administration’s sweeping new tariffs, unpacking the market turmoil, impacts for consumers, and global response. A transcript is...
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86: Two Years of Civil War and Humanitarian Disaster in Sudan
Baker Briefing
April 15 marked the second anniversary of the ongoing civil war in Sudan, a conflict that has resulted in 150,000 people killed, over 10 million displaced, and an estimated 25 million at risk of starvation. Sudan has seen civil war before in its tumultuous postcolonial history — but this conflict is different. Susan Stigant, former director of the Africa Program at the U.S. Institute for Peace, and Salah Ben Hammou, a postdoctoral associate at the Baker Institute Edward P. Djerejian Center for the Middle East, explore the political and ethnic tensions fueling the world’s worst humanitarian...
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85: An Uncertain Future for Humanitarian Aid
Baker Briefing
The Trump administration’s dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and aid budget cuts in the U.K., France, and other Western countries present a stark turning point for the international humanitarian aid system. , the Baker Institute’s MD Anderson Visiting Fellow and the former assistant to the administrator of the Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance at USAID, joined Ambassador to explore the far-reaching implications of these shifts, as well as the past role of foreign aid in promoting U.S. interests — and the challenge of justifying such aid...
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84: The Truth About … the Misinformation Fueling the Measles Outbreak
Baker Briefing
Measles was declared eliminated in the U.S. in 2000, meaning it was stopped from spreading freely. But that’s no longer the case. By April 2, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had more than 480 cases nationwide and one death in 2025. Meanwhile, social media and podcasting platforms are rife with misinformation about the severity of the virus and the development, efficacy, and side effects of vaccines, helping drive vaccination rates in the U.S. ever lower. The result: a rapidly spreading measles outbreak and a threat to the hard-won public health gains made...
info_outlineIn 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.
Steven Lewis, director of the Baker Institute China Studies Program, joined “Baker Briefing” to discuss what China’s global soft power campaign looks like and how successful it’s proven thus far.
Featured guest:
- Steven Lewis, Ph.D., https://www.bakerinstitute.org/expert/steven-w-lewis
This conversation was recorded on May 13, 2025.
A transcript of this episode is available here: https://bit.ly/43djVT8.
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