In this episode, Brahima Sangafowa Coulibaly, senior fellow and director of the Africa Growth Initiative at Brookings, and Lemma Senbet, William E. Mayer chair professor of finance at the University of Maryland, explain why national debts in sub-Saharan Africa have risen in recent years, the challenges of sustainably financing economic development, and the role of multilateral development banks in solving Africa's massive infrastructure gap. Full show notes: https://brook.gs/2UozLU9 This is the ...
Apr 17, 2019•43 min
In this episode, Brookings Vice President Darrell West and Senior Fellow Camille Busette discuss themes from West's new book, " Divided Politics, Divided Nation: Hyperconflict in the Trump era ," including the economic, geographic, racial, and technological factors that have exacerbated U.S. political polarization to its current breaking point, and what's needed to build a healthier democracy. West and Busette also speculated how these pressures may affect the 2020 presidential race. Full show n...
Apr 03, 2019•40 min
In this episode, Angela Stent and Keir Giles, authors of “ Putin’s World: Russia Against the West and with the Rest ” and “ Moscow Rules: What Drives Russia to Confront the West ” examine the history of Russia's national identity and how the U.S. fundamentally misunderstands Russia's view of itself in conflict with the West. Full show notes: https://brook.gs/2Jsi99B With thanks to audio producer Gaston Reboredo, Chris McKenna, Brennan Hoban, Fred Dews, Camilo Ramirez, and intern Quinn Lukas for ...
Mar 20, 2019•36 min
The Task Force on Extremism in Fragile States recently released its recommendations, calling for a new strategy to prevent violent extremism from developing in fragile states. Brookings Senior Fellow George Ingram and President of the U.S. Institute of Peace Nancy Lindborg explain why the U.S. needs to change its priorities from defeating terrorists militarily and focus on addressing the economic, social, and political weaknesses in fragile states which lead to the rise of extremist groups. Full...
Mar 06, 2019•42 min
In this episode, David M. Rubenstein Fellows Andre Perry and Jenny Schuetz examine past policies and current attitudes that have devalued homes and business in majority-black neighborhoods and the opportunities to be gained by building on the assets in majority-black places. Full show notes: https://brook.gs/2IRBHnQ With thanks to audio producer Gaston Reboredo, Chris McKenna, Brennan Hoban, Fred Dews, Camilo Ramirez, and intern Quinn Lukas for additional support. Send feedback email to intersec...
Feb 28, 2019•33 min
In this episode, former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard , founder of the Global Institute for Women's Leadership and distinguished fellow with the Center for Universal Education (CUE), and CUE Fellow Christina Kwauk discuss the current state of gender equality in leadership roles, the pipeline from quality education for girls to increased opportunities for women in leadership, and the expanding the evidence on what works to challenge gender stereotypes. Full show notes available here: ht...
Dec 26, 2018•32 min
In this episode, Todd Stern, senior fellow and former special envoy for climate change in the Obama administration, and David Victor, co-chair of the Cross-Brookings Initiative on Energy and Climate , discuss the key issues at stake at the COP 24 negotiations in Poland, the absence of U.S. federal leadership on climate, and the state of U.S.-China cooperation on climate and energy priorities. Show notes: https://brook.gs/2Euizt5 With thanks to audio producer Gaston Reboredo, Chris McKenna, Brenn...
Dec 12, 2018•42 min
In between spikes of violence, the people of the Gaza Strip live in a state of perpetual crisis—a man-made humanitarian disaster of severe urban crowding, staggering unemployment, and a dire scarcity of basic services, including electricity, water, and sewage treatment. In this episode, CNAS Middle East Security Program Director Ilan Goldenberg, Brookings Center for Middle East Peace Director Natan Sachs, and Brookings Visiting Fellow Hady Amr lay out the recommendations of high-level task force...
Nov 28, 2018•29 min
Brookings Fellows Martha Ross and Elizabeth Mann Levesque discuss the important role that community colleges play in putting young adults on a pathway to higher-quality jobs and other strategies for improving economic outcomes for youth from lower-income and disadvantaged backgrounds. Full show notes available here: https://brook.gs/2Dm3AQn With thanks to audio producer Gaston Reboredo, Chris McKenna, Brennan Hoban, Fred Dews, Camilo Ramirez, and interns Churon Bernier and Tim Madden for additio...
Nov 14, 2018•45 min
In a conversation with Natan Sachs , fellow and director of the Center on Middle East Policy, Distinguished Fellow Salam Fayyad , former prime minister and finance minister of the Palestinian Authority, and Visiting Fellow Jeffrey Feltman , former U.N. under-secretary-general for political affairs, assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, and career foreign service officer throughout the Middle East and North Africa, reflect on their days working together in Israel and Palestine in...
Oct 24, 2018•1 hr 3 min
In this episode, Bradley Hardy , associate professor in the Department of Public Administration and Policy at American University and nonresident senior fellow in Economic Studies at Brookings, and Frederick Wherry , professor of sociology at Princeton University, explain how some economic policies have disproportionate impacts on black communities, and how that has to be understood to design better policies to combat regional economic inequality. Full show notes available here: https://brook.gs...
Oct 10, 2018•40 min
In this episode, Dhruva Jaishankar , fellow in Foreign Policy at Brookings India, and Rush Doshi , post-doctoral fellow in Foreign Policy at Brookings, discuss the balance of power across the Indo-Pacific as China's influence grows and India seeks to increase economic connectivity and strengthen security relationships. Full show notes available here: https://brook.gs/2OVQP25 With thanks to audio producer Gaston Reboredo, Chris McKenna, Brennan Hoban, Fred Dews and Camilo Ramirez for additional s...
Sep 26, 2018•41 min
In this episode, Isabel Sawhill , Brookings senior fellow and author of " The Forgotten Americans: An Economic Agenda for a Divided Nation ," and Andrew Yarrow , senior fellow at the Progressive Policy Institute and author of " Man Out: Men on The Sidelines of American Life " look at two different groups of Americans forgotten by policymakers or sidelined from the U.S. economy and society. Sawhill and Yarrow examine the repercussions of growing disenfranchisement and skepticism among significant...
Sep 12, 2018•50 min
In this episode, Brookings experts David Dollar , senior fellow with the John L. Thornton China Center, and Joseph Parilla , fellow in the Metropolitan Policy Program, examine what effect the trade war has had on the U.S. and Chinese economies–and workers–so far. They explain why trade wars don’t actually reduce the trade deficit, which other countries might benefit, and what the prospects are for resolution between the U.S. and China. Full show notes available here: https://brook.gs/2PgOE8N Wit...
Aug 29, 2018•39 min
In this episode, Nonresident Fellow Witney Schneidman and David M. Rubinstein Fellow Landry Signé discuss how Africa's Continental Free Trade Agreement will transform trade across the continent, accelerate industrialization and economic development, and what it means for future commercial relations with the U.S., EU, and other trading partners. Full show notes available here: https://brook.gs/2ODyaav With thanks to audio producer Gaston Reboredo, Chris McKenna, Brennan Hoban, Fred Dews and Camil...
Aug 15, 2018•32 min
In this episode, Robert Kagan , author of the forthcoming " The Jungle Grows Back: America and Our Imperiled World ," and Thomas Wright , author of " All Measure Short of War: The Contest for the 21st Century and the Future of American Power ," discuss with guest host Will Moreland how the success of the post-World War II international order left it vulnerable to internal complacency and external pressure from authoritarian regimes. They explain how at the same time, Trump's longstanding disdain...
Aug 01, 2018•36 min
In this episode of Intersections, Vanessa Williamson and Elizabeth Mann Levesque review the Supreme Court's ruling on Janus v. AFSCME, which bars public-sector unions from collecting "fair share" or "agency" fees from non-union members to offset collective bargaining costs. Levesque and Williamson put the Janus case in the context of "right-to-work" legislation, the decline of private-sector unions, and the recent wave of teachers' strikes to assess how the decision will affect public-sector uni...
Jul 18, 2018•32 min
In this episode, Brookings Fellow Adie Tomer, CityLab's Tanvi Misra, and Route Fifty's Mitch Herckis revisit the themes of Infrastructure Week with an examination of historical patterns of urban and suburban planning that separated communities and discuss infrastructure as system for stitching communities together and creating access to opportunity. Show notes: https://www.brookings.edu/podcast-episode/how-to-make-infrastructure-work-for-people With thanks to audio producer Gaston Reboredo, Chri...
Jun 27, 2018•38 min
In this episode, Tamara Cofman Wittes , senior fellow with the Center for Middle East Policy at Brookings, and Steven Heydemann , nonresident senior fellow at Brookings and Janet Wright Ketcham ’53 Chair of Middle East Studies at Smith College, break down the difficult questions of how and when external actors should engage in reconstruction efforts in Syria without legitimizing the repressive regime of Bashar al-Assad. Show notes: https://www.brookings.edu/podcast-episode/the-politics-of-recons...
Jun 06, 2018•42 min
In this episode, Lauren Bauer , post-doctoral fellow in Economic Studies and the Hamilton Project at Brookings, and Anne Wicks , director of education reform at the George W. Bush Institute, explain how states are developing new measures of school quality and student success as required under the Every Student Succeeds Act. Bauer and Wicks also detail how using two specific measures - chronic absenteeism and college and career readiness - help teachers and administrators understand and improve s...
May 23, 2018•38 min
On May 8, President Trump announced that the United States will reimpose sanctions on Iran, withdrawing the country from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). In this episode of Intersections, Suzanne Maloney , senior fellow and deputy director of Foreign Policy, and Robert Einhorn , senior fellow in the Arms Control and Non-Proliferation Initiative, explain what this means for the continuation of the Iran deal, how sanctions will affect Iran's economy, and domestic political currents ...
May 09, 2018•40 min
When children as young as two and three years old are already facing significant gaps in their exposure to words, numbers, and spatial understanding, urban planners and child psychologists are developing ways to transform community spaces - from bus stops to supermarkets - into opportunities to augment children's education through playful learning. In this episode, Kathy Hirsh-Pasek , Stanley and Debra Lefkowitz faculty fellow and co-director of the Infant & Child Lab at Temple Univ, and Jen...
Apr 25, 2018•40 min
Witney Schneidman and Yun Sun examine the shape of U.S. and Chinese trade and investment in Africa, Africa's growing regional economic power, and how both China and the U.S. weigh in on political as well as economic development in African countries. Full show notes available here: https://brook.gs/2v3TL7h With thanks to audio producer Gaston Reboredo, Chris McKenna, Brennan Hoban, and Fred Dews for additional support. Send feedback to intersections@brookings.edu . Follow us on Twitter @policypod...
Apr 11, 2018•38 min
In this episode, Tanvi Madan, fellow and director of the India Project, guest-hosted a conversation between Distinguished Fellow Shivshankar Menon and Nonresident Fellow Joshua White on how China's deepening economic investments across South and Southeast Asia and India's own expanding presence are affecting the regional balance of economic and political cooperation and competition. Full show notes available here: https://brook.gs/2pL8IWO With thanks to audio producer Gaston Reboredo, Chris McKe...
Mar 28, 2018•45 min
In this episode, Jay Shambaugh and Jared Bernstein discuss the decades-long trend of real wage stagnation and policy solutions for increasing productivity, strengthening wage growth, and ensuring that national economic growth is reflected in the living standards of all American workers. Full show notes available here: https://www.brookings.edu/podcast-episode/raising-wages-and-strengthening-economic-progress-for-american-workers With thanks to audio producer Gaston Reboredo, Chris McKenna, Brenn...
Mar 14, 2018•37 min
For International Women’s Day, we’re showcasing the work of the Echidna Global Scholars – leaders from NGOs and academia who work to improve learning opportunities and outcomes for girls in the developing world. In this episode, Dasmine Kennedy, Armene Modi, Maria Cristina Osorio, and Damaris Parsitau talk about empowering some of the most marginalized girls in Jamaica, India, Mexico, and Kenya, and engaging their communities to invest in girls for wider social and systemic change. Full show not...
Mar 08, 2018•33 min
In this episode, Camille Busette , senior fellow and director of the Race, Prosperity and Inclusion Initiative at Brookings, and Richard Reeves , senior fellow and co-director of the Center on Children and Families at Brookings, discuss the changing racial demographics of the U.S. middle class, political and cultural assumptions about the middle class, and what effect the increasing racial pluralism of the middle class may have on economic policy. With thanks to audio producer Gaston Reboredo, C...
Feb 28, 2018•28 min
In this episode, Stanford Professor Raj Chetty explains his new research that examines who becomes an inventor in America and who gets left behind, and discusses with Brookings expert Richard Reeves how innovation isn't a zero-sum game, and how inequality stifles American innovation. Full show notes: https://www.brookings.edu/podcast-episode/americas-lost-einsteins-the-importance-of-exposing-children-to-innovation With thanks to audio producer Gaston Reboredo, Chris McKenna, Brennan Hoban, and F...
Jan 31, 2018•31 min
Bruce Jones, Jung Pak, and Ryan Hass discuss Kim Jong-un's strategic goals and the dynamics of the U.S., China, and South Korea in trying to denuclearize North Korea. Full show notes available here: https://www.brookings.edu/podcast-episode/avoiding-nuclear-conflict-on-the-korean-peninsula Intersections is part of the Brookings Podcast Network ....
Jan 17, 2018•32 min
For the last Intersections episode of the year, we're releasing a short conversation with Stav Shaffir , the youngest female member of Israel's Knesset, and Brookings Senior Fellow Tamara Wittes , held between sessions at the 2017 Saban Forum . Full show notes: https://www.brookings.edu/podcast-episode/an-israeli-knesset-members-perspective-on-activism-and-politics Send questions or feedback to intersections@brookings.edu , and follow us and tweet us at @policypodcasts on Twitter. Intersections ...
Dec 27, 2017•22 min
