Baker Briefing

China Studies Program experts Steven Lewis and Brandon Zheng join guest host Michael Emerson to explore how governments and organizations around the world are leveraging digital platforms in increasingly savvy ways — from TikTok videos to anime mascots — to spread political messaging and shape public opinion. They draw on their recent research examining urban propaganda in China and the use of “cu...

What does the acceleration of artificial intelligence mean for higher education, from the admissions process to students’ academic and intellectual development? How can students learn to engage responsibly with AI, and what does it mean for the early graduate labor market? Baker Institute fellow and guest host Michael Emerson sat down with Rice University Provost Amy Dittmar , University of Housto...

The Baker Institute’s Kirstin Matthews and Rekha Lakshmanan join the podcast to discuss recent policy developments under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his Make America Healthy Again commission, plus the persistent — and dangerous — misinformation linking autism with vaccines. This conversation was recorded on Sept. 15, 2025.  Featured guests: Kirstin Matthews, Ph. D., https://www.bake...

Fellow for the Middle East Mohammad Ayatollahi Tabaar joins the podcast to discuss the geopolitical and diplomatic fallout from the 12-day Israel-Iran war. He explores Iran’s internal politics in the aftermath of the conflict, the future of its nuclear program, and the regional balance of power.   Featured: Mohammad Tabaar, Ph. D., https://www.bakerinstitute.org/expert/mohammad-ayatollahi-tabaar M...

Baker Institute Director David M. Satterfield sits down with Karina Zemel, lead producer of the “Baker Briefing” podcast, to discuss the challenges of communicating policy in a politically polarized era and the conversations ahead on Season 2 of the podcast.

We’re taking a short break as we gear up to launch Season 2 of the podcast next week. But we’re excited to share the latest episode of “The Two-Handed Economist,” a podcast from our Center for Tax and Budget Policy. On this episode, John Diamond explores three major economic developments from the past week, including a federal appeals ruling that struck down President Donald Trump’s sweeping tarif...

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the major budget bill signed into law by President Donald Trump last month, includes important changes to federal energy policy — among them, an earlier end to wind and solar tax credits than outlined in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act and expanded support for nuclear and geothermal energy, as well as fossil fuels. Center for Energy Studies Senior Director Ken Medl...

Texas Republicans are moving to redraw the state’s congressional district map and flip five House seats for the GOP — an unusual mid-decade redistricting effort that comes at the urging of President Donald Trump ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. To block the map’s passage, Texas Democrats have fled the state, denying Republican state leaders the quorum needed to hold a vote. Political science f...

One of the striking trends in American religion and politics over the past decade has been the extent to which Christians have rallied around President Donald Trump. Their support has been most pronounced among white evangelicals, but the president has gained electoral ground with nearly all Christian denominations since his first term.   Trump hasn’t just appealed to Christian voters through rhet...

As Harris County judge, Ed Emmett led the emergency response to weather disasters in the Houston region for nearly 12 years. Bill King 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...

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...

John Diamond , 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 lim...

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 Daniel Kurtzer and Aaron David Miller this past May illustrates the political dynamics shaping the future of power in the region, Israel’s war in Gaza, and th...

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 Kristian Coates Ulrichsen explains why these competitions and other globa...

This is the second episode in a two-part conversation on the challenges facing Mexico domestically and in its relationship with the United States.   Tony Payan , 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 David Satterfield covers t...

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 Tony Payan joins “Baker Briefing” to discuss the implications of the reforms and other domestic challe...

Introducing “ Texas Briefing ,” 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 Elena Mark...

Drs. Sandra McKay and Eric Fleegler, both experts in the Baker Institute Firearm Injury Prevention and Safety Program , joined “Baker Briefing” to discuss the worsening gun injury epidemic ahead of our fourth annual firearm injury prevention conference on June 6.    They discussed areas of consensus among firearm-owners and non-owners alike, including child access prevention laws and age purchasin...

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, Chi...

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?   Rana B. Khoury , an assistant professor of political...

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 brief — still aren’t complying. On this episode of “Baker Briefing,” Vivian Ho explains why opacity in pricing is a key driver of rising health care costs and what policymakers can...

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. Moshe Vardi , 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 t...

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 s...

Introducing “ The Two-Handed Economist ” — a new podcast with timely analysis of economic policy developments from John Diamond , director of the Center for Tax and Budget Policy . 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 compl...

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, an...