The Brookings Current

Amid a host of challenges, the three major priorities of this year's United Nations General Assembly will be Russia's war against Ukraine, climate change, and food shortages. Bruce Jones explains the sideline diplomacy happening in New York, and the rising tension between Western countries' focus on geopolitics and the global South's need for progress on climate change. Show notes and transcript:...

One year after the U.S. troop withdrawal, Afghanistan faces a collapsed economy, humanitarian crisis, and a Taliban regime essentially unchanged from that of 1996-2001. Madiha Afzal discusses the Taliban's restrictions on civil society, the segregation of women and girls from public life, and the need for more creative policies to alleviate Afghan people's suffering without helping the Taliban. Sh...

After President Biden's release of his plan for student debt relief, Andre Perry explains the impact loan forgiveness will have on student debt holders, the role of student debt in racial wealth and income inequality, and how to keep higher education attainable for the public. Show notes and transcript: https://brook.gs/3QVr9Ct   Follow Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify...

Sri Lanka's new president, Ranil Wickremesinghe, took office last week as the country faces economic collapse, political instability, and ongoing food and fuel shortages. Constantino Xavier looks at how Sri Lanka's governing choices over many years led to crisis, the difficult reforms ahead, and the implications of Sri Lanka's collapse for other developing nations throughout Asia and Africa. Show...

Following the stunning assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Mireya Solís describes Abe's policy legacies, the role he continued to play in shaping the direction of the country, and the ramifications of his assassination for Japan's politics. Show notes and transcript: https://brook.gs/3yNFLND Follow Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback...

The Supreme Court's decision in West Virginia v. EPA narrowed the breadth of powers the Environmental Protection Agency has to regulate carbon emissions under the Clean Air Act. Barry Rabe explains the court's reasoning, the uncertainties it raises for EPA regulation, and the challenges for congressional or state-level action. Full show notes and transcript: https://brook.gs/3OELI4T   Follow Brook...

Russia has threatened consequences for Lithuania after the NATO member state blocked transit of EU-sanctioned goods through its territory to the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. Ahead of the NATO summit in Madrid, Dan Hamilton explains the new front in tensions between NATO and Russia and the potential for Russian escalation.  Full show notes and transcript: https://brook.gs/3n9eWwX   Follow Brooki...

  As the House Select Committee to investigate the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol holds its first public hearings in nearly a year, Norm Eisen lays out what Americans can expect from the proceedings and the committee's objectives over the coming months.  Full show notes and transcript: https://brook.gs/39chpTW   Follow Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedb...

While Emmanuel Macron won re-election as France's president, far-right challenge Marine Le Pen's nationalist populism gained a larger share of the vote than ever before. Célia Belin and Agneska Bloch explain how the political dynamics at play and the upcoming June legislative elections are likely to shape Macron's policies in his second term. Show notes and transcript: https://brook.gs/3KfZZCb Fol...

The first round of France's presidential election narrowed the field to current President Emmanuel Macron and far-right challenger Marine Le Pen. Before the two face off in a second round of voting on April 24, Célia Belin and Agneska Bloch examine the issues motivating French voters, and what both candidates will try - and need - to do in the coming weeks to win in the runoff. Full show notes: ht...

Quinta Jurecic explains the significance of new developments this week around the congressional investigation into the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.  Show notes and full transcript: https://brook.gs/3wPbH3H   Follow Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to  podcasts@brookings.edu  and follow us and tweet us at  @policypodcasts  on Twitter....

Pakistan's prime minister, Imran Khan, faces a unified opposition coalition and a vote of no confidence in parliament next week. Whether Khan's government survives the challenge or not, Pakistan's democracy will suffer as political instability undermines public confidence in the electoral process, argues Madiha Afzal. Full show notes and transcript: https://brook.gs/3I3jnkC   Follow Brookings podc...

While the Russian assault on Ukraine advances through ground and air forces, there haven't yet been significant cyberattacks on Ukraine's infrastructure, intelligence, or communications systems. Jessica Brandt explains what we have seen so far in the way of cyber and information warfare, why Putin might have initially avoided larger-scale cyberattacks against Ukraine, and how technology companies...

President Joe Biden's first State of the Union address aimed to both deliver a strong message to Russia about its war on Ukraine and reset Democrats' political messaging on their domestic priorities. In a live Twitter Spaces conversation, Brookings Fellows John Hudak, Scott Anderson, and Molly Reynolds analyzed the president's narrative vision of America's role in the world and his party's priorit...

Russian military forces invaded Ukraine on Thursday, precipitating a dangerous security and humanitarian crisis in Europe.  In a live Twitter Spaces conversation, a Brookings roundtable assessed the security and economic ripple effects of Russia's invasion and explained what sanctions the U.S. and Europe have imposed so far and what further tools they can bring to bear. Show notes and transcript:...

In a special long episode of The Current, three Brookings Russia experts discuss what's driving Putin's actions against Ukraine, what his goals may be beyond the present crisis, and how U.S. and European leaders are responding. Show notes: https://brook.gs/3IdRNSC   Follow Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to  podcasts@brookings.edu  and follow us a...

Tensions in the Russia-Ukraine conflict are escalating as Russia and Belarus engage in several days of military exercises, while U.S. and NATO allies continue a flurry of high-level diplomatic activity. Angela Stent evaluates the recent efforts to de-escalate the present crisis and Putin's willingness to play the conflict as a long game even after the military maneuvers end. Show notes and transcr...

While President Biden and congressional Democratic leadership's call to modify the filibuster to allow voting rights legislation to pass by a simple majority is in jeopardy, Rashawn Ray weighs in on Biden's forceful Atlanta speech, explains why the John Lewis Voting Rights and Freedom to Vote acts are so important, and the risks for Democrats and the quality of U.S. democracy if the promises of pr...

As Russian troops gather on Ukraine's borders, the outstanding question is whether Russian President Putin is prepared to bear the domestic and international costs of a full-scale invasion or if he'll stop at pressuring NATO and the West for political concessions. Steven Pifer explains why a military incursion in 2022 will not be as easy for Russia as annexing Crimea in 2014, and where there are a...

After passing a short-term continuing resolution to keep the government operating into the new year, Congress still has a very full to-do list for the final weeks of 2021. Senior Fellow Molly Reynolds runs through the most pressing items on the congressional agenda, including raising the debt limit, what may be slowing the legislative process, and what it could take to alter the filibuster to pass...

The COP26 climate conference in Glasgow produced new agreements and pledges from 196 countries to continue cutting emissions in an effort to keep the global temperature from rising more than 1.5 degrees Celsius. But will it be enough? Samantha Gross highlights some of the significant pledges and the need for more action. Show notes and transcript: https://brook.gs/32g849J   Follow Brookings podcas...

Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen's testimony on the social media platform's business practices may have been an eye-opened for members of Congress, says former FCC Chair Tom Wheeler, but this and other recent revelations are just the canary in the coal mine for the broader digital ecosystem. Wheeler points to a lack of government oversight that has left digital platforms to make their own rul...

Fumio Kishida was elected as Japan's new prime minister after former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga lost public support and political backing over his handling of the coronavirus and the Olympics. While Kishida's early moves reflect a continuation of his predecessors' economic and diplomatic principles, an early general election at the end of October may give him stronger backing to put his own mar...

Angela Merkel has been Germany's chancellor through a series of massive crises. Ahead of the September 26 elections, Constanze Stelzenmüller explains that the question of how Germany's next leader will shape the country's role as an anchor of Europe will have far-reaching consequences in a future in which crises are the new normal. Show notes and transcript: https://brook.gs/3lyFwy7   Follow Brook...

Jon Valant examines how the continued surge in COVID-19 cases is challenging educators, administrators, and parents to manage students' return to the classroom safely, and how national politics is affecting local decisionmaking. Show notes and transcript: https://brook.gs/3gP9i03   Follow Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to  BCP@Brookings.edu , and...