The Brookings Cafeteria

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The rich-poor life expectancy gap Feb 19, 2016

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Gary Burtless, a senior fellow in Economic Studies, explains new research on the growing longevity gap between high-income and low-income Americans, especially among the aged. “Life expectancy difference of low income workers, middle income workers, and high income workers has been increasing over time,” Burtless says. “For people born in 1920 their life expectancy was not as long typically as the life expectancy of people who were born in 1940. But those gains between those two birth years were very unequally distributed if we compare people with low mid-career earnings and people with high mid-career earnings.” Burtless also discusses retirement trends among the educated and non-educated, income inequality among different age groups, and how these trends affect early or late retirement rates. Also stay tuned for our regular economic update with David Wessel, who also looks at the new research and offers his thoughts on what it means for Social Security. Show Notes Later retirement, inequality and old age, and the growing gap in longevity between rich and poor Disparity in Life Spans of the Rich and the Poor Is Growing Subscribe to the Brookings Cafeteria on iTunes, listen on Stitcher, and send feedback email to BCP@Brookings.edu.

Five Rising Democracies Feb 12, 2016

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Ted Piccone, a senior fellow in the Project on International Order and Strategy discusses the five rising democracies; Brazil, South Africa, India, Indonesia, and Turkey and their role in the international liberal order. “These countries show that you can have democratization and improvements in political freedom and at the same time grow your economies and improve in terms of human development,” Piccone says. In the podcast, Piccone provides an overview of each of the five nations highlighted in his new book, “Five Rising Democracies and the Fate of the International Liberal Order,” and how their economic, social, and political development allows them greater access in global politics. Also in this episode, “Steve Hess Stories” with Senior Fellow Emeritus Stephen Hess. Show Notes Five Rising Democracies and the Fate of the International Liberal Order More Steve Hess Stories on SoundCloud Subscribe to the Brookings Cafeteria on iTunes, listen on Stitcher, and send feedback email to BCP@Brookings.edu.

What happened in Iowa and the next presidential primaries Feb 05, 2016

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Molly Reynolds, a fellow in the Governance Studies Program at Brookings, explains why the Iowa Caucuses matter so much in the presidential election. She also discusses what to expect from Congress this year for both congressional elections and the presidential election. “There are a lot of quirky details to the Iowa Caucus,” Reynolds says. In this interview, she explains what makes the Iowa Caucuses so important in the presidential nomination process and what to expect as the races continue. She also weighs in on what we can expect from Congress this year, including appropriations and what Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says he plans to do. Also in this episode: Listen to Hollie Russon Gilman, a fellow at New America and Harvard’s Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, discuss her new book "Democracy Reinvented." Also, get to know Vanessa Williamson, a fellow in Governance Studies at Brookings, during our "Coffee Break." Show Notes: Primary Politics: Everything You Need to Know about How America Nominates Its Presidential Candidates How unrepresentative are the early presidential primary states? After Iowa, advice from "The West Wing" might get Hillary to the Oval Democracy Reinvented Subscribe to the Brookings Cafeteria on iTunes, listen on Stitcher, and send feedback email to BCP@Brookings.edu.

Celebrating the Brookings Centenary: The Trustees Jan 28, 2016

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This episode features two of the leaders of the Brookings Institution: the co-chairs of the Brookings Board of Trustees, John L. Thornton and David M. Rubenstein. They reflect on our first 100 years and share their thoughts on Brookings’s second century. The episode is the first in a series celebrating 100 years of the Brookings Institution. Later in this series, you’ll hear from former and current Brookings presidents as well as scholars.

Made in Africa: manufacturing and economic growth Jan 21, 2016

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In this week’s episode, John Page, a senior fellow in the Global Economy and Development Program, assesses the potential role of several economic strategies in transforming Africa’s industrial development for the global economy. “Between now and about 2030, the estimates are that as many as 85 million jobs at [the] bottom end of manufacturing will migrate out of China. So the question is: where will they go?” In this podcast, Page explains that with policy change, great focus, and a cohesive implementation of economic strategies, a number of African countries can capitalize on this opportunity in the global market. Also in this episode: Our regular economic update with David Wessel, senior fellow and director of the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy. Also, a new segment about issues affecting metropolitan areas with Alan Berube, senior fellow and deputy director of the Metropolitan Policy Program. Show Notes: Made in Africa Made in Africa: Some New Thinking on Africa Industrialization Day Foresight Africa: Top priorities for the continent in 2016 Subscribe to the Brookings Cafeteria on iTunes, listen on Stitcher, and send feedback email to BCP@Brookings.edu.

Obama and the 2016 elections Jan 15, 2016

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Tune in to hear Sarah Binder, senior fellow in Governance Studies, and Bill Galston, senior fellow and the Ezra K. Zilkha Chair in Governance Studies and former policy advisor to President Bill Clinton, review President Obama’s State of the Union address and look ahead to the 2016 presidential and congressional elections. In this episode, they assess policy issues from the Obama Administration and discuss how the presidential candidates will address these issues. They identify the political party of the next President as a determining characteristic in the legacy President Obama will leave behind. Show Notes: Obama's final State of the Union: An incomplete success State of the Union 2016 research and commentary America's Political Dynasties Brookings, Esquire team up on critical choices for America Subscribe to the Brookings Cafeteria on iTunes, listen on Stitcher, and send feedback email to BCP@Brookings.edu.

Top economic issues in 2016 Jan 08, 2016

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Ted Gayer, vice President and director of the Economic Studies Program at Brookings and the Joseph A. Pechman Senior Fellow, forecasts the top economic issues in the upcoming year. Tune in to hear more about the labor market, wages, and productivity growth in 2016. Gayer also outlines which economic issues the presidential candidates should be talking about in the elections and how much impact the president has in economic policy decisions. Also in this podcast: “What’s Happening in Congress” with John Hudak, senior fellow in Governance Studies and deputy director of the Center for Effective Public Management. And also get to know Mike Hansen, senior fellow and deputy director of the Brown Center on Education Policy, during our “Coffee Break.” Show Notes: Rising morbidity and mortality in midlife among white non-Hispanic Americans in the 21st century (Case/Deaton study) Top Economic Stories of 2015 (from Economic Studies Program) Subscribe to the Brookings Cafeteria on iTunes, listen on Stitcher, and send feedback email to BCP@Brookings.edu.

Best of the Brookings Cafeteria in 2015 Dec 31, 2015

Show notes

In this last episode of the Brookings Cafeteria podcast for 2015, you'll hear some of the best moments from the show selected from the year's episodes. Thanks to the team that makes this podcast possible: Zack Kulzer, Mark Hoelscher, Carissa Nitchy, Jessica Pavone, Rebecca Viser and Eric Abalahin. Also, special thanks to the leadership and support of David Nassar and Richard Fawal. And a very special thanks to our intern Karen WaelGirgis, who was instrumental in putting this episode and many others together. Show Notes: Visit the home page for the Brookings Cafeteria podcast to listen to all of the episodes. Subscribe to the Brookings Cafeteria on iTunes, listen on Stitcher, and send feedback email to BCP@Brookings.edu.

Why girls' education is the world's best investment Dec 22, 2015

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Rebecca Winthrop, senior fellow and director of the Center for Universal Education at Brookings, discusses her new book (co-authored with Gene Sperling and Christina Kwauk) "What Works in Girls' Education: Evidence for the World's Best Investment" (Brookings Institution Press, 2015). “Girls’ education really is quite unique in terms of interventions you can do," she says. "Not because it’s a silver bullet; there are no such things as silver bullets. But, certainly in developing country contexts, it has so many high returns across such a wide variety of areas important for society.” In this podcast, Winthrop walks us through the evolution of girls’ education and how “Twenty-five years ago, girls’ education was an issue in every single country in the world.” She reminds us that there’s a reason to be optimistic: “There are a lot of huge gains in girls’ education. There is a lot to celebrate. Over the last twenty years, the number of girls who have been out of school have been cut in half.” Also in this podcast: Listen to Bill Frey, senior fellow in the Metropolitan Policy program and author of the book “Diversity Explosion,” answer a question from one of our listeners on how we define post-baby boom generations. And also stay tuned for the next installment of “Steve Hess Stories,” in which Senior Fellow Emeritus Stephen Hess discusses his childhood in New York City and his first memories of the presidency. ______________________________________________ Show Notes: What Works in Girls’ Education: Evidence for the World’s Best Investment Diversity Explosion: How New Racial Demographics are Remaking America America’s Political Dynasties Also listen to our other podcast episodes about global education: Education challenges in the Arab world, with Maysa Jalbout The power of universal education, with Julia Gillard A bleak picture for children's education in the Arab world, with Hafex Ghanem and Liesbet Steer Educating Children Worldwide: Access Plus Learning, with Rebecca Winthrop __________________________________________________________ Subscribe to the Brookings Cafeteria on iTunes, listen on Stitcher, and send feedback email to BCP@Brookings.edu.

Foreign policy issues the candidates should be talking about Dec 18, 2015

Show notes

“A lot of the issues that we focus on as crises on a daily basis—I think particularly of Syria—they are certainly crises in their own right,” says Jeremy Shapiro. “But to my mind the failure to deal with them does have a lot to do with the consequences of the breakdown in international order and the breakdown in the international capacity to create order.” Jeremy Shapiro, fellow in the Project on International Order and Strategy and the Center on the United States and Europe at Brookings, gives his view on the top foreign policy issues of the day and in the 2016 presidential election. “The interesting thing about terrorism is that it is never, at least for advanced societies, a direct threat in any existential way, despite what many of our politicians say,” argues Shapiro in this podcast, “What can threaten a nation like ours is that in the process of responding to an attack like in San Bernardino or in Paris that we destroy the things that are most precious to us, like our freedoms, like our civil liberties, that we engage in foreign policy adventures in order to try to make ourselves feel more secure and more safe that actually erode our power.” Also in this podcast: The final installment of the Paris climate conference series by Bruce Jones, vice president and director of Foreign Policy at Brookings. And also stay tuned for our regular economic update with David Wessel, senior fellow and director of the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy. ______________________________________________ Show Notes: Order from Chaos: Foreign policy in a troubled world 'What U.S. Foreign Policy Really Needs Is...' Suzanne Maloney talks U.S.-Iran relations, the Iran nuclear deal, and the future of Iran How Russia and America make the same mistakes in Syria How not to overreact to ISIS The perils of "French Islam": France’s misguided response to the Paris attacks _____________________________________________________ Subscribe to the Brookings Cafeteria on iTunes, listen on Stitcher, and send feedback email to BCP@Brookings.edu.

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