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The Brookings Current — News & Politics
The Brookings Current

The Brookings Current brings you smart, timely, and quick analysis from experts at the Brookings Institution on breaking news and current policy conversations. In these short episodes, learn not only what’s happening, but why and how to make sense of it.

Copyright: © The Brookings Institution

Latest Episodes:

Can we slow down AI without losing to China? Sep 21, 2026

Show notes

As AI models grow more advanced, warnings of catastrophic risks are escalating. But are existential fears overshadowing immediate threats? Brookings experts Elham Tabassi and Kyle Chan join Thomas Wright to evaluate the reality of runaway AI, the debate over government regulation, and the geopolitical stakes of the U.S.-China technology race.

Episode transcript and show notes.

Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu.

USMCA fails to renew—but it's not over yet Jul 17, 2026

Show notes

On July 1, the U.S. government declined to renew the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA)—but that's not the end for the region's free trade agreement. Kari Heerman spoke with Christopher Sands and Duncan Wood about what went wrong, what went right, and what comes next for North American economic relations.

Episode transcript and show notes.

Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu.

A fractured front? Inside the Ankara NATO summit Jul 10, 2026

Show notes

At the NATO summit in Ankara, wary European leaders sought an equilibrium with the United States. Against a backdrop of ongoing conflict in Iran and Ukraine, Aslı Aydıntaşbaş asked Thomas Wright and Mara Karlin about the dynamics at play.

Episode transcript and show notes.

Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu.

Will the Strait of Hormuz reopen after the US-Iran deal? Jun 25, 2026

Show notes

After the United States and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding to end the war, Aslı Aydıntaşbaş spoke to Brookings experts Kari Heerman and Bruce Jones about its geopolitical implications, building on their recent articles in the series "Blowback: How the Iran war may change the world."

Episode transcript and show notes.

Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu.

Understanding Pope Leo's AI encyclical Jun 04, 2026

Show notes

Pope Leo XIV's first encyclical is a 42,000-word Vatican treatise that elevates "the protection of the human person in the age of artificial intelligence." Nicol Turner Lee, senior fellow and director for the Center for Technology Innovation, and Elham Tabassi, senior fellow and director for the AI and Emerging Tech Initiative, spoke to Valerie Wirtschafter, fellow in Foreign Policy, about the implications of this groundbreaking document.

Episode transcript and show notes.

Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu.

2 members of Congress on improving American education May 27, 2026

Show notes

On this episode of The Brookings Current, Brookings Senior Fellow Rashawn Ray sits down with two former teachers-turned-lawmakers: Reps. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) and Kevin Kiley (I-Calif.), members of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. They engage in a candid dialogue on the state of K-12 education amid changing student demographics, the introduction of AI in the classroom, and the challenge of workforce preparation.

Show notes and transcript.

Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu.

Has the US lost the Iran war? May 21, 2026

Show notes

Brookings Senior Fellow Robert Kagan writes in The Atlantic that U.S. defeat in Iran war "is not only possible but likely." In this episode of The Brookings Current, Kagan is joined by Melanie Sisson and Michael O'Hanlon, also senior fellows in Foreign Policy, to discuss their latest thinking on the war, and whether it has weakened America's hand in the region.

Show notes and transcript.

Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu.

The Iran war is making energy more expensive for everyone May 13, 2026

Show notes

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has brought the largest energy disruption the world has seen in decades. Adie Tomer, senior fellow in Metro, talks with Samantha Gross, director of the Energy Security and Climate Initiative, to break down the implications of this crisis for American consumers and the United States.

Show notes and transcript.

Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu.

How executive orders are reshaping Black America May 05, 2026

Show notes

The Trump administration has used executive orders to expand immigration enforcement, overhaul elections, and gut diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. Keon Gilbert, director of the Race, Prosperity, and Inclusion Initiative, discusses the disproportionate impact on Black Americans with Jonathan Cox of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation and Tonantzin Carmona, a fellow at Brookings Metro.

Show notes and transcript.

Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu.

Will the Iran ceasefire hold? Apr 23, 2026

Show notes

With an indefinite ceasefire in place and continued attacks in the Strait of Hormuz, the war in Iran has reached a turning point. Given the chasm between the strategic interests of the United States and Iran, where does the conflict go from here? In this episode of The Current, Brookings Fellow Aslı Aydıntaşbaş is joined by Vice President of Foreign Policy Suzanne Maloney and Visiting Fellow Mara Karlin to discuss the impact of the war, the status of negotiations between the US and Iran, and potential off-ramps for President Trump to seek an end to the conflict.

Show notes and transcript.

Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu.

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