The Current

Mar 21 2025 100 ep. 18 mins 6.7k
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The Current brings you smart, timely, and quick analysis from Brookings experts on breaking news and changing policies. In under ten minutes, learn not only what happened, but why, and how to make sense of it.

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The US government data purge is a loss for policymaking and research

Mar 21 2025 18 mins  
In its first two months, the Trump administration has not only laid off thousands of federal workers and shuttered agencies, but it has also purged taxpayer-funded data sets from a swathe of government websites, including data on crime, sexual orientation, gender, education, climate, and global development. Caren Grown, senior fellow in the Center for Sustainable Development at Bro

A playbook to counter democratic backsliding in the US and abroad

Feb 13 2025 16 mins  
Democracy Playbook 2025, published by the Anti-Corruption, Democracy, and Security project at Brookings, identifies seven pillars that are essential to safeguard democracy worldwide and offers actionable steps to strengthen democratic institutions in the U.S. and globally. To talk about the new report, Governance Studies Senior Fellow Norm Eisen, co-editor of the Playbook, joins Th

Can the Trump administration freeze federal spending?

Jan 29 2025 12 mins  
This week, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) ordered a freeze of funding across a broad array of federal programs, leading to mass confusion around the country from local governments, nonprofits, and individuals. While that particular order appears to have been rescinded, Molly Reynolds explains how it touches on foundational questions of Congress’ spending po

What might US rural policy look like in the Trump administration?

Dec 20 2024 18 mins  
As the Trump administration prepares to take power in Washington, Senior Fellow Tony Pipa, host of the Reimagine Rural podcast, looks at what has happened in rural policy under the Biden administration and what shifts in federal policy and emphasis might ensue under President Trump. No matter what changes come, Pipa notes, local communities will continue to solve problems locally.

What's next for Syria and the region after Assad's fall?

Dec 09 2024 17 mins  
On December 8, Syrian rebels took control of Damascus, the nation’s capital. Deposed dictator Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia, marking the end of a long civil war and his 24-year-long brutal reign, which followed his father’s nearly 30-year rule. Syrians are rightfully celebrating, even as they’re freeing people from notorious regime prisons and looking to transition away from

Election 2024 and the health of American democracy

Oct 31 2024 16 mins  
As the U.S. heads into the final days of the 2024 elections, Kathryn Dunn Tenpas reviews the health of American democracy, the lack of guardrails against mis- and disinformation, and ways to restore public trust. Show notes and transcript: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/election-2024-and-the-health-of-american-democracy Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple or

Government spending, debt, and taxes in the 2024 election

Oct 16 2024 29 mins  
The economy is one of the quadrennial top issues for American voters, and related to economic performance are concerns about the national debt, taxes, and government spending, especially on popular entitlements like Social Security and Medicare. On this episode, Ben Harris, vice president and director of Economic Studies at Brookings, talks with host Fred Dews about how these issue

Making housing more affordable

Sep 27 2024 55 mins  
The high cost of housing is a significant economic pressure for many Americans, even as inflation has eased. Homeowners and renters alike pay increasingly higher percentages of their income on housing, and homelessness reached a record high in 2023. Recorded in front of a live audience, this episode of The Current features Brookings Senior Fellow Jenny Schuetz and San Francisco Ch

As the UN General Assembly gets underway, how are we doing on the Sustainable Development Goals?

Sep 13 2024 20 mins  
The 79th session of the General Assembly of the United Nations opened this week in New York City. To address some of the main issues on the agenda, with a focus on sustainable development and the Summit of the Future, is John McArthur, director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Brookings and a senior fellow in Global Economy and Development. Show notes and transcript: ht

Competing energy and climate visions in the 2024 presidential election

Aug 19 2024 16 mins  
As part of the Brookings Election '24 initiative, Samantha Gross, director of the Energy Security and Climate Initiative at Brookings, talks about the energy and climate policy issues in the U.S. presidential election as voters think about how either a Harris administration or a second Trump administration would approach these matters. Show notes and transcript: https://www.brookin