The Brookings Cafeteria

By The Brookings Institution

What's The Brookings Cafeteria about?

From 2013–2022, the Brookings Cafeteria podcast presented experts, ideas, and solutions across a range of policy topics. You can listen to past episodes at brookings.edu/BCP. The Brookings Podcast Network produces other policy-oriented shows that may interest you. Learn more at brookings.edu/podcasts. Follow on Twitter @policypodcasts.

4.5

417417 ratings

Download our free app to listen on your phone

The Brookings Cafeteria episodes:

03.25.2022
Brookings President John R. Allen on Russia, Ukraine, China, and leading the Institution forward
In this final episode of the Brookings Cafeteria podcast, John R. Allen, president of the Brookings Institution, offers his views on Russia's war on Ukraine—including the February 4 joint statement between Russia and China; on China's continued ambitions for global...
03.18.2022
More than ever, cities and metro areas matter for America's future
Amy Liu, vice president and director of Brookings Metro, says that more than ever, cities and metro areas matter for America's future. They are at the forefront of demographic change, innovation, competitiveness, adaptation to climate change, and more. Show notes...
03.11.2022
Political polarization in America is worse than ever, and what we can do about it
Darrell West, vice president and director of Governance Studies, says the forces that have fueled political polarization and extremism in the U.S. even since the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol are worsening. He offers insights about why, and...
03.04.2022
Challenges in the post-COVID global economic recovery
Brahima Sangafowa Coulibaly, vice president and director of the Global Economy and Development program at Brookings, addresses the divergent paths between wealthy countries and the developing world in the post-COVID-19 economic recovery. Show notes and transcript: Follow Brookings podcasts on...
02.25.2022
The state of jobs and the US labor market
Stephanie Aaronson, vice president and director of Economic Studies at Brookings, discusses the state of jobs and the U.S. labor market. Show notes and transcript: Follow Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to ,...
02.18.2022
Iran’s nuclear aspirations
Suzanne Maloney, vice president and director of Foreign Policy at Brookings, discusses the state of negotiations aimed at reviving the Iran nuclear deal, U.S.-Iran relations, and prospects for Iranian moderation in the future. Show notes and transcript: Follow Brookings podcasts...
02.11.2022
How to fix America's broken housing systems
On this episode of the Brookings Cafeteria, an expert on housing policy discusses her new book that addresses America's housing challenges and proposes practical changes to make more housing available and affordable for all Americans. Jenny Schuetz is a senior...
02.04.2022
Valuing Black assets in Black communities
Andre Perry, a senior fellow in Brookings Metro and author of “Know Your Price: Valuing Black Lives and Property in America’s Black Cities,” published in 2020 by Brookings Institution Press, talks about a new partnership with the NAACP that focuses...
01.28.2022
Invest in brain health to combat America's crisis of despair
Carol Graham, the Leo Pasvolsky Senior Fellow and director of research in Global Economy and Development, who is an expert on a range of issues related to happiness, the economics of well-being, and America's crisis of despair, talks about her...
01.21.2022
Russia, China, and beyond: Key U.S. foreign policy challenges
Senior Fellow Michael O'Hanlon discusses some of the most challenging foreign policy issues facing the United States today, from Russia to China, from Afghanistan to the Middle East. Show notes and transcript: Follow Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts,...
01.14.2022
Is American democracy failing?
Is America's democracy failing and putting the U.S. economic system at risk? That’s the question in the title of a new report from Governance Studies at Brookings and the States United Democracy Center, co-authored by Brookings senior fellows Bill Galston...
01.07.2022
The top economic issues in 2022
This is the Brookings Cafeteria podcast's seventh annual look at the top economic issues of the coming year. And discussing the state of the U.S. economy, inflation expectations, and more is David Wessel, senior fellow and director of the Hutchins...
12.30.2021
Best of the Brookings Cafeteria podcast in 2021
To celebrate the closing of another tumultuous year, this episode features our favorite clips from past 12 months. We hope you enjoy it, take the opportunity to download full episodes that interest you, and share the show with friends. Show...
12.23.2021
Echidna Global Scholars: Better learning opportunities and life outcomes for girls and young women
Jennifer O’Donoghue, fellow in the Center for Universal Education and coordinator of the Echidna Global Scholars program at Brookings, talks with the 2021 scholars—the tenth class of Echidna Scholars—about their research on improving learning opportunities and life outcomes for girls...
12.17.2021
Brookings Metro at 25: Building a more prosperous, just, and resilient future
Last month, Brookings Metro, formerly the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program, turned 25. Since Brookings Metro’s conception in 1996, America’s cities and urban communities have changed dramatically. On this episode of the Brookings Cafeteria podcast, you’ll hear from metropolitan experts on...
12.10.2021
Ten commitments to save democracy
The two-day, virtual Summit for Democracy convened by President Biden and that wrapped up on December 10 aimed to rally nations around the world against growing authoritarianism. The podcast’s two guests in this episode have long been involved in the...
12.03.2021
17 Rooms, a new podcast for the Sustainable Development Goals
This is a rebroadcast of the first episode of a new show from the Brookings Podcast Network—”17 Rooms,” a podcast about actions, insights, and community for the Sustainable Development Goals (or SDGs) and the people driving them. In “17 Rooms,”...
11.26.2021
When is a public policy racist?
Jim Crow laws that prevented Black citizens from voting are clearly racist, as are redlining practices that excluded Black homebuyers from white neighborhoods. But what about laws and regulations that don’t rely on disparate treatment based on race? Can such...
11.19.2021
Computer science education builds skills for life
Computer science education in K-12 schools matters, not because it’s about training the next generation of computer programmers, but because computer science education builds skills for life, say the guests on this episode. Emiliana Vegas, senior fellow and co-director of...
11.12.2021
Putin, Trump, and the road to authoritarianism
On this episode, a discussion with experts Fiona Hill and Angela Stent on Russia’s re-emergence as a great power after the Cold War ended, under the leadership of Vladimir Putin, and also more broadly on how economic change, deindustrialization, and...
11.05.2021
Cyberbullying and bystander intervention
Seventy percent of people report that they have done something abusive to someone else online, and a majority report being cyberbullied themselves. Nearly 90 percent of teenagers report witnessing online bullying. In a new report published by Brookings, “Bystander intervention...
10.29.2021
What does success at the Glasgow climate conference (COP26) look like?
Global leaders are gathering in Glasgow in the coming weeks as the United Kingdom hosts the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties, known as COP26. As global temperatures continue to rise, the calls for action on addressing...
10.22.2021
Ending the state and local taxes (SALT) deduction
Millions of American taxpayers itemize their deductions, one of which is for state and local taxes, or the SALT deduction. Most of these filers are at the upper end of the income distribution and live in high-income urban areas. On...
10.15.2021
Politics and the pandemic in Latino and Native American communities
This episode features an interview with an expert who calls immigration and the Latino vote a golden opportunity for Democrats in 2022. Gabriel Sanchez is a David M. Rubenstein Fellow in Governance Studies at Brookings and a professor of political...
10.08.2021
Unpacking Opportunity Zones tax havens
David Wessel, a senior fellow and director of the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy at Brookings, is author of the new book “Only the Rich Can Play: How Washington Works in the New Gilded Age,” published by Public...
10.01.2021
White decline and increased diversity in America's aging population
America’s white population is declining and aging, while the share of Latinos or Hispanics, Asians, and people who identify as two are more races is increasing. These are some of the findings in new analysis from Brookings Senior Fellow Bill...
09.24.2021
Jordan and America's decades-long friendship
For over 70 years, Jordan has been an important ally in the Middle East for the United States, a connection built largely on the relationships between two Jordanian monarchs of the Hashemite family—King Hussein and King Abdullah—and American presidents from...
09.17.2021
Rule the waves, rule the world
Oceans are at the center of global competition, climate, and trade. In his new book, “To Rule the Waves: How Control of the World’s Oceans Shapes the fate of the Superpowers,” published by Scribner, Brookings Senior Fellow Bruce Jones takes...
09.10.2021
How 9/11 changed the policy world
Twenty years after the 9/11 attacks, six Brookings scholars reflect on their personal experiences of that terrible day, and offer expert insights into how 9/11 changed policy and what the anniversary suggests for policy moving forward. Show notes and transcript: ...
09.03.2021
Challenges to early childhood education in the wake of COVID-19
As students return to schools across the country, this episode of the Brookings Cafeteria features a rebroadcast of a recent online event from the Brown Center on Education Policy at Brookings on the present and future of early childhood education...
08.27.2021
Why high unemployment persists for Black workers
Disparities between Black workers and white workers in employment and labor force participation existed long before the coronavirus pandemic, and the economic recovery following easing of COVID-19 restrictions has been felt unevenly, especially for Black teens. On this episode, expert...
08.20.2021
The Taliban takes Afghanistan
On this episode, in the wake of the Taliban's rapid takeover of Afghanistan, a discussion of the forces and issues that have shaped Afghanistan over the last two decades and will continue to do so with Vanda Felbab-Brown, a senior...
08.13.2021
Why it's harder for American workers to get ahead, and what we can do about it
On this 400th episode of the Brookings Cafeteria podcast, Marcela Escobari, a senior fellow in Global Economy and Development at Brookings, talks about her new report on how to tackle the worker mobility crisis in the U.S. economy. In the...
08.06.2021
How to make retirement income more accessible for all Americans
Millions of households have built financial security through pensions and retirement saving plans, but millions more remain unable to access these wealth accumulation vehicles. In a new book from the Brookings Institution Press, “Wealth After Work: Innovative Reforms to Expand...
07.30.2021
After the COVID-19 lockdowns, how to fix benefit delivery tech for workers
The COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020 caused a tidal wave of displaced workers who applied for unemployment insurance, or UI. But states, hampered by limited staff and outdated systems, struggled to get relief to these workers quickly and to implement expanded...
07.23.2021
A plan for marijuana policy reform
An interview with Brookings Senior Fellow John Hudak about his new paper, "Reversing the War on Drugs: A five-point plan," in which he lays out a series of policy actions the Biden administration could take short of full federal legalization...
07.16.2021
The Trump Organization tax fraud charges
Just days before tax fraud, larceny, and other charges against the Trump Organization and one of its top executives were filed in New York, Brookings published a report by four leading experts titled “New York State’s Trump Investigation: An analysis...
07.09.2021
Global China's growing role in the world
China is no longer just a rising power; it is now a truly global actor, economically and militarily. In a new book from the Brookings Institution Press, a collection of experts provides a broad assessment of the implications of China’s...
07.02.2021
Dirty money in offshore banks
Billions of dollars and other currencies are in tax havens outside the owner’s country of origin, allowing individuals and corporations to evade taxation by their home governments. Since many of these offshore accounts are secret, it’s difficult to trace what’s...
06.25.2021
Defending truth from the war on facts
Truth is contested ground. Facts are under attack. From disinformation to conspiracy theories, from social media pile-ons to campus intolerance, Americans are facing an epistemic crisis in their ability to distinguish fact from fiction and truth from falsehood. This episode...
06.18.2021
A public reckoning on racial injustice and inequality
As the nation observes Juneteenth, we are still grappling with serious issues around civil rights, economic and political inequality, and unfairness in the criminal justice system. Now, a year after widespread protests in the wake of the murder of George...
06.11.2021
The race gap in multigenerational poverty; Census 2020 findings
On this two-part episode, Senior Fellow William Frey from the Metropolitan Policy Program answers a few questions about recent and upcoming 2020 Census data. Also, Brookings scholar Richard Reeves and AEI scholar Scott Winship discuss the new AEI-Brookings report, "Long...
06.04.2021
The art of war in an age of peace
The world is in an age of peace, relatively speaking. Great powers are not fighting each other and haven’t for a long time. But, the expert guest on this episode says, the United States must stay good at the art...
05.28.2021
Regulating markets most efficiently
On this episode, an interview with Sanjay Patnaik, director of the Center on Regulation and Markets at Brookings and the Bernard L. Schwartz Chair in Economic Policy Development. He discusses the mission of the center, and also talks about his...
05.21.2021
China’s middle class in dynamic Shanghai
In his new book, “Middle Class Shanghai: Reshaping U.S.-China Engagement,” Brookings expert Cheng Li, who directs the John L. Thornton China Center at Brookings, argues that American policymakers should not overlook the dynamism and diversity in present-day China, exemplified by...
05.14.2021
Bipartisan criminal justice reform
A discussion on criminal justice reform with Rashawn Ray, a David M. Rubenstein Fellow in Governance Studies at Brookings, and Brent Orrell, a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, who led the Brookings-AEI Working Group on Criminal Justice Reform....
05.07.2021
How mothers spend their time
More than one in ten mothers of young children left their jobs due to child-care responsibilities at some point in 2020. That’s one of ten facts in a new report from The Hamilton Project at Brookings titled, “Ten economic facts...
04.30.2021
Girls' education is key to climate change solutions
Three people involved in addressing climate change through girls’ and gender-equal education share their insights and policy ideas about how a green learning agenda can help address the climate crisis through education. Christina Kwauk is a nonresident fellow in the...
04.23.2021
Can Taiwan have security AND the good life?
Richard Bush, whose experience with Taiwan spans decades, discusses his new book, “Difficult Choices: Taiwan’s quest for security and the good life,” just published by the Brookings Institution Press. Also, David Wessel offers his thoughts on the Federal Reserve's approach...
04.16.2021
Betting on the future with infrastructure
Infrastructure is front and center in the Washington DC policy debate, and with President Biden’s 2.3 trillion dollar proposal on the table, this won't be another so-called infrastructure week that comes and goes with a chuckle but no action. On...

What's The Brookings Cafeteria about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

The Brookings Cafeteria episodes:

Brookings President John R. Allen on Russia, Ukraine, China, and leading the Institution forward

More than ever, cities and metro areas matter for America's future

Political polarization in America is worse than ever, and what we can do about it

Challenges in the post-COVID global economic recovery

The state of jobs and the US labor market

Iran’s nuclear aspirations

How to fix America's broken housing systems

Valuing Black assets in Black communities

Invest in brain health to combat America's crisis of despair

Russia, China, and beyond: Key U.S. foreign policy challenges

Is American democracy failing?

The top economic issues in 2022

Best of the Brookings Cafeteria podcast in 2021

Echidna Global Scholars: Better learning opportunities and life outcomes for girls and young women

Brookings Metro at 25: Building a more prosperous, just, and resilient future

Ten commitments to save democracy

17 Rooms, a new podcast for the Sustainable Development Goals

When is a public policy racist?

Computer science education builds skills for life

Putin, Trump, and the road to authoritarianism

Cyberbullying and bystander intervention

What does success at the Glasgow climate conference (COP26) look like?

Ending the state and local taxes (SALT) deduction

Politics and the pandemic in Latino and Native American communities

Unpacking Opportunity Zones tax havens

White decline and increased diversity in America's aging population

Jordan and America's decades-long friendship

Rule the waves, rule the world

How 9/11 changed the policy world

Challenges to early childhood education in the wake of COVID-19

Why high unemployment persists for Black workers

The Taliban takes Afghanistan

Why it's harder for American workers to get ahead, and what we can do about it

How to make retirement income more accessible for all Americans

After the COVID-19 lockdowns, how to fix benefit delivery tech for workers

A plan for marijuana policy reform

The Trump Organization tax fraud charges

Global China's growing role in the world

Dirty money in offshore banks

Defending truth from the war on facts

A public reckoning on racial injustice and inequality

The race gap in multigenerational poverty; Census 2020 findings

The art of war in an age of peace

Regulating markets most efficiently

China’s middle class in dynamic Shanghai

Bipartisan criminal justice reform

How mothers spend their time

Girls' education is key to climate change solutions

Can Taiwan have security AND the good life?

Betting on the future with infrastructure