AEI Podcast Channel

How will the economy change as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic? Will we see a crippling decline in productivity growth? Will our embrace of digital technology yield benefits? And will the post-pandemic economy be defined more by a redoubled commitment to innovation or by increased risk-aversion? On today’s episode of Political Economy, I explore these questions with Chad Syverson.

Chad is the George C. Tiao Distinguished Service Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. Along with Filippo di Mauro, he recently wrote an article for VoxEU, titled “The COVID crisis and productivity growth”.

We hope you enjoyed this episode of Political Economy with James Pethokoukis, part of the AEI Podcast Network. For more episodes, find Political Economy on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Play, and everywhere else you find podcasts. This episode was first released on May 6, 2020.

When the coronavirus first surfaced, conventional wisdom and the Chinese government suggested it emerged from a wet market in Wuhan. However, newly uncovered State Department cables give credence to the theory that the virus may have leaked from a research facility just down the road.

The Washington Post’s Josh Rogin joined the podcast to walk us through the 2018 cables warning of inadequate safety at a Wuhan coronavirus research lab. Rogin discusses the Chinese government’s reaction to the lab origin story, as well as politicization of the virus at home.

Josh Rogin is a columnist for the Global Opinions section of the Washington Post and a political analyst with CNN. He has covered foreign policy and national security for Bloomberg View, Newsweek, the Daily Beast, and Foreign Policy magazine, among other outlets. He was a 2011 finalist for the Livingston Award for Young Journalists and the 2011 recipient of the Interaction Award for Excellence in International Reporting.

We hope you enjoyed this episode of AEI’s What the Hell is Going On?, with hosts Danielle Pletka and Marc Thiessen. For more episodes, find What the Hell on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, and Google Podcasts. This episode was first released on April 27, 2020.

Download the transcript here.

Will shared micromobility technology survive the COVID-19 pandemic? How easy is it to keep things like electric scooters sanitary?

On this episode, Shane talks with lawyer and transportation technology expert Michele Kyrouz, about the future of micromobility. Together, they cover new sanitation technology, the relative benefits of different modes of transportation, and more.

Download this episode’s transcript here.

Can President Trump unilaterally “reopen” the country? How much power do the states’ governors have to regulate businesses, parks, and other facilities? Can we make China pay for the economic damage the CCP has wrought? And when and how will these interminable lockdowns end? Law professor, constitutional expert, and podcast aficionado John Yoo joined Banter this week to answer these questions and more.

John Yoo is Emanuel S. Heller Professor of Law at the University of California, Berkeley, and a visiting scholar at AEI since 2003. He served as a deputy assistant attorney general in the Office of the Legal Counsel of the US Department of Justice from 2001 to 2003, where he worked on constitutional and national security matters, as General Counsel of the US Senate Committee on the Judiciary from 1995–96, and as a law clerk to Justice Clarence Thomas of the US Supreme Court. He is the author “Crisis and Command: A History of Executive Power from George Washington to George W. Bush,” and the upcoming “Defender in Chief: Donald Trump’s Fight for Presidential Power,” among other books.

You can subscribe to Banter on iTunes, Stitcher, or Spotify, and archived episodes can be found at www.aei.org/tag/aei-banter. This is Banter episode #407.

As the labor market evolves, so do skills demands. While average Americans have access to good education and training opportunities to help them build their skills, other populations struggle. Those with mental and physical impairments, people with criminal records, older workers and others struggle with access to training and employment. So, how can we ensure everyone in the modern economy has access to the training needed to find meaningful work?

Brent talks to Steve Preston, President and CEO of Goodwill Industries International and the former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Together, they discuss the dignity of work, the impacts of COVID-19, and the changing nature of the labor market.

We hope you enjoyed this episode of Hardly Working, part of the AEI Podcast Network. This episode was first released on April 29, 2020. For more episodes of Hardly Working, find us on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or wherever you find your podcasts.

What does blockchain have to do with COVID-19? How can we leverage widespread testing into a means of reopening the economy? And how can we track the spread of COVID-19 while preserving privacy?

On this episode, Shane Tews talks with Shane Bigelow, CEO of Ownum and of Vital Chain, a consortium of tech companies working to create a private and secure method of health status validation.

Download this episode’s transcript here.

Weeks into the coronavirus lockdown, it’s still nearly impossible to find toilet paper at local stores. Americans are getting desperate, and everyone’s asking the same question: When will the hoarding stop?

The Washington Post’s newly enthroned toilet paper expert Marc Fisher joined the show to get to the bottom of the recent shortage. He explains why we’re seeing empty shelves, America’s history of toilet paper hoarding, and the distribution challenges facing toilet paper companies today.

Marc Fisher is a senior editor of The Washington Post, where he reports and writes on a wide range of topics. He has been the enterprise editor, local columnist and Berlin bureau chief, among other positions, over 30 years at the paper. Fisher wrote several Post articles that won the Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting in 2016 and the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service in 2014.

We hope you enjoyed this episode of AEI’s What the Hell is Going On?, with hosts Danielle Pletka and Marc Thiessen. For more episodes, find What the Hell on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, and Google Podcasts. This episode was first released on April 22, 2020.

Download the transcript here.

The coronavirus pandemic is perhaps the most strenuous test of leadership federal, state, and local policymakers have faced during their tenure. In the education world, leaders at all levels—White House, statehouse, and schoolhouse—must decide how to best protect and serve communities. 

On this episode, Nat talks with Governor Jeb Bush about leadership in the coronavirus pandemic. Governor Bush served as the governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. Among his many current roles, Governor Bush serves as the president and chairman of the Foundation for Excellence in Education.

Before the Great Depression, charitable and religious organizations almost exclusively ran the child welfare system in the US. What is the appropriate role of private institutions in the child welfare system today? How can policy redress the perverse incentives currently built into the funding model of public child welfare agencies?

In this episode, Ian and Naomi pose these complex questions to Robert “Bob” Woodson, widely considered as the “godfather” of the neighborhood empowerment movement. Later on, Bob discusses why The New York Times’ 1619 Project is harming minority children’s sense of personal agency and ultimately their chances of upward mobility. 

Show notes:

* Dysfunction and perverse incentives in the child welfare system (2:21)* The role of private agencies in providing foster care services (5:19)* The good and bad about defunding group homes for foster children (9:30)* Should child placement decisions be given back to the private sector? (11:10)* How the 1619 Project’s curricula are harming minority children (14:55)* The 1776 Project (20:02)

Resources:

* Children in Jeopardy | City Journal* Public Schools Are Teaching The 1619 Project in Class, Despite Concerns From Historians | Reason* 1776 Project | Woodson Center

What makes 5G networks different from previous telecom networks? Why is supply chain security so important for 5G? And with global supply chains, how can we ensure both transparency and quality?

Shane talks with David Stehlin, CEO of the Telecommunications Industry Association, about how the industry is ensuring the highest possible standards for the next generation of telecom connectivity.

Download this episode’s transcript here.