This summer, North America is preparing to host the largest FIFA World Cup in history. Seventy-eight matches will be played across 11 American cities, but domestic politics have turned up the heat off the pitch. Questions around immigration policy, security, and global perception have intensified scrutiny of how the tournament may factor into broader U.S. efforts to redefine its international presence. Former Amb. David Satterfield is joined by Middle East expert Dr. Kristian Coates Ulrichsen to discuss how sports are becoming a tool of diplomacy.

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This conversation was recorded [in front of a live studio audience] on Jan. 22, 2026. [Learn about future live recordings of the “Baker Briefing” podcast by subscribing to our “Events Digest” newsletter at https://www.bakerinstitute.org/newsletter.]

You can follow @BakerInstitute on X, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Learn more about our data-driven, nonpartisan policy research and analysis at bakerinstitute.org.

What do Iran’s converging challenges — environmental stress, economic strain, security concerns and an unresolved nuclear file — signal for the country’s leadership, society and role in the region? Mohammad Tabaar joined the podcast to discuss the internal and external pressures shaping Iran today, the choices Tehran may face in the months ahead, and what those decisions could mean for regional stability.

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This conversation was recorded on Jan. 22, 2026.

You can follow @BakerInstitute on X, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Learn more about our data-driven, nonpartisan policy research and analysis at bakerinstitute.org.

What does the removal of Nicolás Maduro by U.S. military force signal for the future of Venezuela’s oil industry? Francisco Monaldi and Ken Medlock joined the podcast to discuss President Donald Trump’s recently released plan for taking over and selling the country’s crude oil, the risks and incentives for U.S. and international oil companies, and the implications for oil flows across Latin America.

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This conversation was recorded on Jan. 12, 2026.

In this bonus episode, we’re sharing a conversation with Ben Ginsberg, a high-profile elections lawyer and key figure in the 2000 Bush v. Gore litigation, from the elections conference we held last month in partnership with The Carter Center.

Ginsberg joined David Satterfield to discuss that landmark dispute 25 years later. Their conversation also explored contemporary electoral issues in the U.S., from the counting of mail-in ballots to partisan redistricting. 

Our annual co-hosted elections conference is designed to build on the legacy of the 2005 bipartisan Commission on Federal Election Reform, co-chaired by former President Jimmy Carter and former Secretary of State James Baker, III. Our 2025 conference examined contested elections in the U.S. on the 25th anniversary of the landmark Bush v. Gore decision.

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You can follow @BakerInstitute on X, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Learn more about our data-driven, nonpartisan policy research and analysis at bakerinstitute.org.

A year into the second Trump administration, what does the latest data tell us about the U.S. economy, which the president touted in a primetime address last month? And what can the numbers tell us, given changes in how economic data is collected following the government shutdown?

John Diamond, director of the Center for Tax and Budget Policy and host of “The Two-Handed Economist,” joined the podcast to discuss the latest on inflation and the labor market, the impact of tariffs, and what consumers and investors can expect in 2026.

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This conversation was recorded on Dec. 16, 2025.

You can follow @BakerInstitute on X, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Learn more about our data-driven, nonpartisan policy research and analysis at bakerinstitute.org.

Iran is facing a cascade of domestic challenges, including a deepening currency crisis and drought so severe that President Masoud Pezeshkian has suggested residents of the capital city Tehran may need to evacuate. Meanwhile, strain is building over nuclear talks in the aftermath of the 12-day conflict with Israel and the U.S. in June 2025.

Middle East fellow Mohammad Ayatollahi Tabaar joined the “Baker Briefing” podcast to discuss how the regime is managing these pressures — and redefining Iran’s national identity in the process.

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This conversation was recorded on Dec. 8, 2025. 

You can follow @BakerInstitute on X, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Learn more about our data-driven, nonpartisan policy research and analysis at bakerinstitute.org.

Without a last-minute extension of enhanced tax credits, Americans who purchase health insurance through the Affordable Care Act will see their premiums spike in January. How did we get here, and why are health care access and affordability such persistent policy challenges? Dr. Heidi Russell and Elena M. Marks joined the “Baker Briefing” podcast to discuss what happens when the ACA subsidy enhancements expire and offer insights for moving the U.S. health system forward.

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This conversation was recorded on Nov. 20, 2025. 

You can follow @BakerInstitute on X, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Learn more about our data-driven, nonpartisan policy research and analysis at bakerinstitute.org.

On Oct. 30, journalist Julia Ioffe visited the Baker Institute to discuss her new book: “Motherland: A Feminist History of Modern Russia, from Revolution to Autocracy.” This episode is a condensed version of her conversation with Alan Crain, chairman of the Houston Committee on Foreign Relations, on how women’s roles in Russia — from the Bolshevik revolution to the present — have both mirrored and shaped political power.

Want to watch the full event? View it on our website: https://bit.ly/3JPVg00.

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You can follow @BakerInstitute on X, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Learn more about our data-driven, nonpartisan policy research and analysis at bakerinstitute.org.

A water crisis along the U.S.-Mexico border is growing. The 1944 Water Treaty has long guided how both nations share the Rio Grande and Colorado rivers, but climate change, drought, and growing demand are testing its limits. Guest host Tony Payan speaks with Rosario Sanchez, a senior research scientist at the Texas Water Resources Institute, and Ivonne Cruz, a research scholar at the Baker Institute, about how to rethink water cooperation for an age of scarcity — and what it will take to build a more resilient future for both countries.

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This conversation was recorded on Oct. 23, 2025. You can follow @BakerInstitute on X, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Learn more about our data-driven, nonpartisan policy research and analysis at bakerinstitute.org.

For the first time in decades, the U.S. immigrant population is declining — and with it, the country's long-held assumption of steady population growth. Bill King joins the podcast to discuss how demographic trends and President Donald Trump’s sweeping immigration policies are shaping the nation’s future labor force, economy, and identity, as well the importance of rational immigration policy for dealing with the challenges of global depopulation.

This conversation was recorded on Oct. 13, 2025.

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You can follow @BakerInstitute on X, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Learn more about our data-driven, nonpartisan policy research and analysis at bakerinstitute.org.