Baker Briefing

In early July, Hurricane Beryl made landfall near Houston as a Category 1 storm. The city’s flooding infrastructure held up, but thousands were without power for over a week in the brutal summer heat.

On this episode of the Baker Briefing podcast, Jim Blackburn, a faculty scholar at the Baker Institute and co-director of Rice’s SSPEED Center, joined fellow Ed Emmett to discuss the impacts of Beryl. Tune in for their insights into the lessons learned and risks dodged.

Discussants

Jim Blackburn Baker Institute Rice Faculty Scholar and Professor in the Practice of Environmental Law, Rice University

Edward M. Emmett  Fellow in Energy and Transportation Policy, Baker Institute

Masoud Pezeshkian’s victory in Iran’s presidential election on July 5 was, in many ways, surprising: The parliamentarian is a relative moderate who has pledged to engage with the West and criticized the harassment of women by Iran’s morality police. But will his reformist views translate to meaningful change?

Mohammad Ayatollahi Tabaar and Kristian Coates Ulrichsen joined the podcast to talk about what Pezeshkian’s victory means for Iran’s domestic and foreign policy challenges — its relations with the U.S. and the Gulf states in particular.

For more, read a related analysis by Tabaar in Foreign Affairs.

Discussants

Mohammad Ayatollahi Tabaar, Ph.D. 

Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, Ph.D. 

The Honorable David M. Satterfield 

A slowing inflation rate, low unemployment, and record stock market highs all point to a robust economy. But are consumers really better off than they were four years ago? On this episode of the Baker Briefing podcast, Center for Public Finance director John Diamond explains why many aren’t feeling the benefits of an economy that’s strong on paper.

This conversation was recorded on June 27, 2024.

Discussants

John Diamond, Ph.D. Edward A. and Hermena Hancock Kelly Fellow in Public Finance and Director, Center for Public Finance, Baker Institute

The Honorable David M. Satterfield  Director, Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy; Janice and Robert McNair Chair in Public Policy

The U.S. federal government ran a deficit of $1.7 trillion in 2023. This year, net interest payments on the debt alone amount to over $800 billion — more than the country’s entire defense budget.

John Diamond, director of the Baker Institute Center for Public Finance, explains what’s driving the rising debt level, why it’s unsustainable, and why there’s no end in sight without comprehensive fiscal reform.

This conversation was recorded on June 18, 2024.

Discussants

John Diamond, Ph.D. Edward A. and Hermena Hancock Kelly Fellow in Public Finance and Director, Center for Public Finance, Baker Institute

The Honorable David M. Satterfield  Director, Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy; Janice and Robert McNair Chair in Public Policy

On June 2, Claudia Sheinbaum was elected to Mexico’s highest office. A climate scientist and former mayor of Mexico City, Sheinbaum will now become the first woman president in the country’s history. 

Her victory is part of a resounding win for the ruling Morena party and its allies, which gained a congressional majority in the elections. Now, the Mexican left may be able to reshape the country’s policy landscape through constitutional reform — something Sheinbaum’s mentor, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, tried unsuccessfully to do during his term. 

This episode features a conversation between Tony Payan, director of the Baker Institute Center for the U.S. and Mexico, and Lorena Becerra, a political scientist and pollster who previously worked at the newspaper Reforma. Tune in as they explore voter turnout on June 2 and the implications of Morena’s landslide victory for Mexican policy.

This conversation was recorded on June 4, 2024. For more on issues central to U.S.-Mexico relations, check out the “Judy Ley Allen México Centered” podcast from the Center for the U.S. and Mexico.

Discussants

Lorena Becerra, Ph.D.

Tony Payan, Ph.D. 

Experts examine the evolving global liquefied natural gas (LNG) market, including the implications of the recent U.S. halt in the review of LNG export applications, how conflicts in Europe and the Middle East have disrupted the market, and the challenges that a “re-Balkanization” of the natural gas industry would pose in the face of global shocks.

For more insights, read a related article from the Baker Institute’s Gabriel Collins and Steven Miles in Foreign Policy.

This conversation was recorded on May 22, 2024.

Discussants

Gabriel Collins Baker Botts Fellow in Energy & Environmental Regulatory Affairs, Baker Institute

Steven R. Miles Fellow in Global Natural Gas, Baker Institute

Edward M. Emmett Fellow in Energy and Transportation Policy, Baker Institute

In December 2023, China released a set of proposed regulations on its video gaming industry. The regulations would have targeted many of the most common monetization features in video games — like daily log-in rewards, bonuses for first-time users of in-game currencies, and “loot boxes,” a kind of randomized prize draw that some liken to legalized gambling. But then something happened: The release of the proposals caused Chinese gaming stocks to plunge, and the government quickly walked the regulations back.

Here we unpack what this incident tells us about the regulatory power of the Chinese government, the influence of China’s tech industry, and even government anxieties about online life. For more, read a related commentary by the Baker Institute’s Brandon Zheng.

This conversation was recorded on May 21, 2024.

Discussants

Steven W. Lewis, Ph.D. C.V. Starr Transnational China Fellow, Baker Institute

Brandon Zheng Research Associate, China Studies Program, Baker Institute

The Honorable David M. Satterfield  Director, Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy; Janice and Robert McNair Chair in Public Policy

On May 19, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi died suddenly in a helicopter accident. Experts share what policy direction they expect Iran to take in the aftermath of Raisi’s death and what reactions they anticipate from the Gulf.

Discussants

Mohammad Ayatollahi Tabaar

Kristian Coates Ulrichsen

The Honorable David M. Satterfield

This conversation was recorded on May 21, 2024.

In this episode of Baker Briefing, experts explore the future of fuels for passenger and freight mobility. The episode is part of an initiative by the Center for Energy Studies investigating the supply chain and cost implications of transitioning fuels across the transportation sector — the economy’s circulatory system.

A transcript of the episode is available here. This text was AI-generated and has not been through editorial review. 

Discussants

Edward M. Emmett

Kenneth B. Medlock III

This conversation was recorded on May 7, 2024.

American children today are less active than ever before, raising important concerns about physical health, mental health, well-being, and autonomy. This episode explores the relationship between our urban environments, childhood safety, and well-being.

A transcript of the episode is available here. This text was AI-generated and has not been through editorial review. 

Discussants

Zoabe Hafeez, M.D.

Sandra McKay, M.D.

Edward M. Emmett

This conversation was recorded on April 11, 2024.