Baker Briefing

In a one-sentence statement, the Chinese government announced in July that its Foreign Minister, Qin Gang, was removed from office. He was replaced by his predecessor, Wang Yi.

Here, we discuss what this move reveals about Xi Jinping’s leadership — and what it could mean for US-China relations.

Discussants include:

• Joe Barnes, Bonner Means Baker Fellow, Baker Institute for Public Policy

Next week, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton faces a historic impeachment trial in the Texas Senate. As the state’s top lawyer, he’s been one of the most powerful and controversial Republicans in the state. Here, we unpack the issues and make our predictions regarding next week’s trial.

This conversation was recorded on July 19, 2023. 

Discussants:

• Ed Emmett, Fellow in Energy and Transportation Policy, Baker Institute for Public Policy

This week, the White House announced a new initiative to tackle the growing use of fentanyl laced with xylazine — known to many as "tranq." This combination of drugs poses an alarming and significant threat to public health. The CDC reported last month that the percentage of fatal opioid overdoses in which xylazine was detected increased by 276% in just three years.

The Baker Institute’s fellow in drug policy, Katharine Neill Harris, discusses the rise in xylazine-laced fentanyl, as well as federal, state, and local policy approaches to curbing the nation’s overdose epidemic. 

Discussants:

• Joe Barnes, Bonner Means Baker Fellow, Baker Institute for Public Policy

Relations between the U.S. and Mexico have come under strain in recent years. The Honorable Earl Anthony Wayne, who served as U.S. ambassador to Mexico from 2011-2015, joins Center for the U.S. and Mexico Director Tony Payan to explore the complex relationship between the two countries and what their future might hold — particularly for trade, immigration after COVID-19, the fentanyl crisis and other public safety issues. 

Discussants:

• Tony Payan, Ph.D., Françoise and Edward Djerejian Fellow for Mexico Studies; Director, Center for the United States and Mexico, Baker Institute; and 

This conversation was recorded on May 31, 2023.

Young people in the U.S. face an unprecedented mental health crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated rates of depression, anxiety and suicide among adolescents that were already at historically high levels before the pandemic. Since 2020, mental health-related emergency room visits have increased 31% among adolescents while suicide rates among teenagers increased 25%.

President Biden acknowledged the severity of this crisis when he introduced a national, five-year initiative to tackle the nation’s mental health crisis. This conversation will explore how the mental health community is overcoming barriers to treatment and the state of federal, state, and local policy interventions.

Discussants:

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

Child labor laws are failing migrant children. As children from Latin America migrate to the United States in record numbers, many are ending up in dangerous jobs that violate child labor legislation. What steps are needed to ensure that vulnerable migrant children are protected from exploitation?

Discussants:

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

 Latin America represents the largest energy resource base outside of the Middle East. The region’s vast energy resources — including significant crude oil and natural gas resources — and its unique political landscape make Latin America a significant player that could shift the geopolitical weight from the east to the west.  

Discussants: 

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

Houston is the most ethnically diverse city in the U.S. It has been called a “microcosm of America’s future” based on its changing economic, demographic, and cultural landscapes. It is also home to the Kinder Houston Area Survey — the nation’s longest-running metropolitan study of its kind. The annual survey reveals the attitudes, concerns, and priorities of Houstonians — including how they change over time. 

In 2023, the survey revealed that Houston’s optimism remained strong, though concerns about economic equity and housing costs were prevalent. Here, we discuss these and other findings from the 42nd annual Houston Area Survey, which was released this week by Rice University’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research. This episode was recorded on May 17, 2023. 

Discussants: 

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

See the 2023 Kinder Houston Area Survey: https://kinder.rice.edu/research/kinder-houston-area-survey-2023-results

The world is closely watching the presidential elections in Turkey — particularly the dynamic between incumbent President Recap Tayyip Erdogan and his main challenger, Kemal Kilicdaroglu. The election has been called the most consequential in Turkey since 1950.

Former U.S. Ambassador to Turkey David M. Satterfield speaks with Aslı Aydıntaşbaş of the Brookings Institute and Soner Cagaptay of the Washington Institute to unpack the political drama in Turkey’s election and its implications for the world. 

This conversation was recorded on May 11, 2023. 

Discussants:

• The Honorable David M. Satterfield, Director, Baker Institute; Janice and Robert McNair Chair in Public Policy; Former US Ambassador to Turkey (2019-2023)

It has been 75 years since the passage of United Nations Resolution 181, which called for the partition of Palestine into Arab and Jewish states. In this episode, scholar Walter Russell Mead offers observations on the past, present, and future of the US-Israeli relationship. These remarks were delivered as the closing session at the “Israel @ 75” conference hosted by the Baker Institute on April 27, 2023. 

Discussants: 

• The Honorable David M. Satterfield, Director, Baker Institute; Janice and Robert McNair Chair in Public Policy

For more, watch additional discussions from the Baker Institute’s “Israel @ 75” conference on April 27, 2023.