Ep. 102: How will the US-China trade war end?

James Pethokoukis

With the United States and China trading threats of escalating tariffs, the world waits to see whether these barbs become a full-fledged trade war between the two largest economies. The Trump administration claims its actions are necessary to deter China from continuing its predatory trade behavior — an objective today’s guest, Derek Scissors, agrees is a worthwhile pursuit — but he doubts whether the means Trump has chosen can achieve this end.

Over the course of our conversation we discuss the likely impact of Trump’s promised tariffs, the different ways China cheats the global trading system, whether the US should have allowed China to join the WTO in the first place, and much more. Derek Scissors is a resident scholar here at AEI, the chief economist of the China Beige Book, the author of the China Global Investment Tracker, and an all-around expert on US-China relations.

Ep. 101: Artificial intelligence and the hunt for the master algorithm

James Pethokoukis

Machine learning is something new under the sun: a technology that builds itself. Right now we have limited algorithms with limited potential, but, if it exists, the Master Algorithm could derive all knowledge in the world from data. Inventing it would be one of the greatest advances in the history of science, speeding up the progress of knowledge across the board and changing the world in ways we can barely begin to imagine.

So says Pedro Domingos, professor of computer science at the University of Washington and author of the book “The Master Algorithm: How the Quest for the Ultimate Learning Machine Will Remake Our World.” He joined the podcast to discuss his book and the possible utopian and dystopian futures of AI.

On this episode of Viewpoint, AEI president Arthur Brooks gives a presentation on “Telling the Human Story” at the AEI/Ricochet Podcast Summit in Washington, DC. The secret to stronger human connection and persuasion isn’t more data, it’s better stories. Neuroscientists and behavioral social scientists have demonstrated this. By learning to share the narratives of our own lives—and paying closer attention to those of others—we can all become more effective and more unifying leaders.

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On this Viewpoint Podcast, AEI’s Aparna Mathur sits down with Isabel V. Sawhill from the Brookings Institution to discuss paid family leave proposals and the reasoning behind it.

Is it time for a paid family laeve policy in the United States? Listen to their discussion to hear their thoughts.

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This interview originally aired on AEI’s YouTube Channel on July 17, 2017.

On this episode of ‘Viewpoint,’ AEI’s Andy Smarick sits down with Juliet Squire from Bellweather Education Partners for a wide-ranging conversation on the needs of rural America and when chartering might be a good fit. Proponents of school choice generally champion charter schools as a way to expand the education options available to families. But, for a host of policy and practical reasons, charters may not always be the right reform for a rural community.

This interview originally aired on AEI’s YouTube channel on December 15, 2017.

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On this episode of Viewpoint, AEI’s Katharine Stevens sits down with photographer Chris Arnade. Arnade has a PhD in physics and was a Wall Street trader. After a crisis of conscience following the 2008 financial crash [3:02], Chris abandoned his banking job to travel the country and chronicle the lives of America’s forgotten masses. But more compelling than the photos were the real conversations that Chris had with real people across the United States [5:23]. He discusses analyzing the “front row and back row” of educational classes [13:56].

This interview originally was published on AEI’s YouTube channel.

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This Viewpoint Podcast features a conversation with John Huffingon who, after spending 32 years in prison — 10 of which were on death row — maintained his innocence, and was ultimately released from prison in 2013 through a writ of actual innocence. Today, John works for Living Classrooms in Baltimore, where he runs programs to help educate former prisoners who are returning to the workforce. The goal is to reduce crime and recidivism in Maryland by helping those reentering society to get productive, legal jobs instead of going back to jail.

For more Viewpoint podcasts, subscribe to the AEI Podcast Channel on Apple Podcasts.

This interview originally aired on AEI’s YouTube Channel on December 8, 2017.

In this episode of the “New Skills Marketplace” podcast, Andy Smarick (AEI) and John Bailey (AEI) sit down with Tamar Jacoby from Opportunity America to talk about workforce development.

Tamar begins by raising a number of questions about proposed solutions to the skills gap [3:57]. She then focuses specifically on apprenticeships [6:11].  Next, Tamar responds to concerns about job reductions due to automation and drops in economic mobility [10:26]. Finally, she identifies the main questions that policymakers, employers, and educational institutions need to answer to in order make meaningful changes to workforce training [19:20] and offers advice to policymakers looking to spur innovation [24:51]. Andy and John conclude with a reflection on their discussion with Tamar.

 

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