Policy Currents

Most of America’s teachers feel overworked and underpaid; why insomnia is a multibillion-dollar problem; helping overworked public defenders; why the United States and Israel may be on parallel paths; and how food insecurity and wildfire risk are connected. For more information on this week’s episode, visit rand.org/podcast.

RAND experts Michelle Miro and Krista Romita Grocholski join us to discuss the growing problem of flooding in the United States. They recently published a paper that examines this issue in the Mid-Atlantic region, where extreme precipitation has led to flooding nearly every season since 2018. Climate data, they say, is essential to helping stormwater managers and civil engineers better protect their communities from these costly disasters. For more information on this week’s episode, visit rand.org/podcast.

Why comparing the war in Ukraine to World War I is misleading; income share agreements as an alternative to student loans; the U.S.-China race for technological supremacy; and how India is edging out China in South Asia. For more information on this week’s episode, visit rand.org/podcast.

Invisible damage from the Maui wildfires; improving the safety of America’s AI industry; Ukraine’s civilian resistance; and how to increase housing affordability in New York City. For more information on this week’s episode, visit rand.org/podcast.

Undermining Russia’s private military contractors; what nighttime lighting reveals about China's efforts to imprison Tibetans; how “Truth Decay” is damaging U.S. national security; and the stackable credential movement. For more information on this week’s episode, visit rand.org/podcast.

How to reverse the erosion of U.S. and allied power and influence; Washington's concerns over Taiwan’s defense spending; why European host countries shouldn’t treat Ukrainian refugees like short-term visitors; and addressing the mental health crisis in U.S. jails. For more information on this week’s episode, visit rand.org/podcast.

Where things stand for Russia; why India is flexing its diplomatic muscles in Southeast Asia; what to do about mass shooters who are looking for fame; and demystifying the security clearance process. For more information on this week’s episode, visit rand.org/podcast.

The NATO summit and decisions to support Ukrainian reconstruction; why Russia has stumbled so significantly in Ukraine; how restricted access to reproductive health care could affect U.S. national security; why the “Barbie” movie was banned in Vietnam; and job-related stress among America’s school superintendents. For more information on this week’s episode, visit rand.org/podcast.

What might happen if China attacked Taiwan; whether Wagner Group fighters will stay on after Prigozhin’s failed mutiny; and the benefits of providing legal counsel to defendants at bail hearings. For more information on this week’s episode, visit rand.org/podcast.

Checking in on America’s teachers; why Ukraine is a breeding ground for Russian private military companies; policy changes related to psychedelics; preparing for conspiracy theories about artificial intelligence; and what medical consensus says about health care for transgender veterans. For more information on this week’s episode, visit rand.org/podcast.