Policy Minded

We discuss President Trump's second State of the Union address; what might happen at the next Trump-Kim summit; the public-health impacts of reformulating OxyContin; improving road safety for autonomous vehicles; filling STEM jobs in Appalachia; and work-life balance in Europe. For more information on this week's episode, visit rand.org/podcast.

We discuss President Trump’s second State of the Union address; what might happen at the next Trump-Kim summit; the public-health impacts of reformulating OxyContin; improving road safety for autonomous vehicles; filling STEM jobs in Appalachia; and work-life balance in Europe. For more information on this week’s episode, visit rand.org/podcast.

We discuss direct talks between the United States and the Taliban; babies born with opioid withdrawal; threats from Russia and China; single-payer health care; and investing in early childhood education. For more information on this week's episode, visit rand.org/podcast.

We discuss the complex set of problems on the Korean Peninsula; creating accountability in cyberspace; potential security risks from the partial U.S. government shutdown; using artificial intelligence in the classroom; a triage system to address climate change damage; and what happens if Britain leaves the EU without a deal. For more information on this week's episode, visit rand.org/podcast.

We discuss the essential jobs government workers perform; the likely effects of a rushed U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan; whether educators set goals for social-emotional learning; how Middle East communities can resist sectarianism; creating accountability in cyberspace; and a new approach to public policy problem solving. For more information on this week's episode, visit rand.org/podcast.

We discuss what a border wall could realistically accomplish; walking back the U.S. withdrawal from Syria; how schools can reduce suspensions; the chance of peace in the Taiwan Strait; ways that churches help improve health in their communities; and countering future terrorism. For more information on this week's episode, visit rand.org/podcast.

We discuss Kim Jong Un's latest call for sanctions relief; what happens if consumers stop sharing their personal data; implications of the plan to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria; trends in teen marijuana use; changes in U.S.-China relations; and strategies for better policing. For more information on this week's episode, visit rand.org/podcast.

We discuss RAND's top research projects from the year. Topics include U.S. gun policy; the diminishing role of facts in American public life; what's shaping the future of global security; the postwar international order; and China's approach to modern warfare. For more information on this week's episode, visit rand.org/podcast.

We discuss Syrian refugees' role in Middle East labor markets; what happens if Britain leaves the EU without a deal; how much influence teachers have in schools; preventing bad behavior at soccer matches; marijuana legalization; and countering violent extremism online. For more information on this week's episode, visit rand.org/podcast.

We discuss what the evidence suggests about heroin-assisted treatment and supervised consumption sites; steps to reduce the risk of political violence in America; how to create summer learning programs that can help close the gap between low-income and non-white students and their more-affluent and white peers; why the U.S. immigration system is getting overwhelmed; obstacles facing Japanese forces in their bid to match China's air power; and how Gulf Coast communities can recover from a pair of overlapping environmental disasters. For more information on this week's episode, visit rand.org/podcast.