Talking Progress

The second episode showcases best practices and proposals for action from the participants of the conference in Brussels, among others John Austin, Director of the Michigan Economic Center; Jamie Driscoll, Mayor of North of Tyne in the UK; Thomas Wobben, Director for Legislative Works at the European Committee of the Regions; and Bill Peduto, former Mayor of Pittsburgh, USA, and Member of the project’s Sounding Board.

The first episode of the industrial heartlands series focuses on the keynote speech held by Cathryn Clüver Ashbrook, an important voice on transatlantic relations and Member of the Sounding Board of our Transatlantic Dialogue, on "The Democratic Imperative to Deliver for the Heartlands".

How can Germany live up to its security policy responsibilities in the Zeitenwende? Tune in to hear German Chancellor Olaf Scholz' pledge to continue helping Ukraine and journalist Anne Applebaum and Head of the German Federal Chancellery Wolfgang Schmidt discuss the fundamental ways in which we now have to rethink foreign, security and economic policy.

The New Urban Progress fellowship spent three years examining and debating how cities can strengthen the transatlantic relationship. The fellows, partners, a project patron, and members of the sounding board participated in an end-of-fellowship discussion on what the most pressing issues are for urban areas in Germany and the United States, how we can deliver policy to address these challenges and why cities are central to the transatlantic partnership.

In this episode, New Urban Progress fellows Richard Lawrence Jr. and Maria Willett present their NOVA Cities Index, a blueprint with the goal of help city leaders focus on how to make their city more innovative, green, and equitable. They are joined by Katie Rosenberg and Julie Richier to debate how useful these metrics actually are and also discuss how urban power can bring progress locally, regionally and transatlantically. The session is hosted by Cathryn Clüver-Ashbrook.

In this episode, New Urban Progress fellows Neel Brown, Maria Willett and Steffen Haake share impressions from their trips through Germany and the United States, including how cities deal with modernizing their transportation system, drawing up inclusive housing and establishing public safety infrastructure.

Listen to Anastasia Lemberg-Lvova and Gitte Zschoch in a conversation about the role of artists and culture in our society and how funders and policy makers can better support cultural workers.

Cities are a major cause of greenhouse gas pollution. However, they are also the places driving change: From modernizing buildings to making mobility sustainable, cities have plenty of tools at their disposal to become climate-neutral. But the ecological transformation is expensive. So where does the money come from?

In this episode, Andreas Horchler talks to two experts in the field: Fritzi Köhler-Geib is chief economist at KfW Group, an important development finance bank. Gereon Uerz is Head of Sustainability at GROPYUS, a building company specializing in sustainable timber construction. Additional experts are Philipp Rode, Executive Director of LSE Cities and associate professorial research fellow at the London School of Economics, and Oliver Weigel, Head of the Division for urban development at the German ministry of the interior.

The 2021 German Election brought a decisive vote for change: Merkel’s center-right party lost points, while the Social Democrats and the Greens made meaningful gains. But what are the implications? In this new episode of the "Talking Progress" podcast, Ricarda Lang, Jeremy Cliffe, and Tobias Dürr discuss how a new social-green-liberal coalition can be successful.

How can regulatory frameworks best serve people while also upholding democratic principles? Tune in to an exclusive one-on-one conversation between the Executive Vice President of the European Commission for the Digital Age and Competition, Margrethe Vestager, and the Co-Chairman of the German Green Party, Robert Habeck.