The Brookings Cafeteria

Computer science education in K-12 schools matters, not because it's about training the next generation of computer programmers, but because computer science education builds skills for life, say the guests on this episode. Emiliana Vegas, senior fellow and co-director of the Center for Universal Education at Brookings, and Michael Hansen, senior fellow in the Brown Center for Education Policy at Brookings, are co-authors, along with Brian Fowler, of a new report, "Building Skills for Life: How to expand and improve computer science education around the world," and they join me on the Brookings Cafeteria today. Also on this episode, Adie Tomer, senior fellow in Brookings Metro, reflects on the enactment of the new federal infrastructure program, which he calls the largest single investment in the country's built environment in at least half a century. Show notes and transcript: https://brook.gs/3cp3Luv Follow Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to [email protected], and follow us and tweet us at @policypodcasts on Twitter. The Brookings Cafeteria is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

On this episode, a discussion with experts Fiona Hill and Angela Stent on Russia's re-emergence as a great power after the Cold War ended, under the leadership of Vladimir Putin, and also more broadly on how economic change, deindustrialization, and other forces open doors for populist leaders to rise in places like Russia, and the United States and the United Kingdom as well, as we've seen in recent years. Stent is a nonresident senior fellow with the Center on the United States and Europe at Brookings and senior adviser to the Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies and professor emerita of government and foreign service at Georgetown University. She is the author, most recently, of "Putin's World: Russia Against the West and with the Rest." Fiona Hill, the Robert Bosch Senior Fellow in the Center on the United States and Europe, served from 2017 to 2019 as deputy assistant to the president and senior director for European and Russian Affairs on the National Security Council. Her most recent book is "There Is Nothing for You Here; Finding Opportunity in the Twenty-First Century." Hill and Stent also talk about how their careers in Soviet and Russian studies got started, the rise of Putin's Russia, how social and economic decay can lead to the rise of populist leaders, and how to revive opportunity in America. Show notes and transcript: https://brook.gs/3ofDFzK Follow Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to [email protected], and follow us and tweet us at @policypodcasts on Twitter. The Brookings Cafeteria is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

Seventy percent of people report that they have done something abusive to someone else online, and a majority report being cyberbullied themselves. Nearly 90 percent of teenagers report witnessing online bullying. In a new report published by Brookings, "Bystander intervention on social media: Examining cyberbullying and reactions to systemic racism," researchers examine the cyberbullying phenomenon, especially its racial aspect, and the strategies onlookers use to intervene. On this episode, two report authors discuss their findings: Rashawn Ray, senior fellow in Governance Studies at Brookings and a professor of sociology and executive director of the Lab for Applied Social Science Research at the University of Maryland; and Melissa Brown, assistant professor in the Department of Communication at Santa Clara University. Also on this episode, Governance Studies Senior Fellow Molly Reynolds explains why Democratic leaders in Congress are using reconciliation to try to pass President Biden's legislative priorities, and why that process can be so difficult to use to achieve policy goals. Show notes and transcript: https://brook.gs/3o01P0N Follow Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to [email protected], and follow us and tweet us at @policypodcasts on Twitter. The Brookings Cafeteria is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

Global leaders are gathering in Glasgow in the coming weeks as the United Kingdom hosts the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties, known as COP26. As global temperatures continue to rise, the calls for action on addressing the climate change threat rise as well. On this episode of the Brookings Cafeteria podcast, a leading expert on global climate policy and financing for climate action, Amar Bhattacharya, senior fellow in the Center for Sustainable Development at Brookings, shares his perspective on what will make COP26 successful, what sustainable and inclusive approaches to climate mitigation look like, and what gives him hope for the future. Also on this episode, John McArthur, senior fellow and director of the Center for Sustainable Development, reflects on the Center's first anniversary, noting significant accomplishments of Center scholars and looking ahead to projects to come, including the "17 Rooms" podcast. Show notes and transcript: https://brook.gs/3pMbevu Follow Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to [email protected], and follow us and tweet us at @policypodcasts on Twitter. The Brookings Cafeteria is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

Millions of American taxpayers itemize their deductions, one of which is for state and local taxes, or the SALT deduction. Most of these filers are at the upper end of the income distribution and live in high-income urban areas. On this episode, Senior Fellow Richard Reeves, director of the Future of the Middle Class Initiative at Brookings, says the SALT deduction mostly benefits the wealthiest taxpayers, gives little or no benefit to the middle class, and should be eliminated entirely. He also talks about the unusual politics of the debate in Washington, where Democratic leaders are calling for repeal of the SALT deduction CAP put in place in the 2017 tax law, championed by congressional Republicans. Also on this episode, David Wessel, senior fellow and director of the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy at Brookings, explains why inflation is back, why it's different this time, and what the Federal Reserve can do about it. Show notes and transcript: https://brook.gs/3b1wxR8 Follow Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to [email protected], and follow us and tweet us at @policypodcasts on Twitter. The Brookings Cafeteria is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

This episode features an interview with an expert who calls immigration and the Latino vote a golden opportunity for Democrats in 2022. Gabriel Sanchez is a David M. Rubenstein Fellow in Governance Studies at Brookings and a professor of political science at the University of New Mexico. In the interview, he discusses a range of policy issues including why COVID-19 has had such a devastating impact on Latino families, why vaccination rates are so high in Native American communities, and why immigration policy remains so important headed into the midterm elections. Sanchez is also Founding Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Endowed Chair in Health Policy and director of the Center for Social Policy at the University of New Mexico. Also on this episode, Hanna Love, a research associate with the Bass Center for Transformative Placemaking in the Brookings Metropolitan Policy program, discusses three trends shaping the future of rural America that she says the dominant narratives aren't very good at capturing. Show notes and transcript: https://brook.gs/3lHznAV Follow Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to [email protected], and follow us and tweet us at @policypodcasts on Twitter. The Brookings Cafeteria is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

David Wessel, a senior fellow and director of the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy at Brookings, is author of the new book "Only the Rich Can Play: How Washington Works in the New Gilded Age," published by Public Affairs, which tells the story of how a Silicon Valley entrepreneur developed an idea intended to help poor people that will save rich people money on their taxes. Wessel relates in his book how the tax break, passed into law in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, led to the creation of over eight thousand tax havens across the U.S. called Opportunity Zones. This episode of the Brookings Cafeteria presents part of a recent Brookings live event during which Wessel and other experts discussed the book and the Opportunity Zone experience on the ground. Here, Wessel is interviewed by New York Times White House correspondent Jim Tankersley about "Only the Rich Can Play." Listen and watch the entire event on brookings.edu/events, or also subscribe to the Brookings events podcast channel. Show notes and transcript: https://brook.gs/3FnZswO Follow Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to [email protected], and follow us and tweet us at @policypodcasts on Twitter. The Brookings Cafeteria is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

America's white population is declining and aging, while the share of Latinos or Hispanics, Asians, and people who identify as two are more races is increasing. These are some of the findings in new analysis from Brookings Senior Fellow Bill Frey, who joins the Brookings Cafeteria to talk about America's changing demographics and the implications. Also on this episode, Tony Pipa, a senior fellow in the Center for Sustainable Development, highlights the work of local elected leaders and private sector leaders in the U.S. who are prioritizing action on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Show notes and transcript: https://brook.gs/3zVallY Follow Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to [email protected], and follow us and tweet us at @policypodcasts on Twitter. The Brookings Cafeteria is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

For over 70 years, Jordan has been an important ally in the Middle East for the United States, a connection built largely on the relationships between two Jordanian monarchs of the Hashemite family—King Hussein and King Abdullah—and American presidents from Eisenhower to Biden. In his new book published by the Brookings Institution Press, "Jordan and America: An Enduring Friendship," Brookings Senior Fellow Bruce Riedel tells the story of this critical relationship. On this episode, Riedel is interviewed by Brookings Press Director Bill Finan about the book, one in a series Riedel has authored about important people and events in the Middle East. Also on this episode, Joseph Kane, a fellow in the Metropolitan Policy Program, explains how, with a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill pending in Congress, regional leaders and institutions can prepare future infrastructure workers now. Show notes and transcript: https://brook.gs/2XIIaZK Follow Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to [email protected], and follow us and tweet us at @policypodcasts on Twitter. The Brookings Cafeteria is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

Oceans are at the center of global competition, climate, and trade. In his new book, "To Rule the Waves: How Control of the World's Oceans Shapes the fate of the Superpowers," published by Scribner, Brookings Senior Fellow Bruce Jones takes readers on a fascinating voyage through this water world via the great ports, ships, geographies, and history of our ocean planet. And on this episode of the Brookings Cafeteria, Jones shares some highlights from the book, including his visits to one of the largest cargo ships in the world and a naval base in Norway over a hundred miles north of the Arctic Circle. Also on this episode, Senior Fellow David Wessel explains one unnoticed provision of the 2017 Trump tax bill, the Opportunity Zone, which was intended to encourage development in poor neighborhoods around the country but instead unleashed a tax break gold rush for economic and political elites. Show notes and transcript: https://brook.gs/397jv3N Follow Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to [email protected], and follow us and tweet us at @policypodcasts on Twitter. The Brookings Cafeteria is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.