The Brookings Cafeteria

Les Gelb, a former Brookings fellow and co-author of the 1979 book The Irony of Vietnam: The System Worked –which is being released this month as a Brookings Press Classic – discusses the influence the Vietnam War has had on how the U.S handles wars and the need for American pragmatism in foreign policy decision-making today. "What made this country great was Americans using their pragmatism, solving problems, and realizing there were certain problems they couldn't solve--at least, not solve them right away," Gelb says. In the podcast, Gelb also explains the "domino theory" that guided U.S. policymakers during the Vietnam conflict. "Vietnam was the essential domino and if it fell to communism, if it fell to the Soviet Union and China, in effect, [then] all of Asia would fall right behind it." Also in this episode: another installment of "Steve Hess Stories" with Senior Fellow Emeritus Stephen Hess; and hear more from the Brookings event Examining Charter Schools in America. Show Notes The Irony of Vietnam: The System Worked Subscribe to the Brookings Cafeteria on iTunes, listen in all the usual places, and send feedback email to [email protected].

Richard Feinberg, a nonresident senior fellow in the Latin America Initiative and author of the forthcoming book, "Open for Business: Building a New Cuban Economy" (Brookings, 2016), discusses current U.S. and Cuba relations after President Obama's visit and looks ahead to Cuba's increasing engagement with the global economy. "The younger generation does have a respect for Fidel Castro and what the older generation accomplished," Feinberg says. "They want to see a fresh generation of leadership, they want to see a more relaxed political atmosphere, they want more opportunities economically to exercise their own profession and exercise their own talents. They want and fully expect normal relations between Cuba and the United States." In this podcast, Feinberg explains how Cuba can reintegrate itself into global economy while encouraging a gradual opening of economic relations with the U.S. Also in this podcast, meet new scholar Susan Hennessey, fellow in National Security in Governance Studies and stay tuned for our presidential election update with John Hudak. Show Notes Open for Business: Building the New Cuban Economy Obama scores a triple in Havana In Cuba, Obama looks to the post-Castro era Subscribe to the Brookings Cafeteria on iTunes, listen in all the usual places, and send feedback email to [email protected].

Jenny Perlman Robinson, a nonresident fellow in the Center for Universal Education, and Rebecca Winthrop, a senior fellow and director of the Center for Universal Education, discuss a new report: Millions learning: Scaling up quality education in developing countries. In this podcast, Robinson and Winthrop discuss the state of children’s education around the world while highlighting some cases that show how the quality and reach of children’s education can be improved. “Nine out of 10 kids in the world is in primary school, but there is still a lot to be done,” Winthrop says. “A lot of kids are dropping out before they finish secondary school. 75% percent of girls in Sub-Saharan Africa enter primary school but only 8% finish secondary school.” Also in this podcast a Coffee Break with Paul Ginsburg, director of the Health Policy Center and an interview with author Malcolm Sparrow on his new book, "Handcuffed: What Holds Policing Back, and the Keys to Reform." Show Notes: Millions learning: Scaling up quality education in developing countries Getting millions to learn: The impact of Sesame Street around the world Why developing countries must focus on getting millions to learn Subscribe to the Brookings Cafeteria on iTunes, listen in all the usual places, and send feedback email to [email protected].

In this episode, Niam Yaraghi, a fellow in the Brookings Institution's Center for Technology Innovation, explains the current dilemma of security breaches of medical records that are hitting the health care industry. "The difference between the IT revolution in the health care sector and in any other sector is that other businesses embraced IT naturally and gradually and that allowed them to prepare in all other technological and organizational aspects that are necessary to appropriately use IT," says Yaraghi. "In the health care sector it happened overnight. From 9.4% in 2008 to 96.9 in 2014." Also stay tuned for our regular economic update with David Wessel, who talks about taxes; and hear our new Metro Lens segment with Natalie Holmes who discusses concentrated poverty in places like Cleveland and San Antonio. Show notes: Hackers, phishers, and disappearing thumb drives: Lessons learned from major health care data breaches Hospital hacks expose security weaknesses Tear down this health care information breach "wall of shame" U.S. concentrated poverty in the wake of the Great Recession Subscribe to the Brookings Cafeteria on iTunes, listen in all the usual places, and send feedback email to [email protected].

In this podcast, Lex Rieffel, a nonresident senior fellow in the Global Economy and Development program, discusses Myanmar’s transition to democracy, examining the economic, social and political aspects of the transition, as well as potential obstacles in the short run. “So much foreign aid has poured in and will continue to pour in now that Aung San Suu Kyi is leading the government that it may do more harm than good, becoming a factor that actually derails the transition," says Rieffel. Also in this episode: another installment of "Steve Hess Stories" with Senior Fellow Emeritus Stephen Hess; and a conversation with Tanvi Madan, director of The India Project at Brookings. Subscribe to the Brookings Cafeteria on iTunes, listen in all the usual places, and send feedback email to [email protected].

One year after: Observations on the rise of innovation districts Jennifer S. Vey, a fellow with the Centennial Scholar Initiative, discusses the current economic, social, and political situation in Baltimore a year after the riots. “1/5 people in Baltimore lives in a neighborhood of extreme poverty,” Vey says. In this podcast, Vey describes the current state of Baltimore and urges the start of discussions about the abject poverty facing many cities in the United States. Also in this episode: stay tuned for our presidential election update with John Hudak. Also, Vanda Felbab-Brown discusses global drug policy and the upcoming United Nations General Assembly special session on drug policy. Show Notes "The Third Rail" One year after: Observations on the rise of innovation districts Confronting Suburban Poverty in America Subscribe to the Brookings Cafeteria on iTunes, listen on Stitcher, and send feedback email to [email protected].

Tom Loveless, a nonresident senior fellow in Governance Studies, explains his latest research on measuring achievement of American students. “The bottom line here: the implementation of the common core has appeared to have very little impact on student achievement,” Loveless says. In this episode, he discusses whether the common core is failing our students, whether AP achievement is indicative of student success, and the role of principals as instructional leaders. Also in this episode: Get to know Constanze Stelzenmüller, the Robert Bosch Senior Fellow in the Center on the United States and Europe, during our "Coffee Break” segment. Also stay tuned to hear the final episode in our centenary series with current and past Brookings scholars. Show notes: The 2016 Brown Center Report on American Education Subscribe to the Brookings Cafeteria on iTunes, listen on Stitcher, and send feedback email to [email protected].

Melissa Kearney, a nonresident senior fellow in Economic Studies, explains her new research (with Phillip Levine for the Brookings Papers on Economic Activity) on high school students who are growing up in places with high income inequality and their decision to stay in high school or not. “Kids at the bottom of the income distribution are discouraged by higher levels of income inequality as opposed to being driven by it,” Kearney says. “Low income kids are more likely to drop out of high school than high income kids. But conditional to being low income, kids who are growing up in states or cities characterized by high levels of lower tail income inequality—a greater gap between the bottom and the middle—are more likely to drop out of high school.” Also in this episode: Our regular economic update with David Wessel, senior fellow and director of the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy. Also stay tuned to hear our new Metro Lens segment with Amy Liu, vice president and director of the Metropolitan Policy Program. Show Notes: Generation Unbound Income Inequality, Social Mobility, and the Decision to Drop Out Of High School Subscribe to the Brookings Cafeteria on iTunes, listen on Stitcher, and send feedback email to [email protected].

Russell Wheeler, a visiting fellow in Governance Studies and an expert on federal courts, discusses the process and politics of replacing Associate Justice Antonin Scalia on the U.S. Supreme Court given the current political climate. “This polarization our politics has affected the polarization of the confirmation and nomination process and I don’t see how it gets ratcheted down,” Wheeler says. “It gets ratcheted up but I don’t see what happens to get us back to the day in which the Senate basically fulfilled its duty, which was to advise and consent to confirmation of qualified nominees and we’re moving away from that basic obligation of the Senate.” In the podcast, Wheeler gives an overview of the president's and the Senate's constitutional duties for replacing a Supreme Court justice. He also discusses the implications of appointing a Supreme Court justice now, or waiting until the next president is sworn in. Also in this episode: another segment of “Steve Hess Stories” with Senior Fellow Emeritus Stephen Hess; and Lincoln Mitchell discusses his new book, “The Democracy Promotion Paradox.” Subscribe to the Brookings Cafeteria on iTunes, listen on Stitcher, and send feedback email to [email protected].

Qutaiba Idlbi, a Syrian refugee and activist, and Robert L. McKenzie, a Brookings visiting fellow and expert on the Middle East and North Africa, discuss the Syrian crisis from a personal and public policy perspective. In this podcast, Idlbi shares his own experience participating in the Syrian revolution as it began and the repercussions for him and his family. McKenzie also provides feedback on the crisis from a policy perspective and the role that the United States should play in accepting refugees. “Getting arrested is worse than getting killed because when you are arrested you wish you could get killed every moment you are in prison because of how much you are tortured,” Idlbi says about his experience in Syria. McKenzie says that, “There is no question that the Syrian crisis is the defining crisis of our time. It is a complex emergency that is ongoing.” See also: Syrian refugees tell their stories Also, Senior Fellow Elaine Kamarck gives her assessment of what happened on Super Tuesday, and looks ahead to the continuing presidential primary contest. Subscribe to the Brookings Cafeteria on iTunes, listen on Stitcher, and send feedback email to [email protected].