The Brookings Cafeteria

“The Arab world has made huge progress in giving children access to school,” says Maysa Jalbout, a nonresident fellow with the Center for Universal Education at Brookings. Yet even so, she calls the 2.6 million Syrian children out of school in the region “perhaps the biggest education crisis globally.” In the podcast, Jalbout—former CEO of the Queen Rania Foundation and a global leader on education in international development—discusses the challenges and solutions to educating children in the Arab world, why quality and not just access matters, how the education crisis is a global security issue, and why 3 out of 4 Arab women remain out of the labor force in their countries. Much of the discussion is about Jalbout’s new report, “Reaching all Children with Education in Lebanon: Opportunities for Action.” Show Notes: Center for Universal Education Reaching all Children with Education in Lebanon: Opportunities for Action The Arab World Learning Barometer Unlocking the potential of educated Arab women Subscribe to the Brookings Cafeteria on iTunes, listen on Stitcher, and send feedback email to [email protected].

“Anger at the IRS for the complexity of the tax system is misplaced,” says Senior Fellow Bill Gale in this podcast. “The IRS does not legislate the tax code; Congress does. And if the tax code is complicated, that is Congress’s fault.” Gale, co-director of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, explains one reason why the complicated tax code might be a good thing. Gale also addresses a variety of issues, including: what tax reform means; whether reform is good for economic growth; what are meant by a flat tax and consumption tax; and political rhetoric about abolishing the IRS. "You can argue about whether you want lower taxes or higher taxes, but I don’t think there should be an argument about whether we want an effective enforcement agency. It’s just a good government thing." - Bill Gale Show Notes: Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center How do IRS budget cuts affect taxpayers and the tax system? (event w/ IRS Commissioner Koskinen) Rubio-Lee hints at tax reform's troubling direction Tax Policy in 2014: Two Developments That May Set The Table For the Future Subscribe to the Brookings Cafeteria on iTunes, listen on Stitcher, and send feedback email to [email protected].

“I know that California has got a nightmare on [its] hands right now,” says Pat Mulroy, former general manager for the Southern Nevada Water Authority and now a Brookings nonresident senior fellow, in this podcast taped just as California announced statewide water restrictions. Mulroy, who has been called “the water empress of Vegas,” discusses a path forward in California’s crisis; explains why criticizing the Bellagio fountain’s water use is misplaced; reflects on how she got into the water business in the first place; and offers insights from her experience on how communities can cooperate on water issues. “We in this country have no idea how fortunate we are,” she says. “We are a small minority around the world that actually has reliable 24/7 water.” (Hoover Dam photo by Sareen Hairabedian) Show Notes: Video about Pat Mulroy (YouTube) Longtime Vegas water czar warns other cities to brace for climate change Pat Mulroy’s bio at UNLV’s Boyd School of Law Subscribe to the Brookings Cafeteria on iTunes, listen on Stitcher, and send feedback email to [email protected].

Brookings Fellows E.J. Dionne and Richard Reeves speak with noted political scientist and author Robert Putnam, professor of public policy at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, about his new book Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis. Putnam explains how an “opportunity gap” has emerged over the past twenty-five years between education for wealthy and poor children in America, and how differences in politics, class, and race are impacting the American dream. Also in this episode, Governance Studies Fellow John Hudak explains "What's Happening in Congress." Show Notes: - Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis, by Robert D. Putnam- Social Mobility Memos Subscribe to the Brookings Cafeteria on iTunes, listen on Stitcher, and send feedback email to [email protected].

“The forces of darkness, the terrorists, know that education is a powerful change agent,” says former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard in this podcast about her commitment to global education. Ms. Gillard, now a distinguished fellow with the Center for Universal Education at Brookings and chair of the Global Partnership for Education, discusses a variety of topics, including her path to becoming Australia’s 27th prime minister; overcoming barriers to achieving universal education; why quality of education matters as much, or more, than getting children into school; and what needs to be done in the post-2015 development agenda to achieve gender equity in education. Show Notes: - Brookings Center for Universal Education- Global Partnership for Education- The future of global education: What is the role of non-state actors?- #GirlsEdu: The Value of Girls’ Education in 2014 and Beyond- The Life of an Australian Prime Minister: A Conversation with Julia Gillard on "My Story" Subscribe to the Brookings Cafeteria on iTunes, listen on Stitcher, and send feedback email to [email protected].

“The real question is, are the proponents of ‘Audit the Fed’ legislation seeking to make the Fed more accountable …? Or are they basically people who don’t like what the Fed is doing and see ‘Audit the Fed’ as a lever to change the Fed?” asks Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy Director David Wessel in this podcast. Listen to find out why Wessel calls “Audit the Fed” a misnomer, but also how he explains why we are asking the Fed to do too much in the economy. He also offers ideas on useful reforms to Fed accountability and transparency. Plus, find out why he describes a return to the gold standard as “snake oil.” Wessel is also a senior fellow in Economic Studies and former economics editor of the Wall Street Journal. Show Notes: - The Fed in the 21st century: Independence, governance, and accountability- The Hutchins Center Explains: Audit the Fed- Congress vs. Yellen: Partisanship or accountability?- Central Banking After the Financial Crisis- The Global Financial Crisis: Lessons from History- Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy Subscribe to the Brookings Cafeteria on iTunes, listen on Stitcher, and send feedback email to [email protected].

"We have a deficit of knowledge about the Koreas" in both the academy and public discourse, says Kathy Moon, the SK-Korea Foundation Chair in Korea Studies and a senior fellow in the Center for East Asia Policy Studies at Brookings. In this podcast, Moon, who is also a political science professor at Wellesley College, describes her own journey to becoming a scholar with a focus on Asia and the Koreas; talks about what she observed during her trip to North Korea; explains the sources of North Koreans' national pride; and offers her thoughts on the very serious challenges for Korean reunification. Also in the podcast, a discussion between John Hudak of Governance Studies and Michael O'Hanlon in Foreign Policy about President Obama's request to Congress for an Authorization for Use of Military Force against ISIS. Show Notes: - Shared Challenges and Cooperation for Korea, China and the U.S. - Protesting America: Democracy and the U.S.-Korea Alliance - Ethnicity and U.S. Foreign Policy: Korean Americans - Sandalwood Death, by Mo Yan - The Orphan Master's Son, by Adam Johnson ---- Subscribe to the Brookings Cafeteria on iTunes, listen on Stitcher, and send feedback email to [email protected].

"I think the Affordable Care Act is actually doing quite well," says Senior Fellow Alice Rivlin in this podcast. Rivlin, the Leonard D. Schaeffer Chair in Health Policy Studies and director of the Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform at Brookings, cited the expansion of medical insurance coverage, declining cost growth, and other positive factors for the ACA. She also reflects on continued political opposition to the law, the impending King v. Burwell Supreme Court case, and what it was like to stand up a new federal agency, the Congressional Budget Office, in 1975. Also in the podcast, Senior Fellow David Wessel, director of the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy, offers his regular "Wessel's Economic Update." Show Notes: • Improving Health While Reducing Cost Growth, What is Possible? (with Mark McClellan) • People Who Wanted Market-Driven Health Care Now Have it in the Affordable Care Act • Health360: The latest views on health policy Subscribe to the Brookings Cafeteria on iTunes, listen on Stitcher, and send feedback email to [email protected].

“Cities and metro areas are networks, they are not governments; therefore we need to put them central to the debate of how the country moves forward,” Bruce Katz says in this podcast on the metropolitan revolution—metro areas’ recognition that they are where change does and should happen, especially in an era of congressional gridlock. Katz, vice president and director of the Metropolitan Policy Program and also the Adeline M. and Alfred I. Johnson Chair in Urban and Metropolitan Policy, explains that the nation’s 388 metropolitan areas are “the true organic economies”; discusses why metro areas are at the “vanguard of policy innovation”; describes why the traditional federalism pyramid should be flipped to feature cities and metros on top; and offers insights into the new spatial geography of innovation that is spurring production-oriented economic growth. Also in the podcast, Governance Studies Fellow John Hudak offers his regular update, "What's Happening in Congress." Show Notes: • The Metropolitan Revolution: How Cities and Metros Are Fixing Our Broken Politics and Fragile Economy (with Jennifer Bradley)• The Rise of Innovation Districts: A New Geography of Innovation in America (with Julie Wagner)• Mapping Freight: The Highly Concentrated Nature of Goods Trade in the United States (Adie Tomer and Joseph Kane)• What Should the Role of the Federal Government Be in Supporting Innovation Districts? • What the United States Can Teach the U.K. About Federalism• The Global Cities Initiative Subscribe to the Brookings Cafeteria on iTunes, listen on Stitcher, and send feedback email to [email protected].

In this podcast, Brookings President Strobe Talbott reflects on growing up in Cleveland, his career—as a journalist, State Department Official, and think tank leader—and today’s challenges for governance and stability. Learn how a career in journalism prepared him for State Department diplomacy; about his role in defusing two international crises in one dangerous week in June 1999; what he thinks about Vladimir Putin and Russia’s course; and why nuclear proliferation and climate change are “existential threats.” And also listen to his reflections on Brookings’s centenary next year. Also at the top of the podcast, David Wessel, director of the Hutchins Center on Fiscal & Monetary Policy, offers his economic update and previews two important upcoming events. Show Notes: • Mr. Putin: Operative in the Kremlin, by Fiona Hill and Clifford Gaddy (2d edition)• The Limits of Partnership: U.S.-Russian Relations in the Twenty-First Century, by Angela Stent• Fast Forward: Ethics and Politics in the Age of Global Warming, by Strobe Talbott and William Antholis (revised edition)• Brookings India Initiative• "Monnet's Brandy and Europe's Fate: A determined Frenchman's vision of integration serves as a guide to ending the eurozone crisis," Brookings Essay by Strobe Talbott Subscribe to the Brookings Cafeteria on iTunes, listen on Stitcher, and send feedback email to [email protected].