House Republicans are currently negotiating a budget reconciliation bill that packages extensive tax breaks with deep spending cuts to anti-poverty programs like Medicaid and SNAP. Robert Greenstein explains how the U.S. safety net has cut the poverty rate nearly in half in recent decades and the impacts of the cuts now being considered.  

Show notes and transcript: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/what-medicaid-safety-net-cuts-could-mean-for-us-poverty 

Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Send feedback email to [email protected]. 

Historically, Black Americans’ quest for power has been seen as an attempt to gain equal protection under the law, but power in America requires more than basic democratic freedoms. It’s linked with economic influence and ownership of one’s own self, home, business, and creations. In his new book, "Black Power Scorecard: Measuring the Racial Gap and What We Can Do to Close It," published by McMillan, Brookings Senior Fellow Andre Perry quantifies how much power Black Americans really have and calculates how that translates into the longevity of Back communities. On this episode of The Current, which was taped in front of a live audience, Perry, who also directs the Center for Community Uplift at Brookings, is interviewed by senior fellow David Wessel, who directs the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy.

Show notes and transcript: 

https://www.brookings.edu/articles/closing-the-racial-gap-in-economic-and-social-power

Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Send feedback email to [email protected].

In its first two months, the Trump administration has not only laid off thousands of federal workers and shuttered agencies, but it has also purged taxpayer-funded data sets from a swathe of government websites, including data on crime, sexual orientation, gender, education, climate, and global development. Caren Grown, senior fellow in the Center for Sustainable Development at Brookings, joins The Current to explain why the loss of data and the expertise behind its collection will harm good policymaking.

Show notes and transcript: 

https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-us-government-data-purge-is-a-loss-for-policymaking-and-research/

Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Send feedback email to [email protected].

Democracy Playbook 2025, published by the Anti-Corruption, Democracy, and Security project at Brookings, identifies seven pillars that are essential to safeguard democracy worldwide and offers actionable steps to strengthen democratic institutions in the U.S. and globally. To talk about the new report, Governance Studies Senior Fellow Norm Eisen, co-editor of the Playbook, joins The Current.

Show notes and transcript: 

https://www.brookings.edu/articles/what-might-us-rural-policy-look-like-in-the-trump-administration/

Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Send feedback email to [email protected].

This week, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) ordered a freeze of funding across a broad array of federal programs, leading to mass confusion around the country from local governments, nonprofits, and individuals. While that particular order appears to have been rescinded, Molly Reynolds explains how it touches on foundational questions of Congress’ spending power and constitutional authorities, and how it’s just one of the Trump administration’s first steps to try to dramatically remake the size and scope of the federal government. 

Show notes and transcript: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/can-the-trump-administration-freeze-federal-spending 

Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Send feedback email to [email protected].

As the Trump administration prepares to take power in Washington, Senior Fellow Tony Pipa, host of the Reimagine Rural podcast, looks at what has happened in rural policy under the Biden administration and what shifts in federal policy and emphasis might ensue under President Trump. No matter what changes come, Pipa notes, local communities will continue to solve problems locally.

Show notes and transcript: 

https://www.brookings.edu/articles/what-might-us-rural-policy-look-like-in-the-trump-administration/

Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Send feedback email to [email protected].

On December 8, Syrian rebels took control of Damascus, the nation’s capital. Deposed dictator Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia, marking the end of a long civil war and his 24-year-long brutal reign, which followed his father’s nearly 30-year rule. Syrians are rightfully celebrating, even as they’re freeing people from notorious regime prisons and looking to transition away from decades of repression. Steven Heydemann, a nonresident senior fellow in the Center for Middle East Policy here at Brookings and the Ketcham Chair of Middle East studies at Smith College, talks about the implications of Assad’s fall for the region and the world.

Show notes and transcript: 

https://www.brookings.edu/articles/whats-next-for-syria-and-the-region-after-assads-fall/

Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to [email protected].

As the U.S. heads into the final days of the 2024 elections, Kathryn Dunn Tenpas reviews the health of American democracy, the lack of guardrails against mis- and disinformation, and ways to restore public trust.  

Show notes and transcript: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/election-2024-and-the-health-of-american-democracy

Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to [email protected].

The economy is one of the quadrennial top issues for American voters, and related to economic performance are concerns about the national debt, taxes, and government spending, especially on popular entitlements like Social Security and Medicare. On this episode, Ben Harris, vice president and director of Economic Studies at Brookings, talks with host Fred Dews about how these issues are seen by American voters during election season and beyond.

Show notes and transcript: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/government-spending-debt-and-taxes-in-the-2024-election/

Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to [email protected].

The high cost of housing is a significant economic pressure for many Americans, even as inflation has eased. Homeowners and renters alike pay increasingly higher percentages of their income on housing, and homelessness reached a record high in 2023. 

Recorded in front of a live audience, this episode of The Current features Brookings Senior Fellow Jenny Schuetz and San Francisco Chronicle Washington Correspondent Shira Stein discussing how the Harris and Trump campaigns are talking about the housing crisis, and what federal and local lawmakers can do to incentivize homebuilding and make rent and homebuying costs more affordable.

Show notes and transcript: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/making-housing-more-affordable/ ‎

Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to [email protected].