Tony Pipa, senior fellow at the Center for Sustainable Development and host of the Reimagine Rural podcast, sits down with Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear to discuss what the governor calls the "biggest threat to rural healthcare in my lifetime." With nearly 200 rural hospitals having closed since 2005, the stakes for rural America have never been higher. In this episode, Governor Beshear breaks down the devastating economic ripple effects of these closures, from lost jobs to reduced workforce productivity. He notes that rural hospitals are often the largest payrolls in their communities and explains why he believes new federal policy proposals could shutter 35 hospitals in Kentucky alone.

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A recent flurry of negotiations among American, Russian, Ukrainian, and European officials to find a diplomatic solution to end the Russia-Ukraine war has, so far, been unsuccessful. To discuss Putin's negotiation tactics, the reality on the battlefield, and how Ukraine can best position itself moving forward, Fiona Hill and Thomas Wright, two Brookings Foreign Policy senior fellows, join The Current.

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Artificial Intelligence (AI), is heralding a profound shift in how we learn, work, and live. To gain insight into how AI is reshaping the American workforce and economy, two Brookings experts join this episode of The Current. First, Molly Kinder, senior fellow in Brookings Metro, examines how AI is impacting the American workforce today; and then Senior Fellow Rebecca Winthrop, director of the Center for Universal Education at Brookings, looks at how we can prepare our students to thrive in the future workforce.

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In this episode, ACDS chair Norm Eisen discusses the forthcoming fourth edition of the Democracy Playbook and the emerging research showing how democracies can reverse democratic backsliding. He explains how the new edition—released on a rolling basis—will offer practical strategies drawn from scholarship and practitioner experience to help spark and sustain these "U-turns" globally. Drawing on global fieldwork and cutting-edge research, Eisen highlights what has strengthened democracies in real-world contexts thus far.

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The conflict in Sudan is the world's worst humanitarian crisis. More than 150,000 people have died; millions have fled their homes and are starving; and prospects for a ceasefire are bleak. To discuss the roots of the war, the humanitarian emergency, and prospects for peace, Visiting Fellow Jeffrey Feltman joins Michael O'Hanlon, director of research for Foreign Policy, on The Current.

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Little Village, a Latino business corridor in Chicago, has been contending with tariffs, immigration enforcement, and other changes in federal policy. But business owners have been figuring out new ways to make money, sell their products, and stay open. Tonantzin Carmona, a fellow in Brookings Metro, as well as Chicago civic leaders Luis Gutierrez and Jennifer Aguilar discuss how.

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With expanded subsidies for Affordable Care Act plans set to expire at the end of 2025, Americans on ACA health plans are starting to see big increases in their monthly health insurance premiums for 2026 as insurers send out annual notices. To address why this is happening and what the impacts are for health care access, coverage, and outcomes generally, Brookings expert Matt Fiedler, a senior fellow with the Center on Health Policy, joins The Current.

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The thirtieth Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, or COP30, meets in Belém, Brazil next week. The most urgent challenge is finance: How do we pay for the massive global shift away from fossil fuels and fund essential adaptation projects to cope with a changing climate? To preview COP30, two leading Brookings experts on climate join the show: Samantha Gross is a fellow in Foreign Policy and director of the Energy Security and Climate Initiative at Brookings; and Amar Bhattacharya is a senior fellow with the Center for Sustainable Development in the Global Economy and Development program at Brookings.

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After years of war, Syria is attempting to rebuild under a new government. Brookings Fellow and Director of the Turkey Project Aslı Aydıntaşbaş is joined by Visiting Fellow Mara Karlin, a former assistant secretary of defense, who recently visited Syria. They discuss the country's "plastic moment" of transformation, analyzing the realities on the ground, the complex new leadership, the challenge of lifting U.S. sanctions for reconstruction, and the tough diplomatic balancing act with regional players like Turkey and Israel.

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The annual summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum, or APEC, starts October 31 in South Korea. Leaders from the twenty-one Pacific Rim economies are expected to attend. In this episode of The Current, two Brookings senior fellows talk about the aims of the summit and what's at stake for the U.S. and other participants. Ryan Hass directs the John L. Thornton China Center and Mireya Solís directs the Center for Asia Policy Studies.

Show notes and transcript.

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