The Current

As of October 1, 2025, non-essential U.S. government operations ceased due to the failure of Congress to pass legislation that funds government agencies. The latest shutdown follows others that have occurred during both Republican and Democratic administrations and under Congresses’ controlled by both parties. To discuss this shutdown and what it means for governance moving forward, Brookings senior fellows Elaine Kamarck and Molly Reynolds join The Current. Show notes and transcript. Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu.

The 80th UN General Assembly is underway in New York City, in session from just after Labor Day into December. The annual High-Level Week, when world leaders gather, ended in September. To share their takeaways from the 80th General Assembly thus far and to look ahead at the UN's role in global security and development, experts Jeff Feltman and John McArthur join The Current. Show notes and transcript. Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu.

On this episode — a look at the shifting landscape of media regulation, consolidation, and the ongoing debate over free speech in the wake of Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension from his late-night talk show and subsequent reinstatement. To talk about these developments, including the role of the FCC in regulating U.S. media in an era of media consolidation, Tom Wheeler, a visiting fellow in Governance Studies and former chairman of the FCC from 2013 to 2017, joins The Current. Show notes and transcript. Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu.

The credibility of U.S. federal government data may seem an arcane topic, but it is critical for a well-functioning economy. To explore the importance of reliable economic data and potential challenges to that reliability, and why it matters to businesses and the public, Ben Harris, vice president and director of Economic Studies at Brookings, joins the Current. Show notes and transcript. Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu.

On August 11, President Donald Trump issued an executive order that put the federal government in charge of the local police force. A second executive order directed members of the D.C. National Guard into active federal service. Today, over 2,000 National Guard members from D.C. and other states are mobilized in the nation’s capital. To talk about the constitutional and legal basis of these actions and what this expansion of federal military power by the Trump administration could mean for other U.S. cities, Scott Anderson, a fellow in Governance Studies, plus general counsel and senior editor for Lawfare, joins the Current. Show notes and transcript. Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu.

20 years after Hurricane Katrina made landfall along the Gulf Coast, researchers from New Orleans, Brookings, and The Data Center are examining how the city has recovered and the challenges it still faces. Manann Donoghoe joins The Current to talk about the extensive new analysis, the many factors that make a city resilient, and the areas policymakers should be investing in to ensure communities can adapt to extreme weather events and other shocks. Transcript and show notes: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/how-resilient-is-new-orleans-today  Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu 

Mara Karlin, a visiting fellow at Brookings and former U.S. assistant secretary of defense for strategy, plans, and capabilities, discusses the recent U.S. attack on Iranian nuclear facilities, the Israeli-Iran conflict, and what might come next. A key question is how to assess the impact of the military strikes on Iran's nuclear capabilities. Show notes and transcript. Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu.

Molly Kinder, fellow in Brookings Metro, reflects on the moral and ethical dimensions of artificial intelligence, work, and workers, as she lays out in her recent paper, “The unexpected visionary: Pope Francis on AI, humanity, and the future of work.” Kinder addresses the late Pope Francis’s leadership on this issue, and look ahead to how Pope Leo XIV will continue the Church’s attention to this fundamental challenge. Show notes and transcript. Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu. 

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 podcasts@brookings.edu. 

Andre Perry, a Brookings Senior Fellow and author of "Black Power Scorecard," dives into the critical connection between economic influence and social justice for Black Americans. He discusses how traditional legal protections fall short for true equality and argues for systemic changes to empower communities through education and homeownership. Perry also navigates the debate on reparations and emphasizes the strengths within Black communities, advocating for positive change driven by investment and civic engagement.