The Current

This week, Pakistan holds national elections. Voters in the world's fifth most populous nation go to the polls to elect representatives to Pakistan's parliament, and from that, the next prime minister. To talk about what's at stake for Pakistan, the turmoil surrounding some of the major candidates, and what the outcome could mean for the region and the world, Madiha Afzal, a fellow in Foreign Policy, the Center for Middle East Policy, and the Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology at Brookings, joins The Current. Show notes and transcript Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu.

For the first episode of 2024, the new president of Brookings, Cecilia Rouse, sits down with The Current to share her thoughts on priorities facing the nation today and how Brookings can provide sound research to inform policy to improve the lives of those across America. Show notes and transcript: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/meet-cecilia-rouse-new-brookings-president  Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu.

As the Israeli offensive in Gaza moves south toward Khan Younis, and as some hostages come home while many more remain captive, Natan Sachs joins the podcast from Israel to reflect on the public mood, Israel's operational goals, the ongoing threat of wider regional escalation, and what might come next. Show notes and transcript:  https://www.brookings.edu/articles/taking-stock-of-the-ongoing-war-in-israel-and-gaza  Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu.

Corrupt regimes around the world threaten global democracy and security. On this episode of The Current, Norman Eisen, senior fellow in Governance Studies and chair of the newly launched global Anti-Corruption, Democracy, and Security (ACDS) project at Brookings, talks about the project and explains why fighting corruption and promoting good governance are key to strengthen democracy and security. Show notes and transcript Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu.

President Biden and President Xi met on Wednesday in San Francisco during the APEC summit at a time of highly strained relations between China and the U.S. Patricia Kim discussed some of the outcomes of their meeting and stressed the ongoing need for Beijing and Washington "to depoliticize diplomacy and functional channels of communication and make them a regular feature of the U.S.-China relationship." Show notes and transcript: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/will-positive-momentum-from-the-biden-xi-meeting-last  Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu.

Thousands of migrants are heading north through Mexico toward the U.S. border. The number of Border Patrol encounters with migrants and asylum seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border continues to be high. And for two years in a row, the number of illegal crossings has exceeded 2 million. Meanwhile, border security remains a hot political issue as Republicans in Congress and on the campaign trail accuse President Biden of having an “open border policy.” Vanda Felbab-Brown, a senior fellow in  Foreign Policy at Brookings offers insight about what's happening on the border. Show notes and transcript. Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu.

On October 30th, President Joe Biden issued an executive order on "safe, secure, and trustworthy artificial intelligence." The E.O. sets new standards for AI safety and security, has new privacy provisions, and much more. Nicol Turner Lee, a senior fellow in governance studies and director of the Center for Technology Innovation, joins The Current to talk about the scope and implications of the AI E.O. Show notes and transcript. Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu.

A new Department of Labor rule aims to expand protections for retirement savers by updating standards on different types of financial investment advice. Ben Harris explains what the new rule does and other steps the Biden administration could take to increase Americans' retirement security. Show notes and transcript: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/what-does-new-rule-on-investment-advice-mean-for-retirement-security  Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu. The Current is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) has served just six years in the House of Representatives before being elected as the new speaker of the House. Molly Reynolds explains how his relative inexperience could hurt or help, especially in upcoming negotiations to avert a government shutdown in November. Show notes and transcript: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/who-is-new-speaker-of-the-house-mike-johnson  Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu. The Current is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

The war between Israel and Hamas militants operating out of Gaza has produced horrific images, but also misinformation and disinformation about actions on both sides. This mis- and disinformation spreads through social media like X, the former Twitter, and confuses our understanding of what’s happening. On this episode of The Current, Valerie Wirtschafter, a fellow in Foreign Policy and the Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technology Initiative at Brookings, discusses how disinformation spreads, how we can spot it, and how we can better consume information coming out of conflicts like the one in the Middle East.