The Current

The COP26 climate conference in Glasgow produced new agreements and pledges from 196 countries to continue cutting emissions in an effort to keep the global temperature from rising more than 1.5 degrees Celsius. But will it be enough? Samantha Gross highlights some of the significant pledges and the need for more action. Show notes and transcript: https://brook.gs/32g849J  Follow Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu and follow us and tweet us at @policypodcasts on Twitter. The Current is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen's testimony on the social media platform's business practices may have been an eye-opened for members of Congress, says former FCC Chair Tom Wheeler, but this and other recent revelations are just the canary in the coal mine for the broader digital ecosystem. Wheeler points to a lack of government oversight that has left digital platforms to make their own rules, and what responses may be forthcoming from the Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Justice, and state-level actors. Show notes and transcript: https://brook.gs/3ve5cEU  Follow Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to BCP@Brookings.edu, and follow us and tweet us at @policypodcasts on Twitter. The Current is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

Fumio Kishida was elected as Japan's new prime minister after former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga lost public support and political backing over his handling of the coronavirus and the Olympics. While Kishida's early moves reflect a continuation of his predecessors' economic and diplomatic principles, an early general election at the end of October may give him stronger backing to put his own mark on policies from relations with China to income inequality.  Show notes and transcript: https://brook.gs/3AeZwuR  Follow Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to BCP@Brookings.edu, and follow us and tweet us at @policypodcasts on Twitter. The Current is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

Angela Merkel has been Germany's chancellor through a series of massive crises. Ahead of the September 26 elections, Constanze Stelzenmüller explains that the question of how Germany's next leader will shape the country's role as an anchor of Europe will have far-reaching consequences in a future in which crises are the new normal. Show notes and transcript: https://brook.gs/3lyFwy7  Follow Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to BCP@Brookings.edu, and follow us and tweet us at @policypodcasts on Twitter. The Current is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

Jon Valant examines how the continued surge in COVID-19 cases is challenging educators, administrators, and parents to manage students' return to the classroom safely, and how national politics is affecting local decisionmaking. Show notes and transcript: https://brook.gs/3gP9i03  Follow Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to BCP@Brookings.edu, and follow us and tweet us at @policypodcasts on Twitter. The Current is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

Building on previous visits from high-level Cabinet officials, Vice President Kamala Harris' trip to Singapore and Vietnam adds positive momentum to the Biden administration's efforts to re-engage with key partners in Southeast Asia. Jonathan Stromseth explains why it's important for America to expand its political and economic agenda in the region with an eye to deepening positive, long-term relationships, not just to counter China's security and economic influence. Show notes and transcript: https://brook.gs/38h6tjE  Follow Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to BCP@Brookings.edu, and follow us and tweet us at @policypodcasts on Twitter. The Current is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

The bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act "is a huge first step to tackle long-range challenges" like climate change, says Adie Tomer. The $1 trillion investment in water and power infrastructure, expanding broadband and rail, and changing how communities are developed will "give us a good chance to go into the laboratory to see what the future of the country might look like, and then continue to double down on that going forward." Show notes and transcript: https://brook.gs/2VHnIYo  Follow Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to BCP@Brookings.edu, and follow us and tweet us at @policypodcasts on Twitter. The Current is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

Although the CDC's eviction moratorium has been temporarily extended, approximately 6 million households are behind on their rent and potentially at risk of eviction, while states and cities have struggled to distribute the billions in emergency rental assistance allocated by Congress last year. Jenny Schuetz examines the challenges in getting aid money to renters and how to better support renters and landlords when federal and local eviction bans eventually expire. Show notes and transcript: https://brook.gs/3xraSuB Follow Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to BCP@Brookings.edu, and follow us and tweet us at @policypodcasts on Twitter. The Current is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

The White House meeting between President Biden and Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi was primarily framed around the future of U.S. military forces in Iraq, but in addition to the destabilizing threats of ISIS and Iran-aligned militias, Iraq is also struggling with a deep economic crisis and need for significant political reforms. Ranj Alaaldin details Kadhimi’s efforts to address Iraq's interconnected crises and how the U.S. is still critical to Iraq's future. Show notes and transcript: https://brook.gs/3iamrSk  Follow Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to BCP@Brookings.edu, and follow us and tweet us at @policypodcasts on Twitter. The Current is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

As families with children start receiving the first of their monthly checks from the American Rescue Plan's expanded child tax credit, Robert Greenstein calls the benefit transformational in reaching the poorest children, and explains why it's critical the child tax credit and expanded earned income tax credit programs be made permanent to effectively reduce poverty. Show notes and transcript: https://brook.gs/3rdJK0H  Follow Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to BCP@Brookings.edu, and follow us and tweet us at @policypodcasts on Twitter. The Current is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.