
Dollar & Sense: The Brookings Trade Podcast
Dollar and Sense is a podcast about all things trade. From local ports and markets to international trade and diplomacy, Brookings Institution Senior Fellow David Dollar and guests explain how our global trading system is built and its effect on our everyday lives.
Latest episodes

Nov 28, 2022 • 54min
Dollar & Sense presents Reimagine Rural, a podcast about rural towns experiencing positive change
In this special edition of “Dollar & Sense,” host David Dollar presents the first episode of a new podcast miniseries from Brookings: "Reimagine Rural," in which host Tony Pipa, a senior fellow at Brookings, visits rural towns across America, listening as local people tell the story of how they are enacting positive change in their communities and learning how public investment in rural people and places can lead to increased and equitable prosperity. Show notes and transcript: https://brook.gs/3AZXS3R Dollar & Sense is part of the Brookings Podcast Network. Learn more at brookings.edu/podcasts, and send feedback to podcasts@brookings.edu.

Nov 15, 2022 • 32min
The midterm election’s impact on foreign policy and economic issues
David Dollar speaks with Brookings Senior Fellow Bill Galston about how the 2022 midterm election results could impact foreign policy and global economic issues, and possibly complicate policymaking for the Biden administration. Plus, what the results may mean for the 2024 presidential election. Show notes and transcript: https://brook.gs/3Aav3kH Dollar & Sense is part of the Brookings Podcast Network. Learn more at brookings.edu/podcasts, and send feedback to podcasts@brookings.edu.

Nov 7, 2022 • 28min
Dollar & Sense presents Climate Sense, a new podcast about energy and climate change
In this special edition of "Dollar & Sense," host David Dollar presents the first episode of a new podcast miniseries from Brookings: "Climate Sense," hosted by energy and climate expert Samantha Gross, a fellow in Foreign Policy at Brookings and director of the Energy Security and Climate Initiative. Show notes and transcript: https://brook.gs/3sUj2M7 Dollar & Sense is part of the Brookings Podcast Network. Learn more at brookings.edu/podcasts, and send feedback to podcasts@brookings.edu.

Oct 31, 2022 • 22min
Oil, gas, Russia, OPEC—What’s happening in world energy markets?
Samantha Gross, director of the Energy Security and Climate Initiative at Brookings, talks with David Dollar about the state of world energy markets. How does Russia’s war on Ukraine impact Europe’s access to natural gas for the upcoming winter? What effect will new sanctions on Russia’s oil sector have on the war, on Europe, and on global markets? Will the oil production cut announced by OPEC+ raise energy prices around the world? And, is COP27, the upcoming global climate conference in Egypt, expected to produce any major developments? Show notes and transcript: https://brook.gs/3fodeqW Dollar & Sense is part of the Brookings Podcast Network. Learn more at brookings.edu/podcasts, and send feedback to podcasts@brookings.edu.

Oct 18, 2022 • 25min
Checking in on China’s economy during the 20th Party Congress
Eswar Prasad, a professor at Cornell University and senior fellow at Brookings, discusses China’s economic risks and opportunities with David Dollar as China’s 20th Communist Party Congress continues this week. Prasad and Dollar look at the general shape of China’s economy, it’s housing market, renminbi strength relative to the dollar, and whether President Xi Jinping will continue with a command-led economy that limits independence and innovation among enterprises. Show notes and transcript: https://brook.gs/3eGSF91 Dollar & Sense is part of the Brookings Podcast Network. Learn more at brookings.edu/podcasts, and send feedback to podcasts@brookings.edu.

Oct 3, 2022 • 29min
Will protests in Iran end the Islamic Republic?
Suzanne Maloney, vice president and director of Foreign Policy at Brookings, speaks with David Dollar about what the continuing demonstrations in Iran over the death of Mahsa Amini could mean for regime stability, plus Iran’s economic situation, the prospects of Iran returning to some form of a nuclear deal with the West, and what it would take for the U.S. and Iran to have a better relationship. Show notes and transcript: https://brook.gs/3rjX3gN Dollar & Sense is part of the Brookings Podcast Network. Learn more at brookings.edu/podcasts, and send feedback to podcasts@brookings.edu.

Sep 19, 2022 • 28min
Inflation trends in the US and globally
Don Kohn, senior fellow in Economic Studies at Brookings, discusses inflation trends in the U.S. and abroad, the Federal Reserve’s actions to address rising costs, and inflationary expectations among consumers and businesses. Show notes and transcript: https://bit.ly/3xw40Pj Dollar & Sense is part of the Brookings Podcast Network. Learn more at brookings.edu/podcasts, and send feedback to podcasts@brookings.edu.

Sep 6, 2022 • 24min
How a US-EU trade agreement could improve the economy, increase jobs, and strengthen democracy
Sanjay Patnaik, director of the Center on Regulation and Markets at Brookings, discusses his new report on the benefits of a U.S.-EU free trade agreement, building on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiated by the Obama administration but scuttled by President Trump. Show notes and transcript: https://brook.gs/3KFzKa0 Dollar & Sense is part of the Brookings Podcast Network. Learn more at brookings.edu/podcasts, and send feedback to podcasts@brookings.edu.

Aug 22, 2022 • 25min
Fixing the climate crisis will require local experimentation and solutions
David Victor, a professor of innovation and public policy at the School of Global Policy and Strategy at UC San Diego and nonresident senior fellow at Brookings, joins David Dollar to discuss “Fixing the Climate: Strategies for an Uncertain World,” a new book he coauthored with Charles Sabel. Victor explains why global climate diplomacy and treaties that prescribe top-down solutions to climate change are not working. He argues solving the climate crisis will require local experimentation and cooperation between governments and the private sector to push the technological frontier and identify innovative solutions. Dollar & Sense is part of the Brookings Podcast Network. Learn more at brookings.edu/podcasts, and send feedback to podcasts@brookings.edu.

Aug 8, 2022 • 26min
How three big bills in Congress will spur innovation and competitiveness
Adie Tomer, senior fellow in Brookings Metro, unpacks three significant pieces of legislation either passed by or pending in Congress—the 2021 infrastructure measure, the CHIPS Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act—and their impact on infrastructure, innovation, and U.S. competitiveness on the global stage. Show notes and transcript: https://brook.gs/3vGTHqE Dollar & Sense is part of the Brookings Podcast Network. Learn more at brookings.edu/podcasts, and send feedback to podcasts@brookings.edu.