Intersections

On May 8, President Trump announced that the United States will reimpose sanctions on Iran, withdrawing the country from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). In this episode of Intersections, Suzanne Maloney, senior fellow and deputy director of Foreign Policy, and Robert Einhorn, senior fellow in the Arms Control and Non-Proliferation Initiative, explain what this means for the continuation of the Iran deal, how sanctions will affect Iran's economy, and domestic political currents within Iran. Full show notes: https://brook.gs/2KPVpx8  Intersections is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.  With thanks to audio producer Gaston Reboredo, Chris McKenna, Brennan Hoban, and Fred Dews for additional support. Send feedback email to intersections@brookings.edu, and follow us and tweet us at @policypodcasts on Twitter.

When children as young as two and three years old are already facing significant gaps in their exposure to words, numbers, and spatial understanding, urban planners and child psychologists are developing ways to transform community spaces - from bus stops to supermarkets - into opportunities to augment children's education through playful learning. In this episode, Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, Stanley and Debra Lefkowitz faculty fellow and co-director of the Infant & Child Lab at Temple Univ, and Jennifer Vey, senior fellow in the Metropolitan Policy Program at Brookings, talk about these "learning landscapes" help reinvigorate public spaces for the whole community.   Show notes available here: https://brook.gs/2I4oQKZ  Intersections is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.  Send feedback to intersections@brookings.edu, and follow us and tweet us at @policypodcasts on Twitter.

Witney Schneidman and Yun Sun examine the shape of U.S. and Chinese trade and investment in Africa, Africa's growing regional economic power, and how both China and the U.S. weigh in on political as well as economic development in African countries.  Full show notes available here: https://brook.gs/2v3TL7h  With thanks to audio producer Gaston Reboredo, Chris McKenna, Brennan Hoban, and Fred Dews for additional support. Send feedback to intersections@brookings.edu. Follow us on Twitter @policypodcasts. 

In this episode, Tanvi Madan, fellow and director of the India Project, guest-hosted a conversation between Distinguished Fellow Shivshankar Menon and Nonresident Fellow Joshua White on how China's deepening economic investments across South and Southeast Asia and India's own expanding presence are affecting the regional balance of economic and political cooperation and competition.  Full show notes available here: https://brook.gs/2pL8IWO With thanks to audio producer Gaston Reboredo, Chris McKenna, Brennan Hoban, and Fred Dews for additional support. Send feedback to intersections@brookings.edu. Follow us on Twitter @policypodcasts. 

In this episode, Jay Shambaugh and Jared Bernstein discuss the decades-long trend of real wage stagnation and policy solutions for increasing productivity, strengthening wage growth, and ensuring that national economic growth is reflected in the living standards of all American workers. Full show notes available here: https://www.brookings.edu/podcast-episode/raising-wages-and-strengthening-economic-progress-for-american-workers  With thanks to audio producer Gaston Reboredo, Chris McKenna, Brennan Hoban, and Fred Dews for additional support.  Intersections is part of the Brookings Podcast Network. Send feedback email to intersections@brookings.edu, and follow us and tweet us at @policypodcasts on Twitter.

For International Women’s Day, we’re showcasing the work of the Echidna Global Scholars – leaders from NGOs and academia who work to improve learning opportunities and outcomes for girls in the developing world. In this episode, Dasmine Kennedy, Armene Modi, Maria Cristina Osorio, and Damaris Parsitau talk about empowering some of the most marginalized girls in Jamaica, India, Mexico, and Kenya, and engaging their communities to invest in girls for wider social and systemic change. Full show notes are available here: https://www.brookings.edu/podcast-episode/the-women-working-to-improve-girls-education  Some of the transition music heard in this episode was composed by Steven Lee and Gastón Reboredo III. With thanks to audio producer Gaston Reboredo, Chris McKenna, Brennan Hoban, and Fred Dews for additional support.  Intersections is part of the Brookings Podcast Network. Send feedback email to intersections@brookings.edu, and follow us and tweet us at @policypodcasts on Twitter.

In this episode, Camille Busette, senior fellow and director of the Race, Prosperity and Inclusion Initiative at Brookings, and Richard Reeves, senior fellow and co-director of the Center on Children and Families at Brookings, discuss the changing racial demographics of the U.S. middle class, political and cultural assumptions about the middle class, and what effect the increasing racial pluralism of the middle class may have on economic policy.   With thanks to audio producer Gaston Reboredo, Chris McKenna, Brennan Hoban, and Fred Dews for additional support.  Intersections is part of the Brookings Podcast Network. Send feedback email to intersections@brookings.edu, and follow us and tweet us at @policypodcasts on Twitter.

In this episode, Stanford Professor Raj Chetty explains his new research that examines who becomes an inventor in America and who gets left behind, and discusses with Brookings expert Richard Reeves how innovation isn't a zero-sum game, and how inequality stifles American innovation. Full show notes: https://www.brookings.edu/podcast-episode/americas-lost-einsteins-the-importance-of-exposing-children-to-innovation   With thanks to audio producer Gaston Reboredo, Chris McKenna, Brennan Hoban, and Fred Dews for additional support. Intersections is part of the Brookings Podcast Network. Follow us on Twitter @policypodcasts

Bruce Jones, Jung Pak, and Ryan Hass discuss Kim Jong-un's strategic goals and the dynamics of the U.S., China, and South Korea in trying to denuclearize North Korea.    Full show notes available here: https://www.brookings.edu/podcast-episode/avoiding-nuclear-conflict-on-the-korean-peninsula  Intersections is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

For the last Intersections episode of the year, we're releasing a short conversation with Stav Shaffir, the youngest female member of Israel's Knesset, and Brookings Senior Fellow Tamara Wittes, held between sessions at the 2017 Saban Forum. Full show notes: https://www.brookings.edu/podcast-episode/an-israeli-knesset-members-perspective-on-activism-and-politics Send questions or feedback to intersections@brookings.edu, and follow us and tweet us at @policypodcasts on Twitter. Intersections is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

Itamar Rabinovich and Amos Harel discuss the state of the civil war in Syria, Iran's growing presence and what that means for Israel, and the changing relationship between the Assad regime and Russia. Full show notes available here: http://brook.gs/2zRPguj Intersections is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

In this episode of Intersections, Haroon Bhorat, nonresident senior fellow with the Africa Growth Initiative, and Homi Kharas, interim vice president and director of the Global Economy and Development Program, discuss how the global trend of a rising middle class has played out in sub-Saharan Africa, whether a strong manufacturing sector is required for middle-class expansion, and the difference between reducing poverty and building economic security. Full show notes available here: http://brook.gs/2yRKMqM  Intersections is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

In this episode of Intersections, Amy Liu, vice president and director of the Metropolitan Policy Program at Brookings, and Jason Miller, nonresident senior fellow at Brookings and CEO of the Greater Washington Partnership, discuss the economic dynamics of the Washington, D.C. metro area, including the importance of regional cooperation, intentionality in building a long-term growth strategy, and what Amazon's HQ2 search tells us about how cities should think about their economic development. Full show notes available here: http://brook.gs/2yRKMqM  Intersections is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

In this episode of Intersections, Brookings Senior Fellow Ted Piccone talks with former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and former Prime Minister of Tunisia Mehdi Jomaa about the importance of liberal democracy in strengthening international security, and why states should encourage democratic participation among their people as a means to achieve greater domestic security.  Full show notes available here: http://brook.gs/2xhhKve  Intersections is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

In this episode, Brookings experts Adie Tomer and Elizabeth Kneebone discuss the findings from their new report, "Signs of Digital Distress: Mapping broadband availability and subscription in American neighborhoods," which examines the neighborhoods lacking in broadband infrastructure, and which ones have the infrastructure, but can't get connected. Full show notes available here: http://brook.gs/2xg6SSK 

Darrell West, vice president and director of Governance Studies, and Camille Busette, senior fellow and director of the Race, Prosperity, and Inclusion Initiative, discussed the findings of the latest Brookings Financial and Digital Inclusion Project report, which measures how well individuals and families can access quality, affordable financial services in 26 countries around the world.  Full show notes available here: http://brook.gs/2j3WUhb  Intersections is part of the Brookings Podcast Network

“Men who take up arms against one another in public war do not cease on this account to be moral beings, responsible to one another and to God.” - Instructions for the Government of Armies of the United States in the Field, Francis Lieber, 1863 This episode of Intersections features a discussion with Elizabeth Grimm Arsenault, author of "How the Gloves Came Off: Lawyers, Policy Makers, and Norms in the Debate on Torture," and Daniel Byman, senior fellow in the Center for Middle East Policy at Brookings, on how the U.S. came to reverse 200-plus years of progress on the legal and normative standards for treatment of prisoners of war during the Global War on Terror.  Full show notes available here: http://www.brookings.edu/podcast-episode/americas-prisoners-of-war-changing-u-s-norms-on-torture   Intersections is part of the Brookings Podcast Network. 

While Intersections is on summer vacation, don't forget to tune into 5 on 45 and the Brookings Cafeteria, or catch up on some older episodes you might have missed.  Thanks as always to Gaston Reboredo and Vanessa Sauter.  Intersections will return on August 23. 

David Victor, co-chair of the Energy Security and Climate Initiative at Brookings and professor of international relations at the University of California, San Diego, and Christopher Clack, CEO of Vibrant Clean Energy, discuss the complexities of adopting sources of renewable energy, why the U.S. grid presents a unique challenge, and the political and economic challenges facing the pursuit of zero-carbon emission energy. Full show notes available here: http://brook.gs/2eO5qiz  Subscribe to Intersections here or on iTunes, send feedback email to intersections@brookings.edu, and follow us and tweet us at @policypodcasts on Twitter. Intersections is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

William Gale and Vanessa Williamson discuss what can be learned from state-level experiments in taxation in Kansas and California, Americans’ feelings about paying their taxes, and the empirical evidence versus ideology on how tax policy affects economic growth. Full show notes available here: http://brook.gs/2vcjAx6   Take 2 minutes to tell us what you think about Intersections and the rest of the Brookings Podcast Network:  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/brookingspodcasts