The Current – Details, episodes & analysis

Democracy Playbook 2025, published by the Anti-Corruption, Democracy, and Security project at Brookings, identifies seven pillars that are essential to safeguard democracy worldwide and offers actionable steps to strengthen democratic institutions in the U.S. and globally. To talk about the new report, Governance Studies Senior Fellow Norm Eisen, co-editor of the Playbook, joins The Current.

Show notes and transcript: 

https://www.brookings.edu/articles/what-might-us-rural-policy-look-like-in-the-trump-administration/

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This week, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) ordered a freeze of funding across a broad array of federal programs, leading to mass confusion around the country from local governments, nonprofits, and individuals. While that particular order appears to have been rescinded, Molly Reynolds explains how it touches on foundational questions of Congress’ spending power and constitutional authorities, and how it’s just one of the Trump administration’s first steps to try to dramatically remake the size and scope of the federal government. 

Show notes and transcript: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/can-the-trump-administration-freeze-federal-spending 

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As NATO turns 75, alliance leaders gathered in Washington, presenting a united front in support of Ukraine's survival against the threat of Russia. Brookings Visiting Fellow James Goldgeier reviews the NATO summit's outcomes, how the organization is trying to prepare for the uncertainty of American leadership after November, and the broader challenges—and partners—in NATO's future.

Show notes and transcript: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-state-of-nato-at-75-and-beyond

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Last week, President Joe Biden and former President Trump met in Atlanta for a presidential debate. After the event, most observers focused heavily on Biden’s seemingly poor performance, while paying Trump’s many untruths and exaggerations far less attention. And now some Biden supporters are hoping he’ll quit the race and allow another candidate to replace him. To talk about those issues and to answer the big question, do presidential debates matter?, Governance Studies Senior Fellow Elaine Kamarck, founding director of the Center for Effective Public Management, joins The Current. She’s author of numerous works including Primary Politics: Everything You Need to Know about How America Nominates Its Presidential Candidates, now updated in its fourth edition for the 2024 presidential contest.

Show notes and transcript: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/after-the-first-presidential-debate-whats-next-for-biden-and-trump/

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Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) have the potential to amplify the spread of mis- and disinformation in elections around the world. In this historic election year, Valerie Wirtschafter breaks down where generative AI has already played a role in disinformation campaigns and how policymakers, tech companies, and voters can build up guardrails to protect the integrity of election information.

Show notes and transcript: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/what-role-is-ai-playing-in-election-disinformation 

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The Horn of Africa, home to over 200 million people, is experiencing high levels of fragility from both violence and climate change. The World Food Program says that the current conflict in Sudan is “risking the world's largest hunger crisis across the region." Jeffrey Feltman, visiting fellow in International Diplomacy in the Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology at Brookings, joins The Current to talk about the humanitarian and security crisis unfolding in Sudan and the Horn of Africa.

Show notes and transcript: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/what-can-be-done-about-sudans-deepening-humanitarian-catastrophe/

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On May 30, former president Donald Trump was found guilty by a Manhattan jury of 34 felony counts of falsification of business records in the first degree. The case revolved around payments made before the 2016 presidential election to adult film actress Stephanie Clifford, aka Stormy Daniels, in exchange for her silence about her allegation of an affair she had with Mr. Trump a few years prior. To talk about what the trial verdict suggests for governance, politics, and the rule of law, Norm Eisen, senior fellow in Governance Studies at Brookings and chair of the Anti-Corruption, Democracy and Security Project, joins The Current.

Show notes and transcript: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/what-the-trump-hush-money-trial-verdict-means-for-politics-and-the-rule-of-law/

Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple or Google podcasts, or on Spotify. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu.

Following President Putin's visit to Beijing, Angela Stent and Yun Sun examine Russian and Chinese cooperation over the last two years, how China benefits from the relationship, what to watch for as their economic, military, and diplomatic relations continue to evolve.

Show notes and transcript: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-dynamics-of-the-russia-china-partnership 

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Cities and states have a variety of policy options to help combat high housing costs. Brookings Metro Senior Fellow Jenny Schuetz and Gary Geiler, assistant director of San Diego’s Development Services Department, discuss how accessory dwelling units (ADUs) can be part of cities' toolkits for adding affordable housing.

Show notes and transcript: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/cities-need-more-housing-adus-can-help

The Current is part of the Brookings Podcast Network. Find this and all Brookings podcasts on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu.

Brookings scholar Constanze Stelzenmüller, director of the Center on the United States in Europe and a senior fellow in Foreign Policy at Brookings, talks about whether foreign policy issues matter to U.S. voters, and also what's at stake for the world in the outcome of the U.S. presidential election.

Show notes and transcript

The Current is part of the Brookings Podcast Network. Find this and all Brookings podcasts on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu.