Intersections

In this episode, Brahima Sangafowa Coulibaly, senior fellow and director of the Africa Growth Initiative at Brookings, and Lemma Senbet, William E. Mayer chair professor of finance at the University of Maryland, explain why national debts in sub-Saharan Africa have risen in recent years, the challenges of sustainably financing economic development, and the role of multilateral development banks in solving Africa's massive infrastructure gap.  Full show notes: https://brook.gs/2UozLU9 This is the final episode of the Intersections podcast. Thanks to audio producer Gaston Reboredo, Chris McKenna, Brennan Hoban, Fred Dews, and Camilo Ramirez for all their support. 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.

In this episode, Brookings Vice President Darrell West and Senior Fellow Camille Busette discuss themes from West's new book, "Divided Politics, Divided Nation: Hyperconflict in the Trump era," including the economic, geographic, racial, and technological factors that have exacerbated U.S. political polarization to its current breaking point, and what's needed to build a healthier democracy. West and Busette also speculated how these pressures may affect the 2020 presidential race. Full show notes: https://brook.gs/2YNXP67  With thanks to audio producer Gaston Reboredo, Chris McKenna, Brennan Hoban, Fred Dews, and Camilo Ramirez for additional support. 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.

In this episode, Angela Stent and Keir Giles, authors of “Putin’s World: Russia Against the West and with the Rest” and “Moscow Rules: What Drives Russia to Confront the West” examine the history of Russia's national identity and how the U.S. fundamentally misunderstands Russia's view of itself in conflict with the West. Full show notes: https://brook.gs/2Jsi99B With thanks to audio producer Gaston Reboredo, Chris McKenna, Brennan Hoban, Fred Dews, Camilo Ramirez, and intern Quinn Lukas for additional support. 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.  

The Task Force on Extremism in Fragile States recently released its recommendations, calling for a new strategy to prevent violent extremism from developing in fragile states. Brookings Senior Fellow George Ingram and President of the U.S. Institute of Peace Nancy Lindborg explain why the U.S. needs to change its priorities from defeating terrorists militarily and focus on addressing the economic, social, and political weaknesses in fragile states which lead to the rise of extremist groups. Full show notes: https://brook.gs/2TgxOxk  With thanks to audio producer Gaston Reboredo, Chris McKenna, Brennan Hoban, Fred Dews, Camilo Ramirez, and intern Quinn Lukas for additional support. 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.

In this episode, David M. Rubenstein Fellows Andre Perry and Jenny Schuetz examine past policies and current attitudes that have devalued homes and business in majority-black neighborhoods and the opportunities to be gained by building on the assets in majority-black places. Full show notes: https://brook.gs/2IRBHnQ  With thanks to audio producer Gaston Reboredo, Chris McKenna, Brennan Hoban, Fred Dews, Camilo Ramirez, and intern Quinn Lukas for additional support. Send feedback email to intersections@brookings.edu, and follow us and tweet us at @policypodcasts on Twitter.

In this episode, former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, founder of the Global Institute for Women's Leadership and distinguished fellow with the Center for Universal Education (CUE), and CUE Fellow Christina Kwauk discuss the current state of gender equality in leadership roles, the pipeline from quality education for girls to increased opportunities for women in leadership, and the expanding the evidence on what works to challenge gender stereotypes.  Full show notes available here: https://brook.gs/2EMcxDf  With thanks to audio producer Gaston Reboredo, Chris McKenna, Brennan Hoban, Fred Dews, Camilo Ramirez, and intern Tim Madden for additional support. 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.

In this episode, Todd Stern, senior fellow and former special envoy for climate change in the Obama administration, and David Victor, co-chair of the Cross-Brookings Initiative on Energy and Climate, discuss the key issues at stake at the COP 24 negotiations in Poland, the absence of U.S. federal leadership on climate, and the state of U.S.-China cooperation on climate and energy priorities. Show notes: https://brook.gs/2Euizt5  With thanks to audio producer Gaston Reboredo, Chris McKenna, Brennan Hoban, Fred Dews, and Camilo Ramirez for additional support. 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.

In between spikes of violence, the people of the Gaza Strip live in a state of perpetual crisis—a man-made humanitarian disaster of severe urban crowding, staggering unemployment, and a dire scarcity of basic services, including electricity, water, and sewage treatment. In this episode, CNAS Middle East Security Program Director Ilan Goldenberg, Brookings Center for Middle East Peace Director Natan Sachs, and Brookings Visiting Fellow Hady Amr lay out the recommendations of high-level task force for changing U.S. policy toward Gaza to help bring an end to Gaza's continued state of crisis. Show notes: https://brook.gs/2FJowUo  With thanks to audio producer Gaston Reboredo, Chris McKenna, Brennan Hoban, Fred Dews, Camilo Ramirez, and interns Churon Bernier and Tim Madden for additional support. 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.

Brookings Fellows Martha Ross and Elizabeth Mann Levesque discuss the important role that community colleges play in putting young adults on a pathway to higher-quality jobs and other strategies for improving economic outcomes for youth from lower-income and disadvantaged backgrounds. Full show notes available here: https://brook.gs/2Dm3AQn  With thanks to audio producer Gaston Reboredo, Chris McKenna, Brennan Hoban, Fred Dews, Camilo Ramirez, and interns Churon Bernier and Tim Madden for additional support. 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.  

In a conversation with Natan Sachs, fellow and director of the Center on Middle East Policy, Distinguished Fellow Salam Fayyad, former prime minister and finance minister of the Palestinian Authority, and Visiting Fellow Jeffrey Feltman, former U.N. under-secretary-general for political affairs, assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, and career foreign service officer throughout the Middle East and North Africa, reflect on their days working together in Israel and Palestine in the 1990s and early 2000s. In addition to looking back, Fayyad and Feltman examine the current political environments inside the US, Palestine, and Israel, and prospects for the future of peace. Full show notes available here: https://brook.gs/2AqiNOh  With thanks to audio producer Gaston Reboredo, Chris McKenna, Brennan Hoban, Fred Dews and Camilo Ramirez for additional support. 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.

In this episode, Bradley Hardy, associate professor in the Department of Public Administration and Policy at American University and nonresident senior fellow in Economic Studies at Brookings, and Frederick Wherry, professor of sociology at Princeton University, explain how some economic policies have disproportionate impacts on black communities, and how that has to be understood to design better policies to combat regional economic inequality. Full show notes available here: https://brook.gs/2NzIqzH  With thanks to audio producer Gaston Reboredo, Chris McKenna, Brennan Hoban, Fred Dews and Camilo Ramirez for additional support. 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.

In this episode, Dhruva Jaishankar, fellow in Foreign Policy at Brookings India, and Rush Doshi, post-doctoral fellow in Foreign Policy at Brookings, discuss the balance of power across the Indo-Pacific as China's influence grows and India seeks to increase economic connectivity and strengthen security relationships. Full show notes available here: https://brook.gs/2OVQP25  With thanks to audio producer Gaston Reboredo, Chris McKenna, Brennan Hoban, Fred Dews and Camilo Ramirez for additional support. 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.

In this episode, Isabel Sawhill, Brookings senior fellow and author of  "The Forgotten Americans: An Economic Agenda for a Divided Nation," and Andrew Yarrow, senior fellow at the Progressive Policy Institute and author of "Man Out: Men on The Sidelines of American Life" look at two different groups of Americans forgotten by policymakers or sidelined from the U.S. economy and society.  Sawhill and Yarrow examine the repercussions of growing disenfranchisement and skepticism among significant segments of the voting public, and offer policies to meet the needs of the working class and reengage men who find themselves on the margins of society. Full show notes here: https://brook.gs/2NJgbms  With thanks to audio producer Gaston Reboredo, Chris McKenna, Brennan Hoban, Fred Dews and Camilo Ramirez for additional support. 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.

In this episode, Brookings experts David Dollar, senior fellow with the John L. Thornton China Center, and Joseph Parilla, fellow in the Metropolitan Policy Program, examine what effect the trade war has had on the U.S. and Chinese economies–and workers–so far. They explain why trade wars don’t actually reduce the trade deficit, which other countries might benefit, and what the prospects are for resolution between the U.S. and China. Full show notes available here: https://brook.gs/2PgOE8N  With thanks to audio producer Gaston Reboredo, Chris McKenna, Brennan Hoban, Fred Dews and Camilo Ramirez for additional support. 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.

In this episode, Nonresident Fellow Witney Schneidman and David M. Rubinstein Fellow Landry Signé discuss how Africa's Continental Free Trade Agreement will transform trade across the continent, accelerate industrialization and economic development, and what it means for future commercial relations with the U.S., EU, and other trading partners. Full show notes available here: https://brook.gs/2ODyaav  With thanks to audio producer Gaston Reboredo, Chris McKenna, Brennan Hoban, Fred Dews and Camilo Ramirez for additional support. 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.

In this episode, Robert Kagan, author of the forthcoming "The Jungle Grows Back: America and Our Imperiled World," and Thomas Wright, author of "All Measure Short of War: The Contest for the 21st Century and the Future of American Power," discuss with guest host Will Moreland how the success of the post-World War II international order left it vulnerable to internal complacency and external pressure from authoritarian regimes. They explain how at the same time, Trump's longstanding disdain for global commitments finally found audience with an American public who have forgotten why the U.S. originally engaged in the system of international alliances and institutions designed to defuse the great power conflicts that led to two world wars.  Full show notes: https://brook.gs/2O3eIUe  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. Intersections is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

In this episode of Intersections, Vanessa Williamson and Elizabeth Mann Levesque review the Supreme Court's ruling on Janus v. AFSCME, which bars public-sector unions from collecting "fair share" or "agency" fees from non-union members to offset collective bargaining costs. Levesque and Williamson put the Janus case in the context of "right-to-work" legislation, the decline of private-sector unions, and the recent wave of teachers' strikes to assess how the decision will affect public-sector unions in the short term and future of unions' economic and political power more broadly.  Full show notes: https://brook.gs/2Jz61OQ  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. Intersections is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

In this episode, Brookings Fellow Adie Tomer, CityLab's Tanvi Misra, and Route Fifty's Mitch Herckis revisit the themes of Infrastructure Week with an examination of historical patterns of urban and suburban planning that separated communities and discuss infrastructure as system for stitching communities together and creating access to opportunity.  Show notes: https://www.brookings.edu/podcast-episode/how-to-make-infrastructure-work-for-people  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. Intersections is part of the Brookings Podcast Network

In this episode, Tamara Cofman Wittes, senior fellow with the Center for Middle East Policy at Brookings, and Steven Heydemann, nonresident senior fellow at Brookings and Janet Wright Ketcham ’53 Chair of Middle East Studies at Smith College, break down the difficult questions of how and when external actors should engage in reconstruction efforts in Syria without legitimizing the repressive regime of Bashar al-Assad. Show notes: https://www.brookings.edu/podcast-episode/the-politics-of-reconstruction-in-syria/  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. Intersections is part of the Brookings Podcast Network

In this episode, Lauren Bauer, post-doctoral fellow in Economic Studies and the Hamilton Project at Brookings, and Anne Wicks, director of education reform at the George W. Bush Institute, explain how states are developing new measures of school quality and student success as required under the Every Student Succeeds Act. Bauer and Wicks also detail how using two specific measures - chronic absenteeism and college and career readiness - help teachers and administrators understand and improve students' education.  Full show notes available here: https://brook.gs/2J2AKaN  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. Intersections is part of the Brookings Podcast Network

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

In this episode of Intersections, Benjamin Wittes and Jonathan Rauch, senior fellows in Governance Studies, address the importance of political institutions in relation to direct democratic participation and discuss their new report, "More professionalism, less populism: How voting makes us stupid, and what to do about it."   Subscribe to Intersections here or on Apple Podcasts, and send feedback email to intersections@brookings.edu. Intersections is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

During the 50th anniversary of the 1967 war between Israel and its Arab neighbors, Brookings experts Bruce Riedel and Samantha Gross detail the consequences of that struggle for Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states and the lasting reverberations for energy and geopolitical relations in the region today. Full show notes are available here: http://brook.gs/2sTkIV2 Subscribe to Brookings podcasts here or on iTunes, send feedback email to intersections@brookings.edu, and follow us and tweet us @policypodcasts on Twitter. Intersections is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

In this episode of Intersections, guest interviewer Ron Haskins, co-director of the Brookings Center on Children and Families, discusses changes in the social safety net and the role of cash assistance in meeting the needs of families with children with Luke Shaefer of the University of Michigan and Chris Wimer from Columbia University. Shaefer and Wimer present details from their upcoming papers on the costs and benefits of establishing a universal child allowance to provide families with a measure of financial stability. Full show notes available here: http://brook.gs/2qWHkpW Subscribe to Brookings podcasts here or on iTunes, send us feedback at intersections@brookings.edu, and follow us on Twitter @policypodcasts. Intersections is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

Visiting Fellow Philippe Le Corre and Robert Bosch Senior Fellow Constanze Stelzenmüller with the Center on the U.S. and Europe at Brookings discuss Emmanuel Macron's victory in France's presidential election, upcoming elections in the UK and Germany, and the need to reboot the European project.   Full show notes available here: http://brook.gs/2q3Cjvg  Subscribe to Brookings podcasts 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.