USA
Government
Climate change catastrophes are already happening with increasing regularity, and it’s clear we need to take action. The Biden administration has set a target of zero carbon emissions in the United States by 2050. Reaching that ambitious goal will require a major transition in many sectors, including energy, agriculture, transportation, manufacturing and construction. John...
Even when the economy is booming and unemployment is low, millions of Americans still face economic hardship. And in the last few years the United States has dealt with supply chain challenges, inflation and financial instability. The economic tools we have to identify, address and talk about those problems aren’t always up to the task, and sometimes the picture we get is...
Americans seem more culturally and ideologically divided than at any point in most of our lifetimes, with no prospect of bridging those divides any time soon. The only thing we seem to agree upon is that our politics are broken and our leaders are unable to solve the nation’s most fundamental challenges. What can be done to save American democracy from itself? Can we still...
How do we describe the Republican Party today, and what are the dynamics that will shape its future?
With the dream of the Oslo Accords long in the rear-view mirror and no prospect of an agreement between Israelis and Palestinians ahead, is it time to give up on the two-state solution?
From Washington to Biden, presidents have changed America — and the world — for both better and worse. If the American presidency is the ultimate test of leadership, what does it take to succeed as president, and how can we pick better ones?
The generative artificial intelligence genie is out of the bottle. When we look back 30 years from now, what will we be able to point to that we got right?
Some research suggests that 60 percent of American voters want a new political party. With extremists on either side of the aisle hobbling the government’s ability toward the kind of forward change that most citizens might agree on, is it time to consider a third path forward?
The designers of our democratic republic created a political system and institutions intended to avoid concentrated power, mob rule, and to defuse factions. Is the America we live in today so different from theirs that only fundamental reform can fix what ails us?
The Colorado River Compact is 100 years old, and its guidelines for water use across the American West are about to expire. Facing drought, increased population, and disagreements on how to share the water, what policies and technologies could get a new agreement across the finish line? John Entsminger, Nevada’s lead negotiator for the Compact; Bidtah Becker, attorney with...
Despite high demand for nutritious foods, many Americans experience gaps, challenges, and barriers when it comes to access and agency over their nutrition. How can the public and private sector work together to unlock and advance a more inclusive state of nutrition for all? Presented by Danone
Hostage-taking presents nations with a conundrum: How can governments bring their citizens home while also preventing further captures? The United States’s top hostage negotiator, a leading scholar, and a former hostage discuss navigating the difficult waters of hostage diplomacy.
With the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, the Biden-Harris administration has committed a record amount of federal funds to encourage the advancement of clean energy, but myriad regulatory, political, and practical challenges remain to meet our climate goals. White House clean energy advisor John Podesta shares how the administration is implementing the IRA and work...
According to media reports, when Ron Klain left his job as White House chief of staff in February, his most prized possession from his tenure at President Biden’s side was a rock. Journalist Frank Foer asks him about that rock and lessons learned in the West Wing.
If the First Amendment’s protections against government intrusion are a core tenet of American democracy, what happens when the chief regulators of speech are private technology companies? What is protected, who gets to decide, and what are the implications for our democracy?
Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer Jon Meacham shares a view of Abraham Lincoln, who managed to hold the country together despite threats to democracy and the devastations of the Civil War. Understanding Lincoln, his unwavering commitment to democratic principles, and this period in history provides a critical lens to comprehending America’s contemporary challenges, and the...
As the debate continues over whether generative A.I. will bring about an evolutionary or revolutionary change in cybersecurity, concerns are growing about implications for personal-data security and privacy. What’s the potential impact of generative A.I. on elections, financial transactions, and privacy? And most importantly, what role should the government play in protect...
Policy, business practices, and profound breakthroughs in technology might be the raw ingredients for building a clean energy future, but can these solutions be deployed at the unprecedented scale needed? A top energy expert sets the scene by describing the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead.
Few health and social welfare policy issues escape the oversight of the US Department of Health and Human Services, second in size only to the Department of Defense. Prescription drug costs, access to reproductive health services, national and domestic public health threats like COVID-19, and the epidemic of loneliness are all within its purview. As it implements the healt...
With an annual budget of $1.65 trillion, the vast US Department of Health and Human Services oversees Medicare, Medicaid, the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and much else. Three Secretaries, past and present from both sides of the aisle, share their experiences about leading the agency and ex...