Baker Briefing

92: Claudia Sheinbaum’s Balancing Act (Part 1)

This is the first episode in a two-part conversation on the challenges facing Mexico domestically and in its relationship with the United States.   Mexico held its first judicial elections on June 1, following last year’s sweeping overhaul of the judiciary. Center for the U.S. and Mexico director Tony Payan joins “Baker Briefing” to discuss the implications of the reforms and other domestic challenges facing President Claudia Sheinbaum as she carries forward the political project of former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador — including Mexico’s complex public safety landscape and mounting public debt.   Featured:   Tony Payan, Ph.D., https://www.bakerinstitute.org/expert/tony-payan  Follow Tony on X: https://x.com/PayanTony  Follow Tony on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tony-payan-373bb870/  This conversation was recorded on May 14, 2025. A transcript of this episode is available here: https://bit.ly/445QmTK  You can follow @BakerInstitute on X, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Learn more about our data-driven, nonpartisan policy research and analysis at bakerinstitute.org.

Introducing the ‘Texas Briefing’ Podcast

Introducing “Texas Briefing,” a new podcast that brings expert insights into the challenges shaping life in the Lone Star State. Institute scholars and their guests will untangle issues in health, the economy, climate resilience, and more to understand how policy matters are impacting communities, from the Panhandle to the Gulf Coast.   In our first series, senior health policy fellow Elena Marks explores issues in reproductive health — including new abortion legislation, teen access to contraception, and the impact of the abortion ban on the state’s OB-GYN workforce pipeline — with guests Eleanor Klibanoff of The Texas Tribune, Kari White of Resound Research for Reproductive Health, and Manatt Health’s Alex Morin.   Listen to the first two episodes in the series now, wherever you get your podcasts.   Learn more on our website: https://www.bakerinstitute.org/texas-briefing  You can follow @BakerInstitute on X, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Learn more about our data-driven, nonpartisan policy research and analysis at bakerinstitute.org.

91: Putting Safety First in the Firearm Policy Debate

Drs. Sandra McKay and Eric Fleegler, both experts in the Baker Institute Firearm Injury Prevention and Safety Program, joined “Baker Briefing” to discuss the worsening gun injury epidemic ahead of our fourth annual firearm injury prevention conference on June 6.    They discussed areas of consensus among firearm-owners and non-owners alike, including child access prevention laws and age purchasing regulations, and prospects for commonsense gun legislation at the Texas and national levels.   Featured guests: Sandra McKay, M.D., FAAP, https://www.bakerinstitute.org/expert/sandra-mckay  Eric Fleegler, M.D., MPH, https://www.bakerinstitute.org/expert/eric-fleegler    Mentioned in this episode: Christopher F. Kulesza et al., “The State of Student Mental Health in Houston Schools,” Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, May 13, 2025, https://doi.org/10.25613/6823-6W19. This conversation was recorded on May 20, 2025. A transcript of this episode is available here: https://bit.ly/3SnjEXs  You can follow @BakerInstitute on X, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Learn more about our data-driven, nonpartisan policy research and analysis at bakerinstitute.org.

90: As the US Steps Back, Can China Fill the Void?

In its first months, the second Trump administration has upended the alliances, institutions, and norms that have anchored U.S. foreign policy for decades — hiking tariffs on virtually all countries, downplaying U.S. military commitments, and all but dismantling the U.S. Agency for International Development. Meanwhile, as the U.S. steps back from a world order that’s largely of its own making, China is attempting to fill the void.   Steven Lewis, director of the Baker Institute China Studies Program, joined “Baker Briefing” to discuss what China’s global soft power campaign looks like and how successful it’s proven thus far.   Featured guest: Steven Lewis, Ph.D., https://www.bakerinstitute.org/expert/steven-w-lewis  This conversation was recorded on May 13, 2025. A transcript of this episode is available here: https://bit.ly/43djVT8. You can follow @BakerInstitute on X, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Learn more about our data-driven, nonpartisan policy research and analysis at bakerinstitute.org.

89: What Lies Ahead for Syria?

Syria’s 13-year civil war came to a stunning end on Dec. 8, 2024, when rebel fighters led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham succeeded in toppling the brutal dictatorship of Bashar Assad. With the country now deeply fragmented and impoverished, what will the future of governance be under the transitional government of Ahmad al-Sharaa?   Rana B. Khoury, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and Ibrahim Al-Assil, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, joined “Baker Briefing” to discuss the regional reaction to Dec. 8, the structural challenges facing the rebuilding process, and prospects for the return of refugees and internally displaced Syrians.   Featured guests:   Ibrahim Al-Assil, DIA, Senior Fellow, Middle East Institute, https://www.mei.edu/profile/ibrahim-al-assil  Rana B. Khoury, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, https://ranakhoury.com/  This conversation was recorded on April 29, 2025. A transcript of this episode is available here. You can follow @BakerInstitute on X, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Learn more about our data-driven, nonpartisan policy research and analysis at bakerinstitute.org.

88: Hospital Price Transparency Rules Still Aren’t Working

Federal hospital price transparency rules went into effect in 2021. Four years later, hospitals across the country — including the four largest hospitals in the Texas Medical Center, as assessed in a new Baker Institute brief — still aren’t complying. On this episode of “Baker Briefing,” Vivian Ho explains why opacity in pricing is a key driver of rising health care costs and what policymakers can do to tackle the problem. Mentioned in this episode:  Derek Jenkins, Sasathorn Tapaneeyakul, and Vivian Ho, “Prices Versus Costs: Unpacking Rising US Hospital Profits,” Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, September 6, 2024. Lunna Lopes et al., “Americans’ Challenges With Health Care Costs,” KFF, March 1, 2024, https://www.kff.org/health-costs/issue-brief/americans-challenges-with-health-care-costs/. Shameek Rakshit et al., “The Burden of Medical Debt in the United States,” Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker, February 12, 2024, https://www.healthsystemtracker.org/brief/the-burden-of-medical-debt-in-the-united-states/. Sebastian Spataro Solorzano, Blake Davidson, and Vivian Ho, “Revisiting Price Transparency at Texas Medical Center Hospitals,” Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, April 29, 2025. You can follow @BakerInstitute on X, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Learn more about our data-driven, nonpartisan policy research and analysis at bakerinstitute.org. Additional sources for this episode: American Hospital Association, Trend Watch Chartbook 2018: Trends Affecting Hospitals and Health Systems (2018), https://www.aha.org/system/files/media/file/2022/11/2018-TrendWatch-Chartbook-Full.pdf. Zach Cooper et al., “The Price Ain’t Right? Hospital Prices and Health Spending on the Privately Insured,” The Quarterly Journal of Economics 134, no. 1 (February 2019): 51–107, https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjy020. Health Affairs, “The Role Of Administrative Waste In Excess US Health Spending,” October 6, 2022, https://www.healthaffairs.org/content/briefs/role-administrative-waste-excess-us-health-spending. Salpy Kanimian and Vivian Ho, “Why Does the Cost of Employer-Sponsored Coverage Keep Rising?,” Health Affairs Scholar 2, no. 6 (June 2024), qxae078, https://doi.org/10.1093/haschl/qxae078. Lunna Lopes et al., “Health Care Debt in the U.S.: The Broad Consequences of Medical and Dental Bills,” KFF, June 16, 2022, https://www.kff.org/report-section/kff-health-care-debt-survey-main-findings/. Anne Martin et al., “National Health Expenditures in 2023: Faster Growth as Insurance Coverage and Utilization Increased,” Health Affairs 44, no. 1 (2025): 12–22, https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2024.01375. Anu Singh, “Hospital and Health System M&A in Review: Financial Pressures Emerge as Key Driver in 2023,” Kaufman Hall, January 18, 2024, https://www.kaufmanhall.com/insights/research-report/2023-hospital-and-health-system-ma-review. Laura Tollen, Elizabeth Keating, Alan Weil, “How Administrative Spending Contributes to Excess US Health Spending,” Health Affairs, February 20, 2020, https://www.healthaffairs.org/content/forefront/administrative-spending-contributes-excess-us-health-spending.

87: America’s AI Strategy Is Falling Short

We’re in a new era of discovery in the history of artificial intelligence, but rapid advances in the technology are also bringing major risks. Moshe Vardi, a leading expert in computational engineering and Baker Institute fellow, joins the podcast to discuss the ethical and strategic choices on AI facing the U.S. amid its competition with China and the unintended consequences of outsourcing our thinking to machines.   Mentioned in this episode: Moshe Vardi, “Big Tech, You Need Academia. Speak Up!,” Communications of the ACM 68, no. 5 (2025): 5, https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3727870.  This conversation was recorded in front of a live studio audience on April 17, 2025. Learn about future live recordings of the “Baker Briefing” podcast by subscribing to our “Events Digest” newsletter at https://www.bakerinstitute.org/newsletter.   You can follow @BakerInstitute on X, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Learn more about our data-driven, nonpartisan policy research and analysis at bakerinstitute.org.

86: Trump’s Sprawling Deportation Campaign

With its aggressive mass deportation campaign, the Trump administration is attempting to reshape long-standing U.S. immigration policy — and increasingly defying constitutional guardrails in the process.   On this episode, experts examine the legal and social implications of the administration’s unconventional targeting of legal permanent and temporary residents, asylum seekers, and even foreign students, and well as the administration’s overt challenges to judicial authority and due process rights.   Host David Satterfield was joined by Tony Payan, director of the Baker Institute Center for the U.S. and Mexico; Luz Maria Garcini, assistant professor of psychological sciences at Rice University and director of the Center for Community and Public Health at Rice’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research; and David Donatti, a senior staff attorney at the ACLU of Texas and lecturer at Rice. This conversation was recorded on April 21, 2025, in front of a live studio audience. Learn about future live recordings of the “Baker Briefing” podcast by subscribing to our “Events Digest” newsletter at https://www.bakerinstitute.org/newsletter. You can follow @BakerInstitute on X, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube, and learn more about our data-driven, nonpartisan policy research and analysis at bakerinstitute.org.

Introducing Our New Show: ‘The Two-Handed Economist’

Introducing “The Two-Handed Economist” — a new podcast with timely analysis of economic policy developments from John Diamond, director of the Center for Tax and Budget Policy. Why a two-handed economist? President Harry Truman famously asked for a one-handed economist, tired of hearing, “On the one hand, this,” and “On the other hand, that.” On “The Two-Handed Economist,” we embrace the complexity that a one-handed economist might shy away from. Our first episode dives deep into the economic fallout from the Trump administration’s sweeping new tariffs, unpacking the market turmoil, impacts for consumers, and global response. A transcript is available here. Subscribe now on your favorite podcast platform. Mentioned: “Innovation and Trade Policy in a Globalized World” by Ufuk Akcigit (University of Chicago, NBER, CEPR), Sina T. Ates (Federal Reserve Board), and Giammario Impullitti (University of Nottingham), 2021. This episode was recorded on April 15, 2025. You can follow @BakerInstitute on X, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube, and learn more about our data-driven, nonpartisan policy research and analysis at bakerinstitute.org.

85: Two Years of Civil War and Humanitarian Disaster in Sudan

April 15 marked the second anniversary of the ongoing civil war in Sudan, a conflict that has resulted in 150,000 people killed, over 10 million displaced, and an estimated 25 million at risk of starvation. Sudan has seen civil war before in its tumultuous postcolonial history — but this conflict is different. Susan Stigant, former director of the Africa Program at the U.S. Institute for Peace, and Salah Ben Hammou, a postdoctoral associate at the Baker Institute Edward P. Djerejian Center for the Middle East, explore the political and ethnic tensions fueling the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, the impacts of aid budget cuts, and prospects for peace and rebuilding. This episode was guest-hosted by Kelsey Norman, fellow for the Middle East and director of the Women’s Rights, Human Rights and Refugees Program. It was recorded on April 15, 2025. Follow @BakerInstitute on X, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube, and learn more about our data-driven, nonpartisan policy research and analysis at bakerinstitute.org.