How the China-Russia relationship affects U.S. interests; how raising the minimum wage could affect workers’ health insurance coverage; the benefits of increasing funding for women’s health research; improving supply chain resilience; and one approach to countering extremism in the military. For more information on this week’s episode, visit rand.org/podcast.

Policy Currents

China-Russia ties, considerations when raising the minimum wage, women’s health research.

A look at the trade-offs of a shorter school week; why countering domestic terrorism may require a new U.S. intelligence strategy; data showing that Black motorists are more likely to be charged with a misdemeanor for excessive speeding; and the big unanswered question of the Afghanistan war. For more information on this week’s episode, visit rand.org/podcast.

Assessing the four-day school week, countering domestic violent extremism, racial disparities in who is convicted of more-serious speeding charges.

What schools need to better support undocumented and asylum-seeking students; understanding what leads Russia, Iran, and China to use their military forces abroad; renters’ options as California’s eviction moratorium ends; Americans’ perspectives on veterans; and the potential consequences of short-tenured leaders in Japan. For more information on this week’s episode, visit rand.org/podcast.

Supporting undocumented and asylum-seeking K–12 students, what drives U.S. adversaries to use military forces, the end of California’s eviction moratorium.

How linking U.S. drug prices to those in other nations could cut costs; unemployment insurance’s failings; the rise in anti-Asian American violence; helping communities recover after continuous disasters; and reducing extremism in the U.S. military. For more information on this week’s episode, visit rand.org/podcast.

U.S. prescription drug prices, the flaw of unemployment insurance, and mitigating the effects of disasters.

What needs to be done to ensure more Americans get vaccinated against COVID-19; Afghanistan’s worsening refugee crisis; understanding environmental racism; how political polarization may affect health insurance purchasing decisions; and helping extremists find pathways to deradicalization. For more information on this week’s episode, visit rand.org/podcast.

Addressing vaccine hesitancy, the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, and environmental racism.

Insights on ISIS-K; why the Afghanistan withdrawal shouldn’t reduce confidence in other U.S. security commitments; how many lives were saved by the early U.S. COVID-19 vaccination campaign; how the pandemic continues to affect unemployment; and why America may need a “virtual reality check.” For more information on this week’s episode, visit rand.org/podcast.

Yesterday’s attacks in Kabul, just how many lives COVID vaccines have saved, and the competition for virtual-reality dominance.

Insights from RAND researchers on the collapse in Afghanistan; parents’ views on sending their kids back to school; and budget and staffing challenges facing U.S. school districts. For more information on this week’s episode, visit rand.org/podcast.

Expert insights on Afghanistan and new RAND survey results as parents, students, and educators prepare to head back to school.

The case for shrinking prisons and their budgets; a national deterrence strategy for ransomware attacks; the trade-offs of making U.S. military activities less predictable; addressing barriers to COVID-19 vaccination among Black Americans; and strategies to counter violent extremism in the military. For more information on this week’s episode, visit rand.org/podcast.

Defunding prisons, how to deter ransomware attacks, overcoming barriers to COVID-19 vaccinations, and more.

A guide to help teachers implement media literacy education; a look at sexual harassment and gender discrimination among active-duty U.S. Army soldiers; how labor regulations may be affecting L.A.’s push to build supportive housing; and addressing the risk of conflict in the Arctic. For more information on this week’s episode, visit rand.org/podcast.

Helping students learn media literacy skills, sexual harassment and gender discrimination in the Army, an effort to build supportive housing in L.A., and more.

Historic lynchings in the American South are linked to lower voter registration among Black people; how a drop in demand for Afghanistan's opiates could affect the country and its people; why COVID-19 has changed the childcare debate; support for wildland firefighters; and helping veterans who are experiencing food insecurity. For more information on this week’s episode, visit rand.org/podcast.

The link between historic lynchings and voter registration, Afghanistan in the era of fentanyl, supporting firefighters’ mental health, and more.

Ways to keep up the fight against COVID-19; countering sexual assault and sexual harassment in the U.S. military; foreign disinformation campaigns on social media; how algorithms could help social media users moderate their own content; and the risks of launching into a “new space era.” For more information on this week’s episode, visit rand.org/podcast.

Continued vigilance is needed to end the pandemic, sexual assault and sexual harassment in the military, disinformation on social media, and more.

A model for paying college athletes; measuring the risk of small gatherings during the pandemic; what some colleges are doing to support incoming freshmen; using big data to help reduce infant mortality; and the effects of U.S. sanctions in Syria. For more information on this week’s episode, visit rand.org/podcast.

A step toward paying college athletes, the risk of pandemic-era birthday parties, helping college freshmen overcome COVID-19 learning loss, and more.

Artwork inspired by RAND research; understanding the risk of sexual assault and sexual harassment in the U.S. Army; use of “gray market” caregiving among Americans; managing the changing U.S.-China relationship; and the intersection of cyberattacks and supply chains. For more information on this week’s episode, visit rand.org/podcast.

The RAND Art + Data artist residency program, sexual violence in the U.S. Army, supply chains and cybersecurity, and more.

Job-related stress threatens America's supply of teachers; confronting a more globally active Russia; whether France is ready for a hypothetical war in Europe; how investing in America’s infrastructure could help to address social inequities; and helping Pittsburgh residents to shape the future of their neighborhoods. For more information on this week’s episode, visit rand.org/podcast.

Teachers’ stress in the pandemic era, Russia’s global interests, promoting social equity through infrastructure investments, and more.

China’s approach to competition with the United States; how the coronavirus may have emerged; what parents think about kids returning to classrooms in the fall; income inequality in America; and what to expect from the upcoming summit between President Biden and Vladimir Putin. For more information on this week’s episode, visit rand.org/podcast.

China’s quest for global primacy, understanding the coronavirus origin story, the U.S.-Russia summit, and more.

The Policy Currents podcast highlights new research findings, commentary, multimedia, and events from the RAND Corporation. Hosted by Evan Banks and Deanna Lee, with new episodes every Friday.

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Policy Currents

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