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A snapshot of America’s schools: Trends and global comparisons

Jon Valant, Nicolas Zerbino, Emma Mills

October 16, 2026

Past Event

October 21

2026

AI on the ballot: Data centers and the 2026 midterms

The Brookings Institution, Washington, D.C.

Wednesday, 10:00 am - 11:30 am EDT

Images of Brookings scholars in podcast: EJ Dionne, Marcela Escobari, Ben Harris, Suzanne Maloney, under the banner "Gas, groceries, and votes"

Please Discuss … the pressures shaping the 2026 midterms

E.J. Dionne, Jr., Marcela Escobari, Ben Harris, Suzanne Maloney

October 20, 2026

Attendees gather for the annual Heart Butte Indian Days Powwow on the Blackfeet Reservation in Heart Butte, Montana.

DOGE’s impact in Indian Country: Nearly $470 million in lost funding

Robert Maxim, Glencora Haskins, Mary Elizabeth Campbell, Ryan Williams

October 16, 2026

Broken piggy bank with coins and word EDUCATION on blue background

‘Title I for rich kids’ and other predictions for the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit

Jon Valant

October 13, 2026

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Brookings scholar Landry Signe at the World Bank Spring Meetings 2026

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Midterm Elections

Alan Montag plants soybeans on farmland he leases on May 6, 2026, near West Bend, Iowa.

Campaigns & Elections How rural economic woes imperil GOP majorities

William A. Galston

Please Discuss podcast episode 1, 2026 midterms: the rules have changed

U.S. Government & Politics Please Discuss … the shifting map of the 2026 midterm elections

E.J. Dionne, Jr., Scott R. Anderson, Elaine Kamarck, Elena Patel

AUSTIN, TEXAS - AUGUST 20: Texas Republican Rep. Marc LaHood views a map during a House meeting in the State Capitol on August 20, 2025 in Austin, Texas. Texas lawmakers continue convening during a second special session over a newly introduced plan to redraw Texas' congressional maps ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

U.S. Democracy Recent SCOTUS decisions threaten to uproot communities’ voting power

Gabriel R. Sanchez, Keon L. Gilbert, Rashawn Ray

Campaigns & Elections New post office policy could lead to the rejection of tens of thousands of mail-in ballots in November

Elena Patel

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International Affairs

A man watches a television news report showing US President Donald Trump welcoming Chinese President Xi Jinping upon his arrival in the United States, at a restaurant in Taipei on September 24, 2026.

U.S. Foreign Policy Repairing America’s signaling on Taiwan

Ryan Hass

Men play the traditional game Qiangqi, or Chinese chess

China Is China dynamic or dysfunctional?

Jonathan A. Czin, Ryan Hass, Evan Osnos

U.S. President Donald Trump (R) greets President of China Xi Jinping as he arrives to the South Portico of the White House on September 25, 2026 in Washington, DC.

Diplomacy & Multilateralism What did the Trump-Xi summit actually accomplish?

Ryan Hass, Melanie W. Sisson, Yun Sun, Susan A. Thornton, Kari Heerman, Vanda Felbab-Brown, Jonathan A. Czin, Mireya Solís, Michael E. O’Hanlon, Scott M. Moore +5 more

(L-R) NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sanchez, and President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrive ahead a family photo during the NATO summit on July 8, 2026 in Ankara, Turkey.

Security Alliances & Partnerships A divided southern flank faces Trump 2.0 and NATO 3.0

Bruno Cardoso Reis

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Artificial Intelligence

U.S. Economy The $10 trillion question: Financing the AI buildout

Janice C. Eberly, Jón Steinsson, Aaron Klein, Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh

Artificial Intelligence As AI leaders call for slowdown, children need a voice

Sweta Shah, Melissa Boteach, Kathy Hirsh-Pasek

TOPSHOT - A participant holds a placard during a "emergency protest" by civic action group PauseAI UK outside Downing Street in central London on September 16, 2026, after news that AI researcher Jacob Coxon has decided to leave the industry. The world's biggest AI companies are working on creating a standards body, ChatGPT-maker OpenAI said on Sept. 15, as fears rise about the dangers of AI and pressure is on to create a safer version of the technology.

Artificial Intelligence Is the AI existential threat real—and can regulatory action prevent it?

Aaron Klein, Cameron F. Kerry, Raj Korpan, Mark MacCarthy, Elena Patel, Sanjay Patnaik, Stephanie K. Pell, Landry Signé, Anisha Singhal, Josie Stewart, Elham Tabassi, Brooke Tanner, Nicol Turner Lee, John Villasenor, Darrell M. West, Tom Wheeler, Valerie Wirtschafter, Andrew W. Wyckoff, Niam Yaraghi +14 more