On Metro Blueprint from the Brookings Institution, Brookings Metro scholars and their guests discuss ideas and actions to create more prosperous, just, and resilient communities in America.
How local leaders and communities are leading the transition to clean energy
Xavier de Souza Briggs, Melanie Allen, and Robert “R.J.” McGrail examine the impact of federal policy on energy and explore strategies for ensuring affordable, resilient energy access for all, in this interview episode.
16 Jul 2025
Workers must have a seat at the AI bargaining table
Molly Kinder and Christy Hoffman explore how unions ensure workers have a voice in shaping the use and regulation of AI, protecting them from potential displacement in this interview.
2 Jul 2025
How federal funding cuts impact Tribal communities
Robert Maxim and Allison Neswood analyze the impact of federal funding cuts on Tribal communities, highlighting the widespread consequences and the need for broader awareness in this interview.
18 Jun 2025
How can policymakers help communities left behind by globalization and automation?
Mark Muro and Gordon Hanson explore place-based industrial policies that revitalize struggling Heartland economies affected by globalization and automation in this interview.
4 Jun 2025
Will New York's congestion pricing program pave the way for broader adoption?
Adie Tomer and Polly Trottenberg examine New York City's congestion pricing program, detailing its impact on traffic, transit, and downtown activity, and suggesting a blueprint for other cities considering similar policies in this interview.
21 May 2025
St. Louis shows how cities can break the "urban doom loop"
In this episode of Metro Blueprint, experts take a deep dive into how St. Louis is using office-to-residential conversions to build affordable housing and a vibrant downtown. Tracy Hadden Loh, a fellow at Brookings, and Kurt Weigle, senior vice president and chief downtown officer at Greater St. Louis, explain how cities can look to St. Louis as a model for redeveloping their own downtowns.
Transcript and show notes.
Metro Blueprint is part of the Brookings Podcast Network. Subscribe and listen wherever you listen to podcasts. Send feedback to podcasts@brookings.edu.
7 May 2025
L.A. fires expose long-standing local and national water infrastructure challenges
In this episode of Metro Blueprint, experts discuss how the catastrophic fires in Los Angeles exposed long-standing challenges in water utility systems in Southern California and beyond. Joe Kane, fellow at the Brookings Institution, and Greg Pierce, the research and co-executive director of UCLA’s Luskin Center for Innovation, explain how policymakers can improve these systems amid a more extreme and destructive climate.
Transcript and show notes.
Metro Blueprint is part of the Brookings Podcast Network. Subscribe and listen wherever you listen to podcasts. Send feedback to podcasts@brookings.edu.
23 Apr 2025
What are the economic and legal implications of President Trump’s DEI and LGBTQIA executive orders?
In this first episode of Metro Blueprint, experts discuss how efforts to weaken DEI protections result in taking away resources from people who deserve them. Andre Perry, a senior fellow at Brookings Metro and director of its Center for Community Uplift, along with Stacy Hawkins, a professor at Rutgers Law School and a Brookings nonresident senior fellow, explain how Black Americans can still achieve economic growth despite these efforts.
Transcript and show notes.
Metro Blueprint is part of the Brookings Podcast Network. Subscribe and listen wherever you listen to podcasts. Send feedback to podcasts@brookings.edu.
15 Apr 2025
Introducing Metro Blueprint, a new podcast about ideas and actions to create more prosperous, just, and resilient communities in America
Metro Blueprint is a new podcast from the Brookings Institution about ideas and actions to create more prosperous, just, and resilient communities in America. Every two weeks a different Brookings Metro scholar and a guest will discuss research findings and policy actions to improve the well-being of people and their communities. Topics will include economic and workforce development, climate and the built environment, changing demographics, place-based policymaking, the future of work in the age of artificial intelligence, and much more.
Subscribe now to Metro Blueprint on your favorite podcast app, or find us on Apple or Spotify to start getting new episodes when they are published.
Who has been a guest on Metro Blueprint
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Xavier de Souza Briggs
Melanie Allen
Robert “RJ” McGrail
Molly Kinder
Christy Hoffman
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
25,883,283
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
4.3 / 5
3 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
1 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 41 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
32
Social presence
0
YouTube
93
Engagement
31
Contact Metro Blueprint
Guest appearances
Books guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
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