
How the nation’s fiscal and economic challenges, and possible solutions, impact current and future generations.
Episodes

Apr 29, 2026
Apr 29, 2026
44 min
This week on Facing the Future, students from the University of Iowa and their faculty adviser Dr. Alexandra Nica, describe how they reduced the debt-to-GDP ratio over the next 30 years and what they learned in winning this year's nationwide Fiscal Challenge competition.

Apr 22, 2026
Apr 22, 2026
44 min
This week on Facing the Future, Ben Ritz, Vice President of Policy Development at the Progressive Policy Institute, discusses why new tax cut proposals have him wondering whether Democrats learned the wrong lesson from 2024.

Apr 15, 2026
Apr 15, 2026
44 min
This week on Facing the Future, Jessica Riedl of the Brookings Institution evaluates President Trump's new budget and describes her findings on the Biden fiscal legacy.

Apr 8, 2026
Apr 8, 2026
44 min
The week on Facing the Future, former Senator Rob Portman and Concord Coalition Executive Director Carolyn Bourdeaux lay out the opportunities for impactful legislation to bring the debt under control. Alex Brill, Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, moderates the discussion.

Apr 1, 2026
Apr 1, 2026
44 min
This week on Facing the Future, Alex Brill of the American Enterprise Institute will discuss tax policy and the budget. Then, Jon McHenry of North Star Opinion Research will explain the latest findings of the Peterson Foundation's Fiscal Confidence Index.

Mar 25, 2026
Mar 25, 2026
44 min
This week on Facing the Future, former Obama and Clinton economic advisor Jason Furman talks about the economic fallout from the war in Iran and the importance of putting the debt on a sustainable path.

Mar 18, 2026
Mar 18, 2026
44 min
This week on Facing the Future, Douglas Holtz-Eakin of the American Action Forum and former director of the Congressional Budget Office discusses the economy, potential war costs and how the rapid growth of U.S. debt is already having a negative effect on the economy and living standards.

Mar 11, 2026
Mar 11, 2026
44 min
This week on Facing the Future, Marc Goldwein, Senior Vice President of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, outlines a "break glass in case of emergency" plan for the next economic shock.

Mar 5, 2026
Mar 5, 2026
44 min
This week on Facing the Future, we'll look at the potential cost of U.S. military operations in Iran, the President's State of the Union Address and our upcoming road trip to New Hampshire and Maine.

Feb 25, 2026
Feb 25, 2026
44 min
This week on Facing the Future we discussed the latest budget and economic projections from the Congressional Budget Office with the agency's director Dr. Phillip Swagel. He describes why the national debt is headed for record territory and the fiscal fallout from the Supreme Court's decision to invalidate some of the President's tariffs.
