The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the major budget bill signed into law by President Donald Trump last month, includes important changes to federal energy policy — among them, an earlier end to wind and solar tax credits than outlined in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act and expanded support for nuclear and geothermal energy, as well as fossil fuels.

Center for Energy Studies Senior Director Ken Medlock joined the podcast to discuss the bill’s implications for the clean energy landscape and the key role of energy markets in dictating the future success of decarbonization and broader efforts to tackle climate change.

Featured:

• Ken Medlock, Ph.D., https://www.bakerinstitute.org/expert/kenneth-b-medlock-iii

This conversation was recorded on Aug. 6, 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.

Texas Republicans are moving to redraw the state’s congressional district map and flip five House seats for the GOP — an unusual mid-decade redistricting effort that comes at the urging of President Donald Trump ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. To block the map’s passage, Texas Democrats have fled the state, denying Republican state leaders the quorum needed to hold a vote.

Political science fellow Mark P. Jones joined “Baker Briefing” to break down the political standoff and what’s at stake for electoral politics in Texas and nationwide.

Featured:

• Mark P. Jones, Ph.D., https://www.bakerinstitute.org/expert/mark-p-jones

This conversation was recorded on Aug. 5, 2025.

A transcript of this episode is available here: http://bit.ly/47jPYD6

You can follow @BakerInstitute on X, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Learn more about our data-driven, nonpartisan policy research and analysis at bakerinstitute.org.

One of the striking trends in American religion and politics over the past decade has been the extent to which Christians have rallied around President Donald Trump. Their support has been most pronounced among white evangelicals, but the president has gained electoral ground with nearly all Christian denominations since his first term.

Trump hasn’t just appealed to Christian voters through rhetoric. He’s also courted them through policy. Recent examples include a new task force to “eradicate anti-Christian bias” in the federal government and a provision in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the vast budget package signed into law earlier this month, that strips Medicaid funding from Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider. (The Hyde Amendment already prohibits federal funds from being used to cover abortions in nearly all cases.)

Seven months into Trump’s second term, how do his policies measure up for his Christian base? Michael Emerson, director of the Baker Institute Religion and Public Program, joined the podcast to help unpack how Christian support affects Trump’s policy agenda — and vice versa.

Mentioned in this episode:

• The Godless Crusade: Religion, Populism, and Right-Wing Identity Politics in the West by Tobias Cremer
• “My beautiful ‘practicing’ Christians: As churchgoers’ numbers shrink, their social views grow more similar” by Michael Emerson

This conversation was recorded on July 24, 2025.

Access a transcript of this episode.

You can follow @BakerInstitute on X, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Learn more about our data-driven, nonpartisan policy research and analysis at bakerinstitute.org.