The Brookings Cafeteria podcast features in-depth conversations with experts about their ideas and research. The bi-weekly show debuted in August 2013 and won Best News & Politics podcast from the Academy of Podcasters Awards at the Podcast Movement conference in 2015. Its Host is Fred Dews, who is also Managing Editor of New Digital Products at the Brookings Institution, a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, DC. Apart from the Brookings Cafeteria podcast, for the past two years, Fred has been chief writer and editor of the Brookings Now blog. Prior to that, for 14 years, he managed the Brookings website as editor. He has participated in five website redesigns while at Brookings and has been a member of the Communications staff since 1999. In his first three years at Brookings, Fred was a senior research assistant and center manager in the Governance Studies program. Fred is a graduate of Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service (Diplomacy & International Security; Soviet & Russian studies); an honor graduate of the U.S. Army Field Artillery School (earned Master Gunner award); and holds masters’ degrees in public policy and U.S. history from Georgetown University and George Mason University, respectively. He listens to punk rock (particularly The Clash), watches the Tour de France intensely every summer, and loves family history/genealogy. On his blog, publichistorian.com, he writes about his ancestors and stories of history that are of interest. You can follow him on Twitter @publichistory. In all of his spare time, Fred continues to work on a novel, a piece of historical fiction. Fred, who was born in Texas and grew up in Dallas, lives in Northern Virginia with his family.
Bill Weir is the executive producer, writer and host of “The Wonder List with Bill Weir” an acclaimed CNN original series in search of people and places, cultures and creatures on the brink of seismic change. Debuting in March 2015, the first season took viewers from Venice to Vanuatu, from the Alps to the Everglades, telling unforgettable stories shot in lush, cinematic style by London filmmaker Philip Bloom. Weir joined CNN in November 2013 as anchor and reporter after a decade of distinctive broadcast journalism at ABC News. After helping to launch the weekend edition of “Good Morning America” in 2004, Weir became co-anchor of “Nightline” in 2010 while his reporting was featured on “World News with Diane Sawyer”, “Good Morning America”, “20/20”, and his own Yahoo! News digital series, “This Could Be Big”. In his network career, Weir journeyed to more than 50 nations and all 50 states, covering breaking news and uncovering global trends. He was among the first reporters into the floodwaters of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and Japan’s tsunami zone during the nuclear crisis of 2011. He dodged Taliban bullets in Afghanistan, led network coverage from Iraq and was the first American to broadcast live from Tibet. In 2012, he anchored ABC’s Summer Olympics coverage from London and brought unprecedented reporting from inside Apple’s Chinese factories. His live shots have come from atop the Golden Gate Bridge and below the waters of the Great Barrier Reef while his signature adventure reporting includes jumps from hot air balloons, hikes deep into the Amazon and one fun night spent lashed to the side of Yosemite’s El Capitan. Before joining ABC News, Weir wrote and hosted projects for the FX and USA Networks and was an anchor/reporter in Los Angeles, Chicago, Green Bay and Austin, MN. He lives in New York with his wife, daughter and a four-pound dog named Burt. He sincerely believes he could escape from prison if the need ever arose.