Experts in the News

“It felt like the foundations of the country were trembling, which in fact they were,” said fellow Allen Matusow, who has written extensively on the racism, unrest and police brutality of the 1960s.

In the past month, Houston has experienced a steady doubling in the number of daily coronavirus cases, health economist Vivian Ho said, a trend that could be exacerbated by protesters who are not wearing masks. “If significant numbers of people fail to heed public health guidelines, I’m concerned that Houston could suffer an even larger outbreak in June. And that outbreak would disproportionately harm the communities that have suffered the most from police brutality.” 

Chinese state media have given extensive coverage to the protests sweeping America, highlighting the chaotic scenes and police brutality to claim that China enjoys greater social stability. "Now is a key moment through which China is able to leverage the lack of stability in the U.S., in order to more efficiently promote its own national security goals,” nonresident scholar Aynne Kokas stated.

Public finance fellow John Diamond discussed the impact of Covid-19 on the economy and health care system during a special edition of Houston Matters. Diamond is the Edward A. and Hermena Hancock Kelly Fellow in Public Finance and director of the Center for Public Finance at the Baker Institute.

Ken Medlock, senior director of the Center for Energy Studies, joined experts in the energy industry for a virtual panel discussion on the state of Houston’s energy sector.