New this week

To help you prepare for Tuesday’s State of the Union speech. Elaine Kamarck shares video clips of some of the best (and worst) SOTU speeches throughout history—including Franklin Roosevelt in 1941, George W. Bush’s “axis of evil” speech, and more (including a couple from SNL).

Five bleak facts about black opportunity. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is Monday—what would he think of America today, if he’d lived to see his 86^th birthday? Richard Reeves says he would be disturbed by these five charts that show how far we have yet to go.

The European economy is a mess. What will the European Central Bank do about it when they meet next week? To prepare, David Wessel discusses President Mario Draghi’s dilemma. Meanwhile, Douglas Elliot predicts that the euro will avoid being broken by the Greek election on January 25^th…barely.

Ever heard of “GitHub” or “Blockchain”? Learn about a few new things happening in the tech world of online payments and collaborative documents, via the TechTank blog.

Nevada is taking action to build a high-tech workforce. Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval revealed in his State of the State last week that he will be enacting a version of the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program’s workforce strategy.

What our experts are reading

For a good rundown of new limits on speech and aggressive prosecution in France, see this NYT overview. (@ShadiHamid) 

This one’s on the money – Let It Go: Time to Disincorporate Municipalities in St. Louis County. (@BerubeA1)

Excellent discussion on the “Fate of Foreign Fighters,” featuring Moazzam Begg, Shiraz Maher, and Richard Barrett. (@Charles_Lister)