"I am convinced that the United States is in the midst of a pivotal period ushering in extraordinary shifts in the nation's racial demographic makeup," writes  in his new book, . In this podcast, Frey, a senior fellow in the Metropolitan Policy Program and an internationally regarded demographer, explains what he means by "diversity explosion"; why growing minority populations are so important for America; and what public officials, community leaders, and decision-makers need to understand about the importance of educating and training a new generation of workers. Frey also discusses how he got into the field of demography, and what it means when people say "demography is destiny."  Also in the podcast, , director of the , offers his regular economic update, noting that "something weird is going on" when broad measures of the labor market are looking better yet two-thirds of the voters say the economy is getting worse. Show notes: • • • • "" (music/lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, performed by Lori Lieberman, Schoolhouse Rock, 1977) Subscribe to the Brookings Cafeteria on , listen on , and send feedback email to .