Think tank watchers may have been too distracted last week by that little Washington Post piece on alleged donor influence on research at Brookings to have noticed the much more significant news coming out of the world's top think tank: The Brookings Fight Club.
First, if you haven't seen the video, watch it here. What you will find is a gem of a think tank video with Brookings national security intern Ben Bissell (who studies krav maga) fighting his boss Ben Wittes, Senior Fellow in Governance Studies at Brookings and Editor-in-Chief of Lawfare (who studied taekwondo and aikido). Refereeing the 1st-ever think tank fight club fight match is Managing Editor of Lawfare Wells Bennett, in a bunny suit.
It is one of the only think tank videos in recent memory that is worth watching at least twice, even though we'd like to see a bit more blood spilled next time. It is certainly much more interesting than a policy fight club.
What has the response been so far to the Brookings Fight Club? Compared to most policy pieces, it has generally received rave reviews, and even has its own Twitter hashtag: #BrookingsFightClub.
Do you want to see two think tank scholars fight each other in the future? Send us your ideas to info (at) thinktankwatch.com.
