Brief #146 – Health & Gender
By Emily Scanlon
For years, the anti-abortion movement has been focused on one main goal: the overturn of Roe v. Wade. Because of this unifying goal, the movement has not had to grapple with fringe beliefs. Now that their main goal has been accomplished, anti-abortion groups are considering next steps and facing more radical ideas within the movement.
Brief #145 – Health & Gender Policy
By Geoffrey Small
President Joe Biden has declared that the COVID-19 pandemic is over. Many experts in the scientific community may agree or disagree with Biden’s assessment, but the prospect of herd immunity, public awareness, and methods of prevention have undoubtedly come a long way since the coronavirus first made its global impact.
Brief #38 – Elections & Politics
By Abigail Hunt
Lobbying is as necessary as it is corruptive. The origin of the word lies in the earliest version of lobbyists – men who stood in the lobby of a legislative building to catch government representatives in order to plea their cause.
Brief #36 – Elections & Politics
By David A. Graham
The line between imagination and delusion is thin, as Donald Trump’s initial reaction to an FBI search at Mar-a-Lago in August demonstrated. In the first days afterward, the former president saw the search as a political gift, not a blow: a chance to rally his base, put would-be challengers like Ron DeSantis in their place, and reconsolidate his eroding position as the leader of the Republican Party.
Brief #36 – Elections & Politics
By Inijah Quadri
The Republican-dominated Texas Legislature on August 19th passed an election bill that Democrats and advocates say will restrict voting rights for minorities.
Republicans inflicted a crushing defeat on Democrats, who fought for months against what they saw as a brazen attempt to disenfranchise minorities, including African-Americans, and other voters who are more likely to vote Democrat.
Brief #37 – Elections & Politics
By Ian Milden
In the recent special election to replace the late Congressman Don Young (R-AK), Mary Peltola (D-AK) defeated former Governor Sarah Palin (R-AK) and Nick Begich (R-AK). This brief will examine the recent election reforms in Alaska that led to the upset and how they may affect the U.S. House and Senate races this year. The brief will also briefly discuss the implications of ranked choice voting.
Brief #149 – Foreign Policy
By Reilly Fitzgerald
This summer has seen the ongoing disagreement and to some degree ‘war’ between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour. The traditional American viewing experience for generations has been the PGA Tour. Millions of viewers tune into individual tournaments throughout the season to see the worlds’ top golf professionals compete on American television. Now, a Saudi-backed challenger has stepped into the arena and has started to offer a significant challenge to the traditional golf watching, and competing, experience around the world.
Brief #148 – Foreign Policy
By Yelena Korshunov
Mikhail Gorbachev was one of the most controversial figures in world politics. The Former USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) President died at the age of 92 in Moscow on Tuesday, August 30, after a severe and prolonged illness. The last, fifth general secretary of the Soviet Communist Party, Gorbachev was also the the last president of the USSR. He is not popular in today’s Russia, while his actions are often appreciated in the Western world.
Brief #68 – Technology
By Mindy Spatt
All day, every day, our phones are tracking our locations, collecting minute by minute data on our whereabouts that phone companies, apps can use or sell.
Customers may agree to location tracking in order to use a GPS or a fitness monitor, but be less aware of how many others are getting in on the act; Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft are just a few examples of the many apps and services that are continuously keeping track of where we go and what we do. I can’t remember whether I ever gave any of them permission, can you?
Brief #67 – Technology Policy
By Steve Piazza
In late August, 2022 the California State Legislature passed AB-2273, The California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act. Built upon existing California laws. AB-2273 is aimed at protecting anyone under 18 from possible harmful effects of social media.