Neglected Diseases and Patients: The NIH Funding Crisis — Timothy Yi
The proposed funding cut “means fewer new treatments, slower time to realizing some of the benefits of medical research, and probably, ultimately, an inability to advance innovative health care in the way that we have in the past,” Prensner said in an interview I conducted with him in April. Though Prensner hasn’t reported experiencing disruptions to ongoing clinical trials in his own lab thus far, cancer treatment plans have already been suspended for a number of patients across the country.
Immeasurable Talent: Trump’s Erosion of School Accountability & Choice — Ethan Yoon
Trump cuts have dulled what was once the sharpest weapon in policymakers’ educational arsenal. Since the start of his second term, the Trump administration cut around $1 billion from the Department of Education’s funding. Despite promising to insulate NAEP from those cuts, Trump cancelled the 2015 NAEP for 17-year-olds and has since placed the former Biden-appointed commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, who oversees the NAEP, on paid leave before the completion of her term. His cuts on the Department of Education’s headcount left only three employees at the National Center for Education Statistics to run the NAEP.
Doctors on Strike, Patients in Limbo: Korea’s Healthcare Crisis — Emily Kang
Trust was already strained. Doctors who work long hours, handle life-or-death cases, and shoulder high legal risk are deeply familiar with the healthcare system’s shortcomings. Many felt the new policy ignored on-the-ground realities. The government had long failed to address systemic issues like burnout, low compensation in high-risk specialties, and rising litigation. Now it was pushing a policy that, to many doctors, felt more political than medical—an attempt to boost sagging approval ratings by casting reform as a battle between the administration and obstructive elite doctors. Although the government later adjusted the number to 1,509, it was too late.
Halting Science at its Roots: The Trump Administration’s Attacks on Early Career Scientists — Anna Kilpatrick
A country that disinvests from science does so at its own peril, and targeting early-career scientists is particularly short-sighted for a country that has led the world in scientific discovery for more than eight decades precisely because of our university-centered structure. Abandoning support for future scientists will reduce the quality of the science we’re able to produce, something which is especially alarming as we continue to navigate complex, accelerating problems.
Medical Debt Doesn’t Have to be Normal — Aidan Shannon
The good news is that we know what works to prevent medical debt. It starts with the foundational step: expand health insurance coverage. States that expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act have seen dramatic reductions in medical debt. A 2021 JAMA study found that new medical debt fell by 44 percent in states that expanded Medicaid, compared to just 10 percent in states that refused to expand. Expanding Medicaid in the ten holdout states would extend insurance to millions of working poor Americans, dramatically cutting the amount of unpaid hospital bills.
Prohibiting Prosperity: The High Cost of the Taliban’s Opium Ban — An Anonymous Author
In 2022, Afghanistan produced more than 80% of the world’s opium, capturing as much as 95% of the market in Europe. With a shaky start to external relations, the Taliban’s edict to outlaw opium was likely deemed an effective way of appealing to Western sentiment. But using force to outlaw the main source of livelihood for a significant percentage of the population holds potentially devastating ramifications from which the Afghan nation will struggle to recover.
All Bets are off… the Air? — Vikram Joshi
American sports gamblers lost $13.26 billion in 2024, and the amount has risen every year since states began legalizing sports betting in 2018. These losses entail serious financial consequences: sports gambling is pushing people into debt and even bankruptcy. Despite this danger, quitting is difficult; many people are at risk for developing or have already developed a gambling addiction. Meanwhile, the industry continues to broaden its reach. A recent poll by the Siena College Research Institute found that 39% of Americans bet on sports, which has almost doubled from two years ago.
School Smartphone Use & The Rise of the “Screenager” — Sonika Menon
Perhaps the most dangerous phone use during school is cyberbullying, including the distribution of sexually exploitative content and videos of students physically abusing their peers in school bathrooms or locker rooms. While the implementation of classroom phone bans will not curb cases of in-person bullying, the presence of smartphones exacerbates the issue by giving sensitive content a permanent residence on the internet, complete with a global audience. Therefore, along with classrooms, teachers should enforce phone-free zones in areas like bathrooms and locker rooms, where bullying is more likely to occur.
Japan’s Sex Industry: The Cost of Ambiguous Regulation — Sabrina Matsui
The legal landscape surrounding Japan’s sex industry is a paradox. On paper, prostitution is illegal under Article 3 of the Prostitution Prevention Law. However, the law is riddled with loopholes. The regulation only bans vaginal intercourse for money, meaning other forms of paid sex work exist in a legal gray area. As a result, an entire industry of “delivery health” services, hostess clubs, and soaplands thrives by skirting legal definitions and thereby avoiding prohibition. Rather than protecting vulnerable individuals, this fragmented policy approach fosters an environment where abuse flourishes unchecked.
Combatting the Algorithm: How Delivery Riders Survive and Thrive the Platform Economy — Jessie Zhang
Why can’t Chinese delivery riders stop the hustle? How does the delivery platform hold on to its laborers? In this video, Jessie will introduce you to the challenges, vulnerabilities, and aspirations of delivery riders through their own voices.
Retail Electricity Markets: Explainer for Illinois Residents — Luke Delaney
While some customers have good reasons for switching to an Alternative Retail Electricity Supplier (ARES), staying with the default utility supply option is the best decision for most Illinoisans, given current market trends. The video also covers predatory marketing practices in the retail electricity market so that viewers can recognize and avoid them.
Powering Artificial Intelligence: A Conversation with Kent Chandler, the Former Chairman of the Kentucky Public Service Commission — Eric Fang
In the interview, Chandler and Eric discuss topics such as the historical precedents of United States’ electricity demand, grid reliability, the role of energy efficiency, balancing economic development with a fair cost allocation, the role of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), and finally, Chandler’s advice to future Commissioners of the Kentucky Public Service Commission.
TikTok Trouble: How One Micro-Influencer is Navigating Uncertainty — Maya Gutierrez (Featuring Julia Craig, Content Creator)
To explore these effects at a personal level, this podcast episode features a conversation with Julia Craig, a micro-content creator. Craig discusses the ramifications of the blackout in her life and online livelihood, her perspective on the ban, and the potential shifts in creators’ futures.
Trump Suspends USRAP, Derails Evaluation of Resettlement Algorithm — Stephanie Achugamonu
The executive order suspending USRAP claims that the admission of refugees threatens national safety and security. However, World Relief counters that refugees undergo the most rigorous vetting process of anyone entering the U.S. Refugees are subjected to several screenings, biometric data collection, and interviews by the Department of Homeland Security. Next, this information is cross-referenced with databases managed by agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Defense. Individuals linked to terrorist organizations or human rights violations are automatically denied resettlement in the U.S.
Coverage is Key for Greenville, South Carolina Public Transit — Samuel Fried
Smaller cities are often much less dense than large ones (compare Greenville’s ~2400 people per square mile to Chicago’s ~12,000). This means that congestion is less of an issue, but being more spread out might mean that walking from place to place is not as feasible as in a larger city. As a result, these cities focus on their dependent riders, who greatly value coverage of the entire city, not just the downtown, and generally prefer coverage to speed.