The United States is confronting a disturbing reality: the criminal legal system has become one of the most consequential forces determining who survives long enough to grow old. New evidence shows that the greatest threats to Black Americans’ life expectancy are not solely medical, but structural. Where policing, incarceration, and environmental injustice converge, premature death […]
Introduction In March of 2015, following the death of Michael Brown and the subsequent uproar surrounding his death, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) conducted an extensive investigation into the Ferguson, Missouri Police Department. At the conclusion of their investigation, the DOJ released a 102-page report, citing several instances of racial bias among police […]
Uber drivers don’t get unemployment insurance, but doesn’t mean no one pays. When the pandemic hit, thousands of gig workers found themselves without rides, without support, and without answers. Platforms like Uber and Lyft insisted that drivers were independent contractors, not employees, and therefore not eligible for state unemployment benefits. In response, many states shuffled […]
Kneecap has emerged as a pioneer in Irish-language rap, producing caustic political satire with playful, punchy bilingual lyricism. Their tracks inject new life into Gaelige, one of Europe’s oldest languages, challenging sanitized depictions of Irish culture with gritty lived realities of post-Troubles youth. Once marginalized through centuries of colonial suppression, the Irish language is often […]
AI is progressing faster than the ability of global communities to keep up. Regulators are busy with hearings and writing laws, while major tech companies roll out new AI models every few months. Without enforceable rules, AI might worsen inequality, destabilize economies, and threaten democracy. The gap between innovation and regulation keeps growing, and this […]
With thirteen Academy Award nominations, twelve British Academy Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) nominations, and ten Golden Globe nominations, Netflix’s Emilia Pérez defined the 2024 awards scene. Critics initially praised the movie-musical for its inclusivity, covering underserved topics such as Mexico’s cartel crisis and, within that, the struggles of the transgender community. Yet, with a […]
The United States has long been a dynamic force of creativity, media, and entrepreneurship, using the idea of the market economy to limit government interference in business activities. From this position of influence, US politicians have cultivated an “America-first” narrative that inflates the US’ economic success and demeans the economies of competing nations—a narrative that […]
The United States is confronting a disturbing reality: the criminal legal system has become one of the most consequential forces determining who survives long enough to grow old. New evidence shows that the greatest threats to Black Americans’ life expectancy are not solely medical, but structural. Where policing, incarceration, and environmental injustice converge, premature death […]
Introduction In March of 2015, following the death of Michael Brown and the subsequent uproar surrounding his death, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) conducted an extensive investigation into the Ferguson, Missouri Police Department. At the conclusion of their investigation, the DOJ released a 102-page report, citing several instances of racial bias among police […]
Wrongful convictions demonstrate one of the most apparent signs of injustice in the United States. A wrongful conviction occurs when someone is found guilty of a crime they did not commit, often after being targeted in ways that are shaped by systemic bias. For African Americans, wrongful convictions are not rare accidents; they instead happen […]
In 1917, President Woodrow Wilson declared that the United States’ duty as a leader on the global stage was to “make the world safe for democracy.” His bold vision set a powerful precedent for US intervention globally while defining an era in which the United States could position itself as a moral force in international […]
In his 2025 inaugural address, the commander-in-chief of the United States promised, among other things, that “the vicious, violent, and unfair weaponization of the Justice Department (DOJ) and our government [would] end.” This bold statement identifies three flawed, un-democratic characteristics within our Justice Department, and promises to bring these flaws to an “end.” This is […]
With thirteen Academy Award nominations, twelve British Academy Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) nominations, and ten Golden Globe nominations, Netflix’s Emilia Pérez defined the 2024 awards scene. Critics initially praised the movie-musical for its inclusivity, covering underserved topics such as Mexico’s cartel crisis and, within that, the struggles of the transgender community. Yet, with a […]
Pro-vegan documentaries are everywhere. Netflix alone features Seaspiracy, Cowspiracy, You Are What You Eat, the Gamechangers, and more. These documentaries offer a variety of perspectives on the benefits of veganism, emphasizing its health and sustainability benefits. Paired with an overwhelming number of studies, these documentaries might lead Americans to believe that veganism is the best […]
Candace Owens, an American political commentator, television personality, and New York Times bestselling author, has swiftly become a national star in conservative media. Boasting over four and a half million followers on Instagram, Owens has interviewed former president Donald Trump and entertained the idea of running for president herself. Owens argues against transgender rights, abortion […]
In his second inaugural address, president Donald Trump rattled off a list of legislative initiatives that he claimed would “completely and totally reverse a horrible betrayal” that had been levied upon the American people. Among them were solutions to various hot-button issues which compelled voters to elect Trump to a second term, such as illegal […]
Although pre-election forecasts predicted the 2024 election would be mathematically closer than a coin flip, everything seemed to go perfectly for former President Donald Trump on Election Day. By receiving 2.5 million more votes than he did in the 2020 presidential election and flipping six of the seven swing states which voted for Biden in […]
The president’s power to pardon has been enshrined in the Constitution ever since it was first ratified at the Constitutional Convention of 1787. Among the convention’s Framers, it was Alexander Hamilton who argued most fervently for the existence of pardon powers. Hamilton argued in Federalist 74 that the president’s ability to grant clemency and pardons […]
In the coming decades, there are a handful of states that could realistically align themselves with either the liberal-democratic international order—a system of international relations defined by adherence to international law, open and liberal free trade, and belief in the natural rights of human beings—or today’s autocracies. Such geopolitically fickle states hesitate to commit themselves […]
