Leaked question papers in NEET and other high-stakes exams have triggered parliamentary debate and student protests — raising questions about the integrity of the systems that determine higher-education access for tens of millions of young Indians.

A NYT-led coalition is seeking court sanctions against OpenAI over the use of published journalism as AI training data — putting the legal and economic relationship between news publishers and AI developers before a federal court.

Streaming, algorithms, and social media have splintered the shared cultural touchstones that once defined national life. What does that shift mean for social cohesion — and for individual freedom?

Sanctions and drone strikes have been linked to fuel shortages inside Russia — a test case for the effectiveness and limits of economic coercion in wartime.

A contested shift in global currency arrangements — what the evidence shows about the dollar's reserve status, the alternatives on offer, and the trade-offs for different economies.

Prison systems in the US, UK, and beyond operate under competing justifications — retribution, deterrence, rehabilitation, and restorative justice — with significant disagreement about which goals punishment can or should serve.

When a government fund buys a port, a semiconductor firm, or a media company, where does development finance end and geopolitical strategy begin — and how do existing capital-market frameworks apply?

Millions of families have continued homeschooling after pandemic-era school closures ended. What does the data show about who is doing it, why, and what the downstream effects on children and public education systems look like?

Western governments are reversing nuclear phase-outs just as renewables costs fall sharply — a collision of timelines that puts the role of nuclear in low-carbon energy transitions back at the center of policy debate.

Online speech governance: the competing roles of states, platforms, markets, and users

Over 130 countries are exploring or piloting CBDCs, with the digital euro advancing through EU legislation and China's e-CNY already in wide circulation — raising unresolved questions about financial inclusion, transaction privacy, and the scope of government access to spending data.

Rewilding initiatives are converting agricultural land to restored ecosystems — a shift that puts conservation goals in tension with food production, rural economies, and land ownership.

What are the candidate explanations for political polarization in western societies? Is social media a primary driver — through phenomena like woke culture, DEI, and right-wing politics — or do longer cyclical patterns across decades better account for the shifts?

After decades of free-trade consensus, both U.S. parties now back tariffs, subsidies, and domestic content rules — but economists are divided on whether managed trade can deliver the outcomes its supporters claim.

Biotech investment in aging biology is accelerating — what does the current evidence base look like, and how does longevity research sit alongside other medical research priorities?

As chips implanted in the brain move from restoring lost function toward enhancing healthy cognition, the technology raises questions about medical boundaries, cognitive privacy, and access.

The U.S. dollar's position as the world's primary reserve currency is being examined from two angles: the structural factors that have sustained it, and the pressures that may be shifting its centrality in global trade and finance.

Five years of U.S. state decriminalization: what overdose and treatment data show

Central banks set monetary policy at arm's length from elected governments. How the boundaries of that independence are drawn — and who bears responsibility for outcomes — is an open and contested question.

Age-based access restrictions on social media platforms — their scope, enforcement mechanisms, and effects on minors, parents, and platforms.