In the aftermath of Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, and Freddie Gray’s untimely deaths and in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement and its numerous spin-off protest groups, one common message permeates America’s national dialog: the criminal justice system is broken. With these sobering anecdotes of unnecessary death and the ever-growing mountains of data … Read more
T.W. Shannon was the youngest Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives. In 2014, he ran for U.S. Senate. He now serves as Chairman of the Future Majority Project and as a board member for the Washington, D.C. think tank, CURE. Harvard Political Review: How can the GOP appeal to African Americans? T.W. Shannon: I’ve … Read more
It’s May 25, and the delegates to the Constitutional Convention have just taken their seats in Independence Hall. There is no doubt among the delegates that the present system of government is inadequate. The country is fractured, the Congress is indolent, and the people have little faith in the executive. The government is both undemocratic … Read more
For the second edition of HPR Talk, Senior Multimedia Editor Sebastian Reyes leads a roundtable discussion with Alisha Ukani, Akshaya Annapragada, and Saranya Vijaykumar on technology and various exciting applications thereof with HPR staff members who wrote about for the Summer 2017 magazine’s cover topic: The Cutting Edge. In the second segment, Sarah Tisdall talks … Read more
On June 5, 2017, Montenegro became the 29th nation to join NATO. For the tiny Balkan nation of less than a million people, the hardships overcome in joining the international defense organization cannot be exaggerated. Less than a year earlier, the country reportedly averted a Russian-backed coup targeting the pro-Western government. Moreover, since their entrance … Read more
Climate change poses one of the most serious threats to the United States and the world. However, Democrats and Republicans have yet to agree on a solution, or whether there should even be one. For years, advocacy groups have endorsed a carbon tax plan intended to curb fossil fuel emissions, the driving force behind climate … Read more
In mid-March, the Trump administration released its proposed budget for 2018. It included deep cuts to federal scientific agencies such as the National Institutes of Health. In its current form, the bill is unlikely to pass through Congress without a fight, as research funding has traditionally received bipartisan support. Yet these figures—including a staggering 18 … Read more
Like many prestigious American universities, Harvard and the larger Cambridge economy have benefited tremendously off a consistent stream of tourist revenue. The local Cambridge and Boston economy has evolved to adapt to a visitor base that has now contributed over seven billion dollars. However, the University and business organizations like the Harvard Square Business Association have failed to … Read more
The 2016 election put bigotry front and center. The winner, Donald Trump, campaigned with rhetoric that many deemed hateful. After the election, many individuals belonging to minority and marginalized groups reported an increase in hate crimes. Trump’s white supporters also reported experiencing incidents of hate. In the wake of this hate-filled election and its aftermath, … Read more
In his 2008 book, The Big Sort: Why the Clustering of Like-Minded America is Tearing Us Apart, Bill Bishop describes how Americans have been increasingly sorting themselves into geographic groups based on distinct choices in lifestyle and ideology. He argues that such ‘sorting,’ or self-segregation, contributes to political polarization. According to Bishop, “everyone can choose … Read more