Olympic Host Cities Had a Financial Problem. Did Paris Fix It?
In its bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics, Paris promised to supply a resplendent backdrop to the world’s symposium of sport. The City of Light did not disappoint... Amid the triumphs of the 2024 Games, one glaring figure remains consequential for Parisian taxpayers: the Olympics’ financial cost. For now, the economic outlook is surprisingly promising. Paris initially set aside $8 billion (in USD) for the Olympics, a figure that has since increased to around $10 billion. As recently as May, organizers expected a small profit, a shocking change from the severe losses incurred by recent hosts.
The Politics at Play in Chess: Three Decades of Russian Influence and Chess’ Political Nature
Chess remains a force for unity: It’s a fun, intellectual game that is unfortunately ever exploitable for soft power. Hopelessly mixed up in international politics, chess is facing the dilemma posed to several other sports organizations– an existential fight for neutrality. Can FIDE break from decades of Russian influence and promote chess for its own sake, and not itself be a pawn in the political games world powers play?
The Svalbard Seed Vault: Humanity’s Ultimate Safeguard
In the high arctic tundra of Norway’s Svalbard archipelago, a steel facility holds the food insurance policy for all of humanity: 1,214,827 seed samples from almost every country in the world. Although it sounds like something out of an 80’s science fiction movie, this operation is no fiction. The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is made possible through international cooperation to ensure the world is prepared for catastrophe. As of the facility’s 15th anniversary in February of 2023, it holds over 13,000 years of agricultural history.
Show of Hands: Enrollment in Early Education in the United States versus Denmark
Research has shown that high-quality ECEC lessens the inequality gap between children of disadvantaged and advantaged backgrounds, increasing the income potential and opportunities for upward social mobility for low-income children later in life. Thus, the US should follow in the footsteps of Nordic countries by improving its ECEC system.
Dictatorship in Hungary Raises Serious Questions about EU and NATO Membership
The Hungarian Parliament has given Prime Minister Victor Orbán dictatorial power. The EU and NATO must reexamine Hungarian membership.
War, Sea, and Wall: The Triple Tragedy of Refugees Fleeing to Greece
Europe has been dealing with a refugee crisis for five to six years now, yet only one country has borne the brunt of it: Greece. The country's response: funding a floating barrier to deter migrants. By Raafiya Ali Khan
Old Alternatives: The Return of Nationalism to German Politics
Staff writer Marc Camanag speaks on the rise of right-wing German political party AfD and the risk of history repeating itself.