Question: How will recent cuts to the Department of Veterans Affairs impact veterans’ healthcare nationwide? Thought Process: There were recent cuts to the Department of Veterans Affairs which have threatened the stability of a healthcare system that millions of veterans rely on as their primary or only source of care. The VA serves a population […]
Question: Is the United States a healthier nation than it was 10 years ago? Thought Process: The United States is less healthy now than it was 10 years ago because mental health issues have increased, more people are using drugs, and obesity rates have risen. Poor lifestyle choices, social isolation, and environmental factors have worsened […]
October 30th, 2025 Question: Will Trump’s agreements with ASEAN hold? Thought Process: Tensions are mounting as questions arise over the durability of President Trump’s new trade and security arrangements with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). While the agreements promised renewed U.S. engagement in the Indo-Pacific, skepticism persists among member states over Washington’s consistency, […]
Question: Is Thailand on the brink of a political crisis? Thought Process: Currently, Thailand has seen heightened political tension, mainly caused by differences between modern-minded citizens and traditional military-royalist groups. An opposition movement has currently gained public support, growing the frustration across the population. Economic slowdowns and continued inequality under the present political party are […]
Question: How are higher H-1B fees affecting the American tech industry? USX Thought Process: President Trump’s recent policy changes to H1B Visas have stirred controversy and concern in America’s Tech industry. With a yearly price tag of $100,000 on each H1B visa holder, the future of the visa and its viability for these companies has […]
Question: How will Japan’s prime minister resignation impact leadership and Asian stability? Thought Process: When answering this question, it’s vital to consider Japan’s influence in the South East Asian region, and how domestic politics can spill over into Diplomacy. Shigeru Ishaba’s departure from the premiership is paving the way for a consistent pattern of a […]
Question: How will the firing of the CDC Director impact public health in America? Thought Process:Currently, fear and paranoia are spreading as health issues across the country go unaddressed due to the lack of strong CDC leaders. I wanted to build on this fear and make my argument address the emotional impact, tapping into the […]
DX – Kavin Selva Will the tariff truce last between the United States and China? First Thoughts – I know that the trade war between the United States started roughly halfway through Trump’s first presidency. The original justification for increasing tariffs was that China engaged in unfair economic practices, with issues such as intellectual property […]
Eric Qian – IX Should OPEC work with its member countries to establish a bloc-wide sovereign wealth fund to ensure economic stability post-oil? This question is one of the released questions for the 2025 NIETOC—it’s from round 2 on regional alliances (IX). Upon reading this question, the answer is probably yes. OPEC needs to diversify […]
DX – Eric Qian Will the Supreme Court vote to uphold Donald Trump’s executive order on birthright citizenship? This question is from this year’s Harvard tournament. It’s tricky for many reasons; first, predicting Supreme Court decisions is just naturally hard, and second, there’s both a legal and a political approach to the question. I don’t […]
IX – Eric Qian What will be Yoon Suk Yeol’s legacy? To be completely honest, this is not a fun question. Not a complicated one—but weirdly broad and predictive. A politician’s legacy is determined by what they’re remembered for; that’s determined by common themes across their time in office. One theme I see with Yoon […]
IX – Eric Qian Now that the Sudanese Armed Forces have recaptured Khartoum, is the civil war nearing an end? This is a tricky prediction question, but I think it’s helpful to think about what makes civil wars come to an end. The Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces would need to negotiate […]
DX – Kavin Selva How will recent changes to Southwest’s business model impact the American airline industry? First thoughts – My first thoughts here are about the substructure I’ll use for this question. The first subpoint will be a change Southwest has implemented, and the second subpoint will be an effect on the industry. Looking […]
Hi viewers! Bible content team here – we’re excited to announce a change in our content. We know y’all can subscribe to things like newsletters to learn about what’s going on in the world, so we’re shifting away from our typical content brief articles. Instead, we’ll be publishing question briefs. In these question briefs, we’ll […]