If you’ve been on the internet at all over the past two years, you’ve probably heard the word “brainrot.” Colloquially, “brainrot” is a collection of social media slang and content such as “6-7,” “rizz,” “gyatt,” “skibidi,” “fanum tax” etc., even expanding to “Italian Brainrot” which refers to specific characters such as “Ballerina Capuccina,” “Tung Tung Tung Sahur,” etc. This type of content is associated with short-form videos, AI-generated content, and doomscrolling and the harmful psychological effects it has, especially on the younger generation. According to Oxford University Press, “brainrot” is broadly defined as “the supposed deterioration of a person’s mental…

We live in the Information Age. Knowledge is more accessible than ever before, but it’s not just search engines that provide this access. Social media platforms have allowed for people across the globe to take a glimpse into each other’s lives. People can know what is taking place in another part of the world just by opening Instagram Reels or TikTok. In this way, social media acts as a vehicle for globalization, increasing visibility, and interconnectedness around the world. Of course, this has its benefits, but is it a good thing to be exposed to so much content constantly? The…

Is your mayor a spy? This sounds like a joke or a conspiracy theory, but this story is very real. Headlines about mayors being agents of the CCP might seem like McCarthy-era accusations or a plot-line from a political drama TV-show like “Homeland” or “House of Cards.” However, Eileen Wang, the mayor of Arcadia, California, recently resigned from office on May 11, 2026 after agreeing to plead guilty to charges of acting as an illegal agent for the Chinese government. According to federal prosecutors, Wang allegedly used her political position to advance the interests of Chinese officials while concealing those…

Recently, international law, or more specifically, violation of international law, has been at the forefront of the media. For example, the U.S.- Israeli attacks on Iran have been criticized as a breach of UN Charter Article 2(4). The United Nations has “condemned” these actions, but nothing has actually been done. This has called into question the effectiveness of international law: why do these rules matter if countries are not actually obliged to follow them? What’s the point of international law? First, we need to establish there are two kinds of international law: binding and non-binding. So which one is more…