Orange County, California Correspondent I analyze deals for a living, and the Venezuela operation is a deal, so I want to assess it as one, because the people who are assessing it as a war or a liberation are both missing the term sheet. On January 3 the United States removed the chief executive of … Continue reading How should the U.S. capture of Nicolás Maduro and the subsequent developments in Venezuela be assessed in terms of regional stability, migration pressures, energy markets, and the precedent it sets for American intervention?
Weekly Correspondents’ Forum 2026
In college and professional sports, beyond compensation debates, how seriously are integrity risks from sports betting—particularly prop bets and point-shaving cases—being addressed by leagues, schools, and regulators?
Billings, Montana Correspondent There is a reason the insurance adjuster asks what happened before he asks how much the claim is worth. The first question establishes the event; the second establishes the cost. Our sports leagues have spent the past few years asking what legalized betting is worth, and they are only now giving serious … Continue reading In college and professional sports, beyond compensation debates, how seriously are integrity risks from sports betting—particularly prop bets and point-shaving cases—being addressed by leagues, schools, and regulators?
What have been the lasting economic effects of the 2026 Iran conflict, particularly disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz, on global energy prices, inflation, central-bank policy, and the political fortunes of governments heading into midterms or other elections?
Bismarck, North Dakota Correspondent Straight talk first: North Dakota has had a good war. I work in compliance for an energy company and I will not pretend otherwise, because the people in the Bakken do not pretend and the people reading this deserve the same. When the strait closed in March and Brent went to … Continue reading What have been the lasting economic effects of the 2026 Iran conflict, particularly disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz, on global energy prices, inflation, central-bank policy, and the political fortunes of governments heading into midterms or other elections?
How is the rapid growth of AI data centers affecting electricity demand, and are utilities and technology companies making meaningful progress on powering this expansion without creating new bottlenecks or reliability issues?
Johannesburg, South Africa Correspondent The easiest way to misunderstand the artificial intelligence electricity problem is to begin with the computer. Begin instead with the wire. That wire runs through a substation, a transmission network, generating stations, fuel deliveries, control rooms, regulatory decisions, and somebody's balance sheet. If one of those fails, the most advanced computer … Continue reading How is the rapid growth of AI data centers affecting electricity demand, and are utilities and technology companies making meaningful progress on powering this expansion without creating new bottlenecks or reliability issues?
With companies advancing gene-editing and AI-driven approaches toward de-extinction efforts (such as work on the dodo), what scientific, ecological, and ethical questions need to be addressed before any reintroduction of extinct species becomes realistic?
Phoenix, Arizona Correspondent I spend a good deal of my working life in a hospital system, which means I have developed an allergy to the sentence, “The technology works.” That sentence may be accurate and still tell you very little about whether the technology makes life better. A machine can read an image, a model … Continue reading With companies advancing gene-editing and AI-driven approaches toward de-extinction efforts (such as work on the dodo), what scientific, ecological, and ethical questions need to be addressed before any reintroduction of extinct species becomes realistic?
As U.S.-mediated efforts to manage the Russia-Ukraine conflict have continued alongside other global crises, what realistic paths remain for de-escalation, and how are the war’s ongoing costs affecting European security and U.S. domestic priorities?
Johannesburg, South Africa Correspondent South Africa has spent four years declining to take a side in this war, which the Americans and the Europeans have found infuriating and which I have found instructive, because a country that is not a party to a negotiation can see the shape of it more clearly than the parties … Continue reading As U.S.-mediated efforts to manage the Russia-Ukraine conflict have continued alongside other global crises, what realistic paths remain for de-escalation, and how are the war’s ongoing costs affecting European security and U.S. domestic priorities?
With increasing competition over Arctic access, critical minerals, and supply-chain security, how are the United States, China, and European partners positioning themselves, and what does this mean for long-term economic and strategic competition?
Long Island, New York Correspondent I have spent enough time reading deeds, zoning decisions, court orders, and correspondence from people who were quite certain they owned something to know that a map is not a deed. A government may have a convincing map showing where its strategic interests lie. A mining executive may circle a … Continue reading With increasing competition over Arctic access, critical minerals, and supply-chain security, how are the United States, China, and European partners positioning themselves, and what does this mean for long-term economic and strategic competition?
As AI tools move from experimental use into clinical practice—helping with imaging interpretation, genetic diagnosis, and drug discovery—what evidence is emerging about their real impact on patient outcomes versus the risks of over-reliance or diagnostic errors?
Savannah, Georgia Correspondent In port logistics, we talk about throughput because ships have to move, cargo has to be located, and somebody eventually has to get a container onto a truck. A port that leaves every vessel at anchor while managers admire a new scheduling system has not improved its operations. Yet the opposite mistake … Continue reading As AI tools move from experimental use into clinical practice—helping with imaging interpretation, genetic diagnosis, and drug discovery—what evidence is emerging about their real impact on patient outcomes versus the risks of over-reliance or diagnostic errors?
Has the rapid expansion of NIL deals and revenue sharing fundamentally changed (or corrupted) the character of major college sports, and are current enforcement efforts by the College Sports Commission and conferences proving effective at containing cap circumvention and transfer chaos?
Knoxville, Tennessee Correspondent The university on the hill above this city has a hundred-thousand-seat stadium, a football budget that would run a mid-sized county for a decade, and a general manager, which is a title that did not exist in college athletics five years ago and now sits in every power-conference building between the head … Continue reading Has the rapid expansion of NIL deals and revenue sharing fundamentally changed (or corrupted) the character of major college sports, and are current enforcement efforts by the College Sports Commission and conferences proving effective at containing cap circumvention and transfer chaos?
Are prediction markets (such as those operated by Kalshi and Polymarket) meaningfully different from traditional sports gambling in structure, risk, and social impact, or are the legal distinctions mainly regulatory workarounds, and how should policymakers treat them?
Orange County, California Correspondent I analyze business models, and the business model of a prediction market is the first thing to understand, because it answers most of the question before the lawyers arrive. A sportsbook takes the other side of your bet. It sets a line, builds a margin into it, and profits when you … Continue reading Are prediction markets (such as those operated by Kalshi and Polymarket) meaningfully different from traditional sports gambling in structure, risk, and social impact, or are the legal distinctions mainly regulatory workarounds, and how should policymakers treat them?
