Another Problem Facing American Higher Education

Accommodation Nation
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/2026/01/elite-university-student-accommodation/684946/
America’s colleges have an extra-time-on-tests problem. 

Bank Capital Requirements

U.K. Loosens Bank Capital Demands for First Time Since Financial Crisis
https://www.wsj.com/finance/banking/u-k-loosens-bank-capital-demands-for-first-time-since-financial-crisis-7aa214b5
British banks will no longer need to hold so much capital, as the U.K. joins the U.S. in unwinding some measures put in place after the global financial crisis. 

China's Rise on the Geopolitical Stage

A Newly Confident China Is Jockeying for More Global Clout as Trump Pulls Back
https://www.wsj.com/world/china/a-newly-confident-china-is-jockeying-for-more-global-clout-as-trump-pulls-back-5cc3be4e
Feeling empowered after a clash over trade, Beijing looks to exploit America’s inward turn.
 
Russia strengthens financial ties to China with first renminbi bond
https://www.ft.com/content/92b1b3f2-055c-42fb-b2da-ee774873ae7b 

Green Energy Trade-Offs

Europe’s Green Energy Rush Slashed Emissions—and Crippled the Economy
https://www.wsj.com/business/energy-oil/europes-green-energy-rush-slashed-emissionsand-crippled-the-economy-e65a1a07
The aggressive push to cut fossil fuels brought an unwelcome twist: dramatically higher electricity costs that are hobbling industry. 

Related:

Top Journal Retracts Study Predicting Catastrophic Climate Toll

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/03/business/economy/study-climate-damage-retracted.html

Emerging Asia

Vietnam Ascendant | The Infinite Explorer with Hannah Fry
https://youtu.be/sSlqqsz_16I
 
How South Korea Made Its Mark on the Globe | The Infinite Explorer with Hannah Fry
https://youtu.be/8g6Y-dQ556A 

Majoring in AI

College Students Flock to a New Major: A.I.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/01/technology/college-computer-science-ai-boom.html
At M.I.T., a new program called “artificial intelligence and decision-making” is now the second-most-popular undergraduate major. 

Related:

Fearing AI job losses, some young workers in Britain shift towards skilled trades
https://www.reuters.com/business/world-at-work/fearing-ai-job-losses-some-young-workers-britain-shift-towards-skilled-trades-2025-12-02/

The AGI Hype

How AGI became the most consequential conspiracy theory of our time
https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/10/30/1127057/agi-conspiracy-theory-artifcial-general-intelligence/
The idea that machines will be as smart as—or smarter than—humans has hijacked an entire industry. But look closely and you’ll see it’s a myth that persists for many of the same reasons conspiracies do.