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2026 Semester 1
Chernobyl: How Politics and Secrecy Left a Permanent Scar on the Earth
May 30, 2026

Figure 1 - The Chernobyl nuclear disaster was riddled with politics and secrecy.   Introduction The date is April 26th, 1986, and while the small city of Pripyat in the…

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#History Bureaucracy Chernobyl Engineering geopolitics nuclear energy Politics Public Health Radiation Secrecy Soviet Union ukraine
Rising Sun, Rising Rates: Japan’s Economic Awakening
May 29, 2026

Introduction For over 30 years Japan has defied the traditional laws of economics, maintaining a careful balancing act of curbing inflation cycles and rising rates that developed nations often struggle…

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#M&A Bond Market Carry Trade Deflation IB Inflation Japan Monetary policy Stagflation Yields
The 21st Century Gold Rush: Picks and Shovels of the AI Revolution
May 24, 2026

Introduction In 1849, 300,000 hopeful prospectors chasing the Californian gold rush went broke, while the merchants who sold them the pickaxes, shovels, and denim trousers left filthy rich without panning…

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Amazon Artificial Intelligence Data Centre Engineering Google Hyperscalers Microsoft NVIDIA Technology
Your Life, Their Design: The Rise of Corporate Control
May 16, 2026

From the moment you wake up to an algorithmically curated alarm, scroll a feed shaped by unseen incentives, and order breakfast from a platform that tracks your every preference, your day has already been quietly designed for you. This is modern life. And the question worth asking is: how much of it is actually yours? Join Gary, Jasper, Maya and Alex as they examine the many ways consumers have forfeited their freedoms to the rise of big corporations, and what this means for consumers today if corporate power is left unchecked.

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Capitalism Cars Consumers Control Corporations Fast Fashion Freedom Influencers Japan Modernity Streaming Subscription
Cartel Narconomics: How Franchised Violence Became South America’s Most Profitable Industry
May 12, 2026

Introduction No stock exchange listing. No CEO. No headquarters. Yet, few industries in history have generated hundreds of billions of dollars annually while surviving multiple governments’ attempts to dismantle them.…

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America black markets corruption geopolitics Macroeconomics mexico Microeconomics Organised Crime South America
The calculated departure: why the UAE left OPEC
May 11, 2026

Introduction OPEC has survived wars, price crashes, and decades of internal bickering. What it has never had to survive is one of its integral members deciding the whole arrangement simply…

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#Departure #Energy Politics #Global Energy #Middle East #Oil Markets #OPEC #Politics #Strategic alliances #UAE
Pay in 4, Pay Much More: The Economics of BNPL
May 5, 2026

Introduction At the heart of BNPL's promise of "interest-free" shopping lies a financial sleight of hand, and someone always pays. That someone, more often than not, is you, whether you…

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BNPL Consumer Finance Digital Payments Financial Literacy Fintech Market Trends Personal Finance
Cultural Capital: The Gentrification of Asian Aesthetics
May 4, 2026

In urban economics, gentrification refers to the transformation of neighbourhoods caused by increased investment and an influx of wealthy/middle-class residents that eventually leads to the displacement of long-term, minority communities.…

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#Finance #Investing Asia Behavioural Economics Economics Macroeconomics Markets Social Media West World
Corn-flict in the Middle East: How it Affects the Harvest
April 28, 2026

Figure 1 - The US-Iran War has significantly impacted the global corn industry   Introduction Throughout history, corn has been a crop of remarkable significance, and it remains one of…

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#History Agriculture Corn Ethanol Fuel Fertiliser Global Markets Iran Market Disruption Strait of Hormuz Supply Chain United States War
Ghost Services and Inflated Claims: The Dark Side of the NDIS Boom
April 26, 2026

Introduction The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) was one of the most ambitious social reforms in Australia’s history, designed to provide tailored lifetime support to individuals who live with permanent…

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#PublicPolicy AustralianPublicService Crime Fraud Government NDIS Policy Social Change
On-Demand Lives: The Rise and Cost of China’s Gig Economy
April 24, 2026

Introduction  With a few clicks, millions of Chinese can earn an income. We are witnessing how technology is redefining the way the next generation of China’s workforce materialises. App-based platforms…

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#Labour Market capitalism and labour China gig economy economic restructuring informal employment
Under the Influence: Australia’s Drug Scene and the Case for Change
April 15, 2026

Figure 1 - Australia’s relationship with drugs   Introduction Australia has had a long and continuous battle with drugs. Yet, the industry is currently escalating to globally unparalleled levels, with…

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#youth Australia Cocaine Crime Drug Busts Drug Culture Drugs germany Legalise Cannabis Opium Thailand United States
The Immortality Business: The Trillion Dollar Industry Betting on Your Fear of Ageing
April 13, 2026

  Bryan Johnson (Source: The Australian)   The desire to avoid aging is nothing new. The trillion-dollar industry built on selling that desire is. Somewhere between turmeric shots, colostrum supplements…

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Ageing Big Pharma Biohacking Consumer Culture Influencer Culture Influencers Longevity Peptides Pharmaceuticals Public Health Regulation Tech Entrepeneurs Wellness Industry
How Disney Built the World’s Most Powerful Entertainment Empire
April 10, 2026

Figure 1: Tokyo Disneyland. Source: Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO)   The Walt Disney Company has established an unrivalled position in today’s world, combining creativity and innovation to constantly break…

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#Economics #Investing America Business Disney Markets Media Technology World
A World Cup for the World, Or Just Some of It?
April 9, 2026

Introduction A grueling four-year wait. An eight-year sporting spectacle in the making. A two-month countdown about to commence. With the entire football community having their eyes fixed on June 11th,…

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FIFA Football Global Sports World Cup
The Future, Priced In: The Meteoric Rise of Prediction Markets
April 3, 2026

The market knows best, or does it? As major news outlets, sports leagues, and political officials integrate such sentiments into their operations, Join Minh, Maxwell, Tram and Blake as they explore the pertinent question: Are these markets the future of informed investment, or simply glorified casinos enabling insider trading?

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#economy #Finance #investments #public finance America Gambling geopolitics Iran Trump
From Washington to the World: The MAGAfication of Global Democracies
March 27, 2026

Figure 1 - Donald Trump’s MAGA movement has spread worldwide    Introduction Throughout the last decade, it is undeniable that far-right policies have been on the rise. From the US…

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Australia Brazil Democracy geopolitics Globalisation International Relations Japan MAGA Politics Trump United States World
The Japan Effect: A Nation Redefined by Tourism
March 24, 2026

Introduction Ever since post-World War II, Japan’s economy has been characterised as a global industrial powerhouse, fueled by the role of keiretsu – a tightly connected network of large corporations…

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Asia-Pacific geopolitics Japan Macroeconomics Monetary policy Tourism
US Military vs. Anthropic: “Supply Chain Risk” Battle
March 23, 2026

Artificial intelligence is rapidly shifting from a technological breakthrough to an instrument of power. Machine learning models have rapidly evolved from commercial novelty to a technology so strategically critical that…

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AI alignment AI ethics AI regulation AI safety Artificial Intelligence Department of Defense Military AI National Security Supply Chain Risk Technology Trump U.S. Military
Bombs, Barrels, Black Gold: Why Washington Still Cannot Win
March 22, 2026

Figure 1: U.S.–Iran Relations In the grand chessboard of global energy, Iran’s oil, the so-called “black gold”, has become the focal point of a modern-day rush that transcends markets and…

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#AustralianEconomy #China #Labour Market America Behavioural Economics Finance geopolitics International Relations Iran Oil Trade Trump War World

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