Emma Dewhurst is a staff writer for Brief Policy Perspectives and a first-year MPP student. With summer rapidly approaching and warmer weather on the horizon, health, wellness, and beauty industries have already launched ads evoking the elusive “perfect beach body.” Commercials and social media posts promising that their product will get you “bikini ready” inundate society like clockwork every…

Brett Litzler is a staff writer for Brief Policy Perspectives and a first-year MPP student. Over the past year, the Covid-19 pandemic has brought millions of Americans into financial hardship and exposed how precarious the lives of so many had been prior to massive unemployment and dampened economic activity. Americans increasingly report that they would…

Julia Vanella is a staff writer for Brief Policy Perspectives and a first-year MPP student. History of Chemical Flame Retardants in the United States As part of the post-World War II development of the chemical industry, the production of flame retardants began in the 1960s. From 1969 through 1973, children’s sleepwear accounted for 32% of…

Christina Prinvil is a staff writer for Brief Policy Perspectives and a first-year MPP student. With the advancement of society and access to resources such as books, documentaries, podcasts, and movies, the public has learned more about the death penalty in recent years and subsequently has shifted its perspective on the act. According to the…