In the News
Our distinguished McCourt faculty and research fellows are regularly sought by national and international media outlets as authoritative voices on today’s most critical policy challenges.
This engagement reflects McCourt’s core mission: ensuring evidence-based research informs public understanding and policy decisions. When complex issues demand expert analysis, media organizations consistently turn to our faculty for the credible, nuanced perspectives that advance democratic dialogue and informed decision-making.
When AI Grandmas Go Viral, What Even Is Reality Anymore?
Renée DiResta, associate research professor at McCourt’s Massive Data Institute and Tech & Public Policy Center, was interviewed in a Wall Street Journal podcast about how AI is changing our perceptions of reality.
August 1st, 2026
A.I. Companies Are Recruiting Electricians and Carpenters by the Thousands
Jeff Strohl, director of Center on Education and the Workforce, was quoted in a New York Times article on how building data centers are hiring and training new skilled laborers.
July 29th, 2026
Medical Billing Arbitration Paid Out $15 Billion to Providers in Surprise Bill Disputes
Jack Hoadley, research professor emeritus at the Center on Health Insurance Reforms, was quoted in a Wall Street Journal article about payouts to healthcare providers from a controversial federal surprise-billing arbitration process tripling to nearly $15 billion last year, heavily favoring doctor groups over insurers.
July 22nd, 2026
Sen. Andy Kim pitches MediKids, universal healthcare for children and young adults
Joan Alker, research professor and executive director of the Center for Children and Families, was quoted in a Philadelphia Inquirer article about the strong long-term returns yielded by investments into child healthcare.
July 21st, 2026
Shrinking student populations cause spike in public school closures across U.S.
Marguerite Roza, director of Edunomics Lab, was quoted in a Washington Post article about school closures across the United States.
July 16th, 2026
Trump’s championing of debunked vote conspiracies casts shadow over midterms
Renée DiResta, associate research professor at McCourt’s Massive Data Institute and Tech & Public Policy Center, was quoted in a Reuters article about the role of conspiracy theories in midterm elections.
July 16th, 2026
Facing funding losses, states call out big businesses with employees on Medicaid
Edwin Park, research professor at the Center for Children and Families, was quoted in a CBS News article on private-sector employees being covered by government-sponsored insurance programs.
July 14th, 2026
Medicare will start covering obesity drugs for the first time. Here’s what patients should know
Rachel Schmidt, research professor at the Center on Health Insurance Reforms, was quoted in a CNBC article on Medicare’s launching of a program that bypasses federal law to provide millions of eligible older Americans with coverage for weight loss drugs.
June 30th, 2026
NJ schools hired as enrollment dropped. Now they face painful cuts
Marguerite Roza, director of Edunomics Lab, explains in a North Jersery.com article that widespread fiscal pressure on school districts nationwide is being driven by the expiration of temporary federal COVID relief funds, rising health insurance costs and a higher rate of special education identification.
June 29th, 2026
After her insurer denied coverage of medication, she ended up in the ER
Carrie Graham, director of the Medicare Policy Initiative at the Center on Health Insurance Reforms, was quoted in a Washington Post article on how private Medicare Advantage plans maximize profits by commonly denying coverage, while simultaneously encouraging patients to fight these denials.
June 29th, 2026
The high-stakes effort to repair the American retirement system
Angela Antonelli, executive director of the Center for Retirement Initiatives, was quoted in a Wall Street Journal and MSN article on how making improvements in retirement savings makes workers more likely to save.
June 27th, 2026
Insurer Data Show Planned Services Win Big Under No Surprises Act
Jack Hoadley, research professor emeritus at the Center on Health Insurance Reforms, was quoted in a Bloomberg Law article on why providers have stopped using consent waivers, explaining that providers realized they were winning such a high percentage of cases in the IDR process that they could do better for themselves and their patients by not offering the waiver.
June 25th, 2026
1.2M kids under 6 have no insurance. That’s harmful to their health and futures
Elisabeth Wright Burak, senior fellow at McCourt’s Center for Children and Families, published a piece in The Miami Times detailing how a lack of medical care creates long-term consequences for children.
June 24th, 2026
AI’s Empire: The Limits Of Knowledge, And Predicting The Job Future
Harry J. Holzer, John LaFarge Jr. SJ Professor of Public Policy, was featured in a Forbes article on the impacts of AI within the workforce.
June 23rd, 2026
To avoid backlash, tech giants must share their AI wealth before it’s too late
Gene Sperling, former director of the National Economic Council and executive director of the Economic Dignity Lab, wrote an op-ed for the Financial Times on the need to move toward pro-worker AI-policies prior to increased AI-induced job losses. The piece offers a starter proposal for employers: a Redeployment Tax Credit to encourage redeployment and augmentation over mass layoffs.
June 17th, 2026
How to Beat an Autocrat: The Real Lessons of Orban’s Defeat
R. Daniel Kelemen, associate dean for faculty and McCourt chair, co-wrote an article for Foreign Affairs on how electoral autocracies can be peacefully overturned when mainstream center-right establishments refuse to tolerate far-right populists and instead unite with broad democratic oppositions.
June 15th, 2026
China’s Edifice Complex
Ning Leng, assistant professor at the McCourt School, wrote for Foreign Affairs on how China’s top-down authoritarian system traps the country in a cycle of enormous economic waste.
June 12th, 2026
Facebook is paying people overseas promoting Alberta separatism
Renée DiResta, associate research professor at McCourt’s Massive Data Institute and Tech & Public Policy Center, was quoted in a CBC News article on Meta’s incentivizing audience manipulation through account impersonation and monetization practices.
June 8th, 2026