Ronald and Tina have co-owned a beloved café for 10 years. Their current payment system for their workers has baseline hourly pay, which is almost three times as much as the federally required minimum, and is then combined with income from tips. Local activists in the area sparked a debate in which they argue for a "living wage" model. This model operates on the idea that tipping is discriminatory. Ronald and Tina have worries that they would not be able to sustain the proposed model, and that it may actually result in a pay cut for their workers.

Shannon amasses a net worth of $20 million and wants to bequeth this fortune to her children upon her death. Wanting to bypass the sizable estate tax she would have to pass on after her death, she consults a tax lawyer about her options, which mostly involve "tax dodging." With such tax planning strategies, Shannon could spare several million dollars for her children. Without these tax loopholes, Shannon fears that she wouldn't be fulfilling her civic duties.

After learning about the cruelty involved in factory farming practices, Ellen became vegetarian in her thirties. She felt content in this decision until the holidays. Tradition is important in her family and her Italian family often servies non-vegetarian food at gatherings. Ellen's mom did not take the news of her daughter's diet change well and felt betrayed as though they could no longer share their beloved tradition of cooking their culture's recipes together.

Khadijah, born in the U.S. to Muslim immigrants, has always questioned her racial and cultural identity. She struggles with knowing what box to check off on forms that asked about race. Although others who come from similar descent are classified as white, she struggled to identify as such since she didn't feel the priveleges associated with whiteness. As she often would, she checked off a box at random when filling out her college applications. After the fact, she worried that she expolited education policies like affirmative action that are mainly put in place to protect minority groups.

The innovative CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing technology allows scientists to pinpoint defective genetic material, opening doors to treating illnesses like sickle cell anemia. Another type of gene editing, germline, works on reproductive cells at the embryo level. Germline editing poses the risk of the level of control going as far as creating "designer babies" by selecting for desired traits.

Privatized adoption has long been seen as an act of selflessness, but in more recent years, issues have arisen about the ethics of how the private adoption industry operates. Many worry that these adoption agencies allow for the “shopping” of children, filtering by race, disability, sex, and age, and that agencies may take advantage of women who may struggle to care for their kids to allow them to be adopted instead. Proponents of the industry say that it is an efficient way to give kids in need families.

Privatized adoption has long been seen as an act of selflessness, but in more recent years, issues have arisen about the ethics of how the private adoption industry operates. Many worry that these adoption agencies allow for the “shopping” of children, filtering by race, disability, sex, and age, and that agencies may take advantage of women who may struggle to care for their kids to allow them to be adopted instead. Proponents of the industry say that it is an efficient way to give kids in need families.

Marriage has become a widespread and enduring practice across the world, but many worry about the aspect of marriage where the woman assumens the husbands last name. In 1981, Quebec adopted a policy that effectively prevented women from taking their husbands’ last name on legal documents, but could still use it socially. While this could be seen as a protection of women’s rights, it was also seen as paternalistic as well, not giving women the choice to choose which name they want.

Because of the climate crisis, many people have been advocating for the expansion of nuclear energy, which produces significantly less greenhouse gas emissions than current sources. The major issue of nuclear energy is the nuclear waste that is produced, being highly radioactive and remaining so for thousands of years. The Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository was created 100 miles away from Las Vegas to store up to 70,000 tons of nuclear waste, but is inoperable due to concerns from citizens and stakeholders from Nevada not wanting to bear the burden of nuclear waste when they do not benefit from nuclear energy.

At the onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic, many stores stopped accepting cash, and are still rejecting the payment method. This is because of the inefficiencies when dealing with cash, such as slow lines, counterfit bills, and the time it takes to process the money. However, by excluding cash payments, a business may be unintentionally discriminatory towards people unable to open a bank account.

The creation of websites like Sci-Hub, which illegally hosts and distributes millions of research papers for free, has drawn both praise and legal action. Supporters of the site argue that the website democratizes education, levels the playing field for universities without as much funding, and speeds up the research process. Any profit lost by websites like Sci-Hub is not affecting researchers, but rather publishing companies. These publishing companies argue that Sci-Hub impacts their ability to provide high-quality science, as well as encourages intellectual property theft.

Agustin is a tenth grader at a public school in Charlotte, North Carolina, who posted a picture one Saturday with his friends holding up various hand gestures. This photo was flagged as “suspicious” by his school, who had the school resource officer (SRO) question Agustin in school on Monday. Later, Agustin told his friend via an email on his school computer that he was feeling depressed and anxious about the SRO, which resulted in another visit from the police for a wellness check. These actions were taken for the protection of the school and of other students, but was invasive to Agustin’s privacy.

A “deepfake” is a manipulated piece of audio, video, or images using AI to make the alteration as realistic as possible. This technology has beneficial impacts, such as allowing fans to produce content based on films. One such deepfake included Star Wars’ Grand Moff Tarkin, whose actor died in 1991. However, deepfake technology can also be dangerous, as many use it to make politicians, such as Nancy Pelosi or Former President Obama, say or do something that they never did.

The Pasco County Sheriff’s office recently created a program to identify “prolific offenders” and try to empower them to live a lawful, productive, and fulfilled life. The PCSO also created a program to detect potential crimes and stop them from happening by creating a list of potential criminals and preemptively investigating them and checking in on them every so often. Many see this as an innovative way to prevent crime and provide help for those that may need it. Critics see this as an authoritarian overreach and leads to over-policing, as well as the invasion of privacy.

Humankind is now able to do something they were unable to: reduce the suffering of animals in the wild. Many have argued that, because humanity is able to end wild animal suffering, we should when there aren’t significant consequences. Humanity should do its best to make its impact on animals positive. Critics worry that this may disrupt complex ecosystems or meddle with the natural order. Others argue we should focus on ending the suffering humanity is responsible for, or that the task is so large it would be impossible to achieve.