WashU Experts

The Waffle House index refers to a clue into the level of devastation wrought by a natural disaster — disasters like Hurricane Florence, which made landfall at Wrightsville Beach, N.C., early Sept. 14. Panos Kouvelis, director of the Boeing Center for Supply Chain Innovation at Olin Business School, has taught it for years.

National security adviser John Bolton, a longtime critic of the International Criminal Court, threatened to impose sanctions on court personnel if the court continues with an investigation into alleged U.S. war crimes in Afghanistan. The move could easily backfire, says international war crimes expert Leila Sadat.

“Nike is turning towards a younger, more diverse America because they’ve calculated that Trumpian claims about compulsory patriotism and black athletic obedience will not win out,” says Noah Cohan, who studies sports narratives and fandom at Washington University in St. Louis.

A new trade deal to replace NAFTA will require completion by the end of the week, with or without Canada — so it’s too early and too hazy to consider this a good deal or a bad deal no matter what President Trump calls it, said a Washington University in St. Louis trade expert.

Christine Hallquist became the first transgender candidate to be nominated for a governorship by a major party when she won Vermont’s Democratic primary Aug. 14. The nomination marks a seismic shift in the social culture of our nation, says an expert on transgender adults at Washington University in St. Louis.

Papa John’s should consider whether it needs a facelift and a new identity after its highly recognizable founder resigned amid continuing controversy. That’s the perspective of a public-relations expert, longtime practicing professional and leader in business communications at Washington University in St. Louis’ Olin Business School.

The nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court has renewed debate about the future of Roe v. Wade. Mary Ann Dzuback, chair of the Department of Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies in Arts & Sciences, suspects that conservative justices will continue chipping away at reproductive choice, rather than mount a frontal assault on the decision. But she warns that by undermining Roe’s guarantee of reproductive choice, the court risks its own reputation and authority.

President Donald Trump on June 20 directed his administration to detain migrant families together instead of separating parents from their children, but one of the nation’s leading immigration experts argues that jailing migrant families is still “cruel and unnecessary” under U.S. law.

The U.S. Supreme Court on June 14 struck down a ban on clothing with political messages being worn inside polling places. Greg Magarian, professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis and an expert on free speech and the law of politics, says the court’s decision in the case was very narrow.

North America, even in the face of controversial policies regarding immigration under President Trump’s administration, had more to offer soccer’s international governing body, says Patrick Rishe, a sports business expert from Washington University in St. Louis. As a result, the “United Bid” of the United States, Canada and Mexico was awarded the 2026 World Cup on the eve of this year’s competition in Russia.