I-2024
PUBLIUS

Meet The Team
Publius: The Xavier University Smith Scholars’ Magazine
Publius is a periodic magazine that focuses on current affairs, global and domestic economic, finance, and legal issues, and political, economic, as well as legal thoughts. It is produced and edited by Xavier University’s Smith Center Research Fellows and Smith Scholars.
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Production Editor: John Fritz
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Development Editor: Jason Huffman
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Faculty Advisor and Executive Editor: Stafford Johnson, PhD
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Smith Fellow Writers and Contributors: Mallory Bowling, Madison Clore, Abbie Edwards, John Fritz, Andy Hamer, Patrick Hemmig, Jason Huffman, Declan LeWarn, Jack Micucci, Lucius Overby, Luke Uhlman, Kennedy Weigel, Seth Workman
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Other Contributors: Steve Frankel, PhD and Stafford Johnson, PhD
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Production and Web Development Editors: Juan David Patino and John Fritz

America’s Opioid Crisis: Introduction
Smith Research Fellows Staff
Over the last two decades, America’s opioid crisis has created grave social and economic problems that threaten the country. As examined in this article, it began with prescription opioids (first wave) in the 2000s, followed by heroin around 2015 (second wave), then fentanyl and super meth starting around 2020 (third wave), and now fentanyl-laced meth, heroin, and other opioids (fourth wave). Today, fentanyl and super meth are inexpensive to produce, easy to make, hide, and smuggle, and so highly addictive they create a captive market.

America's Opioid Crisis:
Part I - The Four Waves
Smith Research Fellows Staff
Over the last two decades, America’s opioid crisis has created grave social and economic problems that threaten the country. As examined in this article, it began with prescription opioids (first wave) in the 2000s, followed by heroin around 2015 (second wave), then fentanyl and super meth starting around 2020 (third wave), and now fentanyl-laced meth, heroin, and other opioids (fourth wave). Today, fentanyl and super meth are inexpensive to produce, easy to make, hide, and smuggle, and so highly addictive they create a captive market.

America's Opioid Crisis:
Part II - Smuggling, Gangs, Weapon Trafficking, Money Laundering, and Enforcement
Smith Research Fellows Staff
Over the last two decades, America’s opioid crisis has created grave social and economic problems that threaten the country. As examined in this article, it began with prescription opioids (first wave) in the 2000s, followed by heroin around 2015 (second wave), then fentanyl and super meth starting around 2020 (third wave), and now fentanyl-laced meth, heroin, and other opioids (fourth wave). Today, fentanyl and super meth are inexpensive to produce, easy to make, hide, and smuggle, and so highly addictive they create a captive market.

America's Opioid Crisis:
Part III - The Human Cost
Smith Research Fellows Staff
Over the last two decades, America’s opioid crisis has created grave social and economic problems that threaten the country. As examined in this article, it began with prescription opioids (first wave) in the 2000s, followed by heroin around 2015 (second wave), then fentanyl and super meth starting around 2020 (third wave), and now fentanyl-laced meth, heroin, and other opioids (fourth wave). Today, fentanyl and super meth are inexpensive to produce, easy to make, hide, and smuggle, and so highly addictive they create a captive market.

America's Opioid Crisis:
Part IV - Conclusions: Looking for Solutions
Smith Research Fellows Staff
Over the last two decades, America’s opioid crisis has created grave social and economic problems that threaten the country. As examined in this article, it began with prescription opioids (first wave) in the 2000s, followed by heroin around 2015 (second wave), then fentanyl and super meth starting around 2020 (third wave), and now fentanyl-laced meth, heroin, and other opioids (fourth wave). Today, fentanyl and super meth are inexpensive to produce, easy to make, hide, and smuggle, and so highly addictive they create a captive market.
Domestic

Cincinnati’s Fentanyl Crisis: An In-Depth Interview with Dr. Sammarco, Hamilton County Coroner
Smith Research Fellows Staff
In February 2024, the Smith Research Fellows (SRF) interviewed Dr. Sammarco on the scope of the fentanyl crisis in Cincinnati. She also shared with us her experiences as Hamilton County Coroner and her work with the Hamilton County Heroin Task Force.
Global

George Soros: The Man Who Finances the World
Jason Huffman and John Fritz
George Soros, 92, is a Hungarian-American hedge fund manager who has become synonymous with progressive American politics. With a net worth of over $8 billion, Soros often donates to political institutions and pursuits that further his view of an ‘Open Society.’ His philanthropic work has ranged from defending the liberation of Sarajevo in 1992 to the funding of American Super PACS. Soros is a figure of mass wealth and political philanthropy but, today, finds himself in the middle of an ongoing destruction of the American criminal justice system.
Commentary and Thoughts

Dialogue, Liberal Education, and the Conflict in Israel
Steven Frankel, Timothy Sean Quinn, and Rabbi Haim Rechnitzer
As the directors of Xavier’s annual program in the Holy Land, we have taken dozens of students to Israel each December over the past ten years. Sadly, we were forced to postpone our trip after the attack by Hamas on October 7 and the ensuing war. As educators and as students, we must learn to live with complexity and resist the urge to simplify moral, political, and intellectual problems.
Commentary and Thoughts

Hayek on the Law
Seth Workman
Friedrich Hayek, a towering figure in 20th-century economic and political thought, remains a foundational figure in the realms of classical liberalism and free-market economics. His life, marked by intellectual rigor and a commitment to individual liberty, greatly influenced economic theory and policy.
Book Excerpts

Book Excerpt Collection: October 2024
Smith Research Fellows Staff
The Smith Center Research Fellows have compiled a collection of fascinating excerpts from some of our favorite books, pamphlets, poems, and written publications. We have also compiled a list of inspirational, thought-provoking, and meaningful quotations.
2024 All Articles

Smith Research Fellows Staff
America's Opioid Crisis:
Part II - Smuggling, Gangs, Weapon Trafficking, Money Laundering, and Enforcement

Smith Research Fellows Staff
America's Opioid Crisis:
Part IV - Conclusions: Looking for Solutions

Domestic
Smith Research Fellows Staff
Cincinnati’s Fentanyl Crisis: An In-Depth Interview with Dr. Sammarco, Hamilton County Coroner

Commentary and Thoughts