Speaking of Asimov, "The Dead Past" explores government controlled research, which the article proposed as one defense against black-ball ideas.
Without spoiling too much, the story revolves around suspected government suppression of a time-viewing device. The story's pretty easy to find online; the link below lists books it appears in.
What if a meteor hits now? Solar flare strong enough to take out electronics? Some country deciding tactical nuke warfare is acceptable? A supervolcano?
How many simultaneous catastrophes can current civilization survive?
Only definite conclusion is that Isaac Asimov will not go out of fashion soon.