When looking at American politics at the national level, it is easy to become cynical about the future of our democracy. High levels of polarization persist, and the headlines all too often are dominated by stories of government dysfunction.

An event at the Academy explored and expanded upon essays in the new volume, The Fragile Balance of Terror: Deterrence in the Nuclear Age. Authors, other experts, and audience members in Cambridge and online considered how unpredictable leadership, domestic unrest, volatile states, and rapid technological advancements are changing the new nuclear era.

Leaders of the Academy's Commission on Accelerating Climate Action shared lessons and recommendations from their work at CERAWeek, the world’s largest energy conference that brings together global leaders to discuss the challenges and opportunities for the future of energy, technology, and the climate.

At a Brown University event co-hosted with the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, panelists discussed the importance of partnering with community members and first responders and reducing stigma around addiction.

Stephen Heintz, Co-chair of the American Academy's Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship, participates in a panel on Strengthening U.S. Democracy hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations.

On September 22–23, 2022, the Academy convened an exploratory meeting to discuss the effects of prolonged war on democracy. Chaired by Neta C. Crawford (Montague Burton Professor of International Relations, University of Oxford) and Scott D. Sagan (Caroline S.G. Munro Professor of Political Science, Stanford University), the meeting was held under the Chatham House Rule. The participants included political scientists, historians, lawyers, policy-makers, anthropologists, and aca­demics as well as retired U.S. military personnel and a Washington, D.C., reserve police officer. The attendees shared their expertise in militarization, civil-military relations, democratic erosion, gender and security issues, White supremacy movements, and budgeting and public finance to explore the relationships between long-term militarization, extremism, and democracy, both within the United States and abroad.

The place of the military in the public consciousness has changed dramatically over time. In a Gallup poll from 2011 that measured the public’s confidence in sixteen major institutions, the military ranked higher than any other institution, with 78 percent of respondents stating their respect for and confidence in the armed forces. On December 7, 2011 – the seventieth anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor – the Academy convened a panel of scholars at Stanford University to discuss the military and international relations.

Call for more outreach and research to counter misinformation.

The American Academy of Arts and Sciences hosted in May Integrating Environmental Justice and Philanthropy: Lessons and Opportunities as part of ongoing outreach for the recommendations in Forging Climate Solutions: How to Accelerate Action Across America.

The American Academy of Arts & Sciences celebrated the launch of the new report from the Commission on Accelerating Climate Action, Forging Climate Solutions: How to Accelerate Action Across America. The report calls for a coordinated, cross-sector effort to combat climate change with strategies and recommendations rooted in justice, pragmatism, and accountability. The event featured Commission co-chairs Mustafa Santiago Ali, Christopher Field, David G. Victor, and Patricia Vincent-Collawn in conversation with Scientific American's Laura Helmuth.

The Academy and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine cohosted a webinar focused on environmental justice and its central role in two recently released reports: the Academy’s Forging Climate Solutions: How to Accelerate Action Across America and the National Academies’ Accelerating Decarbonization in the United States: Technology, Policy, and Societal Dimensions. 

How long can U.S. science lobbyists keep repeating the same message—that boosting federal funding for basic research and removing barriers to innovation is a proven way to ensure economic prosperity—without tuning out their intended audience?

On November 7, esteemed panelists Samuel Kortum, Paul Kennedy, Ian Shapiro, Jing Tsu, and Arne Westad were tasked with answering two monumental questions: can we fix the broken global order, and if so, how? Frances McCall Rosenbluth moderated the event, organized by the Academy's New Haven Program Committee.

Over the last few years, organizations across the United States – corporations, universities, and nonprofits like the American Academy – have begun to reflect on their ties to slavery, Native genocide, and other troubling elements of American history. The Academy’s virtual event on “Reckoning with Organizational History” explored why historical self-examination matters and what can be gained from these studies.

A panel discussion on Institutions of Democracy and the Public Good was the focus of the Academy's 2012 Induction Weekend, featuring Diane Wood, Governor Phil Bredesen, and Ambassador Karl Eikenberry alongside Judy Woodruff, Alex Jones, and Marty Baron. The discussion was moderated by Norman Ornstein.

Los Angeles is globally renowned for its cultural institutions and communities, and attracts some of the world’s most creative and artistic talent. While the film industry and Hollywood tend to draw the most attention, numerous other institutions in the region have made significant investments in places and projects that support and promote cultural production in the city. On March 3, 2024, the Academy’s Los Angeles Program Committee hosted a gathering at The Getty Center with local members to discuss the evolution of this larger cultural infrastructure. It was the Academy’s 2121st Stated Meeting and a Morton L. Mandel Conversation.

Neal Lane discussed the ARISE report in testimony before the Subcommittee on Research and Science Education of the House Science and Technology Committee.

2106th Stated Meeting | April 20, 2022 | Virtual Event
Jonathan F. Fanton Lecture