Robert Ballard tells the story of his passionate career in ocean exploration and discusses the educational initiatives he has created to engage a new generation of scientists.

The Academy's first new members were elected in 1781 and today the Academy announced the members elected in 2025. The individuals elected were recognized for excellence in various fields and professions and are invited to join the Academy in connecting across disciplines and divides to advance the common good.

Richard Brodhead, president of Duke University, addresses the future of liberal arts education.

Danielle Allen writes about how Facebook is weakening our democratic institutions and what can be done to rebuild them. For solutions, she draws on recommendations in the Our Common Purpose report issued by the Academy Commission she cochaired.

"Science & the Legal System," the Fall 2018 issue of Dædalus, Journal of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, features thirteen essays on topics including the state of the forensic sciences, expert testimony in court, the role of science in abortion law, neuroscience and law, and reforms to the U.S. adversarial system.

The Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship will work across disciplines to develop an understanding of how native born and newly arrived Americans engage with the institutions of their democracy, and how they exercise their rights and responsibilities as citizens.

Danielle Allen featured on BYU Radio about what she learned cochairing the Academy's bipartisan Commission on democratic citizenship and how recommended reforms can help Americans increase trust in one another and their institutions.

In early February, the Academy welcomed Americans from around the nation for a day-long convening on the practice of democratic citizenship. The event was a culmination of the extensive grassroots outreach and listening sessions that have been a hallmark of the work of the Academy’s Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship.

Danielle Allen appeared on MSNBC's Velshi to discuss expanding the House of Representatives.

The Global Security and International Affairs program fosters knowledge and promotes innovative and evidence-based policies to address crucial issues affecting the international community. It draws on the expertise of a broad range of policymakers, practitioners, and scholars to design and lead projects engaging with the pressing strategic, development, and moral questions that underpin relations among people, communities, and states worldwide.

The Academy holds in-person and virtual events that bring members, Affiliates, and others in their communities together to explore topics of national and global concern. Academy President David W. Oxtoby provided opening remarks for most of the meetings in 2021 and 2022.

A new publication from the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and the Russian Academy of Sciences is released. Its purpose is to inform policymakers who will shape the relative safety or danger of the future international nuclear environment.

The final report was released on February 28, 2017, during a series of events in Washington, D.C.

Danielle Allen responds to new national test results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) which revealed a further decline in students’ knowledge in U.S. history and civics.

Select Prizes and Awards to Members

The Academy’s project on the Alternative Energy Future is working to identify societal barriers to the widespread adoption of new energy technologies and to assess how these barriers might be better understood and managed.

The 237th class of members includes philanthropist and singer-songwriter John Legend, award-winning actress Carol Burnett, chairman of the board of Xerox Corporation Ursula Burns, mathematician Maryam Mirzakhani, immunologist James P. Allison, and writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.