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As the United States approaches the 2024 presidential election, several journalists and commentators have been puzzled by one question: “Why do Americans seem so unhappy with an economy that appears to be doing so well?” Polls are influenced by many factors, but recent results show how pessimistic many Americans feel about the economy. And yet, judged by traditional economic metrics like the GDP or the Dow Jones, the economy is doing well. How do we explain this paradox?

The new national dashboard released by the Academy's Commission on Reimagining Our Economy, the CORE Score, is mined for data about Massachusetts in this piece by WGBH. The coverage also connects the wellbeing assessed in the CORE Score to recommendations in the Commission's final report.

Sterling Speirn served on the 35-member Academy commission and talks about his life's work and this initiative of "civic, cultural and political reforms that could inspire a democratic renaissance at this crucial moment."

Announcing Tacoma, Washington as a new city joining the Our Common Purpose Communities Project, led by the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. The city of Tacoma becomes part of a larger effort to advance local approaches to strengthening democracy.

The 2011 Induction weekend included a symposium on American Institutions and a Civil Society, which featured two panel discussions: The American Military and American Democracy and The Constitution, the Practice of Democracy, and Unintended Consequences.

The Academy typically holds events around the country and the world that bring members and others in their communities together. Although the COVID-19 pandemic suspended in-person events, the Academy continued to explore topics of national and global concern through a series of virtual activities. Academy President David W. Oxtoby provided opening remarks and moderated most of the virtual meetings and events.

Former Secretary of State George P. Shultz, former Secretary of Defense William J. Perry, former Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Sam Nunn, and prominent physicist and arms control expert Sidney D. Drell, will be honored with one of the nation’s oldest awards.

The Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands partnered with the American Academy of Arts & Sciences in May 2022 to host Strengthening American Democracy through Civic Investment, a historic effort to bring attention to the chronic underinvestment in the civic health of our nation’s communities and to mobilize resources to support the development of local civic infrastructure.

An examination of the financial advantage earning a bachelor’s degree, in any major, provides over not attaining the degree.

Academy member and Indiana University President Michael McRobbie urges institutions to expand their language offerings and enhance global awareness, citing Academy report on "America's Languages."

Kathryn Palmer examines key findings from the latest Humanities Indicators report, which shows that humanities majors outearn people with no degree, as faculty across the nation make the case for continued funding of the humanities.

Members Elected in 2025, by Class & Section

Despite declining postsecondary interest, engagement is growing in K-12, according to analysis by the American Academy of Arts & Sciences’ Humanities Indicators project.

Some notable patterns have emerged in a series of surveys surveys asking about public engagement with various types of humanistic and artistic content.