Jeffrey G. Lewis and Scott D. Sagan published an op-ed adapted from their Daedalus article "The Nuclear Necessity Principle: Making U.S. Targeting Policy Conform with Ethics & the Laws of War."

The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is launching a multi-year Commission on the Arts with distinguished cochairs, more than $1 million of support from foundations and individuals, and a commitment to exploring the role of the arts in American life.

Academy member Arthur Kleinman discusses his intellectual journey and personal odyssey for the Bulletin’s new feature, “On the Professions.”

On March 30–31, 2023, the Academy gathered humanities scholars and leaders at the House of the Academy in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to mark the tenth anniversary of the release of The Heart of the Matter, the final report of the Academy’s Commission on the Humanities and Social Sciences. The goal of the meeting was to reflect on what has happened to the humanities over the past decade and to consider future directions for the field. To provide context for the conversation, Richard H. Brodhead (who cochaired the Commission with the late John Rowe) offered the following reflections, describing what shaped their thinking a decade ago and what has changed in the years since.

Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine has ushered in a new era of uncertainty and instability for the global order. What does the conflict mean for the
future of nuclear arms control? What role does corruption play in the erosion of constraints against aggression? And what will the conflict mean for democratic institutions, both abroad and here at home?

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

Local Committees bring members together to connect with the Academy and each other in the communities where they live.

In 2015, the Academy embarked on an ambitious fundraising effort to secure its rich traditions and advance its strategic aims. Over the past seven years, the Campaign has fueled remarkable progress in every facet of the organization.

On April 1, 2019, the American Academy and the Whitney and Betty MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies at Yale presented their first joint public program, which featured a conversation between David Blight and Robert Stepto. The program, which served as the Academy’s Morton L. Mandel Public Lecture, included a welcome from Ian Shapiro. Crystal Feimster moderated the program.

On May 18, 2017, the American Academy, in partnership with the Carnegie Institution for Science, hosted a meeting at the Carnegie Institution in Washington, D.C., on “Communicating Science in an Age of Disbelief in Experts.”

Former Vice President Al Gore discusses the world's climate crisis during an Academy event held at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, CA.

Linguist William Labov will receive the Talcott Parsons Prize from the American Academy of Arts & Sciences for his distinguished and original contributions to the social sciences.

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 Spring 2020 issue of Dædalus, “Meeting the Challenges of a New Nuclear Age,” guest-edited by Robert Legvold and Christopher F. Chyba, examines some of the possible escalation pathways that could lead one or more states to use nuclear weapons.

The firm of Mayer Hoffman McCann P.C., Certified Public Accountants, conducted the audit of the American Academy’s statements of financial position for the fiscal year 2021 (July 1, 2020–June 30, 2021). I am pleased to report the auditors found the consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Academy, and the auditors have issued an unqualified report. The consolidated statement of activities and financial position may be found below. A copy of the audited financial statements is available on the Academy’s website and upon request from the Academy’s Business Office.

In a single year, 55 million Americans might face 260 million legal problems, such as fighting eviction threats from landlords, dealing with overwhelming medical bills from an unexpected illness that could lead to bankruptcy, or seeking assistance to escape abusive domestic situations. Yet only some Americans recognize that these problems are matters of civil justice. And even fewer have access to available, afford­able, and quality legal support needed to resolve these problems. This is the civil justice gap: the disparity between the legal needs of Americans and the resources available to meet those needs.

Ahead of the White House’s December 2021 Summit for Democracy and as part of its ongoing efforts to advance the recommendations in Our Common Purpose, the Academy organized two initiatives last fall aimed at young people: a national polling project and a summit of young leaders, who were brought together for their expertise, vision, and commitment to making progress on critical issues in their communities.

On October 7, 2020, over two hundred members of the class of 2020 gathered on Zoom to celebrate their recent election to the Academy. This virtual convening was not designed to replace Induction, but rather to capture some of the camaraderie, joy, and ceremony of the traditional weekend in Cambridge.

The firm of Mayer Hoffman McCann P.C., Certi­fied Public Accountants, conducted the audit of the American Academy’s statements of finan­cial position for the fiscal year 2020 (July 1, 2019–June 30, 2020). I am pleased to report the auditors found the consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Academy, and the auditors have issued an unqualified report. The consolidated statement of activities and financial position may be found on pages 12–13. A copy of the audited financial statements is available on the Academy’s website and upon request from the Academy’s Business Office.