We have entered a new nuclear era. The Cold War world dominated by only two nuclear superpowers no longer exists (even if Russia and the United States still possess the lion’s share of nuclear weapons); it has grown into a multipolar nuclear environment.

On November 22, 1788, the General Court of Massachusetts approved the Academy’s petition to hold a public lottery. Proceeds would go toward the purchase of a unique, grand model of the solar system for Harvard College.

The University of West Georgia College of Arts and Humanities is serving as the statewide host site for discussion on a national report titled “The Heart of the Matter: the Humanities and Social Sciences” conducted by the American Academy of Arts & Sciences Commission on the Humanities and Social Sciences.

Carolyn Lukensmeyer – an expert in deliberative democracy and a member of the Academy’s Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship – describes the historical development of hyper-partisanship in the U.S., the opportunities that innovative political engagement offers, and suggests ways of healing the divides in our country in order to chart a collective path forward.

At the National Press Club, members of the Academy's language commission met for a public discussion of their answers. Commission member Rubén Rumbaut, offered the core of the commission’s framing, “Ironically, despite the diversity of American languages, the United States has acquired the dubious designation of being a language graveyard...we have immigrants and children of immigrants not passing on their language skills.”

Retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Sandra Day O’Connor will discuss current challenges faced by the federal and state courts in a climate of heightened partisanship, expensive election campaigns, and attacks on judicial independence.

The Academy’s 2017th Stated Meeting on February 11, 2015, featured members of the Catalyst Collaborative@MIT performing a staged reading of Mr g, a novel by Alan Lightman. Mr g is the story of creation as narrated by God (Mr g). In it, Mr g’s uncle Deva and aunt Penelope give him advice as he sets about creating the universe; he also spars with a Satan-like character about various ethical and philosophical issues raised by his creation, especially when intelligent life emerges.

A Law360 article about the publication "The Case for Supreme Court Term Limits" issued by the Academy's bipartisan working group quotes Professor Akhil Reed Amar and Professor Charles Fried who are members of the working group and the Academy.

Study is requested by bipartisan group of members of U.S. Senate & House of Representatives.

The American Academy of Arts & Sciences and Washington University in St. Louis convened more than 50 community leaders, social entrepreneurs, and professionals - between 18 and 29 years old - from across the political spectrum. The participants were united by a commitment to developing a youth agenda for American democracy.

One of the recommendations for strengthening American democracy proposed in Our Common Purpose - the report of a bipartisan Academy commission - is to enact ranked-choice voting (RCV) for presidential, congressional, and state elections. This article examines legislative progress at the federal, state, and local levels concerning ranked-choice voting.

Yuval Levin (American Enterprise Institute)'s Opinion Piece in the New York Times on the case for enlarging the House of Representatives; with the headline “Some Good Can Come Out of the Kevin McCarthy Fiasco.”

In the face of unprecedented hostility toward institutions dedicated to knowledge and the pursuit of truth, the Academy’s Board of Directors issued a statement reaffirming a commitment to the practice of democratic self-governance and the belief that a great nation invests in the arts and sciences while protecting the freedom that enables them to flourish.

New Research from the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and Moody's Analytics

Among the 31 recommendations in the Academy's cross-partisan publication, Our Common Purpose, was a proposal to enlarge the House of Representatives to ensure better and more responsive representation for Americans across the country. The idea was explored in a "Vox, America Explained" video which featured the Academy's work.

Danielle S. Allen and Stephen B. Heintz, cochairs of the Academy’s Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship, presented strategies to strengthen civic engagement at a virtual panel co-hosted by the Harvard Kennedy School.

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