Shanthi Chandrasekar “Maya – Hridaya Kamalam,” 2011

What allows us to depict the Tyrannosaurus rex as violence incarnate? ISSUES editor Jason Lloyd shares a review by Max Dresow, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Minnesota, of Elana Shever’s “Making Our Beasts.”

“Although the late 2020s may feel more like a dumpster fire than a garbage can, there are still many opportunities for policy innovation in today’s turbulent streams and whorls of scandal and reaction,” ISSUES editor-in-chief @lisamargonelli.bsky.social writes. Read: issues.org/mohole-momen...

In case you missed it, author @monicabyrne13.bsky.social joined Jason Lloyd on Substack in collaboration with @issuesinst.bsky.social for a conversation on world-building in speculative fiction. View the full conversation here: futuretensefiction.substack.com/p/world-buil...

Imagine a legal system where punishment literally matches the crime. In “Golden Rule,” this month’s Future Tense Fiction story, writer @monicabyrne13.bsky.social explores what it really means to seek justice for devastating crimes. Read the full story here: issues.org/futuretensef...

My new piece in @issuesinst.bsky.social with @cyberlyra.bsky.social comes at an urgent moment in science policy. New OMB rules and EOs threaten to politicize science and strip it of the democratic norms, autonomy, and pluralism meant to protect science as and for democracy issues.org/merton-redux...

Today at 12 PM ET! Join the live conversation with @monicabyrne13.bsky.social to discuss worldbuilding in speculative fiction—how she thinks about the scientific and policy dimensions of her fictional worlds, and the tools she uses to create them. Register here: open.substack.com/live-stream/...

Engaging with policymakers or local communities hasn’t traditionally been a part of the “culture of science.” Mary Woolley, president emerita of @researchamerica.bsky.social, a major research advocacy organization, wants to change that. Full episode of our podcast: issues.org/mary-woolley...

Join Future Tense Fiction and Monica Byrne for a live conversation about worldbuilding in speculative fiction. We’ll discuss how Monica thinks about the scientific and policy dimensions of her fictional worlds, and the tools she uses to create them. Register here: open.substack.com/live-stream/...

Who will keep research data infrastructure open and running? Jennifer Gibson (@datadryad.bsky.social) and IOI's Kaitlin Thaney (@kaythaney.bsky.social) break it down in an article in Issues in Science and Technology (@issuesinst.bsky.social). issues.org/open-data-re...

This week's #FreeFictionResponse essay is "The Purpose of Punishment" by Randy McDonald in response to @monicabyrne13.bsky.social "Golden Rule" from @issuesinst.bsky.social McDonald relates fundamental principles of correction to the justice system in "Golden Rule". issues.org/futuretensef...

Current ethical principles guiding AI are insufficient. To shape how we implement world-changing technologies, John P. Nelson writes that AI “should be deployed in a more agile and anticipatory way, to proactively advance public values”—shared, common-ground goals that almost everyone endorses.

Coping with spam is an unavoidable fact of modern life—but it didn’t have to be. ISSUES editor Jason Lloyd spoke with policy researcher Rebecca Coyne about feckless efforts to address spam in the early 2000s.

Today! 3:30 ET! How do Moon missions reflect changes in science’s social contract? Come talk about space, science, and society with @astrokatie.com, Amy Kaminski, and Zachary Pirtle—moderated by @monscience.bsky.social. Register: asu.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Effectively launching the space age, the International Geophysical Year represented a rare moment of united, international cooperation during the Cold War to orchestrate a research effort of staggering scale.⁠ Read the full piece here: issues.org/internationa...

How do Moon missions reflect changes in science’s social contract? Join us on May 20 at 3:30 PM ET for a conversation with Amy Kaminski, @astrokatie.com, Zachary Pirtle, and @monscience.bsky.social (moderator). Register Here: asu.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Check out Shannon Dosemagen’s and Gwen Ottinger’s new article: Constructing a New Knowledge Infrastructure—out now in Issues in Science and Technology. In this piece, Shannon and Gwen argue that we should move away from… (1/5) #Data #Community #EnvironmentalResearch #Infrastructure #Advocacy

Natalie Bomstad writes, “For collective well‑being work, measurement can’t be a rigid, one-and-done design. It has to move with the community, respond to change, and reflect what’s actually happening, not our assumptions.” Read more on systems change and shared learning: issues.org/wisconsin-we...

On our podcast, @kumargarg.bsky.social, president of Renaissance Philanthropy, shares his journey of finding and implementing big ideas within and outside of the government. Listen to the full episode of The Ongoing Transformation podcast here: issues.org/kumar-garg-f...

We need to move past the idea that we just hold on and “rebuild” environmental research later. The issue isn’t just politics, it’s fragmented data, short-term funding, and misaligned incentives. We’re calling for an environmental knowledge commons built on shared stewardship and governance👇

An environmental knowledge commons could support evidence-based policymaking, but it will require long-term coordination across the many communities monitoring pollution and local conditions. Read @sdosemagen.bsky.social and Gwen Ottinger‘s essay in our Spring 2026 issue: issues.org/environmenta...

Fitgi Saint-Louis Aunties, 2022

There’s a growing problem with US Scientific research funding. As philosopher Heather Douglas notes, the current model for scientific research funding has failed to “articulate the societal benefits of research funding.” issues.org/science-fund...

Earlier this month, Matt Sigelman, president of the Burning Glass Institute, sat down with ISSUES to share his insights on how AI is impacting the US workforce. For a deeper dive into the discussion, listen to our most recent episode of The Ongoing Transformation podcast: issues.org/untangling-t...

In our Spring issue, Foundation for American Innovation research fellow Lars Erik Schönander argues that the latest reforms of the Small Business Innovation Research program fall short. Read the full feature essay here: issues.org/sbir-reforms...

In our Forum section, Kathy Hessler, Becca Franks, @lynneusneddon.bsky.social, & Craig Callender respond to Jennifer Jacquet & Daniel Pauly’s article on the structural neglect of water-breathing animals in welfare science. Read the full discussion here: issues.org/missing-anim...

In our latest piece, Charles N. Herrick navigates the science and art of American grassland restoration in his review of George Frazier’s “Riverine Dream.” Read the full review here: issues.org/riverine-dre...

In our Spring 2026 interview, Burning Glass Institute president Matt Sigelman shares his insights about the worth of a college degree, the future of work in an age of artificial intelligence, and revitalizing the American dream. Read the interview here: issues.org/burning-glas...

“The appearance of unparalleled quality and global leadership among American research universities belies a more complicated truth.” Robert Brown and Bruce Guile urge universities to shift attention from “chasing prestige to crafting strategies for long-term success.” issues.org/american-res...

“When institutions privilege a narrow range of cognitive practices as legitimate knowledge,” Michael Crow, David Rosowsky, and William Dabars write, “they marginalize the exploratory, embodied, and relational forms of intelligence through which innovation often emerges.” issues.org/pluralistic-...

On our podcast, Emily Packard Dawson, a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Michigan Medical School, speaks with ISSUES managing editor Jason Lloyd about the ethical and policy challenges that assistive reproductive technologies raise for egg donations. issues.org/the-future-o...

In our latest piece, US Representative Brian Babin argues that a disciplined division of labor between government agencies and commercial actors is critical for the US to maintain leadership in space. Read: issues.org/america-next...

How should the public fund science? How can research improve the quality of life in local communities? Our new Spring 2026 issue explores these questions and more to better understand how the social contract between science and society is evolving. issues.org/issue/42-3/

Kathryn Freeman Hunting Season, 2024

“Robots would not be restrained by ‘human compassion, which can provide an important check on the killing of civilians.’” Stuart Russell details the complexities of finding an international consensus to support a ban on lethal autonomous weapons in our Spring 2022 issue. issues.org/banning-leth...

“Think globally, act locally.” Amid a fragmented R&D system, Martin Ho, Pramod P. Khargonekar, and Eoin O’Sullivan propose a grand challenge framework to make coordination across a decentralized and diverse network of public agencies, private industries, and philanthropic organizations effective.

Tavares Strachan Shadow Maps (The Snowy Owl), 2022

“As a technologist, I absolutely believe in increased productivity, but that doesn’t automatically translate into shared prosperity.” @drfeifei.bsky.social shares her thoughts with ISSUES on the ethical responsibilities surrounding AI in our Spring 2024 issue. issues.org/interview-go...

In the latest installment of our podcast, Edward You, a former special agent in the FBI’s Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate, joins ISSUES editor-in-chief @lisamargonelli.bsky.social to discuss how You helped reframe how policymakers understand biosecurity. issues.org/edward-you-p...

In the latest installment of our #FutureTenseFiction newsletter, our managing editor Jason Lloyd introduces Gunnar Anderson‘s “The Pocket Box™,” this month‘s story, along with a behind the scenes conversation with Anderson and related readings. futuretensefiction.substack.com/p/what-if-yo...

The Future Tense Fiction team invited me back to weigh in on the super cool short story "The Pocket Box." Give it a read and then read my response! issues.org/futuretensef...

How long does it take for a ground-breaking scientific discovery to become a mass consumer product? Gunnar Anderson’s “The Pocket Box™,” the new #FutureTenseFiction story, explores when a world-changing breakthrough in physics becomes a commodity with next-day shipping. issues.org/futuretensef...

Marc Rotenberg, @csmarcum.sciences.social.ap.brid.gy, Amina Fazlullah, and Joshua Joseph & @zittrain.bsky.social respond to @jbbranch.bsky.social‘s piece on regulatory frameworks for AI companions in our Forum section. Read the discussion here: issues.org/reducing-pot...

"Then one day the workshop was shuttered and a bright, desiccant, metallic soot took place from the pleasant and hectic comings and goings, and we none of us recalled what had been done…." Read more of G. L. Ford's poem "Industry" in our recent issue: issues.org/industry-poe...

Nathalie Miebach’s series "The Floods" explores how experiencing data through art can deepen our engagement with the realities of climate change. It asks not how art can explain science, but how it can help us feel the systems we seek to understand. Read: issues.org/sculpting-th...

“We should be deeply skeptical of the promotion of AI as a solution to the fog of war, which imagines that the right technology will find the important signals amid the noise.” In our Winter 2024 issue, Lucy Suchman questions the narratives underlying AI-enabled warfare. issues.org/ai-pretense-...

In 2017, Wilmington, North Carolina, was faced with what seemed to be a worst case scenario: a chemical pollutant had been found in the region’s drinking water, and researchers weren’t sure how to remove it. So the state’s General Assembly called the NC Collaboratory. issues.org/north-caroli...

I look forward to continuing the discussion of our recent article, "A Coordinated Approach to Cannabis Policy and Product Safety" (doi.org/10.58875/NLN...) at Issues in Science and Technology (@issuesinst.bsky.social)'s Forum section! 🌿 🎓 💡 🧵 3/4

“If you want to make impact, this is a great place to play.” On the latest episode of our podcast, @ansidotorg.bsky.social president & CEO Laurie Locascio discusses all things standards with host Megan Nicholson. Listen or read the transcript: issues.org/who-sets-the...

On “productive struggle” and the AI expertise paradox: “The tools that enable novices to perform more like experts simultaneously make them less likely to become experts.” Christopher Cotton & Lydia Scholle-Cotton respond to our podcast with labor economist David Autor: issues.org/ai-expertise...