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...

Our January #FutureTenseFiction story is here! Read @andrewliptak.com’s “Deficiency Agent,” which follows a Marine whose role in an AI-led decision loop is to “root out any weirdness the AI might spit out” on the battlefield.

I'm very excited to share our new article "A Texas-Sized, Texas-Shaped Approach to Biomedical Research" in @issuesinst.bsky.social issues.org/texas-resear... @stpolicy.bsky.social @bakerinstitute.bsky.social

“Learning that Texas champions a progressive funding regime for biomedical research may come as a surprise,” @kennethmevans.bsky.social, Kirsten Matthews, & Heidi Russell write. But the state’s bipartisan funding model can help other state-led social contracts for science. issues.org/texas-resear...

A fascinating read that everyone should check out! “By looking more closely at the locust, the enterprise can begin to examine how power people, powerful interest, and ideologies affect the landscape of science” @issuesinst.bsky.social issues.org/locusts-fede...

Terrific article that offers a different and much needed perspective on the development of the US social contract for science, and also previews our upcoming article on Texas state biomedical research policy in @issuesinst.bsky.social issues.org/locusts-fede...

Simons Foundation president David Spergel recently spoke to @issuesinst.bsky.social about the future of science philanthropy: https://issues.org/american-science-simons-spergel-interview/ #science #math #philanthropy

A recent Issues in Science and Technology interview with J. B. Branch takes a look at AI chatbots, their impacts on users — including teens and the elderly — and how companies and policymakers can protect vulnerable populations. Read or listen: https://ow.ly/tihm50XOrvp

ISSUES is hiring! We’re looking for an Assistant Editor, based in Phoenix, to support editorial operations: producing and optimizing articles for web, copyediting, fact-checking, creating for social media, assisting with podcast and event production, and more. We all wear many hats! And so will you.

“How did the system come to use superglue to fix my brain? Who in the world would do such a thing?” Physician and science policy scholar Robert Cook-Deegan shares lessons he learned from “being the guy on the operating room table”: issues.org/subdural-hem...

and on THURSDAY all three editors will be in conversation with @issuesinst.bsky.social @edfinn.bsky.social @craigcalhoun.bsky.social in what promises to be a fascinating virtual event - join us! issues.org/event/what-i...

Wrote a short opinion piece for @issuesinst.bsky.social in response to a science fiction story by E.G. Condé about the inescapable heat death of all our data. Can biology help us slow this thermodynamic destiny? Thanks to @imaginationasu.bsky.social for the invitation: issues.org/futuretensef...

A recent Issues in Science and Technology piece explores how creating a National #Biosafety and #Biosecurity Agency that oversees the entire research life cycle can help manage risks and build public trust while allowing scientists to continue doing good work. Read: https://ow.ly/Tgpc50Xt8AG

In case you missed it, the 5th and final-for-this-season episode of NOT NOW BUT SOON, the podcast I host at @issuesinst.bsky.social, came out yesterday! Search "The Ongoing Transformation" to find the series wherever you get your podcasts or click below ⬇️

How does social media distort our understanding of what the public thinks? Join us on November 13 for the 2025 #DavidLecture with Jay Van Bavel, PhD about how technology and psychology interact to create a funhouse mirror version of public opinion: https://ow.ly/uaPk50XiyHF#DavidLecture

In 2005, the Panda Trial held that intelligent design cannot be taught in science classrooms. 20 years later, @monyab.bsky.social revisits the trial and the people involved, finding insights into conflicts around community, religion, science, and education. Read the story: issues.org/science-curr...

Our new #FutureTenseFiction story is here! “Coser y Cantar” by Gabriela Damián Miravete, translated by Will Vanderhyden, explores fast fashion, AI, and corporate accountability. Read it here: issues.org/futuretensef... #speculativefiction

“There is no question that oversight of high-consequence biological research is needed. But what kind, and how much?” David Gillum makes the case for a National Biosafety and Biosecurity Agency: issues.org/biosecurity-... #biosafety #biosecurity