
On the cover: Photograph by Supersizer/iStock images
Letters
Cambridge 02138
Readers’ views on immigration, the pandemic, the Electoral College, and more
The Road Ahead
President Bacow on Harvard’s challenge to federal efforts banning international students
Allston Options
Time to rethink the campus-development agenda?
September-October 2020

On the cover: Photograph by Supersizer/iStock images
Features
Active Grandparenting, Costly Repair
A biological anthropologist explains why and how exercise works to combat senescence.
Near and Distant Objectives
Harvard Law School professor Noah Feldman’s constitutionalism is a branch of the humanities.
Claudia Jones
Brief life of an intersectional activist: 1915-1964
A Science Is Born
The “yeasty” times” when computer research grew at Harvard
RIGHT NOW Harvard research and ideas
The Care and Feeding of a Nation
A holistic approach to food safety and food law
Unraveling the Universe through Puzzles
In his freshman seminar, Cumrun Vafa uses puzzles to help students understand complex physics.
Did Milk Build the Mongol Empire?
Ancient dental plaque points to the historical significance of dairy culture on the Eurasian Steppe.
John Harvard's Journal University news
The 40 Percent Solution
Campus constraints amid the coronavirus pandemic
Venkatesh Murthy
A brief look at what animals’ sense of smell reveals about the brain
Yesterday’s News
Headlines from Harvard’s history
University People
Honored professors, new House heads, and more
News Briefs
A gift policy, and peer institutions’ new climate schools
Brevia
New diversity and inclusion officer, new University Professor, and more
Changemaker in Admissions
David L. Evans made a difference for 50 years.
To Catch a Crawdad
The Undergraduate reassesses the rhythms of the natural world.
New Fellows
The 2020-2021 Ledecky Undergraduate Fellows
The “Bilingual” G.M.
Football-tested and data-centric, Andrew Berry takes the helm in Cleveland.
Montage Books, creative arts, performance and more
An Embodied Voice
Adriana Colón forges aural connections.
An Education Agenda
Derek Bok on curriculum reform
“A Kind of Justice in the World”
Ian K. Smith’s turn toward detective fiction
Chapter & Verse
A correspondence corner for not-so-famous lost words
The Fire in “A Burning”
Megha Majumdar’s novel of India resonates in the United States.
No One Deserves a Spot at Harvard
Michael Sandel makes the case against meritocracy.
Off the Shelf
Recent books with Harvard connections
Harvard Squared What to do in Boston, Cambridge and beyond
“A Step Up from the Usual Beautiful”
Exploring the coastal wonders of Essex, Massachusetts
Cape Cod Wonders, By Bike
Swim, walk, and picnic along cycling routes
Staff Pick: Boston Book Festival
A literary festival for children and adults
Royall House and Slave Quarters
Preserving black history as “an act of liberation”
Recenter Yourself in the Square
Suggestions for boosting emotional, mental, and physical wellness this fall
Almuni Harvardians far and wide
The Watchdog
Bharat Ramamurti ’03 oversees CARES Act spending—and pursues corporate reform.
“One Community, One Harvard”
HAA president John West promotes interconnections within the University.