On the cover: Illustration by Paul Garland
Letters
Cambridge 02138
Master Finley, whales’ speech, Harvard values
Own Goals
Learning from the spring protest and punishments
September-October 2024
On the cover: Illustration by Paul Garland
Features
A Right Way to Read?
The science, art, and politics of teaching an essential skill
Fairfield Porter
Brief life of an American realist artist and critic: 1907-1975
Academic Freedom and Free Speech
Robert Post explains how they differ—and why it matters, especially now
The Goodness of Being Together
Why social interactions are as vital as food and water
RIGHT NOW Harvard research and ideas
Climate Change’s Crippling Costs
The impact on global GDP is likely six times greater than previously estimated.
In Search of the Social Microbiome
The microbiome may be socially exchanged, modulating both health and metabolism.
Mapping the Human Brain
A decade-long project to map a cubic millimeter of human brain reveals previously unimagined architectures.
John Harvard's Journal University news
Crimson Construction
Post-pandemic campus building resumes on a massive scale.
Susan Farbstein
Human rights lawyer on law’s ability to promote justice—and shape public understanding
Combating Bias
Early findings and recommendations from the task forces on antisemitism and anti-Muslim, -Arab, and -Palestinian bias
News in Brief
Make that President Garber, new general counsel, new Art Museums director, and more
Yesterday’s News
Headlines from Harvard’s history
Montage Books, creative arts, performance and more
From Law Books to Cookbooks
Nisha Vora’s vegan journey
Bringing the Magic
The reality-based fantasies of novelist Tomi Adeyemi
“Volts of Your Own Spirit”
Seamus Heaney writes to Helen Vendler.
Cultivating Friendships with Trees
A monumental new guide to North American species
Off the Shelf
Democratic organizing, “architectural grafting,” the Constitution, offshore wealth, and other new books
Beyond the SAT
Nicholas Lemann on revising standardized testing to address real educational needs
Harvard Squared What to do in Boston, Cambridge and beyond
Men and Their Castles
Historic New England explores the “bachelor decorators”
A Victorious Vessel
USS Constitution—for all ages
Unbuttoned Up
Works by Harlem-based artist Beau McCall at Brockton's Fuller Craft Museum
University People Harvardians far and wide
History in Progress
How the War on Terror reshaped American life
“Dialogue across Differences”
Alumni Association president Moitri Chowdhury Savard
Outstanding Alumni Interviewers
Miller-Hunn awardees
Crimson Campaigners
Harvard students and the 2024 election
Welcoming the New Ledecky Fellows
The 2024-2025 Undergraduate columnists