Olivia Farrar

Olivia Farrar is the digital content specialist at Harvard Magazine. A graduate of Harvard College and the University of Oxford, she writes about technology, medicine, the natural sciences, and the humanities. Before joining the magazine in 2023, she worked at Audible in content strategy, script editing, and production, helping to produce titles including David Copperfield, Oliver Twist, and The Signalman by Charles Dickens (directed by Sam Mendes), a modern reimagining of Hans Christian Anderson’s The Little Mermaid, and numerous other audiobooks, short stories, and podcasts. 

Olivia adheres to the highest ethical standards across writing and reporting, including in interviews with subjects and throughout researching and fact-checking stories.

Social(s)

A photograph of the inside of the From Iran exhibit at the Harvard Peabody Museum

Museums & Collections |

Tk tk Iran

Artist Azadeh Akhlaghi reconstructs moments of Iranian political upheaval in a series of meticulously staged images.

An illustration of robots doing housework

Five Questions |

Harvard Business School’s Andy Wu discusses far-out technologies.

Image depicting Shakespeare and Stephen King

Books & Literary Life |

Shakespeare and Stephen King Have a Lot in Common

Shakespeare scholar Caroline Bicks studies horror and fear in literature. 

A man smiles while speaking at a podium with a Harvard logo.

Commencement |

Mychal Threets Brings ‘Library Joy’ to Harvard

The librarian and social media star gave the keynote address for Harvard Graduate School of Education’s convocation.

A collage of the 2026 Harvard University Centennial Medalists

Commencement |

Harvard Names 2026 Centennial Medalists

Four alumni receive the Harvard Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences’ highest honor.

Harvard Law School's library

Technology |

Harvard Data Trained This AI Model

“Talkie” is a large language model trained on only pre-1931 public domain content from Harvard libraries.

An image of three of the fellows from the Radcliffe Institute selected to be 2026-2027 fellows

Radcliffe Institute |

Radcliffe Institute Announces 2026-2027 Fellows

Scholars will tap Harvard’s intellectual resources during the coming academic year.

An image of a hand holding a microphone, representing a journalist

Politics and Law |

Is the Press Still Free?

A Harvard alumni panel discusses New York Times Co. v. Sullivan and threats to journalists today.

An illustration of interest rates rising, with two hands holding balloons full of money

Five Questions |

‘Don’t Hold Your Breath’ for the Return of Low Interest Rates

Harvard economist Kenneth Rogoff discusses the global forces driving up borrowing costs.

Two men in professional attire, one speaking at a microphone, the other gesturing while talking.

Harvard Kennedy School of Government |

Why Is Silicon Valley Turning Conservative?

At the Harvard Kennedy School, Van Jones analyzes how Democrats lost the tech industry’s vote.

An illustration depicting a group of animals in a red shopping cart that says 56 billion, representing the value of the National Park System

Five Questions |

America’s National Parks Are a $56 Billion Economic Engine

Harvard’s Linda Bilmes on measuring the economic value of public lands

A graphic of a U.S. federal buildings with

AI |

Harvard Law Professor Explains the AI Battle Between Tech and Government

Jonathan Zittrain compares today’s conflicts to tensions surrounding the early internet.