American Academy of Sciences and Letters

Academy Member Noël Valis (Yale) discusses how great literature helps us discover our common humanity, the danger of politicizing the study of literature, and the need for the modern university to develop a clear understanding of its mission. youtube.com/watch?v=JrqXYR…

Academy Member Cass Sunstein (Harvard) discusses how academic inquiry is being affected by new forms of manipulation in the social environment of social media and AI, and the need to cultivate intellectual agency. youtube.com/watch?v=PgVaiL…

The Academy's series of member interviews continues. See below for interviews with Clifford Brangwynne, Stephen Macedo, Bertha Madras, Cass Sunstein and Noël Valis! (1/6)

The event: academysciencesletters.org/2025-investitu… The Barry Prizes: academysciencesletters.org/2025-barry-pri… The Zimmer Medal: academysciencesletters.org/2025-zimmer-me…

What a night! On Nov. 12 we held our annual investiture ceremony, held this year at historic Decatur House. Check out our website (link below) for all the details!

Academy Member and Nobel Laureate Arieh Warshel (USC) discusses the reasons people want to control what science finds, ways peer review could be reformed, and how universities can take steps to encourage open inquiry. youtu.be/7rz2qS74ptY

Academy Member William Howell (JMU) discusses why the "humble audacity" of the university's truth-seeking mission is so challenging, why we need to invest relationally in the university's community of learning, and how to avoid "ivory tower" isolationism. youtu.be/U4dkOU3LJIA

The Academy has just posted the first in its new series of interviews with Academy members. See below for links to our interviews with Daniel Asia, William Howell and Arieh Warshel! 1/4

Margaret Chisolm (Johns Hopkins) interviews Nicholas Christakis (Yale) about the vast scope of positive social behaviors we rely upon but mostly take for granted, and the need to defend the university's truth-seeking mission. youtube.com/watch?v=yX_9Oa…

Santiago Schnell (Dartmouth) interviews Karin Öberg (Harvard) about the university as a “civic friendship,” and how science pursues a deep human need not only to know but to experience awe and wonder at the beauty of our world. youtube.com/watch?v=UiTgu3…

Brandice Canes-Wrone (Stanford) interviews Marianne Bertrand (Chicago) about the debate over the Chicago Principles for academic freedom, and how the study of economics helps cultivate human well-being more broadly than most people appreciate. youtube.com/watch?v=wnh_he…

Sergiu Klainerman (Princeton) interviews Brian Conrad (Stanford) about his work, why he's fighting efforts to lower math standards in high-school curricula and admissions, and why you should know something about math even if you have a computer. youtube.com/watch?v=kO_ll7…

Greg Forster (AASL) interviews Gary Anderson (Notre Dame) about the difficulties modern universities encounter in understanding religion, as well as some unexpected challenges that AI presents for language-dependent disciplines in particular. youtube.com/watch?v=yJttoz…

Barry Honig (Columbia) interviews Megan Sykes (Columbia) about cutting-edge medical developments that promise major new improvements in public health, and how the politicization of science and the university threaten to slow down medical progress. youtube.com/watch?v=63p8O-…

Mary Ann Glendon (Harvard) interviews Jeannie Suk Gersen (Harvard) about how handling difficult and controversial subjects is necessary to advance knowledge and prepare students not only for their work, but for good citizenship. youtube.com/watch?v=n9IZ6H…

William Allen (MSU) interviews Akhil Reed Amar (Yale) about how the discipline of the law, and the university itself, facilitates the thriving of a just and humane social order. youtube.com/watch?v=3i2Rgp…