The Military of the Future
Every issue explores cutting-edge developments in technology, medicine, education, climate change, and much more. Articles provide in-depth analyses of science and technology’s impact on public policy, the economy, and society—bringing today’s best minds to bear on tomorrow’s most critical topics.
From the Hill
From the Hill – Winter 2014
Congress passes budget deal, launches frenetic appropriations activity After a contentious few months that saw a two-week government shutdown, a narrowly-averted debt crisis, and continuing politicking over the size and shape of… Read More
Features
Sea Power in the Robotic Age
Robotic weapons are revolutionizing warfare. Anyone following the media knows about so-called aerial “drones,” and soldiers and Marines are using tracked and wheeled robots in ground combat to probe enemy positions,… Read MoreThe GMO-Suicide Myth
In October 2013, rallies against genetically modified organisms (GMOs) drew thousands of protesters in dozens of countries around the world. The synchronized events were called the March against Monsanto, a reference to… Read MoreWhen All Models Are Wrong
“Beware the rise of the government scientists turned lobbyists,” trumpeted the headline on an article by British journalist George Mombiot in the left-leaning newspaper The Guardian, adding that “From badgers… Read MoreUniversal Conscription as Technology Policy
Read MoreIn a world where battles are increasingly fought by robotic vehicles and computer malware, national security may not be well-served by a small, culturally homogeneous military. Is it time to bring back the draft?
My Brain is My Inkstand
Drawing as Thinking and Process My Brain Is in My Inkstand: Drawing as Thinking and Process is an exhibition debuting at the Cranbrook Art Museum, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, that brings together… Read MoreGreenhouse Gas Emissions from International Transport
International transport, which includes ocean shipping and aviation, is among the fastest-growing sources of human-generated greenhouse gas emissions. Between 2009 and 2010, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from international transport grew faster—… Read MoreAll Adaptation Is Local
Read MoreAttention to the political context of coastal communities will be necessary if the United States is to improve on its current storm-by-storm approach to climate adaptation.
Chuck Vest, RIP
Chuck Vest had the uncanny ability to make me feel smarter than I am. Although he undoubtedly knew more and had thought more deeply about any topic that I discussed with… Read MoreWater
Internationally renowned Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky’s latest body of work, Water, explores the course, collection, control, displacement, and depletion of this vital natural resource. The exhibition is the second initiative… Read More
Book Reviews
The Zombie Enlightenment and Its Discontents
Political economy was the original development theory. In his classic The Wealth of Nations, published in 1776, Adam Smith proposed that people are most productive—both in terms of exercising their full… Read MoreBook Review: Lighting the way
Lighting the way A Short Bright Flash: Augustin Fresnel and the Birth of the Modern Lighthouse by Theresa Levitt. New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 2013, 288 pp. Jody A. Roberts… Read MoreBook Review: The end of the wild, wild Net
Regulating Code: Good Governance and Better Regulation in the Information Age by Ian Brown and Christopher T. Marsden. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2013, 288 pp. Rex Hughes Who regulates the Internet? A… Read More
Archives – Winter 2014
Two sculptures by Los Angeles-based artist Liz Larner adorn the newly opened Edith O’Donnell Arts and Technology Building at the University of Texas at Dallas. The pieces were commissioned by the Nasher… Read More