science the endless frontier

Editor’s Journal

Innovation’s Hidden Scaffolds

In this time of political, economic, and technological upheaval, what does it mean that so many advocates for science are pointing to an 80-year-old report by Vannevar Bush?

Read More
"The Technological Republic: Hard Power, Soft Belief, and the Future of the West" by Alexander C. Karp and Nicholas W. Zamiska. New York, NY: Crown Currency, 2025, 320 pp.

Book Review

Where Are the Moonshots?

Despite alarm bells over threats to American technological supremacy, no national effort has materialized. We have iPhones, Netflix, and ChatGPT, but where are the moonshots? The space programs and Manhattan projects? Alexander Karp, the billionaire cofounder and CEO of the software company Palantir, grapples with this state of affairs in The Technological Republic.

Read More

Join the Conversation

Social Media

Follow us on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

Forum

Read responses to our published essays from experts around the world.

Read Forum

Attend Events

Connect with our dynamic community of experts and policy-makers.

See Events

Future Tense Fiction

Future Tense Fiction is a speculative fiction series that uses imagination to explore how science and technology will shape our future. It features short stories written by acclaimed authors across a wide range of styles. Each story is paired with original artwork by Rey Velasquez Sagcal and a response essay from an expert who connects the fictional narrative to real-world policy debates.

  • Rey Velasquez Sagcal's illustration for "When We Were Patched" by Deji Bryce Olukotun

    When We Were Patched

    Deji Bryce Olukotun’s “When We Were Patched” imagines a futuristic tennis-like sport officiated by a blend of humans and machines. When the machine-augmented assistant suspects its human partner isn’t following the sport’s rules to a tee, they clash over the meaning of unsportsmanlike conduct and fair play.

  • Rey Velasquez Sagcal's illustration for "Algorithms Could Create an Even Playing Field—if We Insist on It"

    Algorithms Could Create an Even Playing Field—if We Insist on It

    An expert on algorithmic bias responds to Deji Bryce Olukotun’s “When We Were Patched.”

    Response

  • Rey Velasquez Sagcal's illustration for "Tunnel Fever"

    Tunnel Fever

    On the floor of the Arctic Ocean, an isolated roadside bar buried in a vast network of tunnels is staffed by a claustrophobic waitress who dreams of life above the surface. When a pair of outlaws tries to rob the bar, its patrons and employees are forced to work together to stave them off—pushing the boundaries of survival and trust in extreme environments.

  • Rey Velasquez Sagcal's illustration for "Resisting Tunnel Vision"

    Resisting Tunnel Vision

    To work toward better climate policy and governance, we need to expand our vision of what’s possible.

    Response

  • Rey Velasquez Sagcal's illustration for "All That Burns Unseen" by Premee Mohamed

    All That Burns Unseen

    When a government worker is charged with collecting data from the fire-ravaged community she grew up in, she gets help from an unexpected ally: a fire-fighting drone.

  • Rey Velasquez Sagcal's illustration for "All That Burns Unseen" by Premee Mohamed

    Firefighting Chemicals Are Dangerous for the Environment. Can That Change?

    A journalist who covers wildfires responds to Premee Mohamed’s “All That Burns Unseen.”

    Response

Browse our recent issues