Infrastructure for a Stormy Future

The storm clouds photographed by Camille Seaman on the cover of the Winter 2018 Issues in Science and Technology reflect our turbulent moment in national politics and policymaking. As Kevin Finneran asks in his Editor’s Journal, “What role is there for policy wonkery and expert advice when evidence, facts, intellectual consistency, and honesty are decomposing on the compost heap?” Fortunately, even as the political discourse has devolved into cable-news shouting, most experts remain committed to addressing national challenges with thoughtful and pragmatic approaches. We are pleased to feature several of them in these pages.

Editor's Journal

  • Talk to the Hand

    Friends, colleagues, and relatives from across the globe all seem to have the same questions: What is it like to be in Washington, DC, in the age of policy mayhem? What role… Read More

From the Hill

  • From the Hill – Winter 2018

    The House of Representatives and the Senate spent most of 2017 turning the annual budget process on its head, with the result that at the end of December there is no official… Read More

Perspectives

Features

Real Numbers

Book Reviews

  • What Did I Just Buy?

    We all do it. Click on that little button—the one that says “buy”—to purchase digital books, music, movies, and software online. What many of us don’t realize is that US courts have… Read More
  • Book cover of The Gene Machine

    TMI?

    Because she has done justice to the morally challenging and politically explosive topic of the role of genetic testing in reproduction, the primary experience of reading Bonnie Rochman’s new book, The Gene Read More
  • Obfuscation book cover

    Hiding in Plain Sight

    Hiding the truth isn’t often praised. In an age of “fake news,” spam Twitter accounts, and sham Facebook groups, there is already plenty of concealment and disinformation to go around. But in… Read More
  • Follow the Money Cover: Money in a DNA strand

    Opening the Books

    Academic health centers are complex ecosystems. They typically have a medical school at the core and one or more major teaching hospitals, often complemented by a Veterans Administration medical center and community… Read More
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