New Horizons in Science

The Science & Society Program says science will be the hero of the pandemic—and the hope for the future.

Give NowIn June 2020, the Institute’s Science & Society Program collaborated with the science outlet leapsmag (now called leaps.org) and the impact and engagement company GOOD/Upworthy to publish The Pandemic Issue, a magazine that investigated big-picture ways that science, innovation, and communication can usher in a safer and more equitable world. The magazine explored different challenges facing humanity in search of unexpected and encouraging stories emerging from the Covid-19 crisis. Content ranged from an article on how the pandemic could propel STEM experts into political power to an interview with astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson, who discussed why celebrities should spend more time promoting science.

Publication of the magazine coincided with a public virtual event called the Pandemic Science Summit. Experts like Peggy Oti-Boateng, the director of UNESCO’s division of science policy and capacity building, and Christopher Bailey, arts and health lead for the World Health Organization, discussed how the global community could end the pandemic. “Covid has reinforced the need for international collaboration, particularly within the sciences,” Oti-Boateng said. “There are no political boundaries. We need to work together.”