On the Cover: Cottonwood sapling illustration created with AI with additional Adobe Photoshop alterations by Niko Yaitanes and Jennifer Carling/Harvard Magazine

Letters

Cambridge 02138

Leadership crisis, Israel and Gaza, “Undergraduate” Insights

Raising Voices

Saying things unsaid since October 7

May-June 2024

On the Cover: Cottonwood sapling illustration created with AI with additional Adobe Photoshop alterations by Niko Yaitanes and Jennifer Carling/Harvard Magazine

Features

The Homelessness Public Health Crisis

Homelessness has surged in the United States, with devastating effects on the public health system.

by Lydialyle Gibson

Benjamin Smith Lyman

Brief life of the vegetarian trailblazer, 1835-1920

by Christine M.E. Guth

The Gravity of Groups

Mina Cikara explores how people come into conflict, in politics and beyond

by Max J. Krupnick

Plants on a Changing Planet

How long will the world’s forests impound carbon below ground?

by Jonathan Shaw

RIGHT NOW Harvard research and ideas

Private Equity and the Practice of Medicine

Hundreds of U.S. hospitals are owned by private equity firms—does monetizing medicine affect the quality of care?

Diversifying Diet

A little-known diet improves cardiovascular health through several distinct mechanisms. 

AI as Cancer Oracle?

How is artificial intelligence (AI) being used for cancer detection and prevention?

John Harvard's Journal University news

Dirt Flies

Construction on Harvard’s commercial enterprise research campus and new theater in Allston

Sasha

Sasha, the police dog of Harvard University

Harvard in the Interim

The University’s interim president and provost address a challenging agenda.

Yesterday’s News

Headlines from Harvard’s history

AI: The Course

A new Harvard course on artificial intelligence teaches students how to use the tool responsibly.

Admissions Evolving

The class of 2028—plus admissions policy concerning diversity, standardized tests, and legacies

Renovating Gund

Renovations on Gund Hall of Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) to be completed by next year. 

News in Brief

Commencement speaker, new Corporation Fellows, and more

Board of Overseers and HAA Elected Director Candidates

Candidates for the Board of Overseers and Harvard Alumni Association (HAA) elected directors

Montage Books, creative arts, performance and more

Quantum Leaps

Ballerina and quantum physicist Merritt Moore ’11 connects humans and machines.

In Egypt, Doors Closing

Leslie T. Change ’91 explores the lives of three women in the Egyptian textile industry.

The Very Image

Poet Cynthia Zarin ’81’s first novel Inverno, a study in yearning and desire.

Off the Shelf

Nicholas Kristof reporting, why voting matters, becoming famous, and more in books

Israel, Idea and State

How should Progressive Jews reconcile the changing nature of Israel today as state and ideal?

Dominica’s “Bouyon” Star

Musician “Shelly” Alfred’s indigenous Caribbean sound

Developing Dads

Exploring the evolutionary biology of human fathers as caretakers

Harvard Squared What to do in Boston, Cambridge and beyond

Who Was John Greenleaf Whittier?

Homes of the poet and abolitionist, whose verses were said to have inspired Abraham Lincoln. 

Commencement and Alumni Events

The 373rd Harvard College Commencement Exercises and all activities.

Harvard Square Meals—and Beyond

The cafés and restaurants of Harvard Square sure to impress for breakfast and lunch.

Dinosaur Babies

A new exhibit featuring fossilized dinosaur eggs and nests from around the world.

Art in Bloom

Let Harvard Square’s creative scene move you with walking tours and more. 

University People Harvardians far and wide

American Solidarity

Cardinal Robert W. McElroy on how the Catholic Church has moved towards inclusivity.

Poise, in Spite of Everything

Nina Skov Jensen ’25, portraitist for collectors and the princess of Denmark. 

The Case for Indeterminacy

The purpose of the humanities, at Harvard and in the world