Data Centers in Space: Powering AI Beyond Earth’s Limits
On Earth, power grids, water supplies, and local permitting struggle to keep pace with AI power demand. In Redmond, Washington, a 15-person team is building next-generation data centers in space. Starcloud Co-founder and CEO Philip Johnston joins HBS Executive Fellow Emily Chien to discuss Starcloud’s pioneering orbital data centers and 24/7 solar-powered efficiency.
Action Is the Antidote: Building Democracy Between Elections
Democracy isn’t decided on Election Day; it’s built between elections. Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward and author of Ordinary People, Extraordinary Times, tells Carmel Shields, ALI ‘23, why ordinary people hold the power to protect the rule of law, with leadership lessons on courage, resilience, and civic engagement.
The American Experiment Through the Lens of Health
The US outspends every wealthy nation on healthcare yet trails most of them in life expectancy. In the final installment of our series, Dr. Don Berwick, former CMS Administrator, asks what our health reveals about America at 250: why high-tech care thrives while population health lags, how social determinants and fairness shape longevity, and what we must choose now to be healthier at 300.
Dialogue That Builds: Moving from Toxic Polarization to Proactive Citizen Engagement
Political polarization is rising, yet Americans agree on far more than the outrage cycle suggests. In this conversation, Maury Giles, CEO of Braver Angels, talks with Sandy Kresch, ALI ’21, about how listening across differences builds common ground on issues like elections and immigration, and how courageous citizenship can turn that dialogue into local action and national change.
Oropouche, Drug Resistance, and AI in Outbreak Surveillance
How can we detect emerging disease outbreaks? Dr. David Hamer, GeoSentinel’s Surveillance Lead, discusses with Tom Mahoney, ALI Senior Fellow ’24, how his network uncovered a surprising Oropouche virus signal, why antimicrobial resistance worries him, and whether AI can help detect the next outbreak.
From Healthcare to Health: What Makes a Nation Healthy?
What makes people healthy beyond healthcare? In the second installment of this series, Martin Goldstein, Senior Fellow ALI '21, talks with Dr. Don Berwick, former Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Dr. Berwick widens the lens from the healthcare system to the conditions that shape health itself, exploring how fairness, agency, basic rights, and leadership can give everyone a real chance to realize their potential and what responsibility society bears for creating those conditions.
The Return on Investments in Climate Resilience and Adaptation
Climate adaptation and resilience are no longer just a cost to society. Lori Collins (ALI '26), reports on the paradigm shift driving the emerging adaptation economy, as investors and policymakers look beyond climate action as a public good to a trillion-dollar investment opportunity in solutions that reduce climate risk and loss.
All Along the Watchtower: The Global GeoSentinel Network
Since 1995, GeoSentinel, a partnership between the International Society of Travel Medicine and the U.S. CDC, has grown to 68+ sites in 32 countries, tracking emerging infectious diseases among international travelers. Tom Mahoney, ALI Senior Fellow '24, spoke with Dr. David Hamer, GeoSentinel's Surveillance Lead, about how it detects outbreaks early and adapts to a mobile world.
Making Healthcare Better: Quality, Equity, and Purpose
How do we make healthcare better – and toward what end? Don Berwick begins with the healthcare system itself, examining why choosing what to improve is a moral declaration, how commitments to quality and equity shape that choice, and what the American healthcare system is actually designed to achieve and whom it is designed to serve.
The Freedom We Inherited – and the Responsibility We Share
AMERICA 250:
OPINION COMMENTARY:
As America marks its 250th anniversary, Hon. Vivian Lowery Derryck reflects on a lifetime of public service, civil rights, racial reconciliation, civic engagement, and the shared responsibility of every citizen to strengthen American democracy.
A Pledge Renewed: Courageous Citizenship in the Attention Economy Era
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As America marks 250 years, citizens face an attention economy where outrage is rewarded and visibility often matters more than reflection. Courageous citizenship now means choosing depth over immediacy, truth over amplification, even at real cost. Christy Grace Provines, executive director of The 'MPOWER Project, argues democracy's survival depends on it.
Renewing the American Pledge through Civic Architecture
AMERICA 250:
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Courageous citizenship has never been only a private virtue. It is an institutional achievement, built through associations, churches and schools that turned commitment into public action. Robert Ceresa, Associate Professor of Political Science and Founding Director of the Politics Lab at Huston-Tillotson, traces this history through the Rosenwald schools and offers a framework for rebuilding civic architecture.
Civic Prosperity at 250: From Sacred Honor to Shared Flourishing
AMERICA 250:
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As America marks 250 years, Sanda Balaban, Executive Director of Project Pericles, argues that democracy's future depends less on heroic acts and more on everyday courage. Her essay makes the case for building "civic prosperity" into how colleges educate citizens.
We the People Too: Reclaiming a Promise for America’s Next 250 Years
AMERICA 250:
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Demar Goodman, rising senior at American University and student leader, delivers a powerful reflection on “We the People” and its unfinished promise. Drawing on history, identity, and lived experience, Demar challenges us to turn words into action for the next 250 years and beyond.
We the People Reimagined: Disability Justice and the Power of Collective Voice Today
AMERICA 250:
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Anja Herrman, disabled writer, researcher, and disability rights advocate, shares a powerful reflection on activism, community, and civic change. Drawing from her experience as a student leader and advocate, she redefines “We the People” as a call to listen, collaborate, and build a more inclusive democracy together.
The American Dream, Higher Education, and the Work of Economic Mobility
AMERICA 250:
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Elson Nash, an education and social impact leader, Senior Fellow at Blue Meridian Partners, and By All Means Senior Fellow at The EdRedesign Lab at Harvard, reflects on how hidden barriers in higher education shape who has a real shot at opportunity and what it will take to ensure the American Dream delivers across generations through access, support, and system-level change.
The American Dream Is the Freedom to Leave — and the Responsibility to Return
AMERICA 250:
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Rey Saldaña, President and CEO of Communities In Schools and By All Means Senior Fellow at The EdRedesign Lab at Harvard, reflects on how his immigrant father’s sacrifices shaped his understanding of the American Dream — and why true opportunity depends not just on individual grit, but on the systems and supports that help young people succeed and stay connected to their communities.
The American Dream Shouldn’t Depend on Your Zip Code
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Christian Rhodes, Chief National Impact Officer at Harlem Children’s Zone and By All Means Senior Fellow at The EdRedesign Lab at Harvard, reflects on a hard truth: in America, a child’s future is still too often determined by their zip code. Drawing from personal experience and national leadership, he calls for bold, place-based solutions that align systems and expand opportunity for every child.
Who Gets to Dream? What My Parents, a Library, and Two Sons Taught Me About Opportunity in America
AMERICA 250:
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In this powerful reflection, Dreama Gentry, Founder & CEO of Partners for Rural Impact and By All Means Senior Fellow at The EdRedesign Lab at Harvard Graduate School of Education, explores how place shapes possibility — and why expanding opportunity for rural youth is essential to the American Dream. A moving call to ensure every child can dream beyond the limits of geography.
The American Dream Begins with Flourishing Children
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Sondra Samuels, President & CEO of Northside Achievement Zone and By All Means Senior Fellow at The EdRedesign Lab at Harvard, knows firsthand what it means to be underestimated. Drawing from her own story and decades of community leadership, she argues that closing the education gap isn't just a moral imperative — it's the essential work of sustaining American democracy.