Science & Technology

Daniel Esty, the Hillhouse Professor of Environmental Law and Policy at Yale University and author of the new book, Values at Work: Sustainable Investing and ESG Reporting, expressed his optimism for the prospects of climate policy in the Biden Administration in the latest episode of “Environmental Insights: Discussions on Policy and Practice from the Harvard Environmental Economics Program,” a podcast produced by the Harvard Environmental Economics Program.

President Joe Biden started signing executive orders and announcing new hires after his inauguration. Joel Clement, a former senior executive and whistleblower at the Interior Department, elaborates on what this would mean for his former agency.

Juliette Kayyem argues that if Trump keeps losing, the risk of future violence will abate. Keeping Trump in office until January 20 won't assuage the supporters who falsely believe that the election was stolen from him, but removing him from office a week early would emphasize that he is losing. Recruitment is easier for a winning team. 

Joseph Nye writes that January 6, 2021, may prove to be a day of infamy like December 7, 1941, but it could also go down in history as a turning point in which Trumpism peaked and some politicians began to take responsibility for the consequences of their rhetoric.

Richard Revesz, the Lawrence King Professor of Law at New York University and co-founder of the Institute for Policy Integrity, shared his thoughts on how the transition to a new presidential administration later this month will impact U.S. environmental and climate change policy in the latest episode of “Environmental Insights: Discussions on Policy and Practice from the Harvard Environmental Economics Program,” a podcast produced by the Harvard Environmental Economics Program.

Stephen Walt looks back at the Trump administration as four years of big ambitions, a handful of successes—and many more failures. He concludes that it was more than a missed opportunity because Trump's blunders have left the United States in much worse shape than when he took office. 

Bruce Schneier and Alicia Wanless argue that persuasion is essential to society and democracy, but  new rules governing how companies can harness it are necessary.

Stephen M. Walt lists his top five reasons that he is still thankful this year: No great-power wars;  the U.S. election; people with integrity; science; and his students.

Henry J. Farrell and Bruce Schneier detail how Americans' shared beliefs about democracy can break down when political insiders make bogus claims about general fraud, trying to cling to power when the election has gone against them.

The Republican Party's willingness to indulge U.S. President Donald Trump's dangerous fantasies reveals a blithe disregard for U.S. foreign policy and national security, Stephen Walt writes.