Since the era of the French Revolution, commentators and politicians have referred to the press as “The Fourth Estate,” signifying the important (if informal) role of the press in public life. Charles Sennott leads a non-profit news agency extending the power of the press to under-covered corners of the world.

Every December since 2013, the Pell Center at Salve Regina University has named a “Story of the Year,” the most important narrative in the public life of the United States in the preceding 12 months.

The confirmation of Justice Bret Kavanaugh was a bruising episode for many Americans. Jed Shugerman views that confirmation process against the long history of America’s courts and essential debates over the constitutional limits on executive power.

National security analysts typically ground their work in a deep appreciation of history, context, and contemporary politics. Jeffrey Lewis adds a sophisticated understanding of nuclear weapons and the states seeking them to describe a catastrophic potential future of the U.S. relationship with North Korea.

Publically available satellite images offer some of the most fascinating perspectives about life on Earth. Luis Martinez goes one step further and mines those images for the data and stories they contain about some of the world’s most repressive regimes.

Over the last five decades, the United States has fought wars, worked for peace, achieved environmental breakthroughs, and struggled to pass on security—however, you might define that – to the next generation. More often, than not, you would have found guest, John Kerry in the middle of those fights.

The tension between faith and reason is an ancient one, made even more distinct in the West by the scientific revolution that preceded the era of the Enlightenment. Alan Lightman is a scientist whose personal transcendent experience shapes his view of spirituality today.

For decades, Hollywood films and science fiction writers have told us ominous stories about the future dangers of killer robots and artificial intelligence. Peter Asaro warns that machines lack the essential human qualities required for operating weapons systems—and he’s working to ban them from doing just that.

“You are what you eat” is an expression every grade school student has heard—either as a boast or as a taunt. Guest Korsha Wilson says that “what we eat, what we cook, and the meals we share can tell us a lot about race, access, privilege, heritage, and culture.”