Dear Reader –
Over the course of this year, I have spoken again and again with readers who feel exhausted with how our culture talks about science. The ideal of science as a political oracle has placed a weight on the actual institutions of science that they cannot bear. In 2020, they have buckled.
The New Atlantis aims to reveal science’s limits, to get beyond the shallowness of “science says” and think about how to act wisely in the face of uncertainty. In another sense we seek to break science’s limits, to expand our culture’s imagination by uncovering new paths beyond stuck debates on climate change, genetic modification, online life, and Covid.
We offer our readers a different way of conducting conversations about science, a different way of thinking. And I believe that is why so many readers have spoken to me of finding relief — even new hope — in our work.
What makes The New Atlantis unique in this cultural moment is also what makes us distinctly dependent on reader support. We are not backed by any Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, or media conglomerate. Our community of financial supporters is formed directly from dedicated readers.
Amid a tumultuous year for the country, you are one of over one and half million readers — the most in our history — who have found an alternative in our pages. I am asking you now to become part of our community of supporters, to help us grow it by the end of the year to 500 individual donors and $50,000 in new support. Please join us.
If you are considering a large gift and would like to learn more, please get in touch with us at editor@thenewatlantis.com.
Thank you as always for your readership and generosity.
Yours,
Ari Schulman
Editor
P.S. I invite you also to read our new mission statement on building a culture in which science and technology work for, not on, human beings.