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The Story Behind the Most Famous Christmas Poem of All
2021_11_Moore_SANTA-2
Arts & Humanities

The Story Behind the Most Famous Christmas Poem of All

The improbable tale of Santa Claus, Columbia, and Clement Clarke Moore’s “A Visit from St. Nicholas"

15 Unique Holiday Gifts from Columbia Alumni
2025 Gift Guide products
Alumni

15 Unique Holiday Gifts from Columbia Alumni

Surprise your friends and family this December with scents, spices, and more

‘Santa Baby’ Changed My Life
Philip Springer and music memorabilia
Alumni

‘Santa Baby’ Changed My Life

For songwriter Philip Springer ’50CC, this Christmas classic is the gift that keeps on giving

11 Holiday Movies with Columbia Connections
Reginald Owen in "A Christmas Carol"
Arts & Humanities

11 Holiday Movies with Columbia Connections

From musical rom-coms to nostalgic TV specials, Columbia graduates (and dropouts) have worked on a variety of Christmas classics

Columbians in the news

Writer Dinaw Mengestu '05SOA named president of PEN America

Inge Lehmann '64HON, the scientist who discovered the Earth's core, featured in the New York Times' "Overlooked" obituary series

Julie Menin '89CC expected to be named next New York City Council speaker

Former Commentary editor Norman Podhoretz '50CC dies at 95

Columbia SIPA and School of Professional Studies professor Steven Cohen named 2025 notable leader in sustainability by Crain’s New York Business

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater launches first season under new artistic director Alicia Graf Mack '03GS

LATEST ISSUE
Fall 2025 cover of Columbia Magazine

Recent Stories

Can We Stop the Next Pandemic?
Collage of Virus-related images
Health & Medicine

Can We Stop the Next Pandemic?

Hit with budget cuts, Columbia’s Global Alliance for Preventing Pandemics is working to get ahead of the next mass outbreak

How Corporations Trap Us Inside ‘Convenience Cocoons’
illustration of online shopping
Books

How Corporations Trap Us Inside ‘Convenience Cocoons’

In The Age of Extraction, law professor Tim Wu warns about the unchecked power of tech platforms to manipulate our spending habits and emotions 

The Many Shades of Authoritarianism
Illustration of activists with megaphones by Phoebe O Chou
On Campus

The Many Shades of Authoritarianism

At Columbia Law School’s Human Rights Institute, pro-democracy activists from four different countries shared stories of repression and resilience

7 New Movies from Columbia Alumni Filmmakers
A still from A House of Dynamite
Arts & Humanities

7 New Movies from Columbia Alumni Filmmakers

Stream or see in theaters these notable releases from Columbia directors, screenwriters, and producers

Spanish-Language Radio Has a Disinformation Problem
Martina Guzman
Science & Technology

Spanish-Language Radio Has a Disinformation Problem

Verdad, an app founded by Martina Guzmán ’08JRN, uses AI to find conspiracy theories broadcasted on the air

How Reality TV Oversells the American Dream
A family watching TV
Books

How Reality TV Oversells the American Dream

Shows like American Idol and MasterChef give viewers an inflated sense of their own economic prospects, finds Columbia political scientist Eunji Kim

A Retail Innovator Looks to a More Sustainable Future
Federico Marchetti
Alumni

A Retail Innovator Looks to a More Sustainable Future

Yoox founder Federico Marchetti ’99BUS discusses teaming up with King Charles III, publishing a memoir, and trying to make luxury fashion more environmentally friendly

Think Like a Data Scientist — No Coding Required
illustration of person interacting with data figures
Books

Think Like a Data Scientist — No Coding Required

In The Little Book of Data, ad-tech executive Justin Evans ’93CC shows that anyone can succeed in our information-based economy

The Myth of Competition
image of imbalanced toy figures on a see-saw
Books

The Myth of Competition

In Uncompete, Ruchika T. Malhotra ’10JRN touts the benefits of collaborating over competing, and gives concrete strategies for how to do it

Books

How Do You Write the Story of Mike Tyson?
Mike Tyson vs. Steve Zouski fight at the Nassau Coliseum
Books

How Do You Write the Story of Mike Tyson?

For Baddest Man: The Making of Mike Tyson, Mark Kriegel ’86JRN had to revisit his own past as a sportswriter

Greed, Exploitation, and Elephants: The Story of a Failed Congo Conquest
Cover of A Training School for Elephants by Sophy Roberts
Books

Greed, Exploitation, and Elephants: The Story of a Failed Congo Conquest

A Training School for Elephants, by travel writer Sophy Roberts ’97JRN, tells the little-known tale of a Belgian king and Irish fixer in Africa

A Human History of Ancient Mesopotamia
Moudhy Al-Rashid
Books

A Human History of Ancient Mesopotamia

In Between Two Rivers, Oxford historian Moudhy Al-Rashid ’05CC finds relatable slices of life in five-thousand-year-old clay tablets

The Dark and Enduring Legacy of Residential Schools
Cover of We Survived the Night by Julian Brave NoiseCat
Books

The Dark and Enduring Legacy of Residential Schools

In We Survived the Night, Julian Brave NoiseCat ’15CC takes a deeply personal look at the historic efforts to erase Native culture 

Recent Issues

Fall 2025 cover of Columbia Magazine
Fall 2025
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Spring/Summer 2025
Winter 2024-25 cover of Columbia Magazine with illustration by Tim O'Brien
Winter 2024-25
Fall 2024 cover of Columbia Magazine, featuring photos related to climate migration
Fall 2024
Spring/Summer 2024 cover of Columbia Magazine, illustration by Isabel Seliger
Spring/Summer 2024
Cover of Columbia Magazine's Winter 2023-24 issue, with illustration of a student in Butler Library by Jenny Kroik
Winter 2023-24
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  • Health & Medicine
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    • Can We Stop the Next Pandemic?view
    • The Search for a Universal Snakebite Treatmentview
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    • Spanish-Language Radio Has a Disinformation Problemview
    • The Strange Saga of Columbia’s Nuclear Reactorview
    • Can AI Fill a Gap in Childhood Speech Therapy?view
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    • 7 New Movies from Columbia Alumni Filmmakersview
    • 42 Bingeable TV Shows Made by Columbia Graduatesview
    • Dial M for Morningside: Hitchcock at Columbiaview
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    • 15 Unique Holiday Gifts from Columbia Alumniview
    • A Retail Innovator Looks to a More Sustainable Futureview
    • Exploring the Hidden Gems of Rural Sri Lankaview
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