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25 Columbia Ideas and Innovations that Changed the World
Illustration of a person with a brain full of ideas
Science & Technology

25 Columbia Ideas and Innovations that Changed the World

From antibiotics to blood banks, radio waves to video calls, we spotlight the biggest scientific breakthroughs in medicine, technology, and more

This Columbian Cowrote the Bible of SNL
Photo collage of images from Saturday Night Live
Arts & Humanities

This Columbian Cowrote the Bible of SNL

Fifty years after Saturday Night Live’s premiere, Doug Hill ’76JRN looks back on his influential 1986 book 

Exploring the Hidden Gems of Rural Sri Lanka
The Pekoe Trail in Sri Lanka
Alumni

Exploring the Hidden Gems of Rural Sri Lanka

How entrepreneur Charles Conconi ’92CC is driving more economically sustainable tourism on the South Asian island

How Do We Change the Way We Eat?
Illustration of a man with a bag of groceries with farmland in background by David Plunkert
Health & Medicine

How Do We Change the Way We Eat?

Our industrialized food system is harming our health and warming the planet. Columbia experts weigh in on solutions

Columbians in the news

Historian Timothy Shenk '16GSAS authors editorial on democratic politics in the New York Times

A monument dedicated to former Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg '59LAW coming to Brooklyn Bridge Park 

Columbia economist Jeffry Frieden '79CC, '84GSAS interviewed on EconoFact podcast

Severance, executive produced by Beau Willimon '03CC, '99SOA, takes home multiple Emmy awards, among other alumni wins 

SIPA dean Keren Yarhi-Milo '03GS and professor Hillary Rodham Clinton co-author editorial on foreign policy in the New York Times

LATEST ISSUE
Fall 2025 cover of Columbia Magazine

Recent Stories

Sigrid Nunez Takes a Walk
Cartoon of Sigrid Nunez on a map of NYC
Arts & Humanities

Sigrid Nunez Takes a Walk

With nine novels and two recent film adaptations, the National Book Award-winning author is having a moment

How to Dine Like a Professional Restaurant Critic
Houston Chronicle restaurant critic Bao Ong with a bowl of ramen
Arts & Humanities

How to Dine Like a Professional Restaurant Critic

Bao Ong ’10JRN spent over a decade as a New York food columnist before relocating to Texas. Earlier this year, he became the Houston Chronicle’s restaurant critic

A Sea of Light Blue
A crowd of graduates at Columbia University 2025 commencement
On Campus

A Sea of Light Blue

Neither pouring rain nor frozen funds could dampen the joy of Commencement

A Death Investigator Learns to Live
Death investigator Barbara Butcher
Alumni

A Death Investigator Learns to Live

Barbara Butcher ’83PH spent two decades behind police tape in New York City, examining bodies. Now, she reflects on the hard lessons learned

Why US Cities Are Sinking
Houston under water
Science & Technology

Why US Cities Are Sinking

New research reveals the toll of massive groundwater extraction in cities from Houston to New York

A Brief History of Science Funding
Illustration of a scientist with a red, white, and blue test tube
Science & Technology

A Brief History of Science Funding

Universities have come to rely on federal funding to support scientific and medical research. How did we get here?

An Ancient Black Hole Collision Reverberates
A rendering of two black holes colliding
Science & Technology

An Ancient Black Hole Collision Reverberates

Columbia astronomers recently detected a faraway event that challenges existing theories about black-hole formation

James Gunn Releases Superman, and Other Alumni News
James Gunn on the set of Superman
Alumni

James Gunn Releases Superman, and Other Alumni News

Columbians making headlines

The Secret Science Behind Feeling Great
Illustration of Vitruvian Man with health and medical icons
Health & Medicine

The Secret Science Behind Feeling Great

Columbia biologists propose a more holistic framework for measuring health — asking not what ails you, but what makes you thrive

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

6 New Books for Fall 2025
6 New Books for Fall 2025
Books

6 New Books for Fall 2025

From Gary Shteyngart, Ed Park ’95SOA, and other Columbia authors

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

Exhibitionist
A painting by Peter Mendelsund
Books

Exhibitionist

By Peter Mendelsund ’91CC 

Recent Issues

Fall 2025 cover of Columbia Magazine
Fall 2025
Spring/Summer 2025 cover of Columbia Magazine, illustrated by Paul Rogers
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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Sections

  • Books
    • 6 New Books for Fall 2025view
    • Exhibitionistview
    • Greed, Exploitation, and Elephants: The Story of a Failed Congo Conquestview
  • Health & Medicine
    • The Search for a Universal Snakebite Treatmentview
    • How Do We Change the Way We Eat?view
    • The Secret Science Behind Feeling Greatview
  • Science & Technology
    • Can AI Fill a Gap in Childhood Speech Therapy?view
    • 25 Columbia Ideas and Innovations that Changed the Worldview
    • Writing Negative Reviews is Good for Your Health, and Other Surprising Discoveriesview
  • Arts & Humanities
    • Sigrid Nunez Takes a Walkview
    • How to Dine Like a Professional Restaurant Criticview
    • Kiss of the Spider Woman’s Web of Columbia Connectionsview
  • Alumni
    • Exploring the Hidden Gems of Rural Sri Lankaview
    • James Gunn Releases Superman, and Other Alumni Newsview
    • A Death Investigator Learns to Liveview
  • On Campus
    • ElfQuest Creators Donate $500,000 for Comic Preservationview
    • Columbia Launches PhD Program in African-American Studiesview
    • Farah Jasmine Griffin Named University Professorview

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