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Fall 2025

Fall 2025 cover of Columbia Magazine
Download this issue
Illustration of a person with a brain full of ideas

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

Features

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

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

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

Would You Want to Know if Alzheimer’s Were in Your Future?
Illustration by Valeria Petrone depicting Alzheimer's
Health & Medicine

Would You Want to Know if Alzheimer’s Were in Your Future?

New AI-based screening tools could help people who are falling through the cracks

College Walk

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?

Avery Library’s Newest Treasures
Frances Halsband at Columbia's Avery Library
On Campus

Avery Library’s Newest Treasures

The library’s first public exhibition in five years showcased recent acquisitions from Frances Halsband, Michael Sorkin ’71GSAS, and others

Farewell, Linden Trees; Hello, Cherry Blossoms
Columbia College Walk
On Campus

Farewell, Linden Trees; Hello, Cherry Blossoms

A tree replacement on College Walk lets us branch out, sit down, and plug in

A Free Press in Peril?
photo of Jelani Cobb and A.G. Sulzberger
On Campus

A Free Press in Peril?

At a Columbia Journalism School forum, New York Times publisher A. G. Sulzberger assessed the threat

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

Explorations

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

The Search for a Universal Snakebite Treatment
Tim Friede holding a snake
Health & Medicine

The Search for a Universal Snakebite Treatment

With the help of a Wisconsin reptile enthusiast, Columbia scientists are looking to develop an antivenom that works on all types of snake poison

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

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

Writing Negative Reviews is Good for Your Health, and Other Surprising Discoveries
Photo of a woman looking at her phone
Science & Technology

Writing Negative Reviews is Good for Your Health, and Other Surprising Discoveries

The latest research from Columbia scientists

It’s Easier to ‘Just Be Yourself’ When You’re Popular
Illustration of a person carrying a giant face mask
Science & Technology

It’s Easier to ‘Just Be Yourself’ When You’re Popular

Social psychologists at Columbia Business School find that people with higher social status have the privilege of acting more “authentic” 

Network

Can AI Fill a Gap in Childhood Speech Therapy?
Sara Technology founders Jiaxin Zhang and Jonathan Shi
Science & Technology

Can AI Fill a Gap in Childhood Speech Therapy?

Sara, a startup co-founded by Jiaxin Zhang ’25BUS, seeks to make articulation therapy more accessible — and fun

From Columbia to The Pitt
Supriya Ganesh on The Pitt
Arts & Humanities

From Columbia to The Pitt

For Supriya Ganesh ’19CC, starring in the Emmy-nominated hospital drama wasn’t a far cry from reality

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

Tenement Museum President Annie Polland Opens Doors to the Immigrant Past
Photo of Anne Polland
Arts & Humanities

Tenement Museum President Annie Polland Opens Doors to the Immigrant Past

How the leader of the venerable Lower East Side institution preserves New York City’s multicultural history

Kiss of the Spider Woman’s Web of Columbia Connections
Collage of Columbians involved in Kiss of the Spider-Woman
Arts & Humanities

Kiss of the Spider Woman’s Web of Columbia Connections

Several alumni are behind the upcoming musical film

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

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

13 ‘Green’ Buildings from Columbia Architects
Denver Union Station
Arts & Humanities

13 ‘Green’ Buildings from Columbia Architects

These eco-friendly projects from alumni architects have all earned LEED ratings from the US Green Building Council 

Books

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 

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

Exhibitionist
A painting by Peter Mendelsund
Books

Exhibitionist

By Peter Mendelsund ’91CC 

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

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

Bulletin

Jeh Johnson Named Co-Chair of Board of Trustees
Jeh Johnson
On Campus

Jeh Johnson Named Co-Chair of Board of Trustees

The attorney with a long history of public service joins co-chair David Greenwald ’83LAW

Alumni Invited to “Take Action” For Columbia
Photo of Columbia Lion
On Campus

Alumni Invited to “Take Action” For Columbia

A new initiative was launched this spring aimed at encouraging advocacy and support for the University

Kevin Hovde Returns to Columbia as Head Basketball Coach
Photo of Columbia Basketball coach Kevin Hovde
On Campus

Kevin Hovde Returns to Columbia as Head Basketball Coach

The twenty-fourth head coach in the program’s history arrives at Columbia after three years at the University of Florida

Columbia Launches PhD Program in African-American Studies
photo of classroom at Columbia University
On Campus

Columbia Launches PhD Program in African-American Studies

The program will allow graduate students of Black history, culture, and intellectual traditions to take their scholarship to the next level

Farah Jasmine Griffin Named University Professor
Farah Jasmine Griffin
On Campus

Farah Jasmine Griffin Named University Professor

The position is the highest academic distinction for a Columbia faculty member

ElfQuest Creators Donate $500,000 for Comic Preservation
An illustration from ElfQuest
On Campus

ElfQuest Creators Donate $500,000 for Comic Preservation

The gift from Wendy and Richard Pini will support Columbia’s growing archive of comics and graphic novels

Columbia Reaches Agreement with US Government to Restore Research Funding
Columbia University campus from above
On Campus

Columbia Reaches Agreement with US Government to Restore Research Funding

The resolution addressed federal agency investigations into alleged violations of antidiscrimination laws

Backstory

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 

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