As 2025 draws to a close, I want to thank each of you for reading, engaging with, and sharing Ariadne’s Dispatches this past year. Your thoughtful comments and questions have made this venture far more rewarding than I imagined when I began.
Looking back at what resonated most with readers, I was touched to find that my personal tribute to physicist Sidney Drell became the most-read piece of the year by far. Sid was not just a brilliant theoretical physicist, but a model of how scientists can—and should—engage with the moral implications of their work. His decades-long commitment to arms control and nuclear security showed that technical expertise and ethical responsibility need not be separate domains. That so many of you connected with his story suggests we agree that science cannot be divorced from its human context and consequences. That it cannot be taken for granted that all those who make significant contributions to science are ethically balanced individuals was shown by the sad story of Jim Watson, co-discoverer of DNA’s double helical structure.
What’s Coming Next Year
The first half of 2026 will explore several interconnected themes. We’ll return to evolutionary theory, exploring how molecular biology has fundamentally altered—and in some ways complicated—our understanding of natural selection and adaptation. And we’ll continue examining pivotal moments and figures in scientific history, including Photo 51, Rosalind Franklin’s extraordinary X-ray diffraction image that revealed DNA’s helical structure, and the complex legacy of a crystallographer both cruelly maligned and inaccurately deified.
The International Security Series
Beginning in January, I’ll launch a six-part series examining how the threat landscape has evolved beyond Cold War paradigms. The series, “From Awe to Apathy,” is timed to coincide with key events through May 2026, including the expiration of the New START Treaty and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference. We’ll look at nuclear complacency, emerging threats that now share the spotlight once held exclusively by atomic weapons, and what realistic arms control looks like in a multipolar world.
Staying Connected Between Dispatches
I’m introducing Threads—a new subsection within Ariadne for shorter posts that don’t require the complete treatment of a Dispatch. You’ll find sidebar topics and tangential questions sparked by longer articles, as well as subjects that stretch beyond Ariadne’s core science-and-society focus. Think of Threads as where ideas unravel in different directions: literary controversies with scientific undertones, policy developments that deserve quick attention, or observations that would otherwise get buried in footnotes. These posts will be more frequent and more varied than the main Dispatches.
You’ll also see Notes from me—brief observations on breaking developments, pointers to relevant reporting, and behind-the-scenes glimpses of work in progress. Notes appear only in the Substack app and feed (not your inbox), making them ideal for timely reactions.
I’m exploring Letters—Substack’s feature for public written correspondence between writers. If you know someone doing interesting work on international security, critical minerals, or the history of science who might enjoy a thoughtful exchange of ideas, let me know.
The Icarus Podcasts
Beginning in spring 2026, I’ll launch an occasional podcast series featuring scientists and thinkers working at the edge of what’s known. I’m calling the series Icarus, named for the inherent risks of flying close to uncertain territory.
The inaugural episode will feature Dr. Mary Hagedorn, a Smithsonian research biologist whose work on coral cryopreservation is rewriting what’s possible in marine conservation. At the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, she’s developing techniques to bank coral reproductive cells and restore reef systems—an approach that sidesteps the limitations of traditional conservation when ecosystems are changing faster than adaptation can keep pace. Her work raises uncomfortable questions about what conservation means when we can no longer preserve environments as they were.
These won’t be hagiographies but conversations about ideas at their most generative stage, when the implications are still uncertain, and the ground is still shifting.
Thank you for a remarkable first year. Please consider sharing the stories you enjoy. I’m looking forward to what we explore together in 2026.
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Very excited for the launch of the podcast!