Clea Simon
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Crime fiction and, often, cats. Most recently feline cozy TO CONJURE A KILLER and psychological suspense HOLD ME DOWN cleasimon.com she/her/hers
Articles by Clea Simon
Who’s in charge here?
What do we want from AI? That was the question posed by Alex Pascal, executive director of the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society, at the outset of a panel discussion hosted by the center on how AI “can serve people and make our society better.” The powerful, potentially game-changing technology has been in the headlines in recent months after high-profile reports of experimental AI agents going rogue and hacking into other systems.
What it’s really like to be young
As the fall semester kicks in and students once again crowd the Square, Harvard faculty look back on favorite reads about youth — with a few choices from their own earlier days. The book asks young people to figure out their path through careful attention to their experiences and responses to opportunities and disappointments to see what really matters.
Where U.S. has lost ground since 9/11
Moderator Meghan O’Sullivan (from left), Joseph Pfeifer, Nancy Gibbs, and Michael Mullen. 5 min read After the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, the nation rallied under the cry “Never forget.” But 25 years later, several lessons that emerged from that day of death and destruction have been forgotten, according to a panel of experts at a John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum at the Institute of Politics on Tuesday night.
Book Review: Daniel Silva’s "Ransom" — A Spy Thriller for an Unsettled Present - The Arts Fuse
By Clea Simon Daniel Silva’s latest Gabriel Allon novel sidelines Israeli politics for an unusually timely, expertly paced tale of Russian aggression, drone warfare, and fraying Western alliances. Ransom by Daniel Silva. Harper, 416 pp., $32 Some summer treats you outgrow. Creamsicles, for example. Fudgsicles, too, used to be a source of unbridled joy. And, though I’m still a sucker for ice cream sandwiches, this July I had more or less decided that Daniel Silva fell into the discard category.
71 employees celebrated as 2026 Harvard Heroes — Harvard Gazette
Harvard employees are celebrated for outstanding service in a Sanders Theatre ceremony. 8 min read Outstanding service and dedication are the hallmarks of Harvard staff, and these traits were celebrated on Thursday, as exuberant family, friends, and colleagues packed Sanders Theatre to celebrate 71 Harvard Heroes.
How immigrant doctors propped up U.S. healthcare, the tale of America’s last prison ship, and other stories
Daniel Lord Smail (from left), Gabrielle Oliveira, Bruno Carvalho, Ian Kumekawa, and Eram Alam. 7 min read Immigrant physicians have quietly supported healthcare in underserved portions of urban and rural America for about six decades amid the rise of government-sponsored medical programs and a nationwide shortage of primary care providers. And they have not always been welcomed.
Getting to know your colleagues’ creative side
Not all staffers at Harvard get the chance to flex their creative talents as part of their everyday work. So, Harvard launched the annual Staff Art Show in 2020 to give employees a forum for artistic expression. The seventh iteration of the multimedia exhibit displays the work of 215 artists in three locations across campus — Longwood’s Countway Library (through June 5), Cambridge’s Smith Campus Center (through May 4), and Allston’s Harvard Ed Portal Crossings Gallery (April 16-May 14).
The ascent of us
Jean-Jacques Hublin. 5 min read The triumph of Homo sapiens over Neanderthals, a huge step in human evolution, was not the clearcut event that paleontologists have long believed. More likely, it was the result of continued interactions — and even some interbreeding — with modern humans resulting from just one surviving group.
Why we need Black bioethics
A doctor drawing blood from a patient as part of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study. 5 min read There is a need for a Black bioethics, argued a recent panel sponsored by Harvard Medical School and Tuskegee University. One need look no farther than inequities in COVID-19 diagnoses and treatment during the pandemic for evidence, but another, devastating historical example is the 40-year-long Tuskegee experiment.
Book Review: Francis Spufford’s "Nonesuch"
By Clea Simon This hybrid narrative laces romantic adventure with a bit of horror, the supernatural, and mathematical derring-do—all within an increasingly realistic depiction of the times and of the people who survived them. Nonesuch by Francis Spufford. Scribner, $41, 496 pp Francis Spufford’s Nonesuch starts out as a delight, the kind of heady historical fiction that has readers checking hemlines and dance trends for accuracy.
Science needs contrarians, and contrarians need support — Harvard Gazette
Picture a scientist with a provocative hypothesis — something that defies conventional wisdom or verges on the outlandish. Supporting the pursuit of that big, bold claim is the goal of the Institute for Quantitative Social Science’s new Extraordinary Claims, Extraordinary Evidence (ECEE) program. Designed for social scientists who want to explore highly controversial topics, the program helps tenure-track faculty generate the rigorous evidence necessary to assess their ideas.
Why stress can make your hair fall out: A two-part reaction
It's well known that stress can trigger hair loss. A new paper explores how this happens and how our response to stress can have long-term consequences for our scalps, research that may eventually yield insights into autoimmune diseases. In research published in Cell, Ya-chieh Hsu, professor of stem cell and regenerative biology, and her lab found that the hair loss resulted from a two-part reaction. How stress triggers immediate hair loss The first part, the immediate loss of hair, was simple.
Why stress can make your hair fall out — Harvard Gazette
4 min read It’s well known that stress can trigger hair loss. A new paper explores how this happens and how our response to stress can have long-term consequences for our scalps, research that may eventually yield insights into autoimmune diseases. In research published in Cell, Ya-chieh Hsu, professor of stem cell and regenerative biology, and her lab found that the hair loss resulted from a two-part reaction. The first part, the immediate loss of hair, was simple.
Book Review: Cancelling Equality - Julia Ioffe’s Personal and Political History of Russian Women
By Clea Simon This heartbreaking book documents the history of contemporary Russia through its women, a perspective that highlights the dramatic and devastating slide from an idealistic egalitarian state into a repressive and sexist nation that leans heavily on fascist ideology. Motherland: A Feminist History of Modern Russia, from Revolution to Autocracy by Julia Ioffe. Ecco, 512 pp., $35 For Julia Ioffe, the personal is political.
More free trade or time to give tariffs a chance? It was up for debate.— Harvard Gazette
5 min read Would Americans be better off if the nation shifted from its post-World War II free-trade approach to one that favors higher tariffs? That was the question posed to those attending an Institute for Business in Global Society debate on Wednesday evening, hours after the Supreme Court heard arguments in a highly anticipated case challenging the global tariffs imposed by the Trump administration. For the audience’s part, 30 percent favored a change while 70 percent did not.
‘Kids want to read harder stuff’ — Harvard Gazette
4 min read Average reading scores for fourth-grade students in 2024 dropped two points since 2022 and five points since 2019, as measured by the so-called nation’s report card. But according to a recent talk at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, the trend of American children reading below their grade levels stretches back decades before the pandemic — and teaching methods that fail to adequately challenge students, counterintuitive as it may seem, could be the culprit.
‘Kids want to read harder stuff’ — Harvard Gazette
4 min read Average reading scores for fourth-grade students in 2024 dropped two points since 2022 and five points since 2019, as measured by the so-called nation’s report card. But according to a recent talk at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, the trend of American children reading below their grade levels stretches back decades before the pandemic — and teaching methods that fail to adequately challenge students, counterintuitive as it may seem, could be the culprit.
Rising birth rates no longer tied to economic prosperity
Fertility rates began falling in most of the world starting in the last century. By the 1970s, the U.S. had dipped under the replacement rate of 2.1 children per woman, a trend that has continued on a declining slope. In her new working paper, "The Downside of Fertility," Claudia Goldin, the Henry Lee Professor of Economics, takes a deeper dive into the cultural changes around gender that are driving down fertility rates.
Rising birth rates no longer tied to economic prosperity — Harvard Gazette
5 min read Fertility rates began falling in most of the world starting in the last century. By the 1970s, the U.S. had dipped under the replacement rate of 2.1 children per woman, a trend that has continued on a declining slope. In her new working paper, “The Downside of Fertility,” Claudia Goldin, the Henry Lee Professor of Economics, takes a deeper dive into the cultural changes around gender that are driving down fertility rates.
What will AI mean for humanity? — Harvard Gazette
6 min read What does the rise of artificial intelligence mean for humanity? That was the question at the core of “How is digital technology shaping the human soul?,” a panel discussion that drew experts from computer science to comparative literature last week. The Oct. 1 event was the first from the Public Culture Project, a new initiative based in the office of the dean of arts and humanities.
What will AI mean for humanity? — Harvard Gazette
6 min read What does the rise of artificial intelligence mean for humanity? That was the question at the core of “How is digital technology shaping the human soul?,” a panel discussion that drew experts from computer science to comparative literature last week. The Oct. 1 event was the first from the Public Culture Project, a new initiative based in the office of the dean of arts and humanities.
Physicists go to extremes to capture quantum materials — Harvard Gazette
6 min read Researchers at the Rowland Institute at Harvard have pioneered a new way to achieve the coolest possible temperatures to image materials at sub-atomic scale. In combining the technical know-how of Rowland staff scientists with collaborators at the University of Michigan, the findings make possible a new era of ultra-cold microscopy.
Immune cell growth factor can promote lung tissue repair after viral inflammation
When the lungs are attacked by a virus, the damage doesn't stop there. The body's natural defenses cause inflammation while fighting the virus, often leaving lasting problems. The cells that make up the lungs' mucosal lining are exposed to the environment with every breath—both highlighting the risk of infection and emphasizing the need for a robust response.
Your body fought off the virus — but damaged your lungs — Harvard Gazette
When the lungs are attacked by a virus, the damage doesn’t stop there. The body’s natural defenses cause inflammation while fighting the virus, often leaving lasting problems. The cells that make up the lungs’ mucosal lining are exposed to the environment with every breath — both highlighting the risk of infection and emphasizing the need for a robust response.
Executive function may stem from schooling rather than innate cognition
Executive function—top-down processes by which the human mind controls behavior, regulating thoughts and actions—have long been studied using a standard set of tools, with these assessments being included in national and international child development norms.
Taking a second look at executive function — Harvard Gazette
Executive function — top-down processes by which the human mind controls behavior, regulating thoughts and actions — have long been studied using a standard set of tools, with these assessments being included in national and international child development norms.
Scientists Discover “Shocking” 18-Million-Year-Old Secret Hidden in Fossil Teeth
A fossil sample. Credit: Grace DuVal Protein remnants in fossil enamel reveal new ways to study evolution. These molecules stretch our view of molecular preservation far into the past. Proteins naturally break down over time, which makes it difficult to trace their origins and preserve their biological history.
Fossil teeth yield 18-million-year-old proteins, offering new clues to mammal evolution
Proteins degrade over time, making their history hard to study. But new research has uncovered ancient proteins in the enamel of the teeth of 18-million-year-old fossilized mammals from Kenya's Rift Valley, opening a window into how these animals lived and evolved. In their new paper in Nature, researchers from Harvard and the Smithsonian Museum Conservation Institute discuss their findings.
Light and heavy electrons cooperate in magic-angle superconductors
Electrons play many roles in solid materials. When they are weakly bound and able to travel—i.e., mobile—they can enable electrical conduction. When they are bound, or "heavy," they can act as insulators. However, in certain solid materials, this behavior can be markedly different, raising questions about how these different types of electrons interact.
65 staffers honored as ‘Harvard Heroes’ — Harvard Gazette
7 min read The mood was joyous as family and friends packed into Sanders Theatre celebrated 65 “Harvard Heroes” from across the University on Thursday. Nominated and selected by their peers, these staff members were introduced by the heads of their departments, divisions, or Schools. Their achievements were highlighted in brief and often touchingly personal remarks by President Alan M. Garber.
The fight against tick-borne disease: New molecular method differentiates sexes, reveals whether females have mated
Ticks pose a grave risk to public health, with nearly half a million cases of the tick-borne Lyme disease treated every year in the United States. Young nymph and adult female ticks typically pose the greatest risk of transmitting infection to humans. But, researchers say, there is much that is unknown about the sexual biology of ticks, knowledge that would prove useful in control efforts.
A step in fight against tick-borne disease — Harvard Gazette
Ticks pose a grave risk to public health, with nearly half a million cases of the tick-borne Lyme disease treated every year in the United States. Young nymph and adult female ticks typically pose the greatest risk for transmitting infection to humans. But, researchers say, there is much that is unknown about the sexual biology of ticks, knowledge that would prove useful in control efforts.
‘We have a way of steering a fly like you would a car’ — Harvard Gazette
4 min read Fruit flies, one of the most studied organisms in science, are efficient little creatures, able to navigate their environment with agility. They were also one of the first animals to be manipulated by geneticists. A new study, published last month by PNAS, exploited these qualities by turning fruit flies into what the co-authors call “living micro-robots,” whose movements can be controlled by sensory clues.
Talking about music doesn’t have to be difficult — Harvard Gazette
4 min read Music can be difficult to talk about. But WordSong, which styles itself “Boston’s premier interactive concert organization,” confronts the fraught relationship between music and words directly.
Weighing cure for sick kids against troubling ethical questions — Harvard Gazette
If our differences are part of what make us human, do we have the right — or the responsibility — to change them? That question was at the crux of “The Promise and Peril of CRISPR,” a talk given by Neal Baer, Ed.M. ’79, M.D. ’96, co-director of Harvard Medical School’s master’s degree program in Media, Medicine, and Health.
Turns out, bonobos ‘talk’ a lot like humans — Harvard Gazette
How old is language? A new study from researchers at the University of Zurich and Harvard University reveals that bonobos, our closest living relatives alongside chimpanzees, use the equivalent of word compounds and phrasings, suggesting that the roots of language predate humans.
When making positive change, sometimes you ‘break things’ — Harvard Gazette
If you want to make things better, says Gina Raimondo, that means things are going to have to change — and sometimes that means you “break things.” For example, the former U.S. Commerce secretary and Rhode Island governor said that when she was leading the Ocean State, she cut taxes every year, raised the state minimum wage, and made community college tuition free. She also cut 30 percent of the state’s regulations.
How to manage stress during an apocalypse — Harvard Gazette
5 min read Cooperation, community, and a sense of adventure may be the keys to our survival, even in these violently divided times. That was the theme of Athena Aktipis’ address last week.
NASA laser tech reveals climate impact on tropical forest canopies
With their ability to store carbon, forests are often considered the lungs of the Earth, but they are vulnerable to the world's ills, too. A new study, using NASA laser technology from the International Space Station, reveals the impact of climate change on global tropical forests with greater depth and breadth than ever before.
Lower canopies show struggle for tropical forests — Harvard Gazette
4 min read With their ability to store carbon, forests are often considered the lungs of the Earth, but they are vulnerable to the world’s ills, too. A new study, using NASA laser technology from the International Space Station, reveals the impact of climate change on global tropical forests with greater depth and breadth than ever before.
Former Greek PM outlines strategies to strengthen EU — Harvard Gazette
Stressing the need for European reform and unity in the face of multiple challenges, Aléxis Tsípras, the former prime minister of Greece, addressed a standing-room-only crowd at the Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies on March 25, which marked Independence Day in Greece. Tsípras presented proposals for Europe to counter looming financial and trans-Atlantic turbulence, strengthen its cohesion, and elevate its geopolitical and economic position. The presentation was moderated by Peter A.
How rat watching can yield benefits for people — Harvard Gazette
It’s all about the body language. A new AI method for tracking the social lives of rats may help researchers better understand the relationship between the brain and social behavior, with possible implications for human conditions such as autism. The machine-learning technique was detailed in a paper, “Mapping the Landscape of Social Behavior,” recently published in Cell. Bence P.
Want a less divisive American? Just a matter of trust. — Harvard Gazette
America is coming apart, warns Robert Putnam. It’s all due to a growing lack of social connection, and it’s visible in our relationships, communities, and deeply riven politics. The bottom line is that we just don’t trust each other anymore, he said. But there are places to start. The Peter and Isabel Malkin Professor of Public Policy, Emeritus and author of the influential 1995 book “Bowling Alone” spoke at a John F.
Every picture tells a story — Harvard Gazette
5 min read Susan Meiselas didn’t set out to be a photographer. The documentary photographer, filmmaker, and president of the Magnum Foundation was working toward her master’s degree at the Harvard Graduate School of Education in 1971 when she shot her groundbreaking “44 Irving Street, Cambridge, MA series,” which is now on view at the Harvard Art Museums.
Wishing real world wasn’t starting to feel so much like her dystopian novel — Harvard Gazette
5 min read The personal is political in Celeste Ng’s books. In her three best-selling novels, the Cambridge resident highlights Asian American characters and how issues around ethnicity and cultural origin can create tensions for them, both in their families and in the wider world. Her third and latest novel, “Our Missing Hearts,” follows a mother and biracial son in a future Cambridge where behavior considered unpatriotic is criminalized and can result in children being taken from their parents.
How planned major US foreign aid cuts are expected to shake out abroad-and at home
Many more people around the world will unnecessarily die of AIDS and starvation; American farmers will take an economic hit; Russia and China will strengthen ties with less-developed nations formerly friendly with the U.S., forging new political loyalties—and potentially reaping future economic gains.
Did a socially awkward scientist set back airborne disease control?Did a socially awkward scientist set back airborne disease control? — Harvard Gazette
5 min read In the “Great Man” theory of history, outsized personalities make things happen. But when it comes to public acceptance of the science behind airborne diseases, Carl Zimmer hypothesized, a boring and unpleasant personality may have slowed progress.
How planned major U.S. foreign aid cuts expected to shake out abroad — and at home — Harvard Gazette
Nation & World 6 min read Many more people around the world will unnecessarily die of AIDS and starvation; American farmers will take an economic hit; Russia and China will strengthen ties with less-developed nations formerly friendly with the U.S., forging new political loyalties — and potentially reaping future economic gains.
Exploring superconducting electrons in twisted graphene — Harvard Gazette
, materials that can transmit electricity without resistance, have fascinated physicists for over a century. First discovered in 1911 by Dutch physicist Heike Kamerlingh Onnes, who observed the phenomenon in solid mercury cooled with liquid helium to around minus 450 F (just a few degrees above absolute zero), superconductors have been sought to revolutionize lossless power transmission, levitating trains, and even quantum computing.
Clea Simon on Tumultuous Childhoods and Complex Psychological Thrillers
We’re in the kitchen, my mother and I. My mother is crying, as I try to comfort her. My father, still at the dining room table, the outburst having left him spent and, I suspect, embarrassed, is trying to figure out what has happened. And perhaps more to the point: why it has happened again. Article continues after advertisement The set-up, you see, was always the same. The only question, really, was who was the victim?
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