Harvard Magazine

Two titans of literature—separated by over 400 years. One a poet, one a grisly horror writer.

In the 2026 book Monsters in the Archives: My Year of Fear with Stephen King, renowned Shakespeare scholar Caroline Bicks ‘89 explores how William Shakespeare and Stephen King (one widely regarded as the finest writer in the English language, the other known as “the king of horror”) are connected—from their skill in characterization, to the ways they build tension and fear in their stories.

Shakespeare and Stephen King Have a Lot in Common | Harvard Magazine Caroline Bicks, the celebrated Shakespeare scholar, studies how horror and fear work in literature.

If any real person could pass for a comic book superhero, it might be Jonny Kim MD ’16: he’s a Harvard University-educated physician, a decorated Navy SEAL and combat veteran, and a NASA astronaut who spent eight months aboard the International Space Station last year.

But in a raw, moving speech for Harvard’s Alumni Day festivities on Friday, Kim warned that the “solo superhero” ideal—pervasive in his childhood imagination—has dangerous limitations.

"Whether you’re relying on the marine next to you in a firefight, the nurse during a Code Blue, or your crewmates in the vacuum of space," Kim said, "survival demands absolute trust in others. True strength is found in recognizing you cannot do this alone.”

Don’t Be A ‘Solo Superhero’ Jonny Kim Tells Harvard Alumni | Harvard Magazine The astronaut, doctor, and Navy SEAL delivered keynote remarks at the University’s Alumni Day festivities.

Every reunion class has its superlatives. This year’s most senior honors went to William “Bill” Dubey ’46 and Linda Cabot Black ’51, who proudly donned red sashes signifying their status as the eldest alumni present as they led the parade into Tercentenary Theater on Friday, June 5.

Black, now 97 years old, received her bachelor’s degree from Radcliffe College more than four decades before the school formally merged with Harvard, coming to the University in the midst of World War II. She knows the title well, having boasted the red sash as Radcliffe’s oldest alumna in 2022, 2024, and 2025.

It was a first-time honor for Dubey, who said he was “sort of overwhelmed” by all the attention he had gotten. “I don’t think of myself as 101.”

Dubey began studying at Harvard in 1940 and served in the Navy V-12 program, an accelerated initiative to train World War II officers. He returned to Harvard on the GI Bill after being discharged in 1946, and received his degree months later.

Harvard Honors Its Oldest Alumni | Harvard Magazine At 97 and 101, Linda Cabot Black ’51 and William “Bill” Dubey ’46 led the way on Alumni Day.

Since taking the helm as as Danoff Dean of Harvard College a year ago, David Deming has seen students burdened by their own expectation that every step of their future should already be planned. Last week, he set out to address it.

His platform of choice? A podcast featuring long-form interviews with distinguished Harvard University alumni and public leaders.

The debut episode, released on May 27, featured Angela Duckworth ’92, a psychology professor at the University of Pennsylvania and author of the book Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance. The second episode was released on June 3, featuring New York Times opinion columnist Ross Douthat ’02.

Harvard College Dean Deming Launches Podcast | Harvard Magazine In interviews with accomplished people, he traces their circuitous routes to success.

We're looking for remarkable Harvard alumni.

In 2027, Harvard Magazine will publish the first-ever "Harvard Magazine 36." Named in honor of Harvard University's founding year, 1636, this list will recognize 36 graduates whose contributions are unseen or lesser-known, but making an impact across professions, disciplines, and communities worldwide.

Now's your chance to help us identify them. Nominate a classmate, colleague, mentor, friend, or fellow alum whose accomplishments deserve wider recognition.

Submit your nomination at the link below, and stay tuned for more information about the selection process.

🔗: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/3P97J82

The American Repertory Theater's production of Black Swan, running through July 5, reimagines the 2010 film (starring Natalie Portman '03) for the stage.

The adaptation is led by director and choreographer Sonya Tayeh, with music and lyrics by composer Dave Malloy and music supervision by Or Matias.

The necessary adjustments to sustain the terror of the movie, and to fill up the stage with it, permeate the musical. This Black Swan has a tweaked, expanded cast of characters, a score of throbbing electronica colliding with classical harp and oboe, and an unflinching focus on dance—both by way of Tayeh’s direction and time spent narratively grappling with Swan Lake itself, the “show within the show.”

A New ‘Black Swan’ Musical Cranks Up the Tension | Harvard Magazine The creative team of the A.R.T.’s new show dish on adapting Darren Aronofsky’s thriller classic from screen to stage.

On Monday, the union representing Harvard University’s graduate student workers announced it was ending a strike that disrupted teaching and research at the University for more than a month.

The strike did not manage to secure a new contract that meets union demands, but the organization’s leaders said in a press release that they were “hopeful that we have now reached a bargaining trajectory with the University that will allow us to do so.”

Graduate Student Workers End Strike | Harvard Magazine Union members return to work without a contract, but with plans to continue bargaining.

On Friday, Ruth J. Simmons received the 2026 Radcliffe Medal, marking the culmination of the annual Radcliffe Day celebration.

Michelle Obama, Drew Gilpin Faust, and others paid tribute to Simmons. Tomiko Brown-Nagin, dean of the Harvard Radcliffe Institute, praised her as “a visionary who reimagines what is possible and has the courage and the tenacity to do what is needed.”

In a video tribute, Michelle Obama, J.D. ’88, noted that Simmons, the first Black woman to serve as president of an Ivy League university, “spent most of her career in rooms with few, if any, others who look like her.”

“It would have been safer to play nice and not rock the boat, but that’s just not who Dr. Simmons is,” Obama said. “She refused to be content with just earning her place within these institutions. She wanted to challenge them to be better, too.”

Ruth J. Simmons Receives the 2026 Radcliffe Medal | Harvard Magazine Michelle Obama, Drew Gilpin Faust, and others paid tribute to the pioneering educator during Harvard’s Radcliffe Day festivities.

Harvard University announced the newly-elected members of the Board of Overseers—one of the University’s two governing boards—and directors of the Harvard Alumni Association (HAA).

Read more about the new Overseers, who assumed their roles on May 29.

Harvard Elects New Overseers, HAA Directors | Harvard Magazine Leaders for the governing board and alumni association were chosen by an alumni vote.