September 2026 Newsletter
The Fall Brings a Season of Events Not to Be Missed
“The Need for Roots in a Digital Society”
In a twenty-first century digital society, what does it mean to be rooted? And how do we maintain ties to what is essential to human flourishing? On Friday, November 6th, attend our second annual summit, The Need for Roots in a Digital Society. The event will gather scholars, journalists, scientists, community leaders, influencers, technologists, and others to reckon with these growing challenges. Moderated by director Eric Gordon, the keynote conversation with Marshall Ganz and Jillian Racoosin will open up the day followed by panels, workshop, and more.
MEDIA and PUBLIC TRUST SEMINAR
with Marshall Van Alstyne
Can we curb misinformation without censorship by redesigning the incentives that govern speech? On Monday, October 5, we will host Marshall Van Alstyne for our first seminar of the 2026-2027 year. The Allen and Kelli Questrom Professor in Information Systems at Boston University will talk about his research which reframes misinformation as a pollution problem rather than one of falsity per se. Presenting both theory and evidence, he’ll show how we might increase speech access, decrease misinformation, and remove any central body judging speech — consistent with First Amendment constraints.
WELCOME TO MISI!
Over the summer, we were busy with expanding the team. This fall, we’ve brought on new staff, students, faculty affiliates, and the 2026-2027 fellows. Join us in welcoming the following members of the MISI team! And meet our Rita Allen Civic Science Fellow Amanda Finn below.
Faculty Affiliates
Tunji Akinsehinwa
Michelle Amazeen
Phillippe Copeland
Ziba Cranmer
M. Patricia Fabian
James Howard Hill Jr.
Lucy Hutyra
Jonathan Jay
Aaron Kopp
Nathan Phillips
Pamela Templer
Gregory Wellenius
Sung-un Yang
Postdoctoral Associates
Amanda Finn
Sarah Halford
Students
Joshua Cappiello
Shermarie Hyppolite
Lucy Ngo
Amanda Finn, a postdoctoral associate, studied human health over the course of her undergraduate studies in kinesiology and her M.S. and Ph.D in nutrition sciences. Her work focused on factors influencing insulin resistance, namely those related to adipose tissue expansion in humans. She also led local and national science advocacy initiatives as a Research! America Civic Engagement micrograntee and member of the Scientist Network for Advancing Policy. Her work at MISI as a Rita Allen Foundation Civic Science Fellow will evaluate how researchers across Boston University define and measure social impact with the goal of producing an evaluative framework and practice guide to inform future civic science projects.
ERIC GORDON’S HOW INSTITUTIONS LISTEN
“At the core of democracy is a thorny problem: How do governments listen to their citizens? Eric Gordon offers answers that no one else has, based on a deeply helpful rethinking of how communication works in the age of AI.“ – Ethan Zuckerman, Director, Initiative for Digital Public Infrastructure and Associate Professor, UMass Amherst
This October, director Eric Gordon will be releasing his latest book, How Institutions Listen: Civic Data, AI, and the Path to Public Trust (October 20, 2026). He’ll be a guest speaker at the Boston Book Festival on October 17th, and in conversation with Nigel Jacob, former co-chair of Boston’s Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics, and Anne Short Gianotti, BU Professor of Earth & Environment, at a book talk event hosted by the Institute for Global Sustainability on October 27th.
Invisible Threads: Portraits and
Stories of Our Global Neighbors
Julia Cumes, a 2025-26 MISI fellow, presents part two of Invisible Threads: Portraits and Stories of Our Global Neighbors. First exhibited at the Cape Cod Museum of Art, the evolving, collaborative photography and storytelling project which explores the lives of members of Cape Cod’s global community continues at the Cahoon Museum of American Art. While building on the original, this exhibit with a largely new body of work opens on September 23rd with a reception on October 3rd, and stays up through December 20th.
Local Redux of Stories from a Warming World
The fellowship gang is coming back together! On September 25th, 2025-26 MISI fellows Julia Cumes, Meera Subramanian, Joanna Davidson and Jaelyn Carr, are telling their stories from Stories from a Warming World on Cape Cod. From the floodwaters of New Orleans to an elephant in India, hear tales about what we share, what we cherish, what we’re losing, and how we might move forward together. If you aren’t able to make it to this event or missed the original last May, read their stories and more in our published book.