The Doom Loop: Why the World Economic Order Is Spiraling into Disorder

By Eswar S. Prasad, PhD’92; Basic Venture, 2026

For years many economists hoped that globalization would increase competition, thereby incentivizing improvements to efficiency and, ultimately, the standard of living for all. However, economist Eswar S. Prasad argues, the past three decades of globalization have led to rampant inequality and geopolitical instability. Interactions between economics, domestic politics, and geopolitics have created what Prasad calls a “doom loop” of ever-worsening disorder. What’s more, the very institutions that were meant to ensure stability have actually been furthering that disorder. To break the cycle, Prasad calls for long-term and collaborative thinking from leaders, institutions, and engaged citizens.

The Medical Student’s Field Guide to Research

By Paul B. Greenberg, AB’86; John C. Lin; and Victoria L. Tseng; Johns Hopkins University Press, 2026

All medical students have the potential to conduct impactful research, but many are unsure where to start, write Professor of Surgery Paul B. Greenberg and his coauthors—one a junior faculty member and the other a current medical student. They draw on personal experience and case studies to offer a practical guide for medical students, whether they’re just starting out or looking to hone their skills. Tailored to the current realities of medical school, the book walks readers through each step of the research process, from planning to finding mentors to presenting final results.

Home Ranges of Animals: Cognitive Maps, Research Approaches, and Insights

By Roger A. Powell, PhD’77; Oxford University Press, 2025

Though free to roam far and wide, wild animals typically restrict their movements to areas bounded by familiar features and expected interactions. They tend to move through their environment in ways they remember as minimizing energy use. For example, a bear might stick to flat areas rather than climb steep hills, even if doing so means a less direct journey to a food source. Ecologist Roger A. Powell lays out a scientific framework for modeling these cognitive maps, or home ranges, and studying how animals perceive their environments. Understanding those perceptions can offer insights into how animals experience and exploit their surroundings.

The End of Violence: Eliminating the World’s Most Dangerous Epidemic

By Gary Slutkin, MD’75; Little, Brown, 2026

A former field epidemiologist and chief of intervention development with the World Health Organization, Gary Slutkin spent years traveling the world to treat, contain, and prevent infectious diseases. When he returned to Chicago in the 1990s, he was shocked by the violence taking place in the city and became determined to stop it. Rather than seeing violence as a moral failing or something inherent in human nature, Slutkin came to understand it as an infectious disease. The same public health approaches used to stem epidemics, he argues, can be used to end violence.

Unlawful Advances: How Feminists Transformed Title IX

By Celene Reynolds, AM’11; Princeton University Press, 2025

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 banned discrimination on the basis of sex in education and programs that receive federal financial assistance. However, at the time there was not yet a common understanding of behaviors like sexual harassment, and such behaviors were not explicitly outlawed by Title IX. Sociologist Celene Reynolds argues that it was through legal challenges after the passage of Title IX that feminist students and lawyers helped expand the law’s purview and clarified a vision for true equality. Focusing on specific cases at Yale, Cornell, and the University of California, Berkeley, Reynolds explores how students achieved a reassessment of sex discrimination and restructured the politics and culture of higher education.