Hostname: page-component-cb9f654ff-c75p9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-09-09T04:32:45.210Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Editor’s introduction to the issue: Volume 44, Issue 2

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 September 2025

Gregg R. Murray*
Affiliation:
Department of Social Sciences, https://ror.org/012mef835 Augusta University , Augusta, GA, USA

Abstract

Information

Type
Introduction
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Association for Politics and the Life Sciences

The editorial team is pleased to present the second and final issue of volume 44 of Politics and the Life Sciences (PLS). This issue offers five Research Articles, which include full theoretical arguments with significant empirical evidence, one Research Note, which offers more limited theoretical analysis and empirical evidence, and two Perspective Essays, which present theoretical arguments that advance the study of biopolitics.

This issue features a 2023 Association for Politics and the Life Sciences (APLS) Research Grant Award winner, “Affective (In)Attention: Using Physiology to Understand Media Selection.” In this Research Article, Carbone (Reference Carbone2025) challenges prior assumptions by showing that physiological activation can be associated with both attention and avoidance in news consumption. And particularly timely is the Perspective Essay “An Evolutionary Perspective on the Current Wars,” in which McDermott (Reference McDermott2025) applies evolutionary psychology to explore the origins and persistence of international conflict.

Thank yous go to the authors in this issue who entrusted the editorial team with their work and the reviewers who donated their time and effort to the authors, the journal, and the scientific endeavor. Thanks also go to APLS and Cambridge University Press (CUP) for their ongoing support of the journal and the scholarly community more broadly.

In journal news, APLS recently renewed its publishing arrangements for the journal, ensuring PLS will continue under the auspices of CUP for at least another three years, from 2026-2028. Among the important changes, starting with the first issue in 2026, PLS will be published open access. This is an important expansion of access to journal content for both our readers and contributors.

Finally, a new editorial team will assume leadership of the journal starting with the next issue, Spring 2026. Editing the journal for these six years has been a great honor and privilege. In particular, it has given me an opportunity to work with a tremendous number of smart, thoughtful, and kind authors, reviewers, associate editors, and CUP staff. It is with profound appreciation that I extend my gratitude to them.

References

Carbone, M. (2025). Affective (in) attention: Using physiology to understand media selection. Politics and the Life Sciences, 44(2), 188204.Google Scholar
McDermott, R. (2025). An evolutionary perspective on the current wars. Politics and the Life Sciences, 44(2), 280294.Google Scholar