The power of ignorance and peering into the Milky Way: Books in brief

Smog and Sunshine Ann Carlson Univ. California Press (2026)

From the 1940s to the 1990s, smoggy Los Angeles, California, had “stunningly unhealthy air”, writes environmental lawyer Ann Carlson. Now, it is “remarkably clean”. Her powerful book details how scientists, lawyers and residents collaborated with public officials to reduce pollution, especially from vehicles, beginning with the state’s first Clean Air Act in 1963. Today, however, air pollution is growing again as a result of wildfires driven by climate change.

Ignorance George Szpiro Columbia Univ. Press (2026)

Unlike knowledge, ignorance receives little systematic study and is often regarded negatively, observes journalist George Szpiro. But ignorance has a “redeeming feature”, he argues: “it motivates curiosity and drives the quest for knowledge.” His penetrating book examines 60 well-known instances of ignorance divided into four categories: ‘do not know’ (for example, dark matter), ‘cannot know’ (the uncertainty principle), ‘must not know’ (the placebo effect) and ‘refuse to know’ (disaster insurance).

Radio Universe Emma Chapman John Murray (2026)

Radio telescopes can penetrate the Venusian atmosphere, reveal underground lakes beneath the Martian surface, and look through the “bright heart of the Milky Way to the spiral arms beyond”, observes astrophysicist Emma Chapman. Her captivating book introduces radioastronomy by glorying in such achievements. Part I focuses on the Solar System, part II on our Galaxy and part III on the Universe, including dark matter and dark energy. Chapman also discusses radioastronomy’s role in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.

The Irrational Decision Benjamin Recht Princeton Univ. Press (2026)