Meet the 20 scholars and artists who've just won MacArthur Fellowships

Here's the list of 2026 MacArthur 'genius' grant winners A historian who studies wage gaps between races and a saxophonist whose live performances include a chef are among the latest recipients of the philanthropic group's annual, no-strings-attached $800,000 grants.

Clockwise from top left: forensic anthropologist Kate Spradley, labor economist and economic historian Ellora Derenoncourt, organic chemist Song Lin, sociologist and energy policy researcher Holly Jean Buck, artist Christine Sun Kim and public artist Chip Thomas.

John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation

A historian who studies racial wage gaps, a saxophonist whose live performances include a chef cooking meals onstage and a forensic anthropologist who repatriates the remains of migrants who perished along the Texas-Mexico border — they are all among the latest recipients of the MacArthur Foundation's no-strings-attached, $800,000 fellowship grants .

As usual, this year's winners come from a wide range of professional disciplines. But they converge in their interests in sometimes unexpected ways. For example, visual and sound artist Christine Sun Kim, philosopher and cognitive scientist Felipe De Brigard and novelist Bryan Washington all explore human connection and healing — from radically different creative standpoints.

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