There comes a time in every academic life when the level of responsibility becomes terrifying. In my five years at Science Advances, first as an associate and then as a deputy editor, there was always a benevolent superpower at the top – it had never intervened but its existence created a peace of mind. Suddenly, the superpower emails and puts you in charge. “Relax, nobody is ever ready. If academics were trained to lead, I would not have a job,” – our Editor-in-Chief has a high signal-to-noise ratio; that one phrase, in a late-night Zoom call across the Atlantic, quelled my panic at being asked to look after the huge Physical and Materials Science section at Science Advances: 11 deputy editors (DEs) and 85 associate editors (AEs), all of them stronger scientists than I am. An intake of breath, a careful read through the responsibilities, an update to the calendar – all right, let’s do it. “Good,” – the Editorial Office said – “would you now please write a column explaining your vision for the Physical and Materials Science section to our readership?”