In the acidic oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), Fe–N–C catalysts must address two problems at once: oxygen-containing intermediates bind too strongly, which can limit the reaction; and the Fe site can lose its coordination during operation, which affects lifetime. Teams including Harbin Institute of Technology, the Institute of High Energy Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the National Center for Nanoscience and Technology report a Fe–La dual-atom catalyst in Nature Communications. Combining DFT with operando spectroscopy, they find that La both modulates the spin and coordination structure of Fe and participates in interactions with oxygen-containing intermediates, thereby improving acidic ORR activity and stability.