May|Jun 2025
Vol. 123, No. 5
Staying Power
From the Editor | Existential despair, global engagement, comedy royalty.
Welcome to Despair
Through his unorthodox courses, religious studies professor Justin McDaniel is training Penn students how to immerse themselves in literature, disconnect from their phones, build lifelong bonds with classmates … and prepare for the inevitable emotional pain life will bring.
Rules of Engagement
Following a stint advising the US Department of Defense on warfare’s AI-inflected future, political science professor and Perry World House director Michael C. Horowitz is back at the helm of Penn’s “home for global policy engagement.”
Stewarding The Simpsons
In 1997, 25-year-old Matt Selman landed his dream job writing for The Simpsons. He’s still there today as head showrunner, striving to keep the 35-year-old animated series vital and surprising while also hanging on to its humor and heart. But how long will the show go on?



