Take Note
The mid-1960s English classroom, revisited.
Three Lessons in Table Manners
Teaching an anthropologist how to eat.
Kind Strangers
International adoption is redefining the American family—for the better.
Never Been There, Never Done That
Husband (check). Kids (check). Now where’s my life of adventure?
Channeling the Schuylkill
“That’s the thing about this river: You have to imagine it to see.”
Crazy or Evil?
Seung-Hui Cho was evil, not crazy.
Report from Blacksburg
“Our campus, you know, this is our home.”
My Velvety Heaven
“The Green Couch is perfect.”
Sing a Song of the PUC
How being a roadie prepares you for life.
The Mother Hens of Andrín
“I felt excessively like a biology exhibit.”
Hope or False Hope?
What stories about celebrities and their illnesses mean to the rest of us.
Fencing Lessons
“In the moment, it always feels like dying to lose.”
Oldies School
From Penny Loafer to Swing Doll.
In Praise of Yak Dung
Practicing the “art of happiness” on a trek in the Himalayas.
Slash Talk
Forget everything you’ve heard about work/life boundaries.
The Way In
Far from home, finding the confidence to be oneself.
Limitations, Consolations
Pickup basketball is out of the question, but there’s more time for nostalgia.
16 Ways of Looking at a Stock Prospect
How a leading value investor makes his picks.
Supersonic Dreams
Flying high—and fast—with Mick and the gang on the Concorde.
Senior Moments
Remembering those first days in college while approaching the last.
Now Leaving the Comfort Zone
An interfaith trip to Turkey reveals the costs of self-insulation.
A Very Long Weekend
A recent Penn grad experiences a Middle East war at close hand.
Into the Woods
Retracing John McPhee’s steps in the Pine Barrens.
Privilege
In New Orleans, we have faced the unimaginable, and survived.