Volume 111, No. 6
FEATURES
Hope is Part of the Plan
Paralyzed from the neck down by a gunshot wound in 2011, Kevin Neary C’04 can’t help imagining that someday a medical miracle might allow him to walk again. In the meantime, he and his family are meeting the challenges and frustrations of his new life with strength, ingenuity, and charm to spare. By Dave Zeitlin
Good Returns
The dangers and rewards of giving more than you get. An excerpt from Give and Take by Wharton Professor Adam Grant. Plus: an interview with the author by Trey Popp
The Purple Passion of Michael Smerconish
Can an unpredictably centrist talk-show host with a yen for “nothing” really have an impact on the national discourse?
By Samuel Hughes
Glen Berger’s Amazing Spider-Man Experience
What happens when a playwright best known for a one-man show about a seriously overdue library book gets involved in creating a blockbuster musical about an iconic superhero? In one word: Kapow! By Alyson Krueger
Alumni Weekend 2013
Our annual photo essay
DEPARTMENTS
First Person: Essays
Notes from the Undergrad On the road (parents cautioned)
Alumni Voices What happened at the reunion
Elsewhere Measuring the distance since Saddam’s fall
Expert Opinion Helpful hints for the hospitalized
Gazetteer: News & Sports
Biden calls on Class of 2013 to “show us what you can do”
Honorands
Friedman on MOOCs: What happened to media will happen to education
Annenberg conference examines data-mining in politics
Sink or Swim founder—and new Nursing grad—Marion Leary GNu’13
HUP pulmonologist saves the day for a dolphin
Van Pelt’s new Special Collections Center looks, well, pretty special
Q&A on dietary salt: too little can be bad, but you still eat too much
Great day for Penn women’s athletics
Penn Rugby continues to rise
Scoreboard
Arts
MUSIC Soulful, poetic, un-puzzling composer David Ludwig Gr’09
POETRY “Night Journey” by Daniel Hoffman (1923-2013)
BOOKS Hurrah! Hurrah! Songs of Penn
BRIEFLY NOTED
ARTS CALENDAR
Alumni: Profiles
Julie Beren Platt C’79 is the new president of Penn Alumni
Bow-tied, big-league sports-reporter Ken Rosenthal C’84
Sujatha Baliga L’99 is a leading expert on restorative justice
Peter Merriman C’78 serves regional cuisine in “the best place on earth”
: Events
: Notes
: Obituaries