Feed Them, Seymour
Window, Nov|Dec 2016
Travels in Trashland
Journalist Alexander Clapp C’13 set out to follow our trash to the end of the trail. Two years and five continents later, his debut book illuminates the surreal second life of the things we throw away. Plus: an excerpt from Waste Wars: The Wild Afterlife of Your Trash.
The Producer as Problem Solver
Before the recent real-life election of a new pope, Michael Jackman C’85 helped bring a film version—Conclave—to movie screens and the awards circuit. It was a career highlight for a veteran film producer who often labored far from the Hollywood that lives in our collective imagination.
Glass Cosmos
Artist residency results in Super/Natural installation.
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.
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?
Alumni Notes
May|Jun 2025
Building Blocks
Rebuilding Together Philadelphia is repairing homes one at a time to strengthen neighborhoods and build generational wealth.
Cultivating Crop Resilience
Plant ARC aims to prepare crops for climate change.
The Orphan Trap
Losing my parents as a teenager saddled me with an identity I felt powerless to shape—until now.
And Yet, They Persisted
Ben Nathans on the “many lives” of the Soviet dissident movement.
The Art of Mothering
In her debut book, The Mother Artist, Catherine Ricketts C’09 explores the limitations and creative benefits for mothers who make art. A mother herself, she faced many of the same hurdles as she wrote the book—and she’s not the only alumna (or alumnus) finding both challenge and success navigating the balance between art and caregiving.
Letters
Prize support, not nothing, and more.
From Finance to Farming
Stephen Skrenta WEv’97 herds cattle in the Hamptons.
Making Good
From the Editor | Bright ideas, art and advocacy, helpful advice.
The Unexpected Entrepreneurs
For 10 years, the President’s Engagement and Innovation Prizes have equipped a select few graduating Penn seniors with a large cash award and faculty mentorship for post-graduation projects designed to make a “positive, lasting difference in the world.” The prizes, unlike anything else in higher education, have catapulted new social entrepreneurs into the world—and created a “community of changemakers” who are leaning on each other (and other alumni) to take their organizations to the next level.
Time of the Sign
Bencie Woll CW’70 is a pioneering researcher and advocate for deaf people.
Alumni Notes
Sep|Oct 2024
Guidance and Goals
Antisemitism task force and presidential commission findings.
Monoliths of Cloth
Woven works by Suchitra Mattai G’01 Gr’01 GFA’03.