Tim Beck’s Final Brainstorms
Recalling their near-weekly conversations over the two-and-a-half years before mental health pioneer Aaron T. Beck’s death at age 100, the author—possible biographer, irritating interviewer, admiring friend—bears witness to the founder of cognitive therapy’s ceaseless quest to live a “rich full life.”
Shattered and Torn
In a new book, Dorothy Roberts extends her landmark critique of the US child welfare system.
Reconstructing America’s Story
Kermit Roosevelt launches a provocative interpretation of the Declaration of Independence.
Course Connections
Four students in a Holocaust class last semester were children of alums who had taken the same class.
A First-Rate Version of Himself
Loren Eiseley G’35 Gr’37 was associated with no great discoveries in his field of anthropology, “awkwardly shy” and “not very comfortable with students” in the classroom, a disaster as Penn’s provost—and a writer of unmatched brilliance on the natural world and the human condition.
Choice and Change
We know what we should do when it comes to leading healthier and happier lives. But too often we default to easier, more pleasurable wants. Behavioral scientist and Wharton professor Katy Milkman is determined to help us change for the better—and for good.
Doing What’s Right—and Being Smart About It
G. Richard Shell’s The Conscience Code.
Voice Control
Joseph Turow on what your voice tells marketers.
New Grit City
Faculty in PMA new galleries debut New Grit: Art & Philly Now.
Fighting Poverty With Cash
Several decades since the last big income experiment was conducted in the US, School of Social Policy & Practice assistant professor Amy Castro Baker has helped deliver promising data out of Stockton, California, about the effects of giving people no-strings-attached money every month. Now boosted by a new research center at Penn that she’ll colead, more cities are jumping on board to see if guaranteed income can lift their residents out of poverty. Will it work? And will policymakers listen?
The Vaccine Trenches
Key breakthroughs leading to the powerful mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 were forged at Penn. That triumph was almost 50 years in the making, longer on obstacles than celebration, and the COVID-19 vaccines may only be the beginning of its impact on 21st-century medicine.
Framing First Ladies
Smithsonian exhibit “remember[s] the ladies.”
The History Wars
Education scholar Jonathan Zimmerman on how the US republic lost the ability to understand itself—and how we can help our children recover it.
Calling It
How John Lapinski and a squad of Penn faculty and students backing him up on the NBC News Decision Desk navigated an election season that was unprecedented—and could set a pattern for the future.
Vice Provost for Pipelines
VPUL to VPSE: Val Cade takes on student engagement.
New Awakening
In multiple roles, Gina South Gr’12 fights racism in medicine.
Moral Code
Q&A on how, and why, to make algorithms ethical.
The Mother of Coronaviruses
When SARS-CoV-2 struck, Susan Weiss was ready. The decades of work that she and a small cohort of fellow researchers have devoted to coronaviruses, despite limited funding and little respect, have been invaluable in speeding the search for treatments and vaccines. It’s been a rare stroke of good fortune in the current crisis—and a lesson in the importance of supporting basic science in anticipation of future ones.
The Future Is Coming—Fast!
In a new book, Wharton professor and “globalization guy” Mauro Guillén breaks down the key factors that will combine to radically transform the world over the next decade (and SARS-CoV-2 is only speeding things up).
Text Message
Composer James Primosch G’80 gets vocal.
Cloak, Dagger, and Card Catalogues
Kathy Peiss on WWII’s librarian-spies. Information Hunters.
Navigating Uncertainty
All-star Wharton online course focuses on pandemic ramifications.
Erika H. James Named Wharton Dean
Emory’s Erika H. James named Wharton School dean.
Mind Traveler
Renée Fox on her past—and the present.