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Cooperation has a downside
Managerial cooperation icon.

Image: Denis Novikov via Getty Images

Cooperation has a downside

Research from a team led by Joshua Plotkin, Walter H. and Leonore C. Annenberg Professor of the Natural Sciences in the School of Arts & Sciences, cautions that sometimes working together can actually spur inequality.

From Omnia

2 min. read

Most Americans are unsure which vaccines the CDC recommends during pregnancy

Most Americans are unsure which vaccines the CDC recommends during pregnancy

According to a nationally representative survey of U.S. adults by Penn’s Annenberg Public Policy Center, most Americans are unaware or unsure of which vaccines the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends during pregnancy. For each of four vaccines the CDC recommends during pregnancy, at least 45% of respondents are not sure whether the CDC recommends it.

When partnership becomes practice
Academy at Penn students visiting a Penn Vet classroom.

Academy at Penn students visit Penn Vet during their summer session.

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When partnership becomes practice

Penn GSE and the School District of Philadelphia are co-creating solutions—in areas from algebra to AI—by listening first, aligning priorities, and turning research into real-time change across an urban school system.

From Penn GSE

2 min. read

How extreme heat affects the economy
A group of construction workers work in the hot sun.

Image: Jung Getty/getty images

How extreme heat affects the economy

R. Jisung Park, an environmental and labor economist at the School of Social Policy & Practice, discusses climate change and the impact of extreme heat on academic success and worker productivity.

4 min. read

Barbie Zelizer: A career built on asking the right question
Barbie Zelizer

Barbie Zelizer, the Annenberg School for Communication’s Raymond Williams Professor of Communication, is retiring after three decades as a pioneering scholar of journalism studies at Penn.

(Image: Courtesy of Annenberg School for Communication)

Barbie Zelizer: A career built on asking the right question

As the Raymond Williams Professor of Communication retires after three decades, the Annenberg School for Communication and the field itself bear the unmistakable imprint of her work.

From Annenberg School for Communication

2 min. read

How social networks reshaped society and politics
Jordi Pérez Colomé and Sandra González-Bailón seated at a bookstore with copies of their book.

Jordi Pérez Colomé and Sandra González-Bailón at the Madrid Book Fair.

(Image: Courtesy of Annenberg School for Communication)

How social networks reshaped society and politics

In a new Spanish-language book, Annenberg School for Communication professor Sandra González-Bailón and a veteran El País journalist examine how social platforms amplify voices, distort realities, and redefine our democracies.

From Annenberg School for Communication

2 min. read

Examining the important and changing landscape of children’s media
Bonnie holds Jessie and Bullseye in Toy Story 5.

(Center): Bonnie in Disney and Pixar’s Toy Story 5. (Image: Courtesy of Pixar. © 2026 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved)

(Image: Courtesy of Pixar. © 2026 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved)

Examining the important and changing landscape of children’s media

Penn Today talked to Annenberg’s Kim Woolf about communication theories of children’s relationships to media and how the children’s media ecosystem has evolved—topics she covers in the Children and the Media class.

3 min. read

The math of fitting in
Silhouettes of people with dialogue boxes.

Imge: stellalevi via Getty Images

The math of fitting in

In new research, professor of linguistics Charles Yang and colleagues find that a formula originally developed to explain language acquisition in children can also explain how we absorb social norms.

From Omnia

2 min. reads

Taking ethnic studies courses increases academic performance
A high school classroom with kids in class at their desks.

Image: 10’000 Hours via Getty Images

Taking ethnic studies courses increases academic performance

Sade Bonilla, an assistant professor in the Graduate School of Education, and colleagues found that high school students in the San Francisco Unified School District experienced academic benefits from participating in an ethnic studies course.

3 min. read