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A fluid history

  Top Stories Ask Benny: The great Schuylkill donut-smell mystery Out and About: A fluid history

In lonely U.S., it's time to 'reinvent' community

  Top Stories Here comes the blushing—and bargaining—bride

One baby or two? Study looks at effect of having second child

Hans-Peter Kohler is expecting his second child in August. This happy state of affairs is causing more than the usual chatter at dinner parties with friends and neighbors. That’s because Kohler, an associate professor in the Department of Sociology, recently published some surprising research about the effect of babies on personal happiness. A first baby makes both Mom and Dad happier, he found. The second baby, however, has little effect on the father’s happiness and causes the mother’s to decrease.

The great Schuylkill donut-smell mystery

Illustration by Bo Brown   Top Stories Ask Benny: The great Schuylkill donut-smell mystery Out and About: A fluid history

Another look at Katrina

By THE CURRENT STAFF   Features Another look at Katrina Richard Ford on writing

Staff Q&A: Michael Ketner

STAFF Q&A/Trombonist Michael Ketner is the man behind the curtain at Penn’s Music Department. “These are student groups, but they’re good, and they play at a high level.”

The Oscar goes to ...

Q&A/This film scholar and author of a book about Hollywood culture talks about the past and present of the Oscars—and what the future holds for the movie industry. “I think people still like the experience of going to movies. It’s ... a communal experience.” Making movies is hardly an exact science, says Peter Decherney, so it’s a bit of a guessing game to know what’s going to spark an audience’s interest and what’s going to flop.

Henry Louis Gates Jr. at Penn

Americana dream

Since early this decade, when bands such as the Yeah Yeah Yeahs emerged from New York’s trendiest borough, Brooklyn, NY, has been a hotspot for promising new acts (such as Clap Your Hands Say Yeah) as well established acts looking for a music-centric home away from home (think former Philly locals Marah and Matt Pond PA). Flying under the hipster radar all along has been Hem, whose beautiful 2002 debut, “Rabbit Songs,” generated buzz with its mix of rootsy Americana, dreamy chamber music arrangements and, most notably, the soaring voice of Sally Ellyson.

Movable Feast: The pen and the platter

By THE CURRENT STAFF   Columns Ask Benny: The great Schuylkill donut-smell mystery Out and About: A fluid history