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NPR

The Pentagon established an office to track UFOs. What could we learn?

Kate Dorsch of the School of Arts & Sciences clarifies how UFOs and UAPs are classified and delves into the scarcity of knowledge gleaned from their potential sightings by the military.

WBUR Radio (Boston)

What makes the world’s first bar joke funny? No one knows

Phillip Jones of the Penn Museum explains the history behind a Penn Museum collection of Sumerian tablets, including the world’s first documented bar joke.

Bloomberg

Reconciliation bill will raise taxes, fuel economic uncertainty

An analysis by the Penn Wharton Budget Model is quoted as showing minimal impact on inflation from the Democratic reconciliation proposal.

The New York Times

How Republicans are ‘weaponizing’ public office against climate action

A study co-authored by Daniel Garrett of the Wharton School shows that Republican lawmakers are using the public finance market to make political statements, with potentially large costs.

Why the Fed is walking an inflation-recession tightrope

The U.S. Federal Reserve is trying to stabilize prices while avoiding a prolonged economic downturn, says Wharton’s Peter Conti-Brown.

8/13

Made in the Shade

Morris Arboretum hosts a guided tour under the shade of champion trees, which provide an overstory that gives an old-fashioned sense of summer. The tour travels along the shaded path of the Oak Allée with a water respite in the middle of the arboretum.

11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

100 E. Northwestern Ave.

8/13

Solo Residency Exhibition

40th St. AIR features work by Bonnie MacAllister, in which MacAllister works with farm-sourced natural fibers, plant-based dyes, handspun thread, and recycled textiles to create modern portraits of histories and archetypes. Her work has been exhibited at places such as Yellowstone Art Museum and New York Public Library.

8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

4007 Chestnut St.

Unexplained variation in firearm deaths points to opportunities

Anew study in JAMA Network Open uses geospatial mapping and initial rates of firearm deaths to predict rates of firearm deaths in each U.S. county a few decades later.

Diversity in the Stacks: Central American political and social history

The work of Central American scholars and writers rarely leaves the borders of their own countries. Outside of specialized vendors who work primarily with academic libraries, there is not an established international market for Central American authors. Despite this, university presses, independent presses, and community presses featuring work by and for Indigenous audiences have endured or emerged.

PhillyVoice

Rapper Hoodie Allen returns to Philly with new pop-punk album on the horizon

Rapper and alumnus Hoodie Allen speaks on how his experience at Penn shaped the release and development of his music.