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Syrian journalist details dangers, challenges covering her country
Three people sitting on a stage with endtables between them that read Perry World House.

As part of a weeklong Writer at Risk residency, Syrian journalist Zaina Ehraim (center) spoke with NPR’s Middle East correspondent Deborah Amos (right) and Saudi journalist Safa Al Ahmad (left) at the Perry World House. (Image: Andrew Cui)

Syrian journalist details dangers, challenges covering her country

During four public discussions last week as part of a “Writer at Risk” residency, Syrian journalist Zaina Erhaim described in detail the dangers she faced covering armed conflicts while in her country.
Syrian journalist to speak in Penn’s ‘Writer at Risk’ weeklong visiting fellow program
Zaina Erhaim

Syrian journalist Zaina Erhaim, now living in exile in the United Kingdom, is visiting Penn through the Writer at Risk program. 

Syrian journalist to speak in Penn’s ‘Writer at Risk’ weeklong visiting fellow program

Syrian journalist Zaina Erhaim will visit Penn to discuss the armed conflict in Syria, the importance of an independent press, and the challenges of working in war-torn areas for female journalists. 
The 2016 election did not increase political polarization
Cartoon Democrat donkey butting heads with a cartoon Republican elephant.

The 2016 election did not increase political polarization

A new study by Annenber’s Yphtach Lelkes indicates that America is politically polarized, but the findings show no statistical difference between the levels of partisanship in 2014 and 2017. 

Penn Today Staff

Digging deep with Parker Jones
Parker Jones, a junior on the volleyball team, tosses the ball in the air during a shoot at the Palestra.

Digging deep with Parker Jones

The junior on the volleyball team chats about her responsibilities as an outside hitter, her interest in Penn, the joy of beach volleyball, and coaching the freshman team while she was in high school.
A simple intervention enduringly reduces anti-Muslim sentiment
A person in a black tee-shirt standing in front of windows.

Emile Bruneau, director of the Peace and Conflict Neuroscience Lab at the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School for Communication and the lead scientist for Boston-based Beyond Conflict Innovation Lab.

A simple intervention enduringly reduces anti-Muslim sentiment

Research from the Annenberg School for Communication found that calling out the hypocrisy of collective blame—holding an entire group that’s not our own responsible for acts of a single person—significantly lessened hostile sentiments toward that group.

Michele W. Berger , Julie Sloane

Signaling the trustworthiness of science
A researcher in protective clothing and gloves gathers a water sample from a river.

Signaling the trustworthiness of science

Public confidence in science has remained high and stable for years. But recent decades have seen incidents of scientific fraud and misconduct, failure to replicate key findings, and growth in the number of retractions—all of which may affect trust in science.

Penn Today Staff

Exploring cryptocurrency and blockchain in Iceland
zane cooper in iceland

Exploring cryptocurrency and blockchain in Iceland

A virtual reality film, photo series, and soundscape from Penn and Rutgers document the effect this fast-growing tech industry is having on the country’s natural resources and people.

Michele W. Berger

Seeing life through their eyes
African American person sitting in a wooden chair, feet up on a wooden table that holds a ball jar filled with sweet tea.

E. Patrick Johnson (above) stars in “Making Sweet Tea,” a 90-minute film about life as an African American gay man in the southern United States. The film, which was co-produced and co-directed by Annenberg Dean John L. Jackson Jr. and Penn doctoral student Nora Gross, is based on a book Johnson wrote, which then became a play.

Seeing life through their eyes

Through the voices and stories of seven men, a feature-length documentary co-produced and directed by Annenberg Dean John L. Jackson Jr. and graduate student Nora Gross illustrates what it means to be black and gay in the south.

Michele W. Berger

Brevity is the soul of Twitter
Six conversation bubbles with hashtags

Brevity is the soul of Twitter

A new study from the Annenberg School for Communication finds that the 280-character limit makes Twitter more civil.

Penn Today Staff

Cell-mostly internet users place privacy burden on themselves
person sits at a table with a stack of bills, three credit cards, computing on a calculator with a cell phone beside it.

Cell-mostly internet users place privacy burden on themselves

A new report from the Media, Inequality and Change (MIC) Center details the kinds of online privacy tradeoffs that disproportionately impact cell-mostly internet users—who are likely to be Black, Hispanic, and/or low-income.

Penn Today Staff