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Pope Francis supports same-sex unions
Pope Francis waving outdoors

As an Argentine cardinal, Jorge Mario Bengolio endorsed civil unions. Now, he becomes the first to do so as pope.

Pope Francis supports same-sex unions

The Catholic Church has long stated that marriage is between a man and a woman, a position Pope Francis supports. Melissa Wilde and Anthea Butler discuss the Pope’s recent support of civil unions that ensure legal rights for same-sex couples.

Kristina García

Pew Center for Arts & Heritage awards 2020 grants to Penn projects
Two people, one sitting in the woods, and the other playing the drums.

The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage announced 41 grants totaling $10.5 million in support of the Philadelphia region’s artists and cultural programs, events, and artistic work. Receiving project grants were Penn's Institute for Contemporary Art and the Stuart Weitzman School of Design, as well as a project by Girard College that involves two Penn faculty, theater director Brooke O’Harra (left) and music composer Tyshawn Sorey, both of the School of Arts & Sciences.

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Pew Center for Arts & Heritage awards 2020 grants to Penn projects

The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage announced 41 grants totaling $10.5 million in support of the Institute for Contemporary Art and Stuart Weitzman School of Design, and a Girard College project involving theater director Brooke O’Harra and music composer Tyshawn Sorey.
Is American democracy at a breaking point?
Statue of Liberty in shadow in New York Harbor as the sun sets behind

Can American democracy withstand the strains of the pandemic, the summer’s protests and the current election cycle?

  • Q&A

    • Is American democracy at a breaking point?

    Amidst a backdrop of protests, the pandemic, and presidential politics, historian Anne Berg shares her thoughts on whether American democracy is at risk, historical parallels to the current situation, and what ordinary people can do.

    Kristen de Groot

    Declines in shellfish species on rocky seashores match climate-driven changes
    snails and barnacles on a rock on the seashore

    Dogwhelks feed on barnacles on the shores of Swan’s Island. New research documents slow and steady declines in these and other intertidal species that make up an important part of the area’s food chain. Climate change is a suspected culprit. (Image: Jonathan A. D. Fisher)

    Declines in shellfish species on rocky seashores match climate-driven changes

    Mussels, barnacles, and snails are declining in the Gulf of Maine, according to a new paper by biologists Peter Petraitis of the School of Arts & Sciences and Steve Dudgeon of California State University, Northridge. Their 20-year dataset reveals that the populations’ steady dwindling matches up with the effects of climate change on the region.

    Katherine Unger Baillie

    Crowd-sourcing optogenetics data to tackle neurological diseases
    Two people in front of two computer monitors. The person moving the mouse is sitting. The other person stands watching.

    Sébastien Tremblay (front), a postdoctoral fellow in the Platt Labs, works in a specialized field of neuroscience called optogenetics, which shows clinical promise for treating conditions like epilepsy. To foster the open exchange of information, Tremblay spearheaded a crowd-sourced, free database that includes data from 45 labs in nine countries. (Pre-pandemic image: Kevin Monko)

    Crowd-sourcing optogenetics data to tackle neurological diseases

    The specialized field of neuroscience, optogenetics, shows clinical promise for conditions like epilepsy and Parkinson’s. But before human trials can get fully underway, the field must better understand a crucial intermediate step, aided by 45 labs in nine countries sharing information.

    Michele W. Berger

    Latin American Green New Deal
    Two workers labor in an industrial site

    Workers labor inside the lithium plant at Llipi, on the Uyuni Salt Flat in Bolivia. (Image: Tom Perreault, pre-pandemic.)

    Latin American Green New Deal

    Daniel Aldana Cohen, an assistant professor of sociology in the School of Arts & Sciences, organized and moderated an event on the Latin American Green New Deal, rethinking recession recovery and carbon emissions reduction.

    Kristina García

    Securing the future of independent news
    Facade of New York Times building with lettering on the face of the building.

    Securing the future of independent news

    New York Times outgoing CEO Mark Thompson discusses threats to the news business and how it can fight back

    Kristen de Groot

    England, Wales, Scotland among nations with highest death toll from COVID-19 pandemic
    Person wearing a face mask riding a bike with the London cityscape in the background.

    England, Wales, Scotland among nations with highest death toll from COVID-19 pandemic

    An international team including Penn demographer Michel Guillot found that from mid-February through May, 21 industrialized nations combined saw an 18% increase in deaths, or 206,000 more people dying from all causes than would have been expected had the pandemic not occurred.

    Michele W. Berger

    Indigenous views of Christopher Columbus
    A fallen statue of Columbus lays on the ground in the foreground, and two people hold up an End White Supremacy sign in the background.

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    Indigenous views of Christopher Columbus

    Members of Penn’s Indigenous community discuss their views of Christopher Columbus and how Indigenous people have suffered from Columbus-style colonialism.