Political Science

Partisanship and the pandemic

Partisanship, not health concerns, is the main driver of whether Americans are social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new study.

Kristen de Groot

Understanding infrastructure

In the second episode of Penn Today’s “Understand This ...” podcast series, emphasizing interdisciplinary perspectives, a Wharton and Weitzman School discuss the past, present, and future of infrastructure.

Brandon K. Baker

Brazil’s coronavirus crisis

Brazil has become one of the world’s deadliest hotspots for the novel coronavirus, second only to the United States in deaths and infections. Melissa Teixeira, a historian of modern Brazil, shares her thoughts on the nation’s response and challenges it faces in battling the virus.

Kristen de Groot

Do long waiting times for voting put democracy on the line?

Gerard Cachon’s research looks at whether the length of voting time affects the effective exercise of democratic rights, and if the relationship between resource disparity and voting behavior depends on the racial composition of voters or party affiliation.

From Knowledge at Wharton

Coding for a cause

As the viral pandemic shuttered campus and disrupted routines, The Borders and Boundaries Project turned the challenging situation into a chance to give back and get work done.

Kristen de Groot

Five takeaways from the DACA ruling

What does this decision mean for the nearly 700,000 DACA recipients in America? Political scientist Michael Jones Correa shares five key takeaways from the ruling

Kristen de Groot

Can widespread protests bring lasting change?

Amidst the current protests decrying the killings of Black people by police and demand for reforms, Penn Today speaks to political scientist Daniel Gillion about his new book, “The Loud Minority: Why Protests Matter in American Democracy.”

Kristen de Groot



In the News


The New York Times

This man won birthright citizenship for all

Rogers M. Smith of the School of Arts & Sciences says that it’s ambiguous whether birthright citizenship applies to the children of unauthorized aliens.

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GOP gains in voter registration raise red flags for Democrats

Marc Meredith of the School of Arts & Sciences says that Nevada and New Jersey are two states that saw significant shifts towards the Republicans in November.

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National Catholic Reporter

Panel discusses the Catholic case for a second New Deal

John Dilulio of the School of Arts & Sciences spoke about the value of private-public partnerships, the interconnectedness between good jobs and good family outcomes, and the role of Catholics as a key constituency of the New Deal.

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The New York Times

Europe has a leadership vacuum. How will it handle Trump?

Amy Gutmann of the School of Arts & Sciences says that Germany is front and center in the economic problems currently afflicting Europe.

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Yahoo! Finance

Tesla investors, analysts have questions on the potential of robotaxis and self-driving

Cary Coglianese of Penn Carey Law says that there’s a real risk with robotaxis if federal regulators move too fast.

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Philadelphia Inquirer

Memories of her Holocaust survivor father guided Amy Gutmann’s tenure as ambassador to Germany

Amy Gutmann of the Annenberg School for Communication discusses her work as U.S. ambassador to Germany and the need to stand with Europe in defending Ukraine.

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