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Q&A

Colin Powell’s legacy
Colin Powell, wearing full military garb and standing at a brown wooden podium with a microphone, gestures to his right, sweeping his arm that direction

Colin Powell, seen here making a speech during his time as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, died this week at the age of 84. (Image: Robert D. Ward)

Colin Powell’s legacy

Historian Mary Frances Berry and Perry World House Visiting Fellow Alice Hunt Friend share thoughts on Powell’s impact on and off the battlefield.

Kristen de Groot

Tackling the topic of decolonization
A mural on a brick wall. On the left-hand side, on a red background, are the word "Decolonize and Chill" in white. Beneath that are the silhouette of two men riding horses. On the right-hand side is a person with a horse, beneath the words "We are still here."

The mural depicted in this photograph is “Decolonize And Chill/We Are Still Here.” It is by artist and community activist Jaque Fragua from the Pueblo of Jemez, one of the federally recognized tribes in New Mexico, as well as Ishi Glinsky and Shepard Fairey. It is art created out of an ongoing decolonizing space and project called Indian Alley, in Los Angeles. (Image: By wiredforlego, licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0)

Tackling the topic of decolonization

Deborah Thomas, who runs Penn’s Center for Experimental Ethnography, and Christopher Woods, director of the Penn Museum, discuss a conference on decolonization that starts today.
Rising tension between China and Taiwan, explained 
a taiwanese flag is in the foreground with skyscrapers and shop signs in Chinese and English in the background

China has been increasing military pressure on Taiwan in recent days, sending nearly 150 warplanes over the island that it views as a breakaway province. 

Rising tension between China and Taiwan, explained 

Jacques deLisle, the director of The Center for the Study of Contemporary China, shares his thoughts China’s increasing military pressure and what’s next 

Kristen de Groot

‘The climate girl’ at Penn
A college-age person standing outside, with greenery blurred in the front of the image. She is wearing a jean jacket with the words "Re-earth IN," a globe in the shape of a heart, and other earth-related designs.

Second year Xiye Bastida, from San Pedro Tultepec, Mexico, has participated in Greta Thunberg’s Fridays for the Future movement. She and friends began the Re-Earth Initiative aimed at “reimaging the future, reconnecting with the planet, and redefining collaboration.” Despite six years of environmental activism under her belt, Bastida says she’s just getting started.

‘The climate girl’ at Penn

In a Q&A with Xiye Bastida, the second year describes how she’s bringing climate activism to her college experience, how her Indigenous background influences her path, and why storytelling and protecting Earth go hand in hand.

Michele W. Berger

What’s behind the rise in prices?
person pumping gas into a car

What’s behind the rise in prices?

Wharton finance professor, Itay Goldstein, talks to Penn Today on inflation report, and supply and demand.

Dee Patel

Texas abortion ban
Pro-choice activists hold signs reading "keep abortion legal' and "protect abortion access' in front of the US Supreme Court building

Image: Adam Fagen/Flickr

Texas abortion ban

Penn Law’s Serena Mayeri on what the law means and what’s next for Texas and the nation.

Kristen de Groot

TikTok talk
Two people sitting together looking at a phone with a TikTok logo

In linguistics, “whoever’s cool leads the change,” which explains why trends come and go via TikTok, says linguistics professor Nicole Holliday.

TikTok talk

Largely characterized as a Gen Z phenomenon, TikTok is a video-sharing app with more than 100 million active users in the U.S. alone—and it’s changing the way that we speak, says sociolinguist Nicole Holliday.

Kristina García

Long-term COVID and the ADA
microscopic view of coronavirus

Long-term COVID and the ADA

Jasmine Harris, a disability law expert, shares her thoughts on President Biden’s announcement that long-term COVID sufferers could be protected under the Americans With Disabilities Act

Kristen de Groot

Response to the Cuban protest is ‘a unified feeling’
People standing on the streets of Havana in protest of the Cuban government.

Protests in Havana against the government of Cuba on July 12, 2021. (Image: 14ymedio)

Response to the Cuban protest is ‘a unified feeling’

In a Q&A, Romance languages professor Odette Casamayor-Cisneros discusses the Cuban protests, government response, and the “sense of unity” among the Cuban people

Kristina García