Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences

Nixon’s China visit, 50 years later

On the 50th anniversary of President Richard Nixon’s historic visit to the People’s Republic of China, David Eisenhower discusses the significance of the milestone amid the fraying relations between the two nations. 

Kristen de Groot

Viewing 2021 through a lens

Photojournalist Kylie Cooper’s annotated photo essay about the liminality of 2021 captured the Capitol insurrection, the Ground Zero commemoration of the 20th anniversary of 9/11, and more.

From Annenberg School for Communication

Perceptions shaped social behavior during the pandemic

Research from Penn psychologists found that Americans who most feared losing their connections continued interacting with others, paradoxically acting in ways that risked prolonging disease-mitigating social restrictions.

Michele W. Berger

Do success stories cause false beliefs about success?

Does explicitly acknowledging bias make us less likely to make biased decisions? A new study examining how people justify decisions based on biased data finds that this is not exactly the case.

Emma Arsekin



In the News


U.S. News & World Report

Has RSV vaccine hesitancy subsided?

A survey by the Annenberg Public Policy Center finds that more Americans believe in the effectiveness of vaccines developed to protect newborns and seniors against RSV.

FULL STORY →



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.

FULL STORY →



The Hill

Trust in court system at record low: Gallup

An October survey from the Annenberg Public Policy Center found that the public’s trust in the U.S. Supreme Court has dropped to a record low.

FULL STORY →



Los Angeles Times

Trump offers murky worldview ahead of second term, mixing dire warnings with rosy promises

Kathleen Hall Jamieson of the Annenberg Public Policy Center says that Donald Trump is far more hyperbolic on average than traditional presidential candidates, who still routinely claim that they will do something alone that can’t be done without Congress.

FULL STORY →



The New York Times

An epidemic of vicious school brawls, fueled by student cellphones

PIK Professor Desmond Upton Patton says that many schools don’t have a playbook for addressing student violence or helping pupils engage more positively online, in part because few researchers are studying the issue.

FULL STORY →