As the calendar turns to 2025, we look back at the dozens of stories we had the privilege of sharing this past year.
In print and online, we covered all kinds of research—from faculty studying sound to those focused on Japanese studies. In the lead up to the Presidential election, we spent six podcast episodes speaking with experts from our Department of Political Science. We got to talk with alums who were participating in the Olympics, working to fight food insecurity, and doing so much more.
Here we’ve pulled 12 of our favorites (in no particular order). And if you still want more, check out the stories we included in this same list last year. Happy reading.
Sound Solutions
Researchers across Penn Arts & Sciences are turning to sound for new answers to questions on subjects from birdsong to the benefits of music exposure. Read more.
Omnia Podcast: Democracy and Decision 2024 (Audio)
The latest season of our podcast examined the state of U.S. democracy in the context of the 2024 Presidential election. We took on topics like the myths and realities of political polarization, how media are shaping our understanding of the issues and candidates, and how state voting laws have changed. Listen to all six episodes here.
The Wallace Tales
David Wallace’s life has been guided by his love of medieval literature and his certainty that it has much to say to today’s world. But Wallace, Judith Rodin Professor of English, finds time for a day at the races, too. Read more.
Living the Olympic Dream
The Paris Games marked the second for Regina Salmons, C’18, who represented the United States in women’s eight boat. In a Q&A with Omnia, she reflected on her experience and what it means to push yourself “to the absolute limits of human ability.” Read more.
Origin Stories: Ayako Kano (Video)
Kano, a professor of Japanese studies, discusses her love of music and theater, her grandfather’s notebook, plus her path to academia and her notions of scholarship “as an art and as a way of life.” Watch here.
Students of the Occult
In a class during the fall semester, Becky Friedman, C’10, Associate Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of English, lead students down the dark, historical spiral of witchcraft, examining its persecutorial past and transition to palatable and raucous entertainment. Read about the class and the spooky items they studied.
Guardians of the Gallery
Alums like Laura Doyle, C’00, CEO of Doyle auction house, and others now at Christie’s and Sotheby’s discuss championing underrepresented artists, enriching an object’s narrative, their time at Penn, and more. Read more.
On the Record
Launching a podcast about the experience of being a first-generation college student opened up a new world—and skills beyond STEM—for biochemistry major Khaliun Dorjmenchim, C’25. She started The FGLI Podcast with Peter Hong, C’24, in February 2024. Read more.
Penn Arts & Sciences Pathways: David Kedeme, C’25 (Video)
David Kedeme, C’25, came to Penn curious about the brain and deepened his interest in neuroscience through lab internships and coursework. Watch his story here.
Can More Art Equal Less Crime?
Maya Moritz, now a second-year PhD student in the Department of Criminology, is building the case that more art can equal less crime, studying the effect of Philadelphia murals on the city’s crime rate. Read more.
Shaping the Future of Healthcare (Video)
Twenty seniors in the Roy and Diana Vagelos Program in Life Sciences & Management spent a year analyzing four novel medical advances from scientific and business perspectives. As part of their capstone presentations, the students shared their business plans. Watch here.
Related Stories
Processing the Past
A hands-on graduate-level internship course co-taught by Zita Nunes, Associate Professor of English, and Holly Mengel, Head of Archives and Manuscripts Processing at Penn Libraries, reveals the complex world of academic archiving.
Archaeological Science, Hands On
The Center for the Analysis of Archaeological Materials, a joint endeavor between Penn Arts & Sciences and the Penn Museum, celebrates 10 years of teaching students how to interpret the past in an interdisciplinary context.
Penn Arts & Sciences Pathways: Tova Tachau, C’25 (Video)
Tachau entered Penn as a biochemistry and biophysics double-major, but a class in 20th-century Russian literature inspired her academic journey, which now includes a major in Russian and East European Studies.