Omnia Podcast

Music is undeniably one of oldest and most essential art forms. The power of song and dance has been the pulse of social movements throughout the world and a source of collective and individual healing during difficult times for millennia. In this episode we speak with ethnomusicologist Carol Muller about the power of song and dance during the apartheid era in South Africa, and Nicholas Escobar, C'18, about his process composing music for the screen, and our very own OMNIA podcast. ***Produced, Edited, and Narrated by Alex ScheinInterviews by Alex ScheinTheme music by Nicholas Escobar, C'18Additional music by Nicholas Escobar; Randy Newman, "You've Got a Friend in Me" (from Toy Story 4); Thomas Newman, "May" (from The Shawshank Redemption); Dollar Brand aka Abdullah Ibrahim, "Whoza Mtwana" and "Mannenberg Revisited"; Miriam Makeba, "Soweto Blues"; Duke Ellington, "I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)"; Sathima Bea Benjamin, "Lush Life" and "Solitude"; The O'Jays, "I Love Music" (Mike Maurro Mix).Illustration and logo by Marina MuunIn These Times is a production of Penn Arts & Sciences. Visit our series website to learn more and listen to the first three seasons of In These Times: web.sas.upenn.edu/in-these-timesVisit our editorial magazine, Omnia, for more content from Penn Arts & Sciences faculty, students, and alumni: omnia.sas.upenn.edu

For as long as humans have had voices, trauma has been told and processed through stories, poetry, and music. In this episode, we speak with author Lorene Cary, Senior Lecturer in English, and poet Fatemeh Shams, Assistant Professor of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, on the ability of words to move people, create a community, and help us to heal.Guests:Lorene Cary, Senior Lecturer, Department of EnglishFatemeh Shams, Assistant Professor of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations***Produced by Susan AhlbornNarrated by Alex ScheinEdited by Alex Schein and Brooke SietinsonsInterviews by Jane Carol and Alex ScheinTheme music by Nicholas Escobar, C'18Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions and MG & Ma'tthue Raheem for “Vote that Jawn” rapIllustration and logo by Marina MuunIn These Times is a production of Penn Arts & Sciences. Visit our series website to learn more and listen to the first three seasons of In These Times: web.sas.upenn.edu/in-these-timesVisit our editorial magazine, Omnia, for more content from Penn Arts & Sciences faculty, students, and alumni: omnia.sas.upenn.edu 

The legacy of trauma resulting from more than 200 years of slavery in North America, and colonialism abroad, has yet to be fully comprehended. In this episode, Breanna Moore discusses her engagement with fellow student collaborators to recreate the history of Penn's connections to slavery, which began with a memory book and a journey through her own family's history. And Deborah Thomas explains how the many mediums of art, including film, dance, and photography, have helped her promote healing within communities marked by trauma in Jamaica and beyond.This episode includes excerpts from Four Days in May: Kingston 2010 featuring Jacqueline Gordon, Shawn Bowen, and Aaliyah Levy. The documentary film was directed and produced by Deanne M. Bell, Junior “Gabu” Wedderburn, and Deborah A. Thomas.Guests:Breanna Moore, C'15 and Ph.D. candidate, Department of HistoryDeborah Thomas, R. Jean Brownlee Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Center for Experimental Ethnography***Produced by Blake ColeNarrated by Alex ScheinEdited by Alex Schein, Loraine Terrell, and Brooke SietinsonsInterviews by Blake Cole and Loraine TerrellTheme music by Nicholas Escobar, C'18Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions Illustration and logo by Marina MuunIn These Times is a production of Penn Arts & Sciences. Visit our series website to learn more and listen to the first three seasons of In These Times: web.sas.upenn.edu/in-these-timesVisit our editorial magazine, Omnia, for more content from Penn Arts & Sciences faculty, students, and alumni: omnia.sas.upenn.edu

In coping with the stresses of recent times, many people are finding respite in connecting with nature. Writers extolling the virtues of wellness travel, ecotherapy, and going for a long walk are just one spin on a long tradition of reflections on how to find health, happiness, and wisdom through nature in any of its manifestations, from herbs and flowers, to animals and crystals.In this episode, Rebecca Bushnell, a noted Shakespeare expert and scholar of early modern literature, discusses nature writing from the past, along with thoughts on why we garden and what we talk about when we talk about nature.Guest:Rebecca Bushnell, School of Arts and Sciences Board of Advisors Emerita Professor of English***Produced by Loraine TerrellNarrated by Alex ScheinEdited by Alex Schein and Loraine TerrellInterview by Loraine TerrellTheme music by Nicholas Escobar, C'18Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions Illustration and logo by Marina MuunIn These Times is a production of Penn Arts & Sciences. Visit our series website to learn more and listen to the first three seasons of In These Times: web.sas.upenn.edu/in-these-timesVisit our editorial magazine, Omnia, for more content from Penn Arts & Sciences faculty, students, and alumni: omnia.sas.upenn.edu

In Mary Shelley's novel, The Last Man, the protagonist—one of the few survivors of a plague—searches for meaning in a world of loss, concluding that, “there is but one solution to the intricate riddle of life; to improve ourselves, and contribute to the happiness of others.”In 2022, as COVID-19 lingers on, the climate threat looms larger, and war returns to Europe, there seems to be no answer to when this era, defined by loss, will end. And many of us are finding that making sense of “the intricate riddle of life,” and extracting meaning out of adversity, is one of the things that art does best.In this season of In These Times, we talk to scholars, musicians and poets, and other members of creative communities, to explore the link between making art and making meaning, and how creativity shines a light on the way out of adversity, past and present.In this episode, Aaron Levy, a lecturer in English and Art History, talks about how the arts and humanities can serve as tools for life. Then, Dr. Levy is joined by Dr. Lindsay Hoy, a physician at the Perelman School of Medicine, to discuss a project that uses art to bring healing to the medical community.Guests:Aaron Levy, Senior Lecturer, English and History of ArtDirector of the Penn Medicine Listening Lab, Co-Director of Rx/Museum, Inaugural Director of the Health Ecologies Lab and the Social Justice and Arts Integration Initiative in the School of Social Policy & PracticeLyndsay Hoy, Assistant Professor of Clinical Anesthesiology and Critical Care, Perelman School of Medicine and Co-Director of Rx/Museum***Produced by Loraine Terrell Narrated by Alex ScheinEdited by Alex Schein Interviews by Loraine TerrellTheme music by Nicholas Escobar, C'18Additional music by Blue Dot SessionsIllustration and logo by Marina MuunIn These Times is a production of Penn Arts & Sciences. Visit our series website to learn more and listen to the first three seasons of In These Times: web.sas.upenn.edu/in-these-timesVisit our editorial magazine, Omnia, for more content from Penn Arts & Sciences faculty, students, and alumni: omnia.sas.upenn.edu

In 1346, bubonic plague began to spread through northern Africa and Eurasia. In seven years, it had become the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, killing between 75 and 200 million people. In this episode, we hear from a specialist in medieval literature about the bubonic plague and how artists like Boccaccio and Chaucer documented the horror of the Black Death but also the joy found in art and creation.Guest:David Wallace, Judith Rodin Professor of English***Produced by Susan AhlbornNarrated by Alex ScheinEdited by Alex Schein and Brooke SietinsonsInterview by Susan AhlbornTheme music by Nicholas Escobar, C'18Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions and Francesco Landino's "Ecco la primavera" performed by Hortus MusicusIllustration and logo by Marina MuunIn These Times is a production of Penn Arts & Sciences. Visit our series website to learn more and listen to the first three seasons of In These Times: web.sas.upenn.edu/in-these-timesVisit our editorial magazine, Omnia, for more content from Penn Arts & Sciences faculty, students, and alumni: omnia.sas.upenn.edu

This is an episode about big things. Big like the ocean, which, thanks to its size, absorbs about 30% of all CO2 emissions. Big like the scale of our Earth's 4.6 billion history, and big like our responsibility to future generations. Can an understanding of and appreciation for the size of our world and the scope of its history, from the beginning of time to dinosaurs to humans, help us take action against climate change and engage in acts of care for the future of our planet and its inhabitants? An oceanographer, a geophysicist, and a historian weigh in.Guests:Irina Marinov, Associate Professor of Earth and Environmental ScienceJane E. Dmochowski, Senior Lecturer, Earth and Environmental ScienceJared Famer, Walter H. Annenberg Professor of History ***Produced by Lauren Rebecca ThackerNarrated by Alex ScheinEdited by Alex Schein, Brooke Sietisons, Evan SmithInterviews by Lauren Rebecca ThackerTheme music by Nicholas Escobar, C'18Additional music by Blue Dot SessionsIllustration and logo by Dan Lee In These Times is a production of Penn Arts & Sciences. Visit our series website to learn more and listen to the first two seasons of In These Times. Visit our editorial magazine, Omnia, for more content from Penn Arts & Sciences faculty, students, and alumni. 

This episode addresses early concerns in the public sphere, the media, and even the scientific community, surrounding high-energy particle collision experiments at particle accelerators like the Large Hadron Collider. These concerns culminated in lawsuits accusing researchers of conducting experiments that could cause the creation of mini black holes or even spell the end of the world. We speak with a physicist who works on such projects about the realities of safety.Guest:Evelyn Thomson, Professor of Physics and Astronomy***Produced by Blake ColeNarrated by Alex ScheinEdited by Alex Schein and Brooke Sietisons Interview by Blake ColeTheme music by Nicholas Escobar, C'18Additional music by Blue Dot SessionsIllustration and logo by Dan Lee In These Times is a production of Penn Arts & Sciences. Visit our series website to learn more and listen to the first two seasons of In These Times. Visit our editorial magazine, Omnia, for more content from Penn Arts & Sciences faculty, students, and alumni. 

The phrase “better things for better living through chemistry” began life in 1935 as a DuPont advertising slogan–an enthusiastic expression of optimism about science, and its potential to solve virtually any human problem. It's clear that without chemistry, the world would be a very different place. So why, out of all the sciences, is chemistry so little understood, and so often held in low regard by the public?In this episode, a chemist explains chemistry's public relations problem, and why we need to put our faith in chemistry now, maybe more than ever.Guests:Eric J. Schelter, Professor of ChemistryMadeleine M. Joullié, Professor of Chemistry (Emeritus)Daniel J. Mindiola, Brush Family Professor of Chemistry and Graduate Chair***Produced by Loraine TerrellNarrated by Alex ScheinEdited by Alex Schein and Loraine TerrellInterviews by Loraine TerrellTheme music by Nicholas Escobar, C'18Additional music by Blue Dot SessionsIllustration and logo by Dan Lee In These Times is a production of Penn Arts & Sciences. Visit our series website to learn more and listen to the first two seasons of In These Times. Visit our editorial magazine, Omnia, for more content from Penn Arts & Sciences faculty, students, and alumni. 

New medications, treatments, and implants that affect our brains have helped thousands overcome ADD, ended seizures, and even show promise for restoring memory lost to brain trauma. But these enhancements have implications for individuals and society. How far can we go? Who gets the enhancements? In this episode, we'll hear from a psychology professor about what's being done and what we can learn from science fiction.Guest:Martha J. Farah, Walter H. Annenberg Professor in the Natural Sciences in the Department of Psychology and Director of the Center for Neuroscience and Society***Produced by Susan AhlbornNarrated by Alex ScheinEdited by Alex Schein and Brooke SietinsonsInterviews by Susan AhlbornTheme music by Nicholas Escobar, C'18Additional music by Blue Dot SessionsIllustration and logo by Dan Lee In These Times is a production of Penn Arts & Sciences. Visit our series website to learn more and listen to the first two seasons of In These Times. Visit our editorial magazine, Omnia, for more content from Penn Arts & Sciences faculty, students, and alumni. 

If you were writing a book about the history of science denial, the chapter on Darwin would have to be one of the longest. But why? You can argue that we see evolution all the time – it is, after all, why we're worrying today about the emergence of new variants of COVID-19. Does it boil down to a divide between religion and science that just can't be bridged? And what's at risk when what science tells us about evolution is rejected?In this episode, we'll hear from a philosopher of science and an evolutionary biologist on what it is about Darwinian evolution that has made it a poster child for science denial, and why it's important to understand the facts.Guests:Paul Sniegowski, Stephen A. Levin Family Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and Professor of BiologyMichael Weisberg, Bess W. Heyman President's Distinguished Professor and Chair of Philosophy***Produced by Loraine TerrellNarrated by Alex ScheinEdited by Alex Schein and Loraine TerrellInterviews by Loraine TerrellTheme music by Nicholas Escobar, C'18Additional music by Blue Dot SessionsIllustration and logo by Dan Lee In These Times is a production of Penn Arts & Sciences. Visit our series website to learn more and listen to the first two seasons of In These Times. Visit our editorial magazine, Omnia, for more content from Penn Arts & Sciences faculty, students, and alumni. 

This episode is about the science of how people talk. We'll get into some of the nitty gritty science, like prosody and intonational variation, but we're really interested in why people resist changes to language. Why did France try to ban "le weekend," and why do some people, like, get so, like, upset when people use the word "like"? An expert in sociolinguistics talks about what our speech says about who we are, and why resistance to change has nothing to do with being right or wrong.Guest:Nicole Holliday, Assistant Professor of Linguistics***Produced by Lauren Rebecca ThackerNarrated by Alex ScheinEdited by Alex Schein and Brooke SietinsonsInterview by Lauren Rebecca Thacker Theme music by Nicholas Escobar, C'18Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions Illustration and logo by Dan Lee In These Times is a production of Penn Arts & Sciences. Visit our series website to learn more and listen to the first season of In These Times. Visit our editorial magazine, Omnia, for more content from Penn Arts & Sciences faculty, students, and alumni. 

In Episode 1: Facts vs. Feelings, Mark Trodden commented that most of what we would call modern cosmology is a very recent vintage, including many discoveries from just the past few decades.In this bonus segment, Professor Trodden discusses what this recent research has to say about the Big Bang, gravitational waves, and the expanding universe.Mark Trodden is the  Fay R. and Eugene L. Langberg Professor of Physics, Co-Director of the Center for Particle Cosmology, and Chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Pennsylvania. ***Produced by Loraine TerrellNarrated by Alex ScheinEdited by Alex Schein Interview Loraine TerrellTheme music by Nicholas Escobar, C'18Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions Illustration and logo by Dan LeeIn These Times is a production of Penn Arts & Sciences. Visit our series website to learn more and listen to the first season of In These Times. Visit our editorial magazine, Omnia, for more content from Penn Arts & Sciences faculty, students, and alumni. 

On this season of the Omnia podcast, we talk to scientists and other scholars about scientific ideas that cause big reactions. We'll look at stories of science getting knocked around, and standing back up again, in a world full of polarization, politics, misrepresentation, and simple misunderstanding. Welcome to In These Times: Fear and Loathing and Science.  One of the more unexpected side effects of COVID-19 has been the rise of a new strain of resistance to scientific information. But science denial didn't start with COVID-19.  Rejection of scientific evidence is part of the history of science itself. How did the search for understanding and truth find itself in the cross-hairs of U.S. politics?Guests:Mark Trodden, Fay R. and Eugene L. Langberg Professor of Physics, Co-Director of the Center for Particle Cosmology, and Chair of the Department of Physics and AstronomyDonovan Schaefer, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies***Produced by Loraine TerrellNarrated by Alex ScheinEdited by Alex Schein and Loraine TerrellInterviews Loraine TerrellTheme music by Nicholas Escobar, C'18Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions Illustration and logo by Dan Lee In These Times is a production of Penn Arts & Sciences. Visit our series website to learn more and listen to the first season of In These Times. Visit our editorial magazine, Omnia, for more content from Penn Arts & Sciences faculty, students, and alumni. 

In our final episode, we're continuing the conversation about how institutions can perpetuate racial inequalities and the work that remains. We talk to a graduate student whose family has been touched by Penn and slavery across generations, a philosopher who weighs the past and future when it comes to the case for reparations, and a political scientist whose focus on community and repair is not new, but particularly urgent.Guests:Breanna Moore, C'15 and doctoral student in historyDaniel Wodak, Assistant Professor of PhilosophyTulia Falleti, Class of 1965 Endowed Term Professor of Political Science and Director of the Center for Latin American and Latinx Studies***Produced by Lauren Rebecca ThackerNarrated by Alex ScheinEdited by Alex Schein and Brooke SietinsonsInterviews by Lauren Rebecca Thacker, Susan Ahlborn, and Loraine TerrellTheme music by Nicholas Escobar, C'18Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions Illustration by Adriana BelletLogo by Drew NealisIn These Times is a production of Penn Arts & Sciences. Visit our series website to learn more and listen to the first season of In These Times. To hear the full 1.5 Minute Climate Lectures mentioned in this episode visit the series website. Visit our editorial magazine, Omnia, for more content from Penn Arts & Sciences faculty, students, and alumni. Follow Penn Arts & Sciences on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. 

This season, we’ve spoken to experts about how institutions have perpetuated racial hierarchies. Higher education is no exception. In our final two episodes, we’re talking to students and faculty about the work that comes next. This episode features an undergraduate student whose research with the Penn and Slavery Project reveals truths about the relationship between higher education and the perpetuation of scientific racism and a graduate student whose work on bioethics and philosophy of race can offer insights on health disparities and how we might address them.Guests:Carson Eckhard, C'21Ian Peebles, Ph.D. candidate in philosophy***Produced by Lauren Rebecca ThackerNarrated by Alex ScheinEdited by Alex Schein Interviews by Lauren Rebecca Thacker and Jane Carroll Theme music by Nicholas Escobar, C'18Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions Illustration by Adriana BelletLogo by Drew NealisIn These Times is a production of Penn Arts & Sciences. Visit our series website to learn more and listen to the first season of In These Times. To hear the full 1.5 Minute Climate Lectures mentioned in this episode visit the series website. Visit our editorial magazine, Omnia, for more content from Penn Arts & Sciences faculty, students, and alumni. Follow Penn Arts & Sciences on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. 

When Covid-19 delivered a disproportionate blow to communities of color, environmental hazards like air pollution, that are all too frequently present in these communities, was one of the contributing factors cited by experts. The idea that race is a factor in determining who has access to resources that allow a community to thrive is not so much news as it is a part of the American story. Today, there is a wider recognition that environmental racism is one of many forms of systemic racism, and that environmental justice and climate change are interconnected problems.Guests:Herman Beavers, Julie Beren Platt and Marc E. Platt President's Distinguished Professor of English and Africana StudiesDaniel Aldana Cohen, Assistant Professor of SociologyTsemone Ogbemi, C'21, Penn Program in Environmental Humanities Public Research Intern***Produced by Loraine TerrellNarrated by Alex ScheinEdited by Alex Schein and Loraine Terrell Interviews by Susan Ahlborn, Blake Cole, Lauren Rebecca ThackerTheme music by Nicholas Escobar, C'18Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions Illustration by Adriana BelletLogo by Drew NealisIn These Times is a production of Penn Arts & Sciences. Visit our series website to learn more and listen to the first season of In These Times. To hear the full 1.5 Minute Climate Lectures mentioned in this episode visit the series website. Visit our editorial magazine, Omnia, for more content from Penn Arts & Sciences faculty, students, and alumni. Follow Penn Arts & Sciences on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. 

During the worldwide protests that followed the death of George Floyd, demonstrators mobilized to challenge the representations of history presented by some of the monuments and memorials that occupy our public squares. In this episode we hear from an anthropologist, a sociologist, and an art historian, who reflect on why there has been such a focus on these symbols in this moment, how they shape our historical narrative and myths, and how we should move forward.Guests:Margaret Bruchac, Associate Professor of Anthropology and Coordinator of Native American and Indigenous StudiesGwendolyn DuBois Shaw, Class of 1940 Bicentennial Term Associate Professor of History of ArtTukufu Zuberi, Lasry Professor of Race Relations in the Departments of Sociology and Africana Studies***Produced by Susan AhlbornNarrated by Alex ScheinEdited by Alex Schein, Brooke Sietinson, and Loraine Terrell Interviews by Susan Ahlborn, Loraine Terrell, and Alex ScheinTheme music by Nicholas Escobar, C'18Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions Illustration by Adriana BelletLogo by Drew NealisIn These Times is a production of Penn Arts & Sciences. Visit our series website to learn more and listen to the first season of In These Times. Visit our editorial magazine, Omnia, for more content from Penn Arts & Sciences faculty, students, and alumni. Follow Penn Arts & Sciences on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.  

Racism and discrimination are more than individual problems—they are part of institutions that have far-reaching impact. In this episode we hear from a professor of sociology, education, and Africana Studies who delves into discusses discrimination in higher education and explores how modern racial attitudes shape and are shaped by the places in which people live. We also drop in on a conversation between two criminologists who discuss policing procedures like stop and frisk and examine disparities in the criminal justice system.Guests:Camille Zubrinsky Charles, Walter H. and Leonore C. Annenberg Professor in the Social Sciences, Professor of Sociology, Africana Studies & EducationJohn MacDonald, Professor of Criminology and SociologyCharles Loeffler, Associate Professor of Criminology***Produced by Blake ColeNarrated by Alex ScheinEdited by Alex Schein, Brooke Sietinson, and Loraine Terrell Interviews by Blake Cole and Loraine TerrellTheme music by Nicholas Escobar, C'18Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions Illustration by Adriana BelletLogo by Drew NealisIn These Times is a production of Penn Arts & Sciences. Visit our series website to learn more and listen to the first season of In These Times. Visit our editorial magazine, Omnia, for more content from Penn Arts & Sciences faculty, students, and alumni. Follow Penn Arts & Sciences on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.    

As we worked on our third episode, the news broke about the shooting in Atlanta that left eight people dead, including six women of Asian descent. This tragic event comes after more than a year of rising violence against members of Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander communities. In this special episode, we talk to Josephine Park, Professor and Undergraduate Chair of English and Director of the Asian American Studies Program, about the shooting, the history of anti-Asian racism in U.S. politics and culture, and the formation of the Asian American identity as an explicitly political act.***Produced by Lauren Rebecca ThackerNarrated by Alex ScheinEdited by Alex Schein Interview by Lauren Rebecca ThackerTheme music by Nicholas Escobar, C'18Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions Illustration by Adriana BelletLogo by Drew NealisIn These Times is a production of Penn Arts & Sciences. Visit our series website to learn more and listen to the first season of In These Times. Visit our editorial magazine, Omnia, for more content from Penn Arts & Sciences faculty, students, and alumni. Follow Penn Arts & Sciences on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.   

The enslavement of Black people was supported by a legal system that including everything from laws preventing legal marriage to those restricting movement and access to education. When slavery was abolished, this system did not go away. Instead, it evolved to include Jim Crow laws and 20th centuries policies including redlining and urban renewal. In this episode, we speak to two historians and an anthropologist about the violence embedded in our shared history and legacies that persist.Featuring:Heather Williams, Geraldine R. Segal Professor in American Social Thought and Professor of Africana StudiesBrent Cebul, Assistant Professor of HistoryDeborah Thomas, R. Jean Brownlee Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Center for Experimental Ethnography***Produced by Lauren Rebecca ThackerNarrated by Alex ScheinEdited by Alex Schein and Brooke Sietinsons Interviews by Lauren Rebecca Thacker, Jane Carroll, and Blake ColeTheme music by Nicholas Escobar, C'18Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions and  Lobo Loco Illustration by Adriana BelletLogo by Drew NealisIn These Times is a production of Penn Arts & Sciences. Visit our series website to learn more and listen to the first season of In These Times. Visit our editorial magazine, Omnia, for more content from Penn Arts & Sciences faculty, students, and alumni. Follow Penn Arts & Sciences on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.    

Last fall we launched our podcast, “In These Times” with an examination of COVID-19 and its far-reaching impacts. We spoke with students and faculty who shared their personal experiences with the epidemic, along with perspectives drawn from history, science, politics and beyond. A recurring theme of our first season was the crisis within the COVID crisis: how racial inequality was playing out in the context of the pandemic, revealing itself in unequal health outcomes and boiling over with the death of George Floyd. This season, we wanted to dive more deeply into this theme, to focus on Black Lives and the Call for Justice. We’ll explore the nation’s complex history with race and consider some challenging questions: Who controls the narrative about the U.S.? How far have we moved beyond our history of enslavement and Jim Crow? Are we at a moment of reckoning? We wanted to begin season 2 of In These Times with a focus on that explosive moment of last summer, when millions of Americans of all races and ethnicities, in cities across the nation, joined in the Black Lives Matter movement. Shortly before we began our interviews, the Capitol was attacked by supporters of the former president, who sought to overturn the outcome of the 2020 election. In this episode, we’ll hear some reactions to this moment from faculty speakers who will be featured later in our season. We’ll also hear from two students who reflect on the events of the past year, and share a glimpse of their experiences, as young Black adults finding their path in a nation that has yet to come to terms with its legacy of racism and white supremacy. Featuring:Heather Williams, Geraldine R. Segal Professor of American Social Thought and a professor of Africana StudiesCamille Charles, Walter H. and Leonore C. Annenberg Professor in the Social SciencesHerman Beavers, Julie Beren Platt and Marc E. Platt President’s Distinguished Professor of English and Africana StudiesJelani Williams, C'20Breanna Moore, C’15, Ph.D. candidate, Department of History***Produced by Loraine TerrellNarrated by Alex ScheinEdited by Alex Schein and Loraine TerrellInterviews by Loraine Terrell, Jane Carroll, and Lauren Rebecca Thacker Theme music by Nicholas Escobar, C'18Additional music by Blue Dot SessionsIllustration by Adriana BelletLogo by Drew NealisIn These Times is a production of Penn Arts & Sciences. Visit our series website to learn more and listen to the first season of In These Times. Visit our editorial magazine, Omnia, for more content from Penn Arts & Sciences faculty, students, and alumni. Follow Penn Arts & Sciences on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.   

On Wednesday, January 6, 2021, as legislators counted and confirmed the votes in the Electoral College, rioters breached the Capitol building, forcing an evacuation of the House floor, including Vice President Pence. The events unfolded amidst President Trump having urged his supporters to fight against the ceremonial counting of the votes. The rioters, who could be heard calling police officers "traitors," eventually forced their way into the Senate chambers. The standoff resulted in five deaths.In this bonus episode we talk to a constitutional scholar and a professor of sociology and Africana Studies about the events and what comes next.Featuring:Rogers Smith, Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of Political ScienceTukufu Zuberi, Lasry Family Professor of Race Relations, Professor of Sociology and Africana Studies***Produced by Blake Cole, Alex Schein, and Loraine TerrellNarrated by Alex ScheinEdited by Alex Schein and Loraine TerrellInterviews by Blake Cole, Alex Schein, and Loraine TerrellTheme music by Nicholas Escobar, C'18Additional music by Blue Dot SessionsIllustration by Nick MatejLogo by Drew NealisIn These Times is a production of Penn Arts & Sciences. Visit our series website to learn more and listen to the first season of In These Times. Visit our editorial magazine, Omnia, for more content from Penn Arts & Sciences faculty, students, and alumni. Follow Penn Arts & Sciences on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.   

The worldwide scale and scope of discontinuity, loss, and uncertainty has made the year of the pandemic like no other in recent memory. How are we processing this moment, and how do we move forward? In this episode, we talk to three students, who share how the COVID crisis has reshaped their undergraduate experience at Penn and their visions for the future. We also hear from a professor of English on the parallels between the traumas of the early 20th century and our current challenges, and an expert in the science of resilience offers her thoughts on coping with crisis.FEATURING:Omar Husni, C'22Samira Mehta, C'21James Nycz, C'21Karen Reivich, Director of Resilience and Positive Psychology Training Programs, Penn Positive Psychology CenterPaul Saint-Amour, Walter and Leonore C. Annenberg Professor in the Humanities and Chair, Department of English***Produced by Loraine TerrellNarrated by Alex ScheinEdited by Alex Schein and Loraine TerrellInterviews by Loraine Terrell, Susan Ahlborn, Alex ScheinTheme music by Nicholas Escobar, C'18Additional music by Blue Dot SessionsIllustration by Nick MatejLogo by Drew NealisIn These Times is a production of Penn Arts & Sciences. Visit our series website to learn more and listen to the first season of In These Times. Visit our editorial magazine, Omnia, for more content from Penn Arts & Sciences faculty, students, and alumni. Follow Penn Arts & Sciences on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.  

COVID-19 wasn’t the only health crisis of 2020. In June, the American Medical Association and the American Public Health Association declared that police violence, particularly against Black and brown communities, is a public health crisis that demands attention and action. Widespread protests drew attention this summer, but where do we go from there? In this episode, a lawyer and doctoral candidate in philosophy talks about placing the idea of repair at the center of conversations about justice, and Penn’s Chaplain and Vice President for Social Equity and Community tells us about his experiences as a Penn student and what he thinks about the future.FEATURING:Daniel Fryer, Doctoral Candidate in Philosophy and former Assistant District Attorney in PhiladelphiaCharles L. "Chaz" Howard, C'00, University Chaplain, and Vice President for Social Equity and Community***Produced by Lauren Rebecca ThackerNarrated by Alex ScheinEdited by Alex Schein and Brooke SietinsonsInterviews by Lauren Rebecca ThackerTheme music by Nicholas Escobar, C'18Additional music by Blue Dot SessionsIllustration by Nick MatejLogo by Drew NealisIn These Times is a production of Penn Arts & Sciences. Visit our series website to learn more and listen to the first season of In These Times. Visit our editorial magazine, Omnia, for more content from Penn Arts & Sciences faculty, students, and alumni. Follow Penn Arts & Sciences on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.  

With rates of diagnoses and death disproportionately affecting racial minorities and low-income workers, experts in this episode address how COVID-19 has further exposed already dire health outcome inequalities.We begin with a political scientist discussing how governmental policy drives health inequality, especially during times of crisis. Then, a Ph.D. student in history and sociology of science talks about how infectious microbes like the coronavirus can affect communities of people with genetic vulnerabilities. And finally, a professor of sociology, Africana studies, and law, discusses how the biological concept of race was invented as a way to justify racism and influence outcomes.FEATURING:Julia Lynch, Professor of Political Science and Co-Director of the Joseph H. Lauder Institute of Management and International StudiesRebecca Mueller, doctoral candidate in the Department of History and Sociology of ScienceDorothy Roberts, George A. Weiss University Professor of Law and Sociology, Raymond Pace and Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander Professor of Civil Rights, and Professor of Africana Studies***Produced by Blake ColeNarrated by Alex ScheinEdited by Alex Schein and Brooke SietinsonsInterviews by Blake Cole and Jane CarrollTheme music by Nicholas Escobar, C'18Additional music by Blue Dot SessionsIllustration by Nick MatejLogo by Drew NealisIn These Times is a production of Penn Arts & Sciences. Visit our series website to learn more and listen to the first season of In These Times. Visit our editorial magazine, Omnia, for more content from Penn Arts & Sciences faculty, students, and alumni. Follow Penn Arts & Sciences on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.  

The coronavirus pandemic does not exist in a vacuum. We look at other urgent issues of our time, and examine how they affect and are affected by COVID-19.We start this episode—as most things seem to now—with the partisan polarization in the U.S., asking a political science professor if people really are seeing everything in red or blue. Then a historian and legal scholar tells how we got to this state of racial injustice, decades after the Civil Rights movement. Finally, the German professor leading Penn’s environmental humanities program describes life in the climate crisis and the vision she gets from her students of going beyond a "new normal."Guests:Matthew Levendusky, Professor of Political Science and Penny and Robert A. Fox Director of the Fels Institute of GovernmentMary Frances Berry, Geraldine R. Segal Professor of American Social Thought and Professor of History and Africana StudiesBethany Wiggin, Associate Professor of Germanic Languages and Literatures and Founding Director, Penn Program in Environmental Humanities***Produced by Susan Ahlborn  Narrated by Alex ScheinEdited by Alex Schein and Brooke Sietinsons
Interviews by Susan Ahlborn, Blake Cole, and Lauren Rebecca ThackerTheme music by Nicholas Escobar, C'18  Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions
Illustration by Nick Matej
Logo by Drew Nealis In These Times is a production of Penn Arts & Sciences. Visit our series website to learn more and listen to the first season of In These Times. Visit our editorial magazine, Omnia, for more content from Penn Arts & Sciences faculty, students, and alumni. Follow Penn Arts & Sciences on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. 

Details from the yellow fever epidemic of 1793 or the quarantines during the bubonic plague sound familiar today. In our second episode, we talk to historians about how past societies dealt with disease, and what happened when a new understanding of germs revolutionized our approach but led us to overlook the larger picture of health. A legal historian explains why the U.S. pandemic repose was state-centered. And an English professor looks at the AIDS epidemic, and reflects on the human right to mourn.Guests:David Barnes, Associate Professor of History and Sociology of ScienceSarah Barringer Gordon, Arlin M. Adams Professor of Constitutional Law and Professor of HistoryAlexander Chase-Levenson, Assistant Professor of HistoryDagmawi Woubshet, Ahuja Family Presidential Associate Professor of English***Produced by Susan AhlbornNarrated and edited by Alex ScheinInterviews by Susan Ahlborn and Jane CarrollTheme music by Nicholas Escobar, C'18Additional music by Blue Dot SessionsIllustration by Nick MatejLogo by Drew Nealis In These Times is a production of Penn Arts & Sciences. Visit our series website to learn more and listen to the first season of In These Times. Visit our editorial magazine, Omnia, for more content from Penn Arts & Sciences faculty, students, and alumni. Follow Penn Arts & Sciences on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. 

“In these times” has been a handy turn of phrase in 2020, with varying adjectives used to modify it. Challenging. Unique. Strange. What started as a useful shorthand for the COVID-19 pandemic and the surreal nature of stay-at-home orders became used describe world-wide protests and calls for racial justice. This fall, the OMNIA podcast goes beyond the shorthand, using COVID-19 as a platform for a six-episode series that explores the science, social science, and history that has shaped events in 2020.To kick things off, we talk to a biologist about contagion. We’ll get insight on mutations, tracking COVID-19’s spread, and protection from antibodies and vaccines. But COVID-19 is more than the disease itself, so we drop in on a conversation between sociologists about health inequality. They’re not surprised that Black, brown, and low-income communities are being affected by COVID-19 at higher rates, but they are concerned about the still-unknown long-term effects on physical and mental health. And finally, a philosopher of science gets real on what high school science gets wrong and why that matters.Guests:David Roos, E. Otis Kendall Professor of BiologyCourtney Boen, Assistant­ Professor of Sociology and Axilrod Faculty FellowRegina Baker, Assistant­ Professor of SociologyMichael Weisberg, Professor and Chair of Philosophy***Produced by Lauren Rebecca ThackerNarrated and edited by Alex ScheinInterviews by Jane Carroll, Blake Cole, and Lauren Rebecca ThackerTheme music by Nicholas Escobar, C'18Additional music by Blue Dot SessionsIllustration by Nick MatejLogo by Drew NealisIn These Times is a production of Penn Arts & Sciences. Visit our series website to learn more and listen to the first season of In These Times. Visit our editorial magazine, Omnia, for more content from Penn Arts & Sciences faculty, students, and alumni. Follow Penn Arts & Sciences on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.  

Omnia Podcast® is filmed, recorded, and produced in the United States of America and broadcasted worldwide. In this episode Omnia Podcast talks about the effects of Coronavirus COVID-19, different types of water types, stocks. immune system health, and overall safety around the world wide Coronavirus pandemic. Follow us on social media at: Instagram : @OmniaPodcast https://www.instagram.com/omniapodcast/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/omniapodcast Twitter: @OmniaPodcast https://twitter.com/omniapodcast Listen Worldwide on: Spotify Apple Podcasts iHeartRadio Pandora Google Podcasts To learn more, please contact : info@omniapodcasts.com

Omnia Podcast® is filmed, recorded, and produced in the United States of America and broadcasted worldwide. In episode #004 Omnia Podcast discuss some favorite movies, shows, and programs. Get to know the members a bit more as they dive deep in conversation around mental awareness and their different prospectives on art and movies. Thank you for listening, watching, viewing and supporting. It would mean the world to the team and everyone involved if you left a comment, hit the like button, and make sure you are subscribed to our channels. You can follow us on social media at: Instagram : @OmniaPodcast https://www.instagram.com/omniapodcast/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/omniapodcast Twitter: @OmniaPodcast https://twitter.com/omniapodcast Listen Worldwide on: Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/0wUW9Zu17AIKdozceF3hEn?si=GzI8YI_2S5GWQg6kuScM_g Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/omnia-podcast/id1501766849 Google Podcasts https://podcasts.google.com/?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zaW1wbGVjYXN0LmNvbS9SMWRSb29XRQ%3D%3D To learn more, please contact : info@omniapodcasts.com www.OmniaPodcast.com

Omnia Podcast® is filmed, recorded, and produced in the United States of America and distributed worldwide. In this episode Omnia Podcast talks about gaming nostalgia, the emerging new market of e-sports, systems like N64, Sony PlayStation, Wii, Sega, and games such as Mario Kart, Halo, Sims, Gunbound, Fortnite, Elder Scrolls, and much much more. Since gaming and snacking so often go hand in hand, the snacks from all around the world were shared and for the first time, ASMR was recorded from the sounds of buttery crackers, nerd like candy, ice cream gummies, and last but not least, POP ROCKS. Thank you for listening, watching, viewing and supporting. It would mean the world to the team and everyone involved if you left a comment, hit the like button, and make sure you are subscribed to our channels. You can follow us on social media at: Instagram : @OmniaPodcast https://www.instagram.com/omniapodcast/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/omniapodcast Twitter: @OmniaPodcast https://twitter.com/omniapodcast To learn more, please contact : info@omniapodcasts.com www.OmniaPodcast.com

Omnia Podcast ® is a Visual and Audio based podcast experience hosted by Ashley, Tiffany, Eric, and “Yo” Episode #002 The topic of Mercury Retrograde was discussed along with a brief outline of the team's zodiac signs. Horoscopes, birth charts, and many other topics were discussed. Definition of ret·ro·grade /ˈretrəˌɡrād/ adjective directed or moving backward. "a retrograde flow" Similar: backward, backwards, reverse, rearward, directed backwards, retreating ARCHAIC go back in position or time. "our history must retrograde for the space of a few pages" ASTRONOMY•ASTROLOGY (of the apparent motion of a planet) in a reverse direction from normal (from east to west), resulting from the relative orbital progress of the earth and the planet. ASTRONOMY (of the orbit or rotation of a planet or planetary satellite) in a reverse direction from that normal in the solar system. Omnia Podcast® is filmed, recorded, and produced in the United States of America and broadcasted worldwide. Listen Worldwide on: To experience more, please visit : www.OmniaPodcast.com ✉ : info@omniapodcast.com

Omnia Podcast ® is a Visual and Audio based podcast production hosted by Ashley, Tiffany, Eric, and “Yo” Definition of omnia : Om·nia (om-nee-uh) Noun all things, everything Latin. prepared for all things. Omnia Podcast® is filmed, recorded, and produced in the United States of America and broadcasted worldwide.  To learn more, please contact : info@omniapodcasts.com

In this episode of the OMNIA Podcast, we recap the 60-Second lectures from the spring of 2019 and highlight two favorites from our archive. You’ll learn about race in the USA from a philosophical perspective, the psychology of why we quit, why truth matters to democracy, and new pedagogies for teaching in the age of climate change. Our dip into the archives features the 2016 60-Second SLAM winning talk, "The Other Opioid Crisis: How We Learned to Ignore Untreated Pain in Poor Countries," by then History and Sociology of Science Ph.D. candidate Luke Messac, and a 2006 talk, "Beyond the Founding Fathers," by Kathy Peiss, Roy F. and Jeannette P. Nichols Professor of American History. Many thanks to our spring 2019 lecturers: Quayshawn Spencer, Robert S. Blank Presidential Associate Professor of Philosophy; Joseph Kable, Baird Term Professor of Psychology and Associate Director of MindCORE; Sophia Rosenfeld, Walter H. Annenberg Professor of History; and Bethany Wiggin, Associate Professor of Germanic Languages and Literatures and Founding Director of the Penn Program in Environmental Humanities and her students, Tathagat Bhatia and Lucy Corlett from Penn and Claire Hampton from Bryn Mawr. Since 2003, the 60-Second Lecture Series has challenged Arts and Sciences faculty to distill a wealth of knowledge into a one-minute talk. Every Wednesday in September and April sees Penn Arts and Sciences faculty members standing at a podium on College Green and lecturing on topics ranging from human history to fractions to fly fishing—all in under a minute. To view the complete archive of 60-Second Lectures featuring faculty, students, and alumni, visit the Penn Arts and Sciences Vimeo library: vimeo.com/channels/60seclec Produced by Penn Arts and Sciences • Narrated and edited by Camille Dibenedetto • Music by Blue Dot Sessions Subscribe to the OMNIA Podcast by Penn Arts & Sciences on iTunes (https://apple.co/2XVWCbC) and Stitcher (http://bit.ly/2Lf2G9h)

In this episode, we talk to Charles Bernstein, inventive poet, writer of libretti, translator, archivist, and, since 2003, a member of Penn's faculty. Bernstein is the Donald T. Regan Professor of English and Comparative Literature and co-director of PennSound. He retired from the Department of English at the end of the spring 2019 semester. In 2019, Bernstein was awarded the Bollingen Prize for American Poetry awarded by Yale University. The Bollingen Prize is awarded biennially by the Yale University Library to an American poet for the best book published during the previous two years or for lifetime achievement in poetry. Produced by Penn Arts & Sciences • Narrated by Lauren Thacker • Edited by Alex Schein • Music by Blue Dot Sessions • Allen Ginsberg "Howl" (Big Table Chicago Reading, 1959) and Robert Frost "Dust of Snow" (Readings at Columbia University, May 5, 1933) courtesy of PennSound: http://bit.ly/2VtVElp Subscribe to the OMNIA Podcast by Penn Arts & Sciences on iTunes (apple.co/2XVWCbC) and Stitcher (bit.ly/2Lf2G9h)

Quayshawn Spencer asks a simple question about race with a not-so-simple answer: what kind of thing is it? Spencer, the Robert S. Blank Presidential Associate Professor of Philosophy at Penn, poses the question to undergraduates in his Philosophy of Race course. As a specialist in the philosophies of science, biology, and race, his course examines the very nature and reality of race, beginning with early theories put out by European thinkers including Francois Bernier and Immanuel Kant. Kant’s 18th century essay, “Of the Different Human Races,” provided a scientific definition of race that would influence a long tradition of scholars using science to reinforce negative racial stereotypes—a tradition that Spencer’s course investigates alongside more contemporary philosophical, social, and political questions about race and racism. Produced by Penn Arts and Sciences • Narrated by Alex Schein • Recorded and edited by Alex Schein • Music by Blue Dot Sessions Subscribe to the OMNIA Podcast by Penn Arts & Sciences on iTunes (apple.co/2XVWCbC) and Stitcher (bit.ly/2Lf2G9h)

In our new series, OMNIA 101, we talk to faculty members about integral aspects of their research, shedding light on their biggest challenges and their strategies for conquering them. Mark Trodden, Chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy and the Fay R. and Eugene L. Langberg Professor of Physics, and Masao Sako, Associate Professor and Undergraduate Department Chair, have different approaches to exploring two of the greatest mysteries in their field: dark matter and dark energy. Trodden, a theoretical physicist, devises mathematical models in an effort to explain the cosmic data that observational astronomers like Sako obtain using telescopes and other tools. In this episode of the OMNIA podcast, we asked both of them to help us understand dark matter and dark energy. Produced by Penn Arts and Sciences • Narrated by Karen Brooks • Recorded and edited by Alex Schein • Music by Blue Dot Sessions Subscribe to the OMNIA Podcast by Penn Arts & Sciences on iTunes (apple.co/2XVWCbC) and Stitcher (bit.ly/2Lf2G9h)

Since 2003, the 60-Second Lecture Series has challenged Arts and Sciences faculty to distill a wealth of knowledge into a one-minute talk. Every Wednesday in September and April sees Penn Arts and Sciences faculty members standing at a podium on College Green and lecturing on topics ranging from human history, to fractions, to fly fishing—all in under a minute. The latest OMNIA podcast recaps the fall 2018 lectures and highlights two old favorites. In this episode, you’ll learn about greening vacant lots and what that means for crime rates, little-known medieval words that accurately describe the 2018 midterm elections, interpreting the Constitution, the very nature of time, and the evolving cultural and political questions raised ever-improving technologies of speech recognition and information retrieval. Our dip into the archives features a 2009 talk titled “Why Achievement Isn’t Normal,” given by Angela Duckworth, Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of Psychology, 2013 MacArthur Fellow, and New York Times best-selling author of Grit, and a 2015 lecture, “What Video Games Have Taught Me About Shakespeare,” by Rebecca Bushnell, School of Arts and Sciences Board of Overseers Professor of English, and former Dean of Penn Arts and Sciences. Many thanks to our fall 2018 lecturers: John MacDonald, Professor of Criminology and Sociology and the Penny and Robert A. Fox Faculty Director at the Fels Institute of Government Emily Steiner, Professor of English, and Aylin Malcolm, Ph.D. student in English Samuel Freeman, the Avalon Professor in the Humanities and Professor of Philosophy and Law Jamal Elias, Walter H. Annenberg Professor in the Humanities and Professor of Religious Studies and South Asia Studies Mark Liberman, Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of Linguistics. To view the complete archive of 60-Second Lectures featuring faculty, students, and alumni, visit the Penn Arts and Sciences Vimeo library: https://vimeo.com/channels/60seclec Produced by Penn Arts and Sciences • Narrated and edited by Alex Derrick • Music by Blue Dot Sessions, John Phillip Sousa, and Xylo-Ziko Subscribe to the OMNIA Podcast by Penn Arts & Sciences on iTunes (apple.co/2XVWCbC) and Stitcher (bit.ly/2Lf2G9h)

In this episode, we explore a potential watershed moment in American politics: the unprecedented number of women running for office in 2018. Dawn Teele, Janice and Julian Bers Assistant Professor of Political Science, researches women and politics, voting rights reform, and candidate recruitment. Right now, she’s studying Emerge, the largest Democratic campaign training program in the United States. The program recruits, trains, and connects Democratic women who want to run for office. We speak with Teele about the historical underrepresentation of women in politics and discuss some of the cultural narratives and structural factors—from fundraising trends to division of household labor—that potentially impact the success of female candidates in U.S. elections. Produced by Penn Arts & Sciences • Narrated, recorded, and edited by Anne Hoffman • Music: "Wanderers" by Dana Boule and "Roundpine" by Blue Dot Sessions Subscribe to the OMNIA Podcast by Penn Arts & Sciences on iTunes (apple.co/2XVWCbC) and Stitcher (bit.ly/2Lf2G9h)

In December 2017, The New York Times revealed the existence of a Pentagon program investigating unidentified flying objects. For many people, the continued existence of such a program on UFOs came as a surprise, though the military has historically been known to conduct such studies. Most notably, the Air Force’s Project Blue Book investigated more than 12,000 claimed UFO sightings between 1952 and 1969. Kate Dorsch, a doctoral candidate in the department of History and Sociology of Science, has been researching UFO encounters reported in Project Blue Book. Her dissertation covers the first “flying saucer” report in 1947 through the release of Steven Spielberg’s film Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) and investigates the creation of scientific knowledge and how this knowledge is communicated to the public. Produced by Penn Arts and Sciences •Recorded and Edited by Alex Schein •Music by Blue Dot Sessions and Yes Subscribe to the OMNIA Podcast on iTunes: apple.co/29rg0EZ

Taije Silverman is an award-winning poet and faculty member in the University of Pennsylvania’s Department of English where she teaches classes on poetry, creative nonfiction, and translation. Before coming to Penn, she taught at the University of Bologna in Italy, where she was a Fulbright Scholar, and at Emory University, where she was the Creative Writing Fellow. She’s also received the Pushcart Prize and is on the editorial board of Alice James Books. Her poem “Where to Put It” was included in The Best American Poetry 2017, the second year in a row she had a poem in the collection. In this OMNIA podcast, she reads “Where to Put It" and another poem, "Tiresisas Too," and shares their backstories. Visit OMNIA for an extended Q&A with Taije Silverman: http://omnia.sas.upenn.edu/story/omnia-podcast-poetry-and-pulse-life-audio Produced by Penn Arts and Sciences • Recorded, edited, and narrated by Alex Schein • Music by Blue Dot Sessions Subscribe to the OMNIA Podcast on iTunes: apple.co/29rg0EZ

Concerns over lead poisoning were heightened in the U.S. after the contamination of a city water supply in Flint, Michigan. In Philadelphia and southeastern Pennsylvania, rates of lead exposure in children are high—especially in low-income communities. Thanks to a Making a Difference in Diverse Communities grant from Penn Arts and Sciences, a team of researchers and students led by Reto Gieré and Richard Pepino of Earth and Environmental Science is educating local communities about the dangers of lead poisoning, collecting important data necessary to inform remediation efforts, and working with the city and other partners to reduce lead exposure and address environmental justice issues. They discuss the project and offer their insights on the risks of lead exposure in Philadelphia and possible remediation efforts to reduce these risks. We also speak with Tabeen Hosain, C'17, a philosophy, politics and economics major, who is leading a team of students collecting data on lead levels in soil. They're also working with community organizations and schools to host Soil Kitchens, which let individuals test their soil and learn more about risks and best practices dealing with potential lead poisoning. The Reducing Lead Exposure project is a collaboration between the Department of Earth and Environmental Science in Penn Arts and Sciences and the Center of Excellence in Environmental Toxicology (CEET) in the Perelman School of Medicine. Produced by Penn Arts and Sciences • Recorded and edited by Alex Schein • Interview by Susan Ahlborn • Narrated by Amber Grier • Music by Blue Dot Sessions Subscribe to the OMNIA Podcast on iTunes: apple.co/29rg0EZ

On May 9th, 2017, President Trump fired then-FBI director James Comey. This decision has intensified the debate of whether the U.S. is in a “constitutional crisis” given the numerous controversies swirling around the Trump administration. Rogers Smith, the Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of Political Science and a presidential historian and constitutional scholar, offers his take on why the firing of James Comey, as well as Trump's use of executive action and social media, is challenging the balance of power in Washington. Produced by Penn Arts and Sciences • Recorded and edited by Alex Schein • Interview by Blake Cole • Narrated by Jane Carroll • Music by Blue Dot Sessions Subscribe to the OMNIA Podcast on iTunes: apple.co/29rg0EZ

The politics of climate change and the politics of social inequality, such as the right to affordable housing, are usually examined as two separate issues. For Daniel Aldana Cohen, assistant professor of sociology, these two movements intersect when examining efforts to reduce carbon emissions in urban areas. Cohen has conducted research in cities such as São Paulo and New York and argues that to be effective, climate policy needs to be equitable.   Besides his work as an academic, Cohen is also the co-host of a podcast on the politics of climate change called “Hot and Bothered.” The show has featured prominent climate scientists, journalists, and activists such as Michael Mann, Naomi Klein, and Ken Henshaw. "Hot and Bothered" podcast: https://www.dissentmagazine.org/tag/hot-bothered Produced by Penn Arts and Sciences Recorded, edited, and narrated by Alex Schein Music by Blue Dot Sessions Subscribe to the OMNIA Podcast on iTunes: apple.co/29rg0EZ

This fall, the University of Pennsylvania hosted its very first Penn Honors Diversity(PHD)Symposium. Eight of the university's schools, including Penn Arts and Sciences, invited early and mid-stage undergraduates, particularly those from underrepresented groups, to learn about the value of a Ph.D.-level education. In this episode, we speak to some of the visiting students about their experience, along with faculty organizers who collaborated to create this unique event, which took place from September 29 - October 1, 2016. Featuring: Eve Trout-Powell Associate Dean for Graduate Studies, Penn Arts and Sciences Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of History and Africana Studies Michael Nusbaum Associate Dean for Graduate Education, Perelman School of Medicine Director, Biomedical Graduate Studies Program, Perelman School of Medicine Professor of Neuroscience Arnaldo J. Diaz Vazquez Assistant Dean for Research Training Programs Adjunct Assistant Professor of Pharmacology Patricia Rea Associate Director for Admissions, Graduate Studies, Penn Arts and Sciences Jasmine Wilson Howard University Jahnn Drigo Morgan State University Lerone Savage Hunter College Adriana Vega Hunter College Toe Aung Albright College Participating schools in the Penn Honors Diversity Symposium included: Penn Arts and Sciences, Perelman School of Medicine, Annenberg School for Communication, Biomedical Graduate Studies, School of Design, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Graduate School of Education, School of Nursing, and the School of Social Policy and Practice. To learn more about the Penn Honors Symposium, visit: www.upenn.edu/pages/penn-honors-diversity Produced by Penn Arts and Sciences • Recorded, Edited, and Narrated by Alex Schein • Music by Blue Dot Sessions Subscribe to the OMNIA Podcast on iTunes: apple.co/29rg0EZ

In this episode, we explore the fact, fiction, and future of artificial intelligence in the military. Depictions of so-called killer robots in films such as "The Terminator" continue to be a part of serious discussions about autonomous weapons. Should we fear the development of weapons that can make decisions? Or are these fears based more on science fiction than fact? We speak with Michael Horowitz, associate professor of political science and the associate director of Penn’s Perry World House. Horowitz first became interested in next-generation defense tools during a fellowship year at the Pentagon and has written and spoken extensively on military applications of AI. In 2015 he addressed a United Nations assembly in Geneva, Switzerland, dedicated to emerging issues related to autonomous weapons technologies. Produced by Penn Arts & Sciences Recorded and Edited by Alex Schein Interviews by Alex Schein and Susan Alhborn Music "Concentration" by Satori Illustration by Dušan Kostić Subscribe to the OMNIA Podcast on iTunes: apple.co/29rg0EZ

The bill proposing Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was first introduced in the U.S. Congress four days after King’s assassination in 1968. It wasn't voted on until 1979, however, when it fell five votes short of the number needed for passage. After a grassroots campaign led to the largest petition to Congress in U.S. history, and icons like Stevie Wonder raised awareness in popular culture, the bill finally passed and was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan in 1983. The holiday was first observed in 1986, though it would be the year 2000 before it was celebrated in all states. We spoke with Camille Zubrinsky Charles, Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Term Professor in the Social Sciences, professor of sociology, Africana Studies and education, and Director of the Center for Africana Studies, about the historical significance of the holiday and the progression of social movements like Black Lives Matter. Produced by the The University of Pennsylvania School of Arts & Sciences • Recorded and edited by Alex Schein
 • Interviews and script by Blake Cole
 • Narration by Lindsey Klinger-O'Donnell Music: "When the Guests Have Left" by Blue Dot Sessions Visit OMNIA online at: http://omnia.sas.upenn.edu

It was in 1992 when Dorothy Cheney, professor of biology, and Robert Seyfarth, professor of psychology, began their long-term study of free-ranging baboons in the Okavango Delta of Botswana. The wife-and-husband team spent the next decade and a half documenting the behavior, communication, and social cognition of these group-living primates. This work culminated in their highly influential 2007 book "Baboon Metaphysics". We spoke with the professors about their perspective on life-long work in the field. Click link below for full article in OMNIA, Penn Arts & Sciences' online magazine: 
bit.ly/1S4lJxT Produced by the The University of Pennsylvania School of Arts & Sciences • Recorded and edited by Alex Schein
• Interviews and script by Blake Cole
• Narration by Kristy Gingras Music: "Denzel Sprak" by Blue Dot Sessions
 Visit OMNIA online at: http://omnia.sas.upenn.edu

Hilary Putnam (1926-2016)is considered to be one of the most influential minds of the 20th Century – making significant contributions to the fields of philosophy, mathematics, and computer science, among others. Putnam received his undergraduate degree from Penn in 1948 and received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the University in 1985. Putnam was the Cogan University Professor Emeritus at Harvard University. He served as faculty in the Department of Philosophy starting in 1965. In this special OMNIA podcast, we speak with professors Gary Hatfield, Scott Weinstein, and Daniel Singer of Philosophy about Putnam’s legacy in their field and his unique connection with Penn as scholar and alumnus. Produced by the School of Arts & Sciences, University of Pennsylvania
Recorded, edited, and narrated by Alex Schein 
Music by Blue Dot Sessions Visit OMNIA online at: http://omnia.sas.upenn.edu

On Dec. 20, 2005, Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District—the trial that set the stage for a national debate on the constitutionality of teaching intelligent design (ID) as an alternative to evolution—was decided. In the lead-up to the trial, Michael Weisberg, professor of philosophy and chair of the philosophy department, and Paul Sniegowski, professor of biology, co-authored a letter on behalf of their departments in support of the teachers who argued against the inclusion of ID in the curriculum. We spoke with professors Michael Weisberg and Paul Sniegowski about their experience with the case—and whether public attitudes on evolution have changed—as well as lead counsel and Penn Law graduate Eric Rothschild and presiding judge John E. Jones III. Produced by the School of Arts & Sciences, The University of Pennsylvania • Interviews and narration by Blake Cole 
• Recorded and edited by Alex Schein
 Visit OMNIA online at: http://omnia.sas.upenn.edu