OMNIA Podcast

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:

Produced by Penn Arts and Sciences

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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

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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

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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.

"Hot and Bothered" podcast: https://www.dissentmagazine.org/tag/hot-bothered

Produced by Penn Arts and Sciences

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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

Michael Nusbaum

Arnaldo J. Diaz Vazquez

Patricia Rea

Jasmine Wilson

Jahnn Drigo

Lerone Savage

Adriana Vega

Toe Aung

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:

Produced by Penn Arts and Sciences

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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

Music "Concentration" by Satori

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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

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

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

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

Visit OMNIA online at: http://omnia.sas.upenn.edu