In the News
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September 27, 2023
Apryl Williams, assistant professor of communication and media, who has studied videos that depict white women as entitled aggressors, says so-called “Karen memes” can serve a valuable role in the struggle for racial equity. “People have learned that there are social ramifications for being noted as a Karen,” she said, referring to the potential loss of employment and social standing.
The New York Times -
September 26, 2023
Wildfire smoke across the U.S. has undone 25 percent of air quality improvements since 2000, research shows. Heidi Huber-Stearns, associate visiting professor at U-M’s Western Forest and Fire Initiative, says Native Americans, outdoor workers and unhoused people face the greatest exposure to smoke-related air pollution: “There are some pretty major equity and access concerns as to who can get what kind of support for navigating smoke events.”
Grist -
September 26, 2023
“It has done what good poems do. It doesn’t decry or bemoan. It just sort of tells the truth in a very compressed, musical fashion. It’s prophetic in that it just told us everything that we know about the rain,” said Khaled Mattawa, professor of English language and literature, about a poem written by Libyan poet Mustafa al-Trabelsi that warned Libyan officials of the impending devastation of the recent floods that killed thousands, including al-Trabelsi, himself.
National Public Radio -
September 26, 2023
“The world economy is fragile, and the U.S. feels it would be in their best interest for all of the … especially advanced economies, to continue to thrive,” said Kathryn Dominguez, professor of public policy and economics, who believes a stronger yen could boost the Japanese economy and increase demand for American products.
Marketplace -
September 25, 2023
“I think of this like a chemical nudge. … It gives you a little space and perspective because it gives you a little bit more comfort or a kind of edge that allows it to become more available,” said Kevin Boehnke, anesthesiologist at the Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center, who believes psychedelic drugs can help fibromyalgia patients. Anesthesiologist George Mashour, founding director of the Michigan Psychedelic Center, said, “If I give you the psychedelic, your level of consciousness isn’t dramatically changing the way it does if I give you an anesthetic.” But other things notably do change — “the content of your experience, the quality of the experience.”
Bridge Michigan -
September 25, 2023
Rome fascinates us because it both is and is not what we want to be, said David Potter, professor of Greek and Latin: “Roman emperors can be very wise ― people like Marcus Aurelius, whose ‘meditations’ are a popular read these days ― but there are also dreadful tyrants like Caligula, Nero and Commodus. Roman emperors model the best and the worst for us. It’s pretty hard not to think about Nero when Donald Trump is around.”
HuffPost -
September 25, 2023
“She recognized that she … had benefited from this long tradition of Black singers but that nonetheless she wanted to depart from the repertoire that they performed, that they made it possible for her to finally step into different kinds of roles than had previously been offered to Black women,” said Kira Thurman, associate professor of musicology, history and German, about renowned opera singer and U-M alumna Jessye Norman.
BBC (10:36 mark) -
September 22, 2023
“Patients are deliberately not answering because they don’t want to — maybe because they feel uncomfortable talking about firearms with their doctor or other health provider. At the same time … there’s a lot of ambivalence from providers about asking their patients about firearms during the course of a routine visit,” said Joseph Ladines-Lim, a resident in internal medicine and pediatrics.
HealthDay -
September 22, 2023
“Patience is another name for self-regulation, which is both behavioral and emotional,” said Pamela Davis-Kean, professor of psychology, who believes kids as young as 6 can start to think about their own behavior and its consequences and better understand the concept of patience, despite the fact that kids have immediate access to so many things that have led them to expect instant gratification.
The Washington Post -
September 22, 2023
“We can translate what we learn … to other lakes and waterbodies around the world, but ultimately to any freshwater body that crosses a political boundary,” said Andrew Gronewold, associate professor of environment and sustainability and of civil and environmental engineering, who heads the new National Science Foundation-funded Global Center for Understanding Climate Change Impacts on Transboundary Waters.
Michigan Radio
