University News and Communications publishes VUToday, a compilation of Vanderbilt mentions in the media, each weekday. Read a selection of Vanderbilt news stories for the week of Jan. 23. To subscribe to the daily VUToday newsletter, visit news.vanderbilt.edu/vutoday.
The New York Times: What did Neanderthals leave to modern humans? Some surprises
Geneticists tell us that somewhere between 1 and 5 percent of the genome of modern Europeans and Asians consists of DNA inherited from Neanderthals, our prehistoric cousins. John Anthony Capra, assistant professor of biological sciences, is interviewed about his research, which combines high-powered computation and a medical records databank to determine what a Neanderthal heritage—even a fractional one—might mean for people today.
Associated Press: Communities plagued by uninsurance also suffer from breakdowns in trust, social connection
Whether we like it or not, health insurance affects our lives in significant ways. Sometimes these effects are very direct, determining whether we can afford to see a doctor when we need to. One of the things we’ve paid a lot less attention to is whether the effects of health insurance go beyond things like health and costs to shape other aspects of our social lives, writes Tara McKay, assistant professor of medicine, health and society, in this essay originally published in The Conversation.
U.S. News and World Report: What Mary Tyler More did for women
The death of Mary Tyler Moore, just days after the women’s marches in cities around the United States, is especially poignant, and not just because Moore’s character on The Mary Tyler Moore Show in the 1970s was television’s first sustained representation of the cultural influence of the women’s liberation movement, writes Bonnie Dow, professor and chair of the Department of Communication Studies.
The New York Times Book Review: We’ve been here before: Jon Meacham on the literature of our discontent
The 45th president of the United States comes to office at a calmer time than the 32nd (Herbert Hoover) did, but Donald Trump’s demagogic populism and his movement’s willingness to traffic in ethnic and racial stereotypes have put many Americans in the mind of the chaos of the 1930s. From Huey Long to Charles Coughlin, we have been here before. Some fiction from the period, as well as books such as those from historian Arthur Schlesinger, repay attention as we seek our bearings now, writes Jon Meacham, distinguished visiting professor of political science, in the first of a series which looks back at books that speak to our current historical and cultural moment.
The Philadelphia Inquirer: Trump takes a nationalistic tone in a populist message
Donald Trump began his presidency Friday with a speech that might have been ripped from his campaign trail teleprompter: blunt talk of a weakened and bleeding nation that he will shock back into pride and prosperity. Vanessa Beasley, associate professor of communication studies and political science, is quoted. Beasley also is quoted in a related Philadelphia Inquirer article: What Trump, marchers had in common: Missed opportunities.