Stephanie Koons
@stephaniekoons.bsky.social
🎙️ Strategic Storyteller | Research Comms Leader | 🎹 Pianist & Creative Connector | Making Big Ideas Human
What if the fastest way to be more creative... was to stop trying so hard? Neuroscientists have been scanning the brains of musicians, and what they found might change how you think about creativity (thread ⬇️)
What I found when I scanned the brains of kids creating tunes on the piano
Playing improv music activates the reward system of the brain.
theconversation.com
Maureen Dowd acierta de plano. NOLAN es un gran narrador y cineasta, pero... ha desnaturalizado al gran ODISEO: ...If you smooth it out and modernize it too much, you lose what made it so important to begin with. And you’re just left with a guy finding his way home. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/25/o...
Opinion | Nolan’s Zero-Eros ‘Odyssey’
Homer’s Odysseus was hardly a man of remorse and shame.
nytimes.com
Always great to see Penn State College of Education research reach a broader audience. I'm thrilled our recent Q&A with Soo-yong Byun on teens' career expectations has been picked up by Phys.org. phys.org/news/2026-07... #PennState #EducationResearch
Q&A: What influences teens' career expectations?
Adolescents in both the United States and the United Kingdom have become increasingly ambitious about their future careers over the past two decades, according to a new study by researchers at Penn St...
phys.org
How do teens develop expectations about their future careers? In a new Penn State News Q&A, College of Education researcher Soo-yong Byun discusses how family socioeconomic background shapes adolescents' career expectations—and why those expectations matter. bit.ly/4fot8Oz
Q&A: What influences teens' career expectations? | Penn State University
Adolescents in the United States and the United Kingdom have become increasingly ambitious about their future careers over the past two decades, according to Penn State researchers. In this Q&A, Soo-y...
bit.ly
Director GREG McLEAN (Wolf Creek) deconstructs Ridley Scott's 1979 masterpiece ALIEN - explaining how the sci-fi horror film shaped his career today and what aspiring filmmakers should learn from it. 🎙️🎬 Listen to this conversation with Greg at 5AM StoryTalk: colehaddon.substack.com/p/director-g...
Tree of Life, New Orleans A southern live oak (quercus virginiana) that has lived through the whole history of European North America Photo: Jared Chambers
The majestic American chestnut tree dominated forests across the eastern U.S. for generations—until a blight drove it to near extinction. After decades of effort, new genetic approaches could speed its return by making it easier to identify trees with the traits needed for restoration.
“If the American president can use public institutions to place his face across the machinery of the state, the merger of leader and country stops looking aberrant and starts looking available.”
The Last Mile with USAID@thelastmilewithusaid.substack.com · 2w agoCitizens received federal passports bearing the president's face, unannounced and unavoidable. Treasury then issued a press release equating the ruler with the state. The Founders rejected this exact monarchical impulse in 1792. They are no longer around.
more serious Odyssey opinion: leaning into the religious significance of the Trojan horse strategy (and the hospitality as central to civilization theme) was a good choice by Nolan and friends artistically and politically. strongest condemnation of our present era I'd expect from a mass market film
It's legit hilarious that they're selling Trojan Horse popcorn holders for THE ODYSSEY (2026), given how the Trojan Horse ends up being framed in the film as the genocidal nail in the coffin of a rules-based international order
Always great to see a Penn State story reach a wider audience. My article on Katerina Bodovski's research into students' emotional resources and college completion has been featured by Phys.org. Congrats to Katerina and her co-authors! #WeAre phys.org/news/2026-07...
Students' emotional resources in high school linked to college completion
Academic achievement in high school has long been viewed as one of the strongest predictors of college success. But a new study from Penn State researchers suggests that students' emotional resources—...
nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com
Coincidence or not, Nolan's decision to use an American accent in The Odyssey allows us to see ourselves in a story about reckoning with the atrocities of war and the collapse of a society brought about by a lack of basic decency.
The Most Anachronistic Part of ‘The Odyssey’ Makes Total Sense, Actually
In Christopher Nolan's epic saga, the Ancient Greeks sound like Americans. So what?
contrariannews.org
Students' success is shaped by more than academics. New research from Professor Katerina Bodovski suggests emotional resources—including motivation, persistence, and supportive school environments—are linked to college completion. Read more: bit.ly/4vGTiRl
Students' emotional resources in high school linked to college completion | Penn State University
A new study from Penn State researchers suggests that students' emotional resources — including their motivation, persistence and perceptions of school climate — may also play an important role in sha...
bit.ly
Folks complaining the actors in The Odyssey don't look Ancient Greek are oddly nostalgic for the era when John Wayne was apparently the most qualified Mongolian on Earth.
Intriguing writing by the lovely Greg Olear. gregolear.substack.com/p/sunday-pag...
Sunday Pages: "The Odyssey"
A film by Christopher Nolan
gregolear.substack.com
The Odyssey was excellent. It more clearly connects hubris and war than the translation you might have read. It's also maybe the best action choreography of any Nolan film, and the plot didn't drag despite a 3-hour run time. Could've used a little more emotion during homecoming, but overall? 9/10.
Summer is more than a break from school — it can be a chance for kids to develop a lifelong love of reading. Penn State educators Jason Griffith and Ty Hollett share research-informed tips for fostering curiosity, choice, and joyful reading. 📚 bit.ly/4gHY39C
Summer freedom may help kids develop a love of reading, Penn State educators say | Penn State University
Summer offers children and teens an opportunity to develop lasting reading habits through choice, curiosity and engaging stories, according to Penn State College of Education faculty members Jason Gri...
bit.ly
'Looksmaxxing the military': CNN erupts in laughter at testosterone 'obsessed' Hegseth #RawStory
www.rawstory.com
'Looksmaxxing the military': CNN erupts in laughter at testosterone 'obsessed' Hegseth
twp.ai
I love this piece by Alexandra Jacobs, a byline that always promises rewards. Gift version here https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/14/books/review/catcher-in-the-rye-75th-anniversary-salinger.html?unlocked_article_code=1.xlA.cL7_.kuM9-PLcXfQL&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
75 Years Later, ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ Remains a Great American Novel (Gift Article)
Sure, “Catcher in the Rye” has its detractors. But the influence of its wised-up yet winningly innocent hero keeps it among the Great American Novels.
nytimes.com
Can #AI tutors really outperform human teachers? The research isn't so clear. In a new op-ed for The Conversation, Professor Gerald K. LeTendre examines AI tutoring and why its greatest potential may be supporting — not replacing — educators. theconversation.com/despite-the-...
Despite the growth of some AI schools like Alpha, research doesn’t show that AI tutors are better than human teachers
Instead of schools trying to replace teachers with AI, teachers could use AI to become better educators.
theconversation.com
Amazing show!! 🤩 Man in the Long Black Coat was my favorite part of his set and I never even heard the song before. 🖤
TribLIVE@triblive.bsky.social · 3w agoREVIEW Bob Dylan has never made it easy for audiences — and Sunday’s Stage AE concert was no exception. Instead of leaning on his immortal hits, the 85-year-old legend highlighted recent and lesser-known work during a perfect summer night in Pittsburgh.
Fascist logic: Supergirl is "woke" because she's a girl. Wonder Woman is "woke" because she's a woman. And Nolan's "The Odyssey" is "woke" because the most beautiful woman in the world of the movie is a black woman. You get where I'm going with this? Fascists are misogynistic, racist dumbfucks.
Despite the impression many people might get from the news, the U.S. murder rate fell nearly 20% in 2025. A criminologist says the reason isn't any single policy — it's a combination of major social trends (thread) ⬇️ theconversation.com/the-us-murde...
The US murder rate fell to historic lows in 2025 – here’s why
Most people credit policing or the lack of it, but the real story tracks three trends that rose and fell together.
theconversation.com
Greek myth or Hollywood fantasy? Researchers react to ‘The Odyssey’ film trailer | Penn State University www.psu.edu/news/researc...
Greek myth or Hollywood fantasy? Researchers react to ‘The Odyssey’ film trailer | Penn State University
Penn State classics and ancient Mediterranean studies professors Anna Peterson and Laura Marshall react to Christopher Nolan's new film "The Odyssey."
psu.edu
Grateful to partner with @edpolicyinca.org to share these exciting findings about student outcomes in two-way dual language immersion programs! Led by @lucasantibanez.bsky.social
PACE@edpolicyinca.org · 4w agoA new PACE commentary presents findings that dual language immersion (DLI) improves outcomes for English learners and supports California’s goals to expand multilingual education. edpolicyinca.org/newsroom/dua... (1/5)
🎧 #AlbumSorti un 15 juin (1978) : "Street-Legal", dix-huitième opus de Bob Dylan. Bob Dylan - Señor (Tales of Yankee Power) #Musique #Music #BlueZicos
Señor (Tales of Yankee Power)
YouTube video by Bob Dylan - Topic
youtu.be
Write about the new Little House on the Prairie with @hilaryemmett.bsky.social for @uk.theconversation.com:
What Netflix’s Little House On The Prairie remake says about today’s culture wars
How will a new generation of viewers respond to the Ingalls family and their experiences of life in an America that was still taking shape?
theconversation.com
“By casting the ideal 21st-century relationship in antiquated terms, conservatives are ignoring the glaring reality of how Americans actually want to live and are living their lives,” Jessica Grose writes.
Opinion | If Conservatives Want to Save Marriage, They Need to Let It Evolve
It makes absolutely no sense to create a definition of marriage that excludes the desires and ideals of a substantial majority of Americans.
nyti.ms
