Palin’s appeal rooted in Alaskan culture

DarnellPart of the mystery of Sarah Palin is part of her appeal to Republican “outsider” voters who admire her qualities of independence and against-the grain political orthodoxy, says Alfred Darnell, Ph.D., visiting lecturer in political science.

Professor’s video series explains all of Earth’s facets

Image courtesy of NASA”How the Earth Works” is a boxed set of 48 30-minute video lectures developed and delivered by WUSTL’s Michael E. Wysession. The lectures explore every aspect of the Earth and are designed to appeal to the curious lay public.Videos have been the bailiwick of rock stars at least since the days of Bob Dylan. But now they’re spilling over into a new arena — academia. Michael E. Wysession, Ph.D., associate professor of earth and planetary sciences in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, has 48 lectures on planet Earth coming out in a video format in February. It’s a sort of brainiac’s boxed set. Each 30-minute lecture focuses on an aspect of the Earth, from its origins and composition to its climate, orbit, pollution and relationship to human history.