Aug. 6: Catherine Cohen ’13 Turns a Diagnosis Into Comedy

Three of the four winners of this year’s prestigious Fields Medal, given to young mathematicians, are Princeton alumni: Yu Deng *15, John Pardon ’11, and Jacob Tsimerman *11.  — The New York Times

Comedienne Catherine Cohen ’13 drew on her experience of a possible stroke and discovering a congenital heart condition in crafting her new one-woman show, Broad Strokes, in New York City’s West Village. — The New York Times

Michael Kratsios ’08, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, announced a plan to shift science funding away from universities and toward private companies, with a focus on artificial intelligence, robotics, and nuclear energy. — The New York Times

The new Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles, co-founded by financier Mellody Hobson ’91 and her husband George Lucas, will open in September with exhibits that “trace the evolution of human culture through storytelling.” — The New York Post

Paralympic ice hockey star Declan Farmer ’20 is now giving Para canoe a go; he competed in July’s World Cup in Montreal, Canada, after prepping for just one month. — International Paralympic Committee

Murphy Sewall ’64 is among the older Americans angry at the state of the country who were quoted in a Rolling Stone op-ed about Third Act, a group rallying people against “MAGAism.” — Third Act and Rolling Stone

Poet Charif Shanahan ’05 discussed his own work and how he curated a month of poems for the Academy of American Poets online. — Poets.org

When Brown’s president — Christina Paxson, a former dean of Princeton’s School of Public and International Affairs — steps down in June 2027, Princeton President Christopher Eisgruber ’83 will become the longest-tenured Ivy League college president in office. — The Hill

Speaking at a conference in Rio de Janeiro, economist and Nobel laureate James Heckman *71 pushed for programs that teach parents to engage more with their children.  — Valor International

“As with The Return, ‘earthy, modern, relatable’ here translates to a focus on psychological angst and a grim ‘realism’ that shrewdly channels a contemporary impatience with notions such as ‘great men’ and ‘heroism.’ In this Odyssey, there is no cleverness, no humor, no wily charm.”

— Classicist and New York Review editor-at-large Daniel Mendelsohn *94, himself the a translator of The Odyssey, dissecting the new film version directed by Christopher Nolan. — The New York Review

Dallas Trinity FC signed midfielder Aria Nagai ’24 on loan from the Utah Royals FC, making her the latest Tiger to pass through Trinity after Drew Coomans ’26, Heather MacNab ’26, and Tyler McCamey ’25. — Third Degree

Fans of author Jodi Picoult ’87 will be excited to learn that her new novel, Hollow Bones, due out Sept. 15, will have a connection to her 2004 bestseller My Sister’s Keeper. — Country Living

Playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins ’06 wrote and directed A New Work in Progress, which darkly reimagines the Cinderella story; it’s playing as a workshop production through Sept. 10 in Canada. — Broadway World

A new collection of letters by famed Los Angeles chronicler Eve Babitz, titled Too L.A. and edited by novelist Lili Anolik ’00, is on a list of bestselling books in California. — Alta

Since Jeff Bezos ’86 retired as CEO of Amazon five years ago, the company’s stock has been slumping — until recently. — The Motley Fool