Newsroom Stories

“Welcome to cabaret!” declares the Master of Ceremonies. “Leave your troubles outside! Life is disappointing? Forget it! In here, life is beautiful! The girls are beautiful! Even the orchestra is beautiful!” Welcome to The Kit-Kat Club, Germany’s most decadent nightspot. And welcome to Cabaret. The Performing Arts Department in Arts & Sciences will stage the groundbreaking musical Oct. 19-28 in Edison Theatre.

The director of the women, gender and sexuality studies program at Washington University in St. Louis identifies some key issues of importance to women and non-heterosexual American voters in this year’s elections. Among the key issues are women’s reproductive rights, access to health care, equal rights for non-heterosexual Americans and equal pay for equal work.

Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis are inviting the world to take part in an online experiment that will allow participants to see how their individual scores on a face-name memory test compare with those of other test takers.

About 500 students attended the first 2012 presidential debate viewing party Oct. 3 in Tisch Commons, Danforth University Center. The event featured free food, games and prizes. Parties also are planned for the remaining debates at 8 p.m. Oct. 11, 16 and 22.​​

Providing birth control to women at no cost substantially reduced unplanned pregnancies and cut abortion rates by 62 percent to 77 percent over the national rate, a new study shows.

Archaeologists in Guatemala have discovered the tomb of Lady K’abel, a seventh-century Maya Holy Snake Lord considered one of great queens of Classic Maya civilization. The tomb was discovered during excavations of the royal Maya city of El Peru-Waka’ in northwestern Petén, Guatemala, by a team of archaeologists led by Washington University in St. Louis’ David Freidel, co-director of the expedition.

International economic forecaster and social observer Jeremy Rifkin will talk about preparing for the third industrial revolution at noon Thursday, Oct. 11, in Graham Chapel. A book signing will precede the lecture.

In 1997, Laurie Berkner began selling her debut album out of her Manhattan apartment. Today, Berkner is the “Queen of Children’s Music,” a regular on Nick Jr. and a founding member of “Kindie Rock” – progressive, kid-friendly music that isn’t saccharine or dumbed-down. On Oct. 20, Berkner will launch Edison’s 2012-13 ovations for young people series with a solo acoustic show in the 560 Music Center.

Deep research into sustainability, memory and other compelling topics becomes clearer with the debut of Hold That Thought, a new podcast series from Arts & Sciences. The Hold That Thought website debuted Oct. 1 as a way to make in-depth faculty research and overarching ideas  more accessible to the general public.

The annual celebration of Pulpit Freedom Sunday on Oct. 7 encourages pastors to preach politics from the pulpit. The Internal Revenue Code exempts certain organizations including churches from taxation, but prohibits them as a condition of tax-exemption from “any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office.” “Both the restriction and Pulpit Freedom Sunday raise important questions about the relationship between church and state, the role of religious argument in political discourse, and the significance of clergy in political debate,” says John Inazu, JD, professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis and expert on religion and the Constitution.