Conversations

David Mirkin ’78, writer, director and producer of hit TV show “The Simpsons,” talks about smart, dark and twisted comedy and his career, from L.A.’s stand-up clubs to “The Simpsons Movie.”

Studio Arts major Ralph Eurich Patacsil painted a Nativity scene, titled “Puengen Yu’us (Night of God),” for his final project in his theology course Meeting Christ in Faith and Art. Born and raised in Guam, Patacsil decided to bridge the cultural legacies of his native land’s Spanish colonial past and the island’s indigenous Chamorro people.

Saeri Cho Dobson, associate professor of graphic design, talks about design as an expression of social justice and her work with students involved with community organizations. She was interviewed by Editor Joseph Wakelee-Lynch.

Maximiliano Isi ’14 works on one of the teams of scientists that detected the collision of two neutron stars this past October. They documented an event that could change what we think about how the universe the universe works.

Andee ’19 and Bianca ’19 Velasco, sisters and teammates on the LMU women’s basketball team, talk about where sibling rivalry starts and ends in daily life and on the court.

David W. Stewart is President’s Professor of Marketing and Business Law in the Department of Marketing and Business Law in the College of Business Administration. We spoke with him about research into the differences between how men and women shop for food. He was interviewed by Editor Joseph Wakelee-Lynch.

Young Dwayne Hickman was a TV fixture in the 1950s and early ’60s. As a student at Loyola University, he had a supporting role in the smash hit “The Bob Cummings Show” and, after college, the lead — Dobie — in the groundbreaking comedy “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.” Hickman has enjoyed a full career in acting and directing, and another as a painter, which he pursues today. See his artwork here. We spoke to Hickman about his acting career, his friendship on- and off-camera with Bob Denver ’57, and his art work. He was interviewed by Editor Joseph Wakelee-Lynch.

Fans or not, millions are watching football this season to see who is, and isn’t, protesting. But are they asking why? Shaun Anderson, professor in the College of Communication and Fine Arts, talks about sports, protest and political messages.

Although the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that some forms of race-based gerrymandering are unconstitutional, it has avoided taking a stand on partisan gerrymandering. That may change this coming October, when the court will hear a case about whether the partisan drawing of legislative boundaries in Wisconsin has gone too far.

Demian Willette, a biology instructor in the Frank R. Seaver College of Science and Engineering, and his students study fish fraud — the mislabeling of fish species — as a way of improving the traceability of fish in the food supply chain.