Mark Twain is credited with saying, ‘History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.’ The same could be said for commencement speeches. Listen in, as we revisit the most inspiring lines from past University of Michigan commencement speakers like Lawrence Kasdan, Joyce Carol Oates, Ken Burns, and more.

When author John U. Bacon, BA ’86/MA ’94, decided to write a book about the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, he thought he knew the story. He soon learned otherwise. Enjoy this excerpt of his new book: ‘The Gales of November: The Untold Story of the Edmund Fitzgerald’ and hear from the author as he shares some of the most profound revelations he discovered on the tumultuous journey.

A new ESPN documentary from Jon Fish, BA ’95, documents the trajectory of Mike Legg’s heart-stopping play that secured the 1996 NCAA title for Red Berenson’s Wolverines. After fading into obscurity for nearly three decades, Legg’s move ‘the Michigan’ is back with a vengeance, changing the game at every level.

Adventure awaits in this Michigan Ross grad’s inspiring new guide to ‘Your Mini Sabbatical.’ Newvine, a journalist, marketing consultant, and life coach, has perfected the art of working remotely from surf towns in Central America to the Haight in San Francisco. The creative benefits are unlimited, she says.

A self-governing democracy can’t survive in an ecosystem of disinformation, especially when the lies and propaganda are homegrown, says University of Michigan law professor Barbara McQuade, BA ‘87/JD ’91. In her new book, ‘Attack from Within,’ the MSNBC legal analyst sounds the alarm about the escalating dangers of domestic terrorism and offers tips to combat this deadly threat.

Ted Kaczynski, known to history as ‘the Unabomber,’ was a violent genius who terrorized the U.S. for nearly 20 years. When U-M archivist Julie Herrada learned of his 1996 arrest, she put aside her personal feelings and initiated a prison correspondence that would land one of the Labadie Collection’s most popular, albeit disturbing, acquisitions.

Historian/author Frank Uhle pulls back the curtain on Ann Arbor’s love affair with film in his gorgeous coffee table book  ‘Cinema Ann Arbor.’ Go back a hundred years and revisit the emergence of A2’s wildly creative cinema guilds, film festivals, and events with Frank Capra, Robert Altman, Andy Warhol, and more. 

They say truth is stranger than fiction. But what about historical fiction? In researching her book Ward, Wife, Widow at the Bentley Historical Library, author Mary Crum Scholtens, BM ‘84/MM ’86 (aka A. Arbour), discovered the truth behind the bizarre relationship between former Michigan Governor Chase Osborn and his daughter/second wife, Stellanova Lee “Stella” Brunt Osborn. It’s a doozy.

He’s a medical school graduate, a Michigan dad, a faculty member, a physician, and an administrator who helped U-M navigate the COVID-19 pandemic. As the University’s chief health officer, Rob Ernst also is a champion of the Okanagan Charter, pledging to embed health and wellness into all aspects of the community.