Jill DiSanto

Since its release in 2011, E. L. James’ erotic novel series “Fifty Shades of Grey” has sold more than 65 million copies worldwide. The books have enthralled readers with salacious tales of sexual bondage, sadism, and masochism. But when it comes to risqué behavior, James ain’t got nothing on the art of the Ancient Roman Empire.

PHILADELPHIA -- Live musical performances are part of the University of Pennsylvania’s activities surrounding Martin Luther King Day.

Race is seemingly one of the few remaining third rails of American politics, whispered about among intimates in private but rarely discussed openly and without reserve, even after the second inauguration of America’s first black president.

PHILADELPHIA — The School of Social Policy & Practice and the African-American Resource Center at the University of Pennsylvania will host “Let’s Talk About Race” Wednesday, Jan. 30, at 5 p.m. in the Claudia Cohen Hall Terrace Room.

While some Ivy League professors are clean-cut academics who wear suits with bowties and carry stacks of books from the library, others shatter that image.  Instead, some wear jeans and explore very dark, far-away places.  One of those researchers studies the underworld of the sex trade -- not just in Philadelphia but also in New York City and in India.

Like any other graduating senior in the spring of 1999, John Roger Stephens was filled with glee.

WHO: John Legend, University of Pennsylvania alumnus and nine-time Grammy Award-winning recording artist. Legend has drawn attention to global poverty and education.  He’s performed numerous benefit concerts and launched the Show Me Campaign, a non-profit organization fighting poverty.

PHILADELPHIA — The University of Pennsylvania will remember Martin Luther King Jr. with its 18th Annual Commemorative Symposium on Social Change, a series of nearly 25 community events Jan. 15-Feb. 1.

A lot can change in a year.

It seems as if everyone is using social media these days, tweeting, liking, sharing, posting, updating, and such.