Emma Atkinson

communicator, writer, editor, content marketer

my latest work

University of Denver Newsroom •

When Sleep During Pregnancy Isn’t Just Personal—It’s Research | University of Denver

In the third trimester of her pregnancy, Melissa Nevarez-Brewster wasn’t sleeping well. “I woke up every hour or hour and a half just to go to the bathroom,” the first-time mom says. “And then, in the later weeks, just moving an inch would wake me up because of how uncomfortable I was.” Nevarez-Brewster says she’s actually getting better sleep now that her baby is born, despite those infamous middle-of-the-night feedings.“Now, I can offset a little bit with my partner,” she says. “I don’t have t...
House Digest •

Bring Back This Vintage Wall Decor That Serves An Important Family Purpose - House Digest

Whether it's a sturdy outdoor dinner bell or a smaller, daintier indoor bell, there are dinner bells out there to match any interior decorating style. Ones like the MrMrKura Cast Iron Dinner Bell offer a traditional colonial look, while even larger bells, like this iMeshBean 14-inch Cast Iron Dinner Bell, can give you a farmhouse vibe — and ensure that your kids can hear it from down the block. For a nautical look, find options that feature a thick rope, and for a "cottage-core" vibe, a smaller...
University of Denver •

Seven Grads, One Shared Goal: Make a Difference | University of Denver

From filmmakers and journalists to social workers and entrepreneurs, the University of Denver’s 2025 graduates are set to leave their mark on the world.We spoke with seven soon-to-be alumni about what they hope to contribute to their personal and professional communities after they move on from DU.

From filmmakers and journalists to social workers and entrepreneurs, the University of Denver’s 2025 graduates are set to leave their mark on the world.

We spoke with seven soon-to-be alumni about w...
University of Denver Newsroom •

From Policy to People: How DU is Training Leaders to Change the Housing Landscape | University of Denver

“Affordable housing is the number-one issue in Colorado.”It’s not a new refrain. As the state’s population growth continues, albeit more slowly than in years past, the need for affordable housing is becoming ever more important. It’s a problem that requires a diverse approach—professional communities of developers, nonprofit owners, policymakers, and community advocates all make up the fabric of the affordable housing landscape. With so many people in so many different areas working to solve the...
University of Denver Newsroom •

Best Things to Do in Denver on a Sunny Spring Day | University of Denver

When the snow melts and warmer temperatures pop up on your phone’s weather app, you know spring is just around the corner—and spring is Denver’s best season, in this writer’s opinion. With dozens of outdoor activities and events to choose from, don’t let spring slip away from you—take advantage of the warm air and sunny skies by taking a weekend to explore the best of Denver’s plein air adventures!Here’s a roundup of the best things to do this spring in Denver:With the Colorado Rockies’ home ope...
University of Denver Newsroom •

Previewing the 2025-26 Newman Center Presents Season | University of Denver

“I’ve never seen anybody move like that.”That’s what Aisha Ahmad-Post, executive director of the Robert and Judi Newman Center for the Performing Arts, thought when she first saw the principal dancer of the Taiwanese troupe Hung Dance perform.“She uses so much of her facial expressions, and her fingers and her toes,” Ahmad-Post reflects. “Everything is so wrapped up in the emotion.”Hung Dance is just one of the 17 acts that will come to Denver as part of the 2025-2026 Newman Center Presents seas...
University of Denver Newsroom •

Thinking About Law School? Here’s What DU Wants You to Know | University of Denver

If you’re thinking about going to law school, you’re not alone. The number of people applying to law schools across the country has increased more than 20% since 2024. The same is true at the University of Denver’s Sturm College of Law, where applications are up 18%.Iain Davis, assistant dean of admissions and student financial management at Sturm, says law schools typically see a bump in applications after an election year. “When election results come out in the beginning of November, people wh...
University of Denver Newsroom •

DU Professor Explores the Bookish Brilliance Behind Taylor Swift’s Eras | University of Denver

Taylor Swift is known for making literary and theatre references in her songs—from the classic Romeo and Juliet tale in “Love Story” to her nod to Aristotle in “That’s So High School.” DU professor of English Rachel Feder is an expert on all things literary arts. She teaches courses on 18th- and 19th-century British literature with emphases on Romanticism, literary experiment, intellectual history, women writers, and the Gothic. She is the author of six books, including “Daisy,” a narrative-poet...
RadioEd •

NIMBY By Design: How Renters’ Voices Go Unheard | University of Denver

Think about where you lay your head at night: Whether it’s an apartment, a house or a condo, do you own the place you sleep in?  While it’s more common to own a home than to rent one, there are more people renting now in the United States than at any point since 1965.   More than 45 million households in this country are rentals—that’s more than a third of all households in the United States, made up of more than 100 million residents.  And if you’re one of those 100 million renters, one Univers...
University of Denver Newsroom •

50 Countries, Countless Stories: DU Students Go Abroad | University of Denver

At the University of Denver, the world is your campus.It’s one of the many great things about DU. Students can go abroad and earn credits for a summer, a quarter, or even longer through the University’s abundant study abroad opportunities. In fact, more than 70 percent of undergrads go abroad at some point during their time at DU. Pursuing education abroad is not only the opportunity of a lifetime, but it’s also been made increasingly accessible to all students thanks to the support of the Cherr...
University of Denver •

The Inside Scoop on DU’s Most Popular Major | University of Denver

“Choose your own adventure” is how Kateri McRae, psychology department chair, describes getting a bachelor’s degree in psychology at the University of Denver.The most popular undergrad degree at DU, the psychology program is perfect for students with wide interests, offering them flexibility to pursue a double or even triple major in other disciplines. With one of the lowest numbers of required classes of all undergraduate programs at DU, the psychology major makes it easy for students to tack o...
University of Denver Magazine •

Art as Diplomacy

“All good art is political,” said acclaimed author Toni Morrison.
Historical events are often accompanied by works of art—like Beyoncé’s defiant song “Formation,” which is considered an anthem for the Black Lives Matter movement. The same goes for times of international social and political upheaval, like Ukrainian artists’ murals on bomb-blasted buildings or the graffiti on the Berlin Wall.
At the Sié Chéou-Kang Center for International Security and Diplo...
University of Denver Magazine •

All Access Pass: Newman Center

It’s 1:30 in the afternoon, and by the time I arrive backstage at Gates Concert Hall, the guys have already been there for at least an hour.
By “guys,” I mean a troupe of lighting and sound experts, all dressed in black, who are busying themselves with their respective pre-show tasks—taping down wires, setting up microphones and instruments and chairs. The expansive stage floor, also black, is bathed in lavender and gold light. Seven black microphone stands and a dozen equipm...
University of Denver •

The Right to Personhood: One Professor’s Fight for Animals | University of Denver

What if dogs were more than just “man’s best friend?”That’s an over-simplified version of the question being asked by animal rights lawyers like Justin Marceau, the Brooks Institute Faculty Research Scholar of Animal Law and Policy at the Sturm College of Law.Essentially, some activists and legal scholars are arguing that some animals—like dogs and elephants—should be granted “legal personhood.” A legal person is defined as “a human or a nonhuman legal entity that is treated as a person for lega...
University of Denver Newsroom •

‘The Dragon Roars Back’: How China’s Foreign Policy Is Reshaping Global Power | University of Denver

With the makings of a tariff war and heightened tensions between the United States and China, it’s uncertain what will happen in the coming months when it comes to the two world powers.Amid these geopolitical tensions, we look to experts in foreign policy to help us make sense of what’s going on—and what could be next.One of those experts is the University of Denver’s Suisheng Zhao, a professor in the Josef Korbel School of International Studies and the executive director of Korbel’s Center for...
University of Denver Newsroom •

DU Journalism Professor Reflects on Emmy Win | University of Denver

Kareem El Damanhoury wears multiple hats—all of them, though, perch on one goal: living and teaching trustworthy news reporting. As a journalist and producer with CNN, El Damanhoury recently earned a News Emmy award for Outstanding Breaking News Coverage of the Israel-Gaza War. In addition to his work in the fast-paced world of journalism, El Damanhoury also serves as a multimedia journalism and digital storytelling professor at DU. He’s been at DU since 2019 and is the founder and director of D...
University of Denver Newsroom •

Your Guide to Entertainment on Campus | University of Denver

Imagine this: You’re hanging out in your dorm, perhaps on a snowy day, with your homework finished. Maybe your roommate is out of town. You don’t have any club events or classes scheduled, and you’re sitting on your bed staring at your phone. You are bored with a capital B.You might not know it, but there are dozens of ways to entertain yourself right on campus. From galleries to performances and athletics events, there’s no shortage of exhibits and events to make you laugh, make you think or ma...
University of Denver Newsroom •

A Fulbright Recipient Finds Her Voice—And Her Way | University of Denver

It all began with a little voice.In the beginning, it wasn’t encouraging. It told her that her dream—earning one of the most prestigious scholarships in the world—might be too big, too out of reach.But, after Sophie Bergan got a taste of international travel as an undergrad, the little voice changed its tune.“That little voice in the back of my head that always thought about Fulbright was like, ‘Well, you could just try and throw together an application,’” she says.Bergan did much more than “thr...
University of Denver Newsroom •

Lamont at 100: A Century of Sound | University of Denver

The University of Denver’s Lamont School of Music is known as one of the top music schools in the world, producing award-winning musicians, composers and researchers.  Lamont was founded in 1924 as a private academy by Florence Lamont Hinman, a renowned voice teacher from Michigan. Under her direction, the school flourished, earning state accreditation in 1925 to grant bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in music. Originally located at 1170 Sherman St., it merged with the University of De...
RadioEd •

Black Wall Street: The Economic Roots of Racial Violence | University of Denver

Since the beginning, I think the first Black newspaper in the United States was 1827, “The Freedmen's Journal.” And not a departure from some of the other newspapers during that time, Black newspapers really made an attempt to be critical and to be investigative with what happened, right, to actually discover the truth of the events as well, particularly because a lot of the events that they're reporting on are really personal and dangerous, in some ways, to Black people. So even from the start,...
University of Denver Newsroom •

DU Expands Research Impact With New Centers and Institutes | University of Denver

The University of Denver has announced the designation of six existing DU research entities as official DU research centers, along with two existing entities that are now official DU research institutes.“It’s exciting to see these institutes and centers becoming living, breathing things,” says Corinne Lengsfeld, senior vice provost for research and graduate education. “A lot of these centers want to grow, and they will serve as the birthplace for our future institutes. These new centers and inst...
RadioEd •

Protecting Your Future: How Cognitive Decline Affects Financial Decision-Making | University of Denver

Hosted by Jordyn Reiland and Emma Atkinson, RadioEd is a triweekly podcast created by the DU Newsroom that taps into the University of Denver’s deep pool of bright brains to explore the most exciting new research out of DU. See below for a transcript of this episode.Many of these changes are good—we can celebrate the process of aging as one that invites wisdom and joy. But there are natural consequences of getting older, and one of those consequences is cognitive decline. Eric Chess is a former...
RadioEd •

Why University Research Matters | University of Denver

Hosted by Jordyn Reiland and Emma Atkinson, RadioEd is a triweekly podcast created by the DU Newsroom that taps into the University of Denver’s deep pool of bright brains to explore the most exciting new research out of DU. See below for a transcript of this episode.Since 2021, when DU was designated as an R1 research institute, the University has been full speed ahead on groundbreaking research locally and globally in psychology, engineering, education, natural science, mathematics and more. An...
RadioEd •

Throwback Thursday: The Power of Nostalgia Marketing | University of Denver

Well, I'll rely here on particularly the research that has looked at this as more of a psychological phenomenon. Predictors might include feeling socially excluded, or feelings of sadness, feelings of loneliness, powerlessness, inauthenticity, all of those negative emotions and states have been demonstrated in maybe six decades of marketing and consumer research on nostalgia to exacerbate feelings of nostalgia. And then in response to that, people like to turn to the past, and they like to, for...
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