Features

Getting Something Done

Only 13 percent of Americans approve of the job the U.S. Congress is doing. Yet Brown alumni continue to go to Washington to work on Capitol Hill. We talked to five of them.

Pedal Pusher

When Soulcycle CEO Melanie Whelan ’99 lost interest in her engineering concentration, she became an entrepreneur.
Medicine & Health

Looking for Nature

Humans may have replaced much of the natural world with their own, but the need for contact with nature persists.
Politics & Law
Glenn Kessler

Just the Facts

Glenn Kessler, the Washington Post fact checker, was especially busy last year.
History

No Bonfires, Please

Archibald "Archie" Delany spent a lot of his time preventing students from burning down the campus.
History
A vintage photograph of a bear in a stroller, from 1948.

Ursus Brownicus

In the old days, bears were not always volunteers.
Ever True
Barbara Weiss Kimmel as the Bear

It’s a Bear’s Life

An account from the first woman to become Bruno.
First Person
Max Deutsch

I Have a System for That

Each month for a year, Max Deutsch ’11 vowed to master something playful yet “ridiculously hard” during his spare time.
Science & Tech
Tori Kinamon

Resistance Fighters

Decades of antibiotic overuse have created superbugs that have developed resistance to our drugs with chilling speed.
Student Life

Snapshot

These exceptional members of the Class of 2018 have already made an impact on their world—and ours.
Humanities & Culture
Illustration of a man in in the gallows, holding the rope that releases the noose around his neck

What Would You Do?

Why did people help Germans slaughter their Jewish neighbors? It's complicated.
Ever True
Ivy Day

A Place of Their Own

Legendary Pembroke dean Margaret Morriss spent her life fighting for women's rights.
Science & Tech
Illustration of woman adding a lot of salt

Pondering the Palate

How everything from our environment to our mood impacts what goes on in our mouths
Humanities & Culture
Portrait of Dréya St. Clair ‘05 and Kate Bornstein ’69

Breaking Down the Binary

Male? Female? How about neither, both, or something else entirely?
Politics & Law
Aaron Cooper ’21 running a workshop

Tomorrow’s Citizens

Scott Warren ’09 started a nationwide program that teaches students civics via local involvement.
Politics & Law
portrait of Cecile Richards

Rights, Now

Former Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards ’80 says there’s never been a better time to fight for change.
Science & Tech
Brain science illo showing nervous system, dna marker, and a fly

On the Neural Frontier

Mapping the body’s most complex organ in surprising new ways.
Humanities & Culture
portrait of Nicole Dusang '20 PhD

The 0.3 Percent

Brown's small but expanding community of students who are military veterans
The Arts
Still photo from RaMell Ross film

A Symphony of Moments

RaMell Ross’s documentary about a black community in the deep south.
Ever True
Flip flop bracelets

Wrap It Up

Our 12th annual holiday gift guide.
History
Bathsheba Demuth in Rhode Island

Unfrozen

Professor Bathsheba Demuth on the environment and dog-mushing in the Yukon.
Business & Entrepreneurship
Jennifer Knight '89 stands between woolen spinning frames

Dyed in the Wool

Jennifer Knight ’89 has returned manufacturing jobs to an American town.
Business & Entrepreneurship
illustration of a woman wearing sunglasses with gummies for lenses

Tricky Business

The U.S. is entering a weed boom—but the federal government still outlaws the substance.
Business & Entrepreneurship
Photo of Angel Brunner ’94

Angel Investing

Angelique Brunner ’94 is is revitalizing some of Washington’s most blighted neighborhoods.
The Arts
Illustration of a woman lost in the woods

Far From All Fair Guidance

At dusk, a Puritan woman wakes up from a nap in the woods.
Student Life
portrait of Jennifer Mastrianni

Who We Are

Profiles of a few of the exceptional students graduating in 2019.
The Arts
portrait of Bruce Miller

Dystopia Calling

Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, as retold on Hulu by Bruce Miller ’87, is having a moment.
Humanities & Culture
illustration of a louche rich dude

Our One Percent Obsession

Why do so many of us spend our free time gaping at the super-rich on TV?
Politics & Law
Andrew Yang at a campaign rally

Andrew Yang Wants to Give You $1,000

Andrew Yang ’96 and his surprisingly successful presidential candidacy.
Humanities & Culture
portrait of AG Sulzberger

Public Enemy No. 1

Arthur Gregg Sulzberger ’03, publisher of the “failing New York Times"
Medicine & Health
Candid photo of Elizabeth Cureton ’95, and Veronica Shim ’95 MD

Keep It Simple

Four Brown alums and their integrated breast care center help make a cancer diagnosis a little easier
The Arts
Portrait of Courtney Mattison in her studio

Fragile Beauty

Courtney Mattison ’11 AM creates ceramic installations about endangered coral reefs.
The Arts
illustration of screen-obsessed theater-goers

Will Smart Phones Kill Live Theater?

12 Brown playwrights on writing for the stage in the age of streaming
Business & Entrepreneurship
Model wearing earring from the 2019 Gift Guide

Bright.

This season’s best ideas for gifts—and giving—from businesses and nonprofits founded by Brown alums
History
illustration of student being arrested at a demonstration

Fighting for Their Future

Lauren Maunus ’19 and Emma Bouton ’20 have been on the front lines of the growing youth environmental movement.
Humanities & Culture
illustration inspired by Charles Schultz's Peanuts

Losers for the Win

A new book of essays looks at why we love Charlie Brown
Ever True
illustration of face made from intersecting circles

Open Minds

For 50 years, Brown’s Open Curriculum has produced innovative leaders. What’s the next Big Idea?
Ever True
illustration of a woman under a stylized tree

2069

Brown has spent 50 years ahead of the curve in higher education. What innovations will mark the next 50?
Education
illustrated portrait of George Morgan

Father of the Open Curriculum

Meet the emeritus professor who paved the way for the University’s signature approach to education.
Medicine & Health
portrait of med student Eloho Akpovi

Race Rx

Race-based assumptions are baked into medical training. Brown med students are working to change that.
Sports & Recreation
varsity rowing team 1960

Stroke of Luck

How a ragtag team of club rowers from Brown almost took the national varsity championship in 1960.
Medicine & Health
illustration of a pregnant woman, with a fever graph overlaying her polka dot top

Parenting Rules You Can Break

A sip of wine when pregnant? TV for toddlers? Professor Emily Oster crunches the data and encourages parents to relax.
Ever True
portrait of Jeannette Gonzales-Wright

Nevertheless, They Persisted

Meet seven extraordinary students graduating into a new world.
Medicine & Health
portrait of Bina Venkataraman ’02

Crazy Times, Sane Decisions

Bina Venkataraman ’02 on why it’s more important than ever to plan ahead—and how to do it.
History
portrait of John M. Barry ’68

Lessons from 1918

An expert on last century’s influenza pandemic shares what history could have told us about COVID-19... if we’d been willing to listen.
History
detail of a photo of Prof Mermel's door showing a postcard featuring a gargoyle

The 30-Year Warning

A med school professor has been talking pandemic preparedness for decades
Humanities & Culture
Portrait of Nitana Hicks Greendeer ’03 with her daughters

A Language, Liberated

Nitana Hicks Greendeer ’03 is a leader in the effort to bring the Wôpanâak language back.
Humanities & Culture
Portrait of Heidi Kim ’87

Walking the Labyrinth

For Heidi Kim ’87, combating racism is a lifelong practice deeply rooted in her Christian faith
History
Illustration of a riot scene

NOW!

Brown alums on this year’s nationwide demands for racial justice & the urgent need for lasting change
Science & Tech
Jessica Meir ’99 plays with a water droplet in space

Safe Space

Astronaut Jessica Meir ’99 on being at zero gravity and zero risk of COVID-19
Politics & Law
portrait of Congressman David Cicilline ’83

Going Up Against Goliath

He took on Providence Mayor Buddy Cianci and R.I. political corruption. Now he’s coming for Zuckerberg. The unlikely moral crusade of David Cicilline ’83.
History
Portrait of Edward Ball ’82

Under the Hood

A Klansman's descendent probes his background to expose larger truths about white America history.
Sports & Recreation
portrait of Brynn Smith ’11

State of Play

This spring, Brown overhauled its athletics program. Varsity teams went club and vice versa, protests and lawsuits ensued, and some teams were reinstated.
History
illustration of nefarious CIA agent

Ghost Dose

The true story of the CIA’s secret experiment with LSD in the search to create a Manchurian Candidate
History
A WWI nurse lights the cigarette of a wounded soldier

Lit.

How nicotine, alcohol, amphetamines, opium, cocaine, and even caffeine have fueled the world’s wars
History
illustration of the first Delta line at Brown

Black Girl Magic

In the wake of the 1968 Black Student Walkout, a chapter of the politically engaged, storied Black sorority Delta Sigma Theta was born at Brown.
Humanities & Culture
illustration of traveler with telescope

The View From Tripoli

I went to Lebanon not just to learn Arabic but to take a break from America—and came back with a new perspective.
Ever True
collage illo of UHall

“Old Brick” at 250

From housing Revolutionary War soldiers to being occupied by student protestors: A brief history of University Hall.
Ever True
portrait of Aidan Reilly

Emerging Victorious

Meet seven of the many exemplary students who thrived—and graduated—despite the pandemic.
Medicine & Health
Seth Berkley in Mozambique

Stick It.

How do you get the world to work together, and fast, to get all of humanity vaccinated against COVID?
Ever True
portrait of Vartan Gregorian in the NYPL

Beloved

Former President Vartan Gregorian, who transformed the N.Y. Public Library, then Brown, is perhaps most remembered for his generous spirit—and bear hugs.
Sports & Recreation
Illustration of football in a dream bubble by Kelsey Dake

No-Touch Football

The Bears are heading into the fall season quite unbruised, after their year of social distancing, virtual practices, and zero play. A look at the game plan.
Sports & Recreation
Image of Clapp running the 220-yard dash in 1939

Dashed

Tokyo, 2020: Olympics canceled due to COVID. Tokyo, 1940: Olympics canceled due to WWII. Star sprinter Ken Clapp ’40 had hoped to be there.
Religion & Spirituality
Image of Bishop Paula Clark

Brave Enough to Be It

Bishop Paula Clark ’84 has pushed her way past many closed doors—and aims to open them even further.
Business & Entrepreneurship
little girl holding a woven throw

Comfort & Joy

Brown alums offer bright ideas for your holiday gifts & year-end giving.
Politics & Law
illustration of Jonathan Acosta

The Reformers

Four young Brown alums are working to make the Ocean State a better place for working-class people.
Medicine & Health
portrait of Jonathan Kurtis ’89, ’95, ’96MD

The Malaria Hunter

A Brown pathology professor may have developed a revolutionary new approach to battling one of the world’s deadliest diseases
History
portrait of Arn Chorn Pond playing the flute

Songs of Survival

Arn Chorn-Pond’s flute-playing literally saved his life in a child labor camp in his native Cambodia. Now he helps other children of war and brings once-banned music back to rural villages.
The Arts
Sachi Cunningham selfie in the water

Stepping Into Liquid

Photographer Sachi Cunningham ’94.5 grabs a 25-pound camera and hangs out in the water beneath cresting 60-foot waves, getting pounded, churned—and getting the shot.
Humanities & Culture
portrait of Prof. Elizabeth Rush

Lift Up Their Voices

Former journalist Elizabeth Rush traded news writing for testimony—allowing people in coastal communities to tell their climate change stories their way.
Politics & Law
portrait of Mimi Pichey ’72

Holding the Line

Through women’s empowerment groups, class action lawsuits, protests, and clinic defense, Brown students and alums have worked to obtain, preserve, and protect abortion rights for more than 50 years.
Religion & Spirituality
Illustration of a free-falling woman being caught by clergy hands

A Theology of Choice

Before Roe v. Wade, Brown chaplains led a state-wide group of ministers and rabbis that helped women get safe abortions. They saw it as their religious duty.
Medicine & Health
portrait of Ashish Jha

The First Word in Public Health

For Brown public health dean Ashish Jha, the nation’s new COVID czar, being one of the most trusted pandemic pundits in the U.S. isn’t about moonlighting. It’s about effective public health messaging for Gen Z and beyond.
History
portrait of Olivia Ward Bush-Banks

Roots, Reconnected.

A book of Afro-Indigenous poetry found in the Hay Library reunites two women across generations.
Business & Entrepreneurship
portrait of Elizabeth Hargrave in the woods

Taking Flight

A consultant and lifelong gaming fan hatches a new board game about birds.
Humanities & Culture
photo of Dr. Robert Smith in the chapel at Tougaloo College

At the Fork of the Stream

In 1964, at the height of the battle to end segregation, Brown entered into a partnership with Tougaloo, a historically Black college in Jackson, Mississippi. From that first year to today, Brown students have been mentored by beloved physician, civil rights leader, and “living legend” Dr. Robert Smith.
Politics & Law
illustration featuring Debby Pattiz

Through the Iron Curtain

As Russia’s war on Ukraine gives a new generation a taste of what authoritarianism is all about, Debby (Wilson) Pattiz ’89 remembers her semester on the other side of the Berlin Wall.
Politics & Law
portrait of Paula Caballero ’84

17 Steps to Save the Planet

Paula Caballero ’84 came up with international goals for sustainable development, created a road map of how to get there—then got every nation on earth to agree.
Business & Entrepreneurship
photo of wooden spoons

The Scoop!

The best holiday gifts & year-end giving ideas from Brown alums
Medicine & Health
Gabriela Álvarez-Martinez ’11 in her garden

Liberation Cuisine

Chef Gabriela Álvarez-Martinez ’11 draws from her public-health training and her Puerto Rican roots to create delicious food to sustain and heal those trying to change the world—starting with herself.
Business & Entrepreneurship
portrait of Irving Fain ’02

Cyber Farm

Irving Fain ’02 grows crops with less water, no pesticides, no dirt. His vertical farms may be the answer to food security.
Humanities & Culture
photo portrait of Prof. Glenn Loury

Maverick.

Professor Glenn Loury is a leading conservative voice in America, from his home base at Brown.
Humanities & Culture
collage portrait of Zhuqing's aunt Zhen

Divided Lives

At the dawn of Mao’s China, Professor Zhuqing Li’s aunts were separated by opposing ideologies.
Medicine & Health
Med School students in the cafeteria

Build Your Own MD

At 50, the Warren Alpert Medical School has become a national leader. We talk to founding alums who took a leap of faith.
Humanities & Culture
Photo of the clasped hands of Tricia Rose and Andre Willis

Love & Joy

A course on African American culture cotaught by Professor Tricia Rose ’87 AM, ’93 PhD, and Professor Andre Willis—whose vigorous debates are part of their happy marriage—serves as a model for antiracism and radical love.
Humanities & Culture
detail of a map of the Jewelry District

Brilliant.

Providence’s Jewelry District once supplied most of the nation’s costume jewelry sparkle. Now it’s home to some of the city’s hottest new restaurants and bars—and a significant part of Brown’s expanding campus.
The Arts
photo of Chance Emerson in a tea house, with guitar

Chance Emerson & the Series of Improbable Events

A band cobbled together before classes started freshman year has performed onstage in front of 3,000 people, opening for Blues Traveler. What’s next for Chance Emerson ’24 and his bandmates? First, homework.
Business & Entrepreneurship
collage illustration of Doug Diamond ’75

Running from the Bear

Douglas Diamond ’75 compares bank runs to a bear encounter gone bad—flee and you’re f@#%ed. His analysis helped save the U.S. economy in 2008 and won him a Nobel Prize last year.
The Arts
illustrated portrait of Gayl Jones

A Seminal Author Breaks Her Silence

Palmares, the long-awaited novel by Gayl Jones ’73 AM, brings readers inside 17th-century Brazil and a colony of Africans who have escaped slavery
The Arts
portrait of Andrew Sean Greer in tulle

Less Rules. More Fun.

Andrew Sean Greer ’92 blazed a path to the Pulitzer by breaking literary rules with protagonist Arthur Less. Now Less Is Lost—and readers are loving it.
Politics & Law
photo of Elder at a campaign stop

Family Matters

Hard work. Personal responsibility. Republican presidential candidate Larry Elder ’74 aims to re-parent America the way his dad raised him.
The Arts
illustrated portrait of Percival Everett

Percival Everett Thinks You’re Smart.

Prolific, multi-talented writer and artist Percival Everett ’82 AM is one of the most celebrated American writers of our era. But when it comes to figuring out what his books actually mean, he prefers to leave that up to you.
Business & Entrepreneurship
photo of colorful macarons in a stack

A Few of Our Favorite Things

The best holiday giving ideas from Brown alums
Science & Tech
photo from the deck of the Mālama, heading into the wind

Ocean’s 11

Charlie Enright ’08 and Mark Towill ’11 of the 11th Hour Racing Team on winning the Ocean Race while trying to save the seas.
Education
photo of Luis Campos on the mat

The Art of Spectacle

Luis Campos ’14 gets real with his research into combat sports as a pro wrestler in Shanghai.
Business & Entrepreneurship
portrait of Gus Wenner in front of a wall of Rolling Stone covers

Cover of the Rolling Stone

Gus Wenner ’12 has a fresh take on his dad’s 1967 hit. Will it play for Gen Z and beyond?
Politics & Law
illustration of a domestic abuse victim trapped in her home

Rights + Wrong

No one’s pro-domestic-violence. Until you start looking at state laws, where protecting victims often loses out to protecting gun rights.
Medicine & Health
illo of a teen listening to their phone

Are the Kids Alright?

The pandemic hit teens hard, causing a measurable decline in mental health. Enter Molly Josephs ’09, whose podcast, This Teenage Life, became a lifeline for tweens and teens from California to Kabul, helping them to vent—and heal—one episode at a time.
Medicine & Health
portrait of John Johnson at home

Talking Back

After the medical and racial nightmare that was 2020, John Johnson ’23 MD set out on a healing path that includes talking openly about mental health, racism, and medical disparities.
Medicine & Health
Annie Lanzilotto on a daily walk in Cork City

Living Large While Something’s Trying to Kill You

Writer and performer Annie Lanzillotto ’86 has spent a lifetime dodging cancer—while making work that elevates her vibrant, violent working-class upbringing to the realm of poetry, ritual, and myth.
Sports & Recreation
photo of the Brown women's Rugby Team huddling during a game

Unrelenting

What a championship-winning team knows about love, loss, and rugby
The Arts
portrait of Miriam Silverman

Ovation

Miriam Silverman took her first Broadway bow the day after her mother died. A couple of months later, she took home a Tony.
Science & Tech
portrait of Michael Blanpied in the classroom

Fault Tolerance

After decades of research, a reliable earthquake prediction system remains elusive as ever. Michael Blanpied isn’t worried.
The Arts
photo of the Lindemann against the sky

Tuning Up

As the new, high-tech Lindemann Performing Arts Center turns one, artists are just starting to take advantage of all it can do.
Sports & Recreation
Fahringer ready to race

True Grit

Ten years ago, Rebecca Fahringer ’13 ScM went pro in the mud-and-rocks world of cyclocross. Several head injuries later, the fierce competitor has learned to play the long game.
Humanities & Culture
illustrated portrait of Kati and Sa'ed

Eye to Eye

Since 2014’s Gaza War, these two professors—one Palestinian, one Israeli—have been working together. They sat down with us to talk about history, censorship, antisemitism, diasporas, and, most of all, peace.
Business & Entrepreneurship
Gift Guide products 2024

Flights of Fancy

The best holiday giving ideas made by Brown alums for you and yours.
Medicine & Health
photo of Gregory Stiller in his yard

Extreme Medicine

ER doctor and self-described “adrenaline junkie” Gregory Stiller ’90 provides care under some of the most difficult conditions in the world.
Medicine & Health
illustrated portrait of Prof. Mary Carskadon

Sleep Secrets

Why do teens sleep so late? Is there a scientific way to measure how sleepy you are? Pioneering sleep scientist Mary Carskadon has answers—and is still discovering new frontiers.
Medicine & Health
illustration of an athlete vaulting into bed

Power Napping

Carskadon protegée Allison Brager ’07 on sleep as a performance enhancer
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