July/August 2017

Content

Fake But Free

A panel discusses how to distinguish fake news from actual journalism on social media—and how social media can help.

What It Means to Be "Good"

Katie Bayerl ’00 was a teacher who gave up the classroom for writing—until her love of teenagers pulled her back.

Commencement & Reunions

Check out our reunion slide show and coverage of all things Commencement, from Campus Dance to giving out degrees.

Handling Actors

Edwin Sherin ’52 directed thirty-six episodes of Law & Order and made James Earl Jones a star.

Obituaries

Obituaries from the July/August 2017 issue.

What You Thought

Readers comment on diversity lessons, doing laundry in the dorms, Native American art, and more.

Political Science

A New York Times science journalist argues that even if elected officials understood science, it might not make any difference.
portrait of Rinku Sen
Politics & Law

A New Way to Look at Race

Rinku Sen ’88 is helping redefine how we think about racial conflict.

Blood Brothers

Robert Friedman ’86 and David Falk ’94 never imagined their lives would intersect—until one was saving the other’s life.

Then and Now

It’s been a glorious spring for Brown alumnae and a season for looking back at a colorful history.

Mindfully Furious

What happens when you drag a 10-year-old to a lecture on mindfulness? Not what you may think.

Fresh Ink

How buildings can shape our moods, a look at vanished San Francisco, a novel set in the summer Hamptons, and more.

Meddling Ways

The Watson Institute's Stephen Kinzer wonders whether U.S. foreign policy has been a force for good in the world?

A Life of Books

New York Times Book Review editor Pamela Paul ’93 writes about how reading can change a life.

Writing Songs for Kids

Songwriter Gabriel Sokoloff ’06 composes music for the new Netflix kid's show Ask the StoryBots.

Fun at Work

Comedy writer Hallie Cantor ’11 writes satire and other kinds of humor for the New Yorker.

All Knowing

A Brown professor and his coauthor argue that each of us may know much less than we think.

Dear Tony

Playwright Steven Levenson ’06 wins a Tony for his book for the Broadway hit Dear Evan Hansen.

Just Dance

Twenty years after discovering African dance, Jamal Jackson ‘00 is keeping it fresh in Brooklyn.

125 Years of Brown Women

In May, Janet Yellen ’67 was only one of the VIPs on campus celebrating the success of Brown women.

The Final Frontier

MIT Geophysicist Maria Zuber ’83 ScM, ’86 PhD asks why we want so much to send humans to Mars?

Droppin' Science

Brown physics professor Stephon Alexander ’00 PhD says that Albert Einstein and John Coltrane shared a bond.

A Ridiculous Situation

At a Commencement forum, Robert De Niro talks acting, television, and the election of Donald Trump.

Graduate Degrees

With so much emphasis on undergrads, don't forget that Commencement  makes a lot of graduate students very happy, too.

Who Got the Honoraries?

A look at those men and women Brown thinks were worthy of this year's honorary degrees

Boxless Thinking

Delivering the baccalaureate inside First Baptist Church, Hamilton's Daveed Diggs ’04 redefines the graduation speech.

Trump's Troubles

At a Commencement forum, former Obama ethics czar Norm Eisen ’85 takes on Trump's ethics.  

Circus Medicine

Pediatric oncologist Joshua Schiffman ’96, ’00 MD thinks elephants can help us overcome cancer.   

From the President

University News

Creating Respect

Vice President for Campus life and Student Services Eric Estes takes on gender-neutral pronouns.