Y Magazine

Who wouldn’t want a peaceful life? Making that desire a reality is where many of us get stuck. But Emily de Schweinitz Taylor (BA ’97, PhD ’24), an expert in mediation and conflict resolution, believes that even a three-year-old can learn to navigate conflict effectively. The trick? Practicing a few simple communication tools.

On this episode of the Y Magazine podcast, Taylor and host Whitney Singley Archibald (BA ’01) discuss fiv...

BYU alumni from all walks of life are leaning into the second half of the university’s motto: "Go forth to serve." In this episode of the Y Magazine podcast, hear three different stories about alums who have bloomed where they were planted—turning their unique circumstances into opportunities to serve others. Listen in as host Whitney Singley Archibald (BA ’01) uncovers stories of preemie miracles and playhouses, hope for foster ch...

Byron J. Adams (BS ’93), BYU’s always-chill “worm herder,” lives in Antarctica for months each year to conduct some mind-blowing microfauna research. On this episode of the Y Magazine podcast, join Adams and host Whitney Singley Archibald (BA ’01) to uncover his passion for the natural world. From his origins as a free-range kid with a fascination for Mother Nature to a biologist who has a nematode namesake, Adams harnesses his cur...

When BYU economics professor Joseph P. Price (BA ’03) realized that FamilySearch lacked coverage of many African American and international individuals, he employed AI tools to expand coverage of the human family and help build our genealogical ties. Through BYU’s Record Linking Lab (rll.byu.edu), his team has already added 50 million people to the tree. But the work isn’t done. The lab calls on the rising generation to broaden its...

Odds are, you’ve experienced loneliness at least a time or two. According to BYU psychology professor Julianne Holt-Lunstad (BS ’94, MS ’98), loneliness is a part of everyone’s human experience; and feeling isolated can be worse for your health than big-name problems like obesity, alcoholism, and pollution. On this episode of the Y Magazine podcast, host Whitney Singley Archibald (BA ’01) and Holt-Lunstad discuss the biological exp...

Have you ever made an unlikely friend who ended up changing your life? Turns out, that’s not so uncommon here at Brigham Young University. In this episode, we’ll hear from four alumni who share their unique stories of friendship—each starting on campus and making a lasting impact. From unrequited crushes to Christlike service, these tales can teach us a thing or two about how to be a true friend.

This episode is based on the First...

To enhance your Come, Follow Me study of Book of Mormon in 2024, learn 10 study techniques from BYU religion professors Joseph M. Spencer (BA ’04) and Daniel L. Belnap (BA ’96, MA ’99). Whether you’re studying the Book of Mormon individually, as a family, in a seminary or institute class, or in Sunday School, Spencer and Belnap suggest we “zoom in and out” as we read, looking at the scriptures on both a micro and macro level.

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This summer, Y Magazine podcast host Whitney Singley Archibald (BA ’01) took a serious tumble—a fall of 30 feet while rock climbing in Provo's Rock Canyon. Miraculously, she landed in the only Whitney-shaped clearing possible—an inch or two higher or to the right, and she would have hit her head on a rock. The injuries she did sustain weren’t insignificant—from a shattered sacrum to a grisly compound wrist fracture, Whitney had a l...

Who comes to mind when you think of your favorite teacher? It’s probably someone who ignited a passion, instilled confidence, or cared deeply. On this episode of the Y Magazine podcast, join host Whitney Singley Archibald (BA ’01) in chatting with two inspiring teachers who graduated from BYU and went forth to teach: high school physics teacher Wesley R. Morgan (BS ’18) in Springville, Utah, and ESL and ethnic-studies teacher Natal...

In May 2023, a group of BYU engineering students touched down at the airport in Quito, Ecuador. They were headed to Prótesis Imbabura, a small prosthetics clinic. It was time to put their work to the test: the students had been designing and redesigning two key components for prosthetic legs—liners and foot shells. Their goal was to make components that were both affordable and comfortable and that could be manufactured locally to ...

Join our host Whitney Singley Archibald (BA ’01) and assistant director of the School of Music Mark J. Ammons (BMu ’85) on an audio tour of BYU’s new Music Building. This state-of-the-art building opened in January 2023 and houses acoustically impressive performance halls, upgraded recording studios, and improved classrooms and practice spaces for daily use. From the Concert Hall to Studio Y to the Percussion Rehearsal Room, the bu...

As a member of the displaced Karen people, BYU international-relations student Laesgaw K’Chawtee (’25) spent his early childhood in a Thailand refugee camp—about as far from Provo, Utah, as you can get. So how did he become a sophomore at Brigham Young University teaching a 300-level Karen-language course for returned missionaries?

Speaking with his friend and Y Magazine intern Coleman S. Numbers (’26), K’Chawtee shares how his fa...

“Religious freedom isn’t just for believers,” says Elizabeth A. Clark (BA ’94, JD ’97), associate director of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies at BYU. “What religious freedom does is preserve a space where people can make choices.”

In this episode, Whitney and Elizabeth Clark discuss religious freedom—what it really is, why it matters, and what we can do to stand up for it. They cover how religious freedom imp...

With BYU entering the Big 12 athletic conference this season, Cougar Nation is buzzing with excitement. As the 2023 schedules are set, the challenges and advantages of being in a power-5 conference are becoming a reality. And the Cougars are getting ready to compete on a national stage. “The expectation is high,” says women’s soccer coach Jennifer Rockwood (BS ’89). “There’s pressure, we’re nervous. But you know, you want that in y...

Over the years, fitness and sports classes at BYU have gone by many names. For a while, they were part of the exercise-science department, then the course catalog listed them as STAC classes, and as of 2019, they’re known as student wellness (SWELL) classes. Through all that time, though, one thing’s stayed true: the classes are a source of fun, activity, and exploration for students. And every year, the SWELL program seeks to expa...

Feeling like you’ve whittled down your responsibilities to the absolute essentials but can’t ever shake utter exhaustion? You are not alone. Join Y Magazine podcast host Whitney Archibald as she talks to Greg McKeown (BA ’03), BYU alum and the best-selling author of Essentialism and Effortless, about his own journey through burnout to simplicity.

As a young father feeling weighed down with work obligations and spending time with h...

“The world is our campus,” reads the familiar BYU mantra. And epic photos captured all over the world verify this fact to grads, fans, and families. But where do these high-quality captures come from?

In this episode, follow BYU photographer Jaren S. Wilkey (BA ’01) through the creative process of capturing a masterpiece photo. Wilkey talks through a recent favorite shoot, featuring linebacker Pepe M. Tanuvasa (BS ’22) smashing th...

For L. Kala’i Ellis (BS ‘20, MS ‘22), reef conservation on the island of Molokai, Hawaii, is more than a research interest—it’s part of his heritage. His grandmother grew up on the centrally located island and was a lifelong advocate for both ecological and social reform on the island, a cause his father inherited passion for and passed along to Ellis.

Ellis, who recently obtained his graduate degree in biology, was the lead stude...

For some Americans, the outcome of the 2016 presidential election meant elation and victory; for others, a dark and confusing turn in national politics. In the midst of that highly contentious moment, adrift in a sea of supercharged rhetoric and caustic online debate, one truth was clear to sisters Brittany Candrian Richman (BA ’04) and Andrea Candrian Reeve (BA ’04): “People don’t understand what it takes to make a difference in o...