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BYUPR Channel 
2011
Wayne Sandholtz on Occupy Wallstreet and the Free Market
Wall Street was occupied for almost 2 months before the protesters were evicted last week, and it’s way past high time Eternal Regression weighed in. I know there are a lot of strong opinions about the Occupy Wall Street movement, but I hope to be fair and even-handed. It is my aim that no matter what corner of the political [...]
Civil Pacts in France: A Pro-Family Argument for Gay Marriage?
In the culture war over same-sex marriage, American political spectators have witnessed a death match of gladiator proportions. For every would-be coup de grâce delivered by one side, an equally crushing thrust from the other has forestalled a political ceasefire. Most recently, following the triumphal march of the “Yes on 8” legions in California, the “Freedom to Marry” cohorts embarked [...]
Facebook: A Middle Eastern Tool for Revolutions and…Dating?
Social media have made a splash in the Middle East recently with the outbreak of the Arab Spring. While I use Facebook to keep in touch with my friends back in the States, many here in Jordan and throughout the Middle East are using it to organize protest movements. Some say that these media have changed the way we revolt, [...]
Elephants in the Room
As election season wears on, the pageantry of the GOP primaries provides us with no shortage of spectacle and gossip mongering. Can anything be learned from such chaos? Is there a lesson to be taken from all this madness? Presented here are three things that I’ve learned, and what they mean for me, you, and the world. Lesson 1: No [...]
Andrew Johnston on Occupy Wall Street’s Blind Spots
Never before has my generation engaged so impressively for what it believes is fair. What I’m disappointed in is their lack of common sense, realism, and economics. I know that some of the protesters want to appropriate banks’ ill-gotten money (I still don’t know how it was ill-gotten). Doing so would be a contradiction of the most fundamental mechanism of [...]
Laura Olson on “Spiritual But Not Religious” Voters
A recent upturn in the number of self-described “Spiritual but not Religious” (SBNR) voters is making waves in American political demography. BYUPR’s Bryce Johnson spoke with Clemson’s Dr. Laura Olson on what we should expect to see change as a result.
Don’t like what you read? Then write
“If they won’t write the kinds of books we want to read,” said J.R.R. Tolkien, “we shall have to write them ourselves.” BYUPR agrees. We want you to enjoy our content. And for many of you, that means you’ll need to write it. Need some ideas? If headlines about Berlusconi or Mormon hipsters don’t seem interesting, consider some November holidays: [...]
Hal Miller on BYU students and local activism
Hal Miller teaches behavioral psychology at BYU and is running for a seat on the Provo City Council. BYUPR’s Bryce Johnson sat down with him to talk about political apathy and whether BYU students should have more of a say in Provo politics.
Glen Thurston on running for city council
Glen Thurston is a chemistry major at BYU. He recently ran for a seat on the Provo City Council for District 3, but lost in the primary to Hal Miller and Richard Wood. He reflects on why he ran, what he learned, and how students can be more involved in local politics. BYUPR: How did you decide you were going [...]
Oiling the Machine: Corruption in Utah Politics
After each new census, voting districts are adjusted to ensure proportional representation in Congress. Because State Legislature has chief control over this redistricting, the process also provides opportunities for incumbents to maximize the probability of their re-election, or “gerrymander.” Utah has a Republican Governor and the GOP holds a supermajority in both branches of the legislature. The legislature does not [...]