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About

Brown Political Review is Brown University’s entirely student-written and student-run, nonpartisan magazine for political journalism.  Founded in 2012, BPR aims to bring high-quality reporting on regional, national, and international politics to Brown, the Providence community, and beyond.

Brown Political Review publishes a print magazine four times a year and updates this website daily with new articles, interviews, and multimedia content. The organization is home to a staff of 200 students working in all aspects of magazine and online content production.

BPR is grateful for the support of the Center for Philosophy, Politics, and Economics, an interdisciplinary program at Brown University that supports faculty associates, postdoctoral associates, and undergraduate groups in an effort to promote vibrant and rigorous political discourse.

The Story of Brown Political Review

In the fall of 2011, five Brown sophomores with a passion for politics united around a single idea. They envisioned a premier publication of student political journalism produced by the best writers and designers at Brown. When they discovered that Brown was the only Ivy League school without an established political review, the decision was made: they would start their own.

The founders spent the next several months planning and eventually secured funding for BPR from the Political Theory Project, which became the Center for Philosophy, Politics, and Economics in 2022. Professor John Tomasi, the Project’s director, was excited about the new space for the free exchange of political ideas promised by BPR.

Over the summer of 2012, the team worked tirelessly to build a staff 40 students strong and to create an organization that would be ready to hit the ground running in the fall. In October 2012, BPR released its first issue, The Choice: 2012, to the delight and surprise of many students on Brown’s campus.

Now, 11 years later, BPR has become a well-respected and widely read student publication, both in print and online. BPR continues to generate high-quality, nonpartisan political analysis—alongside hard-hitting interviews and hand-drawn artwork—all produced by a student staff that has grown to 200 undergraduate students at Brown and RISD.

The print magazine, published twice a semester, has developed into a 44-page volume filled with submissions from the Brown community. Online, BPR publishes more than 100 original articles written by staff writers each semester, as well as a selection of multimedia content and interviews conducted by our staff.

We are a diverse and passionate community of political junkies and journalists, business buffs, and aspiring artists, all committed to providing the Brown community with the best political magazine they’ve ever seen. Our team has grown into an organization built to last, and we are all excited to improve upon the BPR tradition in the years to come.