Y Magazine

How do you handle political disagreement in your family? In a world rife with political division, it can feel difficult to share your opinion without feeling attacked or misunderstood—or thinking everyone else is wrong. In this episode of the Y Magazine podcast, host Whitney Singley Archibald (BA ’01) discusses the art of disagreement with Marianne Holt Viray (BA ’96), executive director of the nonprofit organization Disagree Better. Disagreement, Viray says, isn’t bad—nor are political conversations. What matters is how those conversations are held. This episode is based on “Doing Disagreement Better” by Julia K. Nebeker (BA ’24) and Anna E. Sneddon (’27), found in the Spring 2025 issue of Y Magazine. If you enjoyed this episode, you may be interested in Disagree Better’s free online courses and the Dignity Index. Visit disagreebetter.us to learn more. You may also like the episodes “Making Peace: How to Mediate Conflict in Our Families” and “How to Be a Good Citizen with the American Moms.” If you’re interested in how to have faith-related conversations, you may like “Building Bridges: How to Enrich Interfaith Relationships.” If you’re enjoying this podcast, we’d appreciate your feedback so we can make more of the kinds of episodes you’d like best. Take the survey. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. New episodes post on the first and third Thursdays of each month.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One of the most important lessons parents can teach their children is how to manage money. In this episode of the Y Magazine podcast, host Whitney Singley Archibald (BA ’01) talks with Ashley LeBaron-Black (BS ’16, MS ’18) to discuss the best ways to teach kids about finances. LeBaron-Black is a BYU family life professor who researches financial socialization in families. This episode is based on “For Love and Money” by Tyler S. Stahle, found in the Spring 2022 issue of Y Magazine. If you enjoyed this episode, you might also like other episodes about parenting: “Artful Parenting: How to Make Creativity Part of Your Family Culture,” “Making Peace: How to Mediate Conflict in Our Families,” and “How to Help Kids Love Reading with BYU Professor Paul Ricks.” If you’re enjoying this podcast, we’d appreciate your feedback so we can make more of the kinds of episodes you like best. Take the survey. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. New episodes post on the first and third Thursdays of each month.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What is the difference between perfectionism and scrupulosity? Do religious people experience more or less toxic perfectionism that non-religious people? What can we do to minimize toxic perfectionism? In this episode of the Y Magazine podcast, host Whitney Singley Archibald (BA ’01) chats with BYU religion professor Michael Goodman (PHD ’04), one of several professors conducting a long-term study about the relationship between perfectionism and religion. This episode is based on the article “The Perfect Problem” by Brooklyn Hughes Roemer (BA ’22), in the Spring 2025 issue of Y Magazine. Read the issue of BYU Studies devoted to Latter-day Saints and Perfectionism here. For some great general conference talks about perfectionism, check out “Be Ye Therefore Perfect—Eventually” and “Perfection Pending.” If you’re enjoying this podcast, we’d appreciate your feedback so we can make more of the types of episodes you like best. Take the survey. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. New episodes post on the first and third Thursdays of each month.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For the past two decades, BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe (BS ’83, MS ’95) has been calling the shots. In this episode of the Y Magazine podcast, host Whitney Singley Archibald (BA ’01) sits down with Holmoe to discuss what brought him to BYU, what made him keep coming back, and the remarkable people he’s worked with along the way. If you liked this episode, you might also enjoy these sports-related episodes: “BYU Joins the Big 12” and “Fast Friends: Olympians Conner Mantz and Clayton Young.” If you’re enjoying this podcast, we’d appreciate your feedback so we can make more of the kinds of episodes you like best. Take the survey. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. New episodes post on the first and third Thursdays of each month.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Forget house calls—try mountain calls at 13,000 feet. In this episode of the Y Magazine podcast, host Whitney Singley Archibald (BA ’01) chats with Craig Nuttall (MS ’11), the BYU nursing professor and emergency nurse practitioner who founded the Mountain People Project. Nuttall talks about his experience bringing critical healthcare to people traveling through the Garhwal Himalayas. This episode is based on the article “Healing in High Places,” by Abi Falin Horspool (’24), in the Winter 2025 issue of Y Magazine. If you enjoyed this episode, you might also like other episodes about international service: “Saving Days: Ending Period Poverty with Days for Girls” and “Life and Breath: BYU Students Improve Public Health in Nepal.” And you can hear Archibald’s story of her rock-climbing fall in “Spiritual Lessons and a 30-Foot Fall.” If you’re enjoying this podcast, we’d appreciate your feedback so we can make more of the kinds of episodes you like best. Take the survey. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. New episodes post on the first and third Thursdays of each month.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Love stories abound at BYU, and in this Valentine’s Day special of the Y Magazine podcast, host Whitney Singley Archibald (BA ’01) talks to three BYU alumni couples about their proposal stories. High school sweethearts Stephanie Smith Eliason (BA ’91, MA ’95) and Eric Eliason (BA ’92) tell their story of flat tires and reconnection, Matthew Scott (BM ’06) and Heather Brown Scott (BA ’06) recount a chance encounter at the BYU Creamery and a showstopping proposal during a concert, and Kim Thornock (BA ’91) and Kareen Hursman Thornock (BA ’92) talk about their dancing dates. This episode was based on the article “Popping the Question” from the Summer 2021 issue of Y Magazine. If you liked this episode, you might enjoy another episode with alumni stories, “True Blue Friendship,” about friendships forged at BYU, and one about alumni service: “Going Forth—It’s What We Do: How BYU Grads are Making a Difference.” If you’re enjoying this podcast, we’d appreciate your feedback so we can make more of the types of episodes you like best. Take the survey. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. New episodes post on the first and third Thursdays of each month.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this engaging conversation, Richard Culatta, a BYU alum and CEO of the International Society for Technology and Education, shares his insights on guiding kids through the digital landscape. He discusses the nuanced approach to managing screen time and encouraging responsible technology use tailored to each child's maturity. Culatta emphasizes the importance of cultivating positive digital citizenship skills and creating a supportive online community. Practical strategies for enhancing family connections through technology also take center stage, promoting a balanced digital culture.

How old is too old to learn to play an instrument? The New Horizons Orchestra gives adults over 40 a chance to learn a string instrument—even if they’ve never played one before. In this episode of the Y Magazine podcast, host Whitney Singley Archibald (BA ’01) talks with director Allison Bennett Taylor (BMu ’12, MMu ’22) and orchestra members about how the orchestra is about more than just music. This episode is based on the article “Strings of Support,” by Abi Falin Horspool (’24), which will appear in the Winter 2025 issue of Y Magazine. If you enjoyed this episode, you might also like another musical episode: “Take a Tour of BYU’s New Music Building,” or our episode “Lifelong Wellness.” If you’re enjoying this podcast, we’d appreciate your feedback so we can make more of the types of episodes you like best. Take the survey. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. New episodes post on the first and third Thursdays of each month.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How do you inspire a love of reading in your children, siblings, nieces, nephews, or grandkids? With so many distractions, it can be difficult to make reading a priority. But Paul Ricks, BYU professor of children’s literature, says if we want children to value reading, we need to show them that we value it too. In this episode of the Y Magazine podcast, host Whitney Singley Archibald (BA ’01) talks with Ricks about how to make reading an interactive and enriching experience for both children and adults. Ricks also gives several book recommendations, listed below: I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klaussen, I Talk Like a Like a River by Jordan Scott, The Arrival by Shaun Tan, The Mona Lisa Vanishes by Nicholas Day, Spiders by Nic Bishop, Seen and Unseen by Elizabeth Partridge, Ain’t Burned All the Bright by Jason Reynolds, and Big by Vashti Harrison. This episode is based on an upcoming article about about encouraging kids to love reading that will appear in the winter 2025 issue of Y Magazine. You might also like these episodes: Artful Parenting: Making Creativity Part of Your Family Culture and Making Peace: How to Mediate Conflict in Our Families. If you’re enjoying this podcast, we’d appreciate your feedback so we can make more of the types of episodes you like best. Take the survey. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. New episodes post on the first and third Thursdays of each month.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What do you see when you look at a pile of cardboard? BYU Recycling Supervisor Bill Rudy sees trees. BYU has been ramping up its sustainability efforts for decades, with recycling, responsible food service practices, energy efficiency, transportation options and more. This fall, BYU was recognized as one of just 140 institutions with a gold rating from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. In this episode of the Y Magazine podcast, host Whitney Singley Archibald (BA ’01) takes listeners behind the scenes of BYU’s sustainability efforts by talking to Rudy; Bremen J. Leak (BA ’05), associate director of sustainability at BYU; Aaron Skabelund (BA ’95), bike enthusiast and director of the Office of Civic Engagement at BYU; and two students. This episode is based on an upcoming article about BYU’s sustainability efforts that will appear in the winter 2025 issue of Y Magazine. Check out other behind the scenes episodes: Take a Tour of BYU’s New Music Building and A Chat With President C. Shane Reese. If you’re enjoying this podcast, we’d appreciate your feedback so we can make more of the types of episodes you like best. Take the survey. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. New episodes post on the first and third Thursdays of each month.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.