The Blue Review, a journal of popular scholarship, will feature "lively commentary, informed scholarship and critical conversation on politics, cities and the environment.

It will include articles written for a popular audience by scholars and other experts, in an effort to "deepen public involvement and understanding, to debate the ideas of our time and place, and to bridge the worlds of academia, journalism and public interest," according to a Boise State University press release.

The journal's website, thebluereview.org, is live and 32,000 print copies of the first edition, titled “The Presidency,” have been distributed as an editorial supplement in the Boise Weekly. “The Presidency” features articles on the 2012 contest for the White House and the role of the region, race, the Constitution, history, the media and the environment on national politics. Initial contributions include commentary by David Adler on what he believes is a similar disregard for the Constitution's war clause by both Barack Obama and Mitt Romney; a look at the significance of race in electoral politics; Romney's identification with the Mormon Church; and the knowledge gap of voters in non-swing states.

The Blue Review's website features a public affairs blog and frequent articles on the topics of politics, cities, the environment, media, higher education, nonfiction book reviews and data visualizations.