KUER’s award-winning interview show explores the world through deep thinkers who host Doug Fabrizio asks to think even deeper. Join writers, filmmakers, scientists and others on RadioWest: A show for the wildly curious.
Amanda Montell on the Age of Magical Overthinking
The author Amanda Montell says magical thinking is everywhere. If you’ve ever wondered if you could manifest your way to wealth, this one’s for you.
10/24/2024 • 50 minutes, 30 seconds
Through the Lens: ‘It’s Only Life After All’
Everyone knows the Indigo Girls — or at least they think they do. The indie rock duo hit the music scene in the early 80’s, and people were quick to try to categorize them.
10/23/2024 • 50 minutes, 30 seconds
The 2024 Election, Here and Beyond
We’re mere weeks away from the 2024 election, and there’s a lot more at stake than just the presidency. We’re convening a panel of local experts to get you ready.
10/17/2024 • 50 minutes, 30 seconds
How Indigenous Americans Discovered Europe
History is full of white explorers “discovering” the Americas. But there are stories that flow the other way, too, of Indigenous people who also “discovered” a new land — Europe.
10/16/2024 • 50 minutes, 30 seconds
A Map to a More Meaningful Life
Time is limited. And life is short. So why, asks the writer Oliver Burkeman, do we waste so much of it trying to get on top of things before we can focus on the really meaningful parts of life?
10/10/2024 • 50 minutes, 30 seconds
How Joe Rogan Remade Austin
The journalist Helen Lewis says that Austin, Texas, is at the center of a Venn diagram encompassing culture, gun ranges, low taxes and kombucha. Why? Because podcaster Joe Rogan lives there.
10/9/2024 • 50 minutes, 30 seconds
An Instagram Guide to Rock Art in the West
In the early 2000s, Matt Relkin, an artist from Florida, was living in New York City, where he took in fine art at galleries and museums. But when he visited southern Utah on the advice of a friend, and saw the ancient petroglyphs in Sego Canyon, his love for nature collided with his passion for art, and he was instantly hooked.
10/3/2024 • 50 minutes, 30 seconds
The Rise and Rise of Mormon Influencers
A recent exposé in a British newspaper pulled back the curtain on the world of Hannah Neeleman, a hugely popular Utah-based social media influencer. Once an aspiring ballerina, Neeleman’s posts now depict her seemingly idyllic as a Mormon stay-at-home mom caring for her eight kids, brood of chickens, herd of cows and flock of sheep on a homestead in Kamas, Utah. Her Instagram account is yet another window into a surprisingly large and growing constellation of hugely popular Mormon influencers.
9/26/2024 • 50 minutes
Why Animals Talk
The howling of wolves, the mewing of your cat, dolphins whistling —these aren’t just noises. They’re animals talking, and what they say might surprise you.
9/25/2024 • 50 minutes, 30 seconds
The Fight Over Amendment D
Utah lawmakers called themselves into emergency special session last month to draft a constitutional amendment that would give them the power to significantly alter voter-approved ballot initiatives. That change would need to be approved by voters, if, that is, the state courts allow it.
9/19/2024 • 50 minutes, 28 seconds
How Mike Lee Came to Support Trump
In 2016, Utah’s Senator Mike Lee tried to stop Donald Trump from becoming the president. Today, he might become Trump’s attorney general.
9/18/2024 • 50 minutes, 30 seconds
The Untold History of Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln is widely regarded as the greatest president in American history, a transformational figure who guided the nation through civil war and paved the way for the abolition of slavery. But what if he was queer, by modern standards? Because historians say that may well have been the case.
9/12/2024 • 50 minutes, 29 seconds
Selling Your Soul to the Devil
In Christopher Marlowe’s “Doctor Faustus,” the titular magician trades his soul to Lucifer for power. We’ve been captivated by such demonic transactions ever since.
9/11/2024 • 50 minutes, 30 seconds
The Fateful Final Voyage of Captain Cook
On July 12, 1776, James Cook set sail aboard the HMS Resolution. It was Cook’s third voyage, and this time, he wouldn’t come home again.
9/5/2024 • 50 minutes, 29 seconds
How the Road Crossed the Land
Roads are such a common feature of the landscape that you can forget they aren’t natural at all — that is, unless you’re an animal trying to cross one.
9/4/2024 • 50 minutes, 30 seconds
Why is Governor Spencer Cox Supporting Donald Trump?
Donald Trump has said that surviving an assassination attempt didn’t change him. But it sure did change Utah Gov. Spencer Cox.
8/29/2024 • 50 minutes, 30 seconds
A History of Witchcraft in Thirteen Trials
The scholar Marion Gibson is an expert on witches. Her latest book tells a centuries-long history through the stories of 13 witch trials.
8/28/2024 • 50 minutes, 30 seconds
The Legacy and Future of Abravanel Hall
With a major reconstruction in the works for downtown Salt Lake City, the fate of Abravanel Hall hangs in the balance.
8/22/2024 • 50 minutes, 30 seconds
'A River Runs Through It' and Writer Norman Maclean
Norman Maclean became a literary star after publishing his largely autobiographical novella, “A River Runs Through It.” A new book recounts his lifelong efforts to reconcile the different parts of himself.
8/21/2024 • 50 minutes, 30 seconds
Inside the U.S. Government's Search for Alien Life Here ― and Out There
UFOs undoubtedly exist. After all, people have been seeing inexplicable things in the skies for centuries. So, if the truth is out there, what does the government know about it?
8/15/2024 • 50 minutes, 30 seconds
Hijackings' Strange Early History
If you were born in post-9/11 America, the idea of a plane getting hijacked is terrifying. But once upon a time hijackers seemed more interested in the thrill than instilling fear. And one of them even became a kind of folk hero.
8/14/2024 • 50 minutes, 30 seconds
Black Mormons and the Struggle for Racial Equality, Pt. 2
We’re continuing our conversation about Black Latter-day Saints and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ long-awaited decision to grant Black men the priesthood.
8/8/2024 • 50 minutes, 30 seconds
Black Mormons and the Struggle for Racial Equality, Pt. 1
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints granted Black men the priesthood in 1978. It reversed a practice that had lasted for more than a century.
8/7/2024 • 51 minutes, 3 seconds
How to Build a Better Utah Garden
This one’s going out to all the local green thumbs — the Utahns who want beautiful gardens that actually thrive in the West. Our guest says it’s totally possible.
8/1/2024 • 50 minutes, 30 seconds
The Heat Will Kill You First
Jeff Goodell knows a thing or two about the climate crisis. He’s been writing about it for years. But it didn’t become personal until the heat nearly killed him.
7/31/2024 • 50 minutes, 30 seconds
A Conversation with a Death Doula
Alua Arthur’s life’s work is all about death. She’s a witness and shepherd to people who have reached the end of life. And she wants you to think about death too.
7/25/2024 • 50 minutes, 30 seconds
The Miracle Of The Gulls And Other Utah Legends
One of Utah’s many oddities is its state bird: the California Gull. But did you know that the humble gull is the hero in its own miracle tale?
7/24/2024 • 50 minutes, 30 seconds
The Real Origins of the Ten Commandments
Louisiana just passed a law that puts the Ten Commandments in public classrooms. That got us thinking: Where do the Ten Commandments really come from?
7/18/2024 • 50 minutes, 30 seconds
Sebastian Junger on Death and the Afterlife
Sebastian Junger is no stranger to death. He covered the war in Afghanistan for years. But it was a medical emergency that brought him face to face with dying — and an afterlife.
7/17/2024 • 59 minutes, 29 seconds
The Women Who Mapped the Botany of the Grand Canyon
When you think of the Grand Canyon, you probably think of rocks and, of course, the Colorado River. But in the summer of 1938, two women risked their lives to study another feature of the canyon: its plants.
7/11/2024 • 50 minutes, 30 seconds
Lessons from a Year on Ozempic
Johann Hari spent a year on the weight-loss drug Ozempic, and it worked — better than he could’ve imagined. But the treatment left him deeply conflicted.
7/10/2024 • 49 minutes, 36 seconds
Shakespeare According to Dame Judi Dench
If you’ve ever wanted to share a room with two great actors talking about Shakespeare, here’s your chance — with Dame Judi Dench and Brendan O’Hea.
7/4/2024 • 50 minutes, 30 seconds
The Revolutionary Samuel Adams
The role that Samuel Adams played in fomenting the American Revolution once made him the most wanted man in the country.
7/4/2024 • 50 minutes, 30 seconds
Shakespeare According to Dame Judi Dench
If you’ve ever wanted to share a room with two great actors talking about Shakespeare, here’s your chance — with Dame Judi Dench and Brendan O’Hea.
7/3/2024 • 50 minutes, 30 seconds
The Past, Present and Future of Salt Lake City’s Japantown
Almost 60 years ago, Salt Lake City’s Japantown was condemned to make way for the Salt Palace. Now, new plans for a big development have put what’s left of the Japanese American enclave in the crosshairs of urban development.
6/27/2024 • 50 minutes, 30 seconds
A Cultural History of Hypochondria
Writer Caroline Crampton survived cancer, but she still didn’t feel well. Instead, she was stuck with a persistent, anxious fear that the cancer would come back.
6/26/2024 • 50 minutes, 30 seconds
Is it Actually a Good Idea to Colonize Mars?
Life on earth is for the dogs. There’s too much regulation, too few resources and it’s burning up besides. Better to pack up and leave for Mars. Or is it?
6/19/2024 • 50 minutes, 30 seconds
RadioWest’s 2024 Summer Book Show
With summer upon us, it’s time again for a “RadioWest” tradition — gathering our trio of local booksellers to get you set up with all their favorite reads for the season.
6/19/2024 • 50 minutes, 18 seconds
RadioWest’s 2024 Summer Book Show
With summer upon us, it’s time again for a “RadioWest” tradition — gathering our trio of local booksellers to get you set up with all their favorite reads for the season.
6/19/2024 • 50 minutes, 18 seconds
On the Many Meanings of Twins
Twins have captivated the human mind since ancient times. But often what’s imagined of them reveals more about everyone else than it does about real twin life.
6/13/2024 • 50 minutes, 30 seconds
What An Owl Knows
Look into the eyes of an owl and what do you see? Is there any way to know what’s hidden behind those eyes? Thanks to new research, there might be.
6/12/2024 • 50 minutes, 30 seconds
Amanda Montell on the Age of Magical Overthinking
The author Amanda Montell says magical thinking is everywhere. If you’ve ever wondered if you could manifest your way to wealth, this one’s for you.
6/6/2024 • 50 minutes, 30 seconds
The Future of Sports and Entertainment in Salt Lake City
Plans for a so-called “rejuvenation zone” in downtown Salt Lake City are quickly moving ahead, but there’s a lot we still don’t know.
6/5/2024 • 50 minutes, 30 seconds
Mormonism's First Rebel Historian
This isn’t really an episode about a little-known Mormon writer from the 19th century: it’s an episode about the lifelong search to figure out what you believe.
5/30/2024 • 49 minutes, 36 seconds
A Year-Long Misadventure Through the Grand Canyon
Kevin Fedarko’s best friend said it would be easy: Hike from one end of the Grand Canyon to the other. He said it would be “a walk in the park.” It wasn’t.
5/29/2024 • 1 hour, 21 minutes, 5 seconds
A People’s History of the Nuclear West
In 1951, the U.S. government began test detonations of nuclear bombs in the Nevada desert. It wasn’t long before people started getting cancer.
5/28/2024 • 48 minutes, 55 seconds
Searching for Home in (Very) Rural America
Navied Mahdavian had always been a city guy. He had never fished, gardened, hiked, hunted or lived in a snowy place. Then he, his wife and dog moved from San Francisco to an off-the-grid cabin in rural Idaho.
5/28/2024 • 49 minutes, 34 seconds
The Emperors of Rome with Mary Beard
Mary Beard is an expert on the Roman Empire, and her latest book is about the rulers who presided over it — 30 emperors in nearly three centuries.
5/16/2024 • 49 minutes, 36 seconds
The Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook
On July 12, 1776, James Cook set sail aboard the HMS Resolution. It was Cook’s third voyage, and this time, he wouldn’t come home again.
5/15/2024 • 48 minutes, 49 seconds
The Tipping Trap
Has America's gratuity culture reached a tipping point? With tip prompts popping up everywhere from butcher shops to airport kiosks, the social norms around tipping are more fraught than ever.
5/9/2024 • 49 minutes, 45 seconds
The Enslaved Christians who Co-Wrote the Bible
Scholars say the New Testament was authored by familiar names, like Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and Paul. But they had important help: slave labor.
5/8/2024 • 49 minutes, 32 seconds
The State of the Utah Republican Party
Utah’s Republican conventions have always been rancorous and incredibly contentious. But according to one longtime observer, this year’s meeting was as nasty as it’s ever been.
5/2/2024 • 49 minutes, 37 seconds
The Past, Present and Future of Pro Hockey in Utah
It’s official: Utah is getting a professional ice hockey team. But is this a hockey place?
5/1/2024 • 49 minutes, 57 seconds
Never Heard of Scrupulosity? Neither Have Many Who Suffer From It
Even if you aren’t afflicted by it, you probably know about obsessive compulsive disorder. But even if you have it, there’s a good chance you’ve never heard of scrupulosity.
4/25/2024 • 50 minutes, 14 seconds
Celebrating the Natural World with Writer Rick Bass
For the acclaimed writer and environmental activist Rick Bass, there are no hard lines between life, art and the natural world.
4/23/2024 • 48 minutes, 3 seconds
Whales of the High Desert
In 1888, the daily Salt Lake Herald-Republican reprinted a story from a Canadian paper. The headline? That a family of whales was flourishing in the Great Salt Lake.
4/18/2024 • 36 minutes, 10 seconds
Breathing Salt Lake’s West Side Air
If you live in the Salt Lake Valley, you know a thing or two about air pollution. There are days when you can see it. But if you live on the west side it’s even worse.
4/17/2024 • 49 minutes, 14 seconds
Mere Beauty: Utah Symposium on Science and Literature
If you got a poet, a neuroscientist and a theoretical physicist together to talk about beauty, what would they possibly have to say to each other?
4/11/2024 • 50 minutes, 4 seconds
Through the Lens: ‘Hotshot’
Hotshots are the hardened individuals who fight wildfires. Gabriel Mann’s new film gets viewers as close to the fire line as you can be without becoming a hotshot yourself.
4/10/2024 • 49 minutes, 28 seconds
How the Ocean Works
The oceanographer Helen Czerski wants you to think of the ocean as a vast, planet-spanning engine. And what it drives is no less than life itself.
4/4/2024 • 49 minutes, 35 seconds
Exploring Clint Eastwood’s ‘Unforgiven’
Ahead of the Salt Lake Film Society’s screening of the 1992 Clint Eastwood classic “Unforgiven,” we sit down to talk about this great Western.
4/3/2024 • 52 minutes, 20 seconds
The Debate Over Women's Empowerment in the LDS Church
A recent post on the LDS Church’s official Instagram page has racked up thousands of comments, many from women who see a vast gulf between how empowered the church says they are, and how empowered they actually feel.
3/28/2024 • 49 minutes, 25 seconds
Is it Actually a Good Idea to Colonize Mars?
Life on earth is for the dogs. There’s too much regulation, too few resources and it’s burning up besides. Better to pack up and leave for Mars. Or is it?
3/27/2024 • 49 minutes, 39 seconds
A History of Witchcraft in Thirteen Trials
The scholar Marion Gibson is an expert on witches. Her latest book tells a centuries-long history through the stories of 13 witch trials.
3/21/2024 • 48 minutes, 52 seconds
Gardening along the (not so dry) Wasatch Front
Utah is suffering from megadroughts, a dying lake (or two) and a dwindling Colorado River. So, why, then, are we watering so much Kentucky bluegrass along the Wasatch Front?
3/20/2024 • 49 minutes, 15 seconds
Podcast Extra: A Brief History of Polyamory in America
Polyamory is having a bit of a moment right now. We wanted to learn more about the history of having more than one romantic partner.
3/18/2024 • 44 minutes
The Serious Search for Alien Life
UFOs undoubtedly exist. After all, people have been seeing inexplicable things in the skies for centuries. So, if the truth is out there, what does the government know about it?
3/14/2024 • 49 minutes, 30 seconds
Through the Lens: ‘Exposure’
In 2018, a group of inexperienced explorers — all women — set out on a journey that lots of people thought they couldn’t possibly finish: a trek to the North Pole.
3/13/2024 • 49 minutes, 16 seconds
Tax Exemptions for Religious Institutions
According to one report, the LDS Church’s financial holdings are in the hundreds of billions of dollars. And that raises the question: When is a church less about spirit and more about profit?
3/7/2024 • 50 minutes, 17 seconds
The Mastermind Behind Oil in the Uinta Basin
Transporting oil out of the Uinta Basin isn’t easy. The place is remote and the roads aren’t great. But a Texas oil man named Jim Finley is trying to change all that.
3/6/2024 • 49 minutes, 1 second
The 2024 Utah Legislative Wrap-Up
There is a new format for the Utah Legislative session — start with the most controversial bills up top. However, now that we near the end of the session, important bills are still in flux.
3/1/2024 • 49 minutes, 26 seconds
The Long Shot Bid for a Utah Lottery
Utah is one of only four states without a lottery. A longshot bill under consideration by the Utah State Legislature could potentially change that.
2/27/2024 • 0
Through the Lens - The Eternal Memory
“There is pain here,” “But there is also a lot of nobility.” From the book “The Forbidden Memory” by Augusto Góngora.
2/21/2024 • 49 minutes, 35 seconds
Through the Lens - The Eternal Memory
“There is pain here,” “But there is also a lot of nobility.” From the book “The Forbidden Memory” by Augusto Góngora.
2/21/2024 • 49 minutes, 35 seconds
The Alien Abduction of Betty and Barney Hill
On September 19, 1961, Betty and Barney Hill claimed they were abducted by “beings that were somehow not human.”
2/15/2024 • 49 minutes, 16 seconds
Spirit World Encounters in Mormon Utah
Growing up in Northern Utah, the scholar Erin Stiles often heard stories from her Mormon friends about visits from spiritual beings. In a new book, she explores just how common these experiences happen to be.
2/14/2024 • 47 minutes, 45 seconds
The Golden Era of Hijacking Planes
If you were born in post-9/11 America, the idea of a plane getting hijacked is terrifying. But once upon a time hijackers seemed more interested in the thrill than instilling fear. And one of them even became a kind of folk hero.
2/7/2024 • 49 minutes, 9 seconds
The Plan to Save Great Salt Lake
A new plan to protect Great Salt Lake was recently released. This one has the endorsement of Utah’s most powerful political leaders. But does it have what it will take to save the lake?
2/1/2024 • 50 minutes, 11 seconds
How the Road Crossed the Land
Roads are such a common feature of the landscape that you can forget that they aren’t natural at all — that is, unless you’re an animal trying to cross one.
2/1/2024 • 49 minutes, 40 seconds
The Future of D.E.I.
Lawmakers are rushing an anti-D.E.I. bill through the 2024 Utah Legislature.
1/25/2024 • 50 minutes, 12 seconds
Sundance Film Festival 2024: ‘Sugarcane’
In 2021, unmarked graves were discovered at several residential boarding schools in Canada. Then, investigations began.
1/24/2024 • 49 minutes, 9 seconds
A New History of Mormonism
Upstate New York, 1830: self-proclaimed prophets are creating new faiths. Joseph Smith was one such man, and it was his new religion that would endure.
1/18/2024 • 49 minutes, 30 seconds
Budget, Housing and DEI — It’s the 2024 Legislative Session
The controversial bills — including Diversity, Equity and Inclusion — will kick off the 2024 Utah Legislative Session.
1/17/2024 • 48 minutes, 50 seconds
The Offensive Magic of Swearing
A good swear is like a bomb, shocking and offensive to all in the blast-radius. Except for those times when swears don’t quite go off. So, what’s the difference?
1/11/2024 • 49 minutes, 42 seconds
Mary Beard On The Emperors of Rome
Mary Beard is an expert on the Roman Empire, and her latest book is about the rulers who presided over it — 30 emperors in nearly three centuries.
1/10/2024 • 49 minutes, 55 seconds
How the Female Body Drove Human Evolution
In biological and medical research, the majority of studies that use mice are only using males. Why? Because female mammals’ estrous, or sexual, cycle means that their bodies are more “messy” than their male counterparts.
1/4/2024 • 49 minutes, 43 seconds
The Films of 2023
You’ll find plenty of lists of the best films of 2023 out there. But only ours includes the tenth installment of a notoriously grisly horror franchise.
1/3/2024 • 48 minutes, 44 seconds
Habits — Good and Bad
For the new year, we’re sharing our conversation with psychologist Wendy Wood, who told us that changing habits and keeping goals isn’t about willpower — it’s about tapping into our unconscious selves.
12/28/2023 • 49 minutes, 28 seconds
Exploring the Sonic World with ‘Sounds Wild and Broken’
Our planet is filled with sound — birdsong, music, speech. Even the earth itself makes noise. That sonic diversity is in danger.
12/27/2023 • 49 minutes, 23 seconds
Nigella Lawson on What Makes a Good Meal
If you’re into food writing or follow celebrity chefs, the chances are good that you've run across British food star Nigella Lawson. But how much do you actually know about her work?
12/20/2023 • 49 minutes, 7 seconds
The LDS Church's Playbook for Hiding Child Sexual Abuse
A recent report from the Associated Press tells the story of Chelsea Goodrich, who alleges that her father, a former Mormon bishop, sexually abused her as a child. He’s since been excommunicated from the LDS Church, which sought to keep Goodrich’s allegations under wraps.
12/20/2023 • 49 minutes, 56 seconds
Nigella Lawson on What Makes a Good Meal
If you’re into food writing or follow celebrity chefs, the chances are good that you've run across British food star Nigella Lawson. But how much do you actually know about her work?
12/20/2023 • 0
RadioWest’s 2023 Holiday Book Show
It’s our favorite time of year – when we indulge in gathering piles of books and gifting them to our family and friends.
12/20/2023 • 50 minutes, 27 seconds
Through the Lens: ‘Subject’
Being featured in a documentary changes your life — and not just during the filming. Being a participant can often also mean public scrutiny, maybe trauma, for years and years.
12/13/2023 • 50 minutes, 18 seconds
The End of Craving
In recent years, many Americans have cut carbs and sugar, reduced fat and tried every diet. Yet millions of us still have high blood pressure, are pre-diabetic and obese. Why?
12/7/2023 • 49 minutes, 46 seconds
The Real Life of Napoleon Bonaparte
With Ridley Scott’s film “Napoleon” in theaters, we’re talking today about the real "Petit Caporal," a normal man who lived a life that was anything but small.
12/5/2023 • 49 minutes, 28 seconds
The Perfect Fence
In 1874, a farmer named Joseph Glidden patented what became known as “the perfect fence:” two wires lined with sharp, metal barbs.
11/29/2023 • 49 minutes, 4 seconds
The (Previously) Untold Story of the Women Who Mapped the Botany of the Grand Canyon
When you think of the Grand Canyon, you probably think of rocks and, of course, the Colorado River. But in the summer of 1938, two women risked their lives to study another feature of the canyon: its plants.
11/29/2023 • 49 minutes, 41 seconds
The Secret of Cooking
For many of us, cooking is an annoying, boring chore. But the food writer Bee Wilson says there’s a simple secret to an easier life in the kitchen, and it begins with the person who cooks.
11/21/2023 • 48 minutes, 46 seconds
RadioWest Films: ‘A Sister Must Sacrifice’
Miranda couldn’t wait to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She just didn’t know her weight would be a problem.
11/16/2023 • 49 minutes, 47 seconds
A People’s History of the Nuclear West
In 1951, the U.S. government began test detonations of nuclear bombs in the Nevada desert. It wasn’t long before people started getting cancer.
11/15/2023 • 49 minutes, 28 seconds
The 2023 Salt Lake City Mayoral Election
The race for Salt Lake City mayor comes down chiefly to two people, and both are, in a way, seeking re-election.
11/9/2023 • 49 minutes, 30 seconds
Through The Lens: ‘Body Parts’
During the silent film era, women directed, wrote scripts and had a lot of say over how they were portrayed on screen. Fast forward a hundred years to the #metoo movement, and that dynamic has entirely changed.
11/7/2023 • 49 minutes, 52 seconds
How the Ocean Works
The oceanographer Helen Czerski wants you to think of the ocean as a vast, planet-spanning engine. And what it drives is no less than life itself.
11/1/2023 • 49 minutes, 35 seconds
The Reckoning of Mitt Romney
When Mitt Romney was 17 years old, he attended the 1964 Republican national convention with his dad, then-governor of Michigan. George Romney, disgusted by the extremes he saw in his party, delivered a scathing rebuke. Years later, his son found himself in a very similar situation.
10/31/2023 • 1 hour, 19 minutes, 40 seconds
Radio Hour Episode 17: ‘Sherlock Holmes and The Final Problem’
Plan B Theatre and “RadioWest” are back with a new hour of live radio — and a live audience — with “Sherlock Holmes and the Final Problem.”
10/30/2023 • 50 minutes, 29 seconds
The Man Who Tasted Words
It’s through the senses of taste, sight, hearing, smell and touch that we perceive the world around us. But just how reliable, really, are those senses?
10/26/2023 • 49 minutes, 16 seconds
The Case Against the Gondola
The Utah Department of Transportation received more than 35,000 comments about its plans to build a gondola in Little Cottonwood Canyon. According to one count, more than 60% of commenters opposed the idea.
10/23/2023 • 49 minutes, 57 seconds
The Disastrous Voyage of the Wager
In 1740, the Wager set sail from England in search of Spanish treasure. Just about everything that could go wrong did go wrong.
10/19/2023 • 49 minutes, 31 seconds
The Scariest Movie of All Time
In 1973, moviegoers were seen fleeing from theaters. Some fainted; others threw up. That was the year that “The Exorcist” was released.
10/13/2023 • 48 minutes, 4 seconds
How to Cure Your Craving for More
If you find yourself fixating on something you want but know you don’t need, it’s not your fault; it’s the “scarcity brain” at work.
10/12/2023 • 49 minutes, 22 seconds
Through The Lens: ‘A Run For More’
In 2018, Frankie Gonzales-Wolfe, a transgender woman, ran for a city council seat in San Antonio, Texas — just as a flurry of anti-trans legislation was kicking up.
10/6/2023 • 48 minutes, 53 seconds
The Unraveling of Tim Ballard
In July, Tim Ballard stepped down as CEO of Operation Underground Railroad, just as “Sound of Freedom,” the movie based on his work, was released. Since then, a series of strange stories about Ballard have emerged.
10/6/2023 • 49 minutes, 39 seconds
"Sluffing School" and Other Utah-isms
Wanna talk like a real Utahn? Well, pour yourself a glass of “melk” and head on up to the “ruf.” We’ve got some “explainin’” to do.
9/29/2023 • 49 minutes, 54 seconds
Searching for Home in (Very) Rural America
Navied Mahdavian had always been a city guy. He had never fished, gardened, hiked, hunted or lived in a snowy place. Then he, his wife and dog moved from San Francisco to an off-the-grid cabin in rural Idaho.
9/29/2023 • 49 minutes, 44 seconds
A Struggle for the Soul of Mormonism; The September Six
Thirty years ago, in September of 1993, six prominent intellectuals were disciplined and excommunicated from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
9/21/2023 • 0
The World’s Most Successful Art Thief with Michael Finkel
Between 1995 and 2001, Stéphane Breitweiser stole 239 works of art from more than 100 museums around Europe. He never sold a single one.
9/21/2023 • 49 minutes, 38 seconds
The Case for the Gondola
More than fifty years ago, there was a proposal to build a gondola from the base of Little Cottonwood Canyon to Snowbird Ski Resort. What if it was the right idea all along?
9/16/2023 • 49 minutes, 17 seconds
How Parking Explains the World. Seriously.
Here’s a way in to understanding what author Henry Grabar wants to tell you about parking: it’s one of the reasons we’ve got a housing crisis in America.
9/14/2023 • 50 minutes, 14 seconds
The New Science and Enduring Mystery of Owls
Look into the eyes of an owl and what do you see? Is there any way to know what’s hidden behind those eyes? Thanks to new research, there might be.
9/8/2023 • 49 minutes, 31 seconds
Oliver Burkeman: How to Spend Four Thousand Weeks of Life
If each of us lives to be 80, we’ll have spent about four thousand weeks being alive on this planet — which isn’t really much time at all. So, how should we spend it?
9/7/2023 • 49 minutes, 51 seconds
What Happens to the Group When the Individual Tops All?
American culture promotes a strong sense of individualism. But, what happens when individualism trumps community?
9/1/2023 • 49 minutes, 22 seconds
Clint Eastwood: The Man with No Name
Clint Eastwood has been a constant in American cinema for more than 60 years. But if you think it’s all Westerns and machismo, you’d be wrong.
8/31/2023 • 49 minutes, 35 seconds
Is a Gondola the Silver Bullet for Little Cottonwood’s ‘Red Snake’?
By now you’ve probably heard about the gondola, the one that’s slated to go up Little Cottonwood Canyon. It’s still decades away, but debate over the plan is holding steady at a fever pitch.
8/25/2023 • 46 minutes, 40 seconds
The Whales of the Great Salt Lake
In 1888, the daily Salt Lake Herald-Republican reprinted a story from a Canadian paper. The headline? That a family of whales was flourishing in the Great Salt Lake.
8/24/2023 • 50 minutes, 5 seconds
Kelsy Burke on America’s Pornography Obsession
In 2016, Utah Republicans declared pornography a public health crisis. But their resolution was merely a modern salvo in the ongoing pornography wars.
8/21/2023 • 49 minutes, 46 seconds
Timothy Egan on the KKK’s Plot to Take Over America
At the height of its power, the Ku Klux Klan was run by a depraved charlatan named D. C. Stephenson, until a woman's deathbed confession brought him down.
8/21/2023 • 49 minutes, 20 seconds
Searching for Paradise with Pico Iyer
Religions and myths tell us of paradise — where there is no suffering and bliss abounds. But can a real paradise ever be reached or made?
8/14/2023 • 49 minutes, 29 seconds
Alvin Hall Drives the Green Book
In 2019, author and broadcaster Alvin Hall drove from Detroit to New Orleans, using the same guide that was used during the height of segregation, The Negro Motorist Green Book.
8/11/2023 • 48 minutes, 47 seconds
Through the Lens: '32 Sounds' with Sam Green
Filmmaker Sam Green is obsessed with sound. After you see his documentary, you might feel the same way.
8/3/2023 • 49 minutes, 30 seconds
Ramesses II: The King of Kings
The first known peace treaty was negotiated by Ramesses II, a pharaoh who came from a line of commoners and was the only Egyptian king known as “the Great.”
8/3/2023 • 50 minutes, 22 seconds
The Mountain Meadows Massacre, Pt. 2: Blood, Blood, Blood
“Did Brigham Young order the Mountain Meadows Massacre?”
7/27/2023 • 48 minutes, 23 seconds
The Mountain Meadows Massacre, Pt. 1: Too Late, Too Late
On September 11, 1857, a Mormon militia attacked a wagon train of California-bound emigrants. They killed more than a hundred men, women and children.
7/27/2023 • 49 minutes, 33 seconds
Web Extra: Revisiting Operation Underground Railroad
With the release of the new film, “The Sound of Freedom,” Operation Underground Railroad and its founder, Tim Ballard, are back in the news, so we are reposting our 2022 episode about the organization and the realities of child-sex-trafficking. This episode mentions an investigation into Operation Underground Railroad, which has since been dropped.
7/27/2023 • 51 minutes, 28 seconds
David Remnick on the GOATs of Pop Music
As the longtime editor of The New Yorker, David Remnick has profiled many of rock n’ roll and pop music’s greatest performers, often later in their lives.
7/21/2023 • 47 minutes, 47 seconds
The Alien Abduction of Betty and Barney Hill
On September 19, 1961, Betty and Barney Hill claimed they were abducted by “beings that were somehow not human.”
7/20/2023 • 48 minutes, 51 seconds
David Grann on the Disastrous Voyage of the Wager
In 1740, the Wager set sail from England in search of Spanish treasure. Just about everything that could go wrong did go wrong.
7/14/2023 • 49 minutes, 10 seconds
Never Heard of Scrupulosity? Neither Have Many Who Suffer From It
Even if you aren’t afflicted by it, you probably know about obsessive compulsive disorder. But even if you have it, there’s a good chance you’ve never heard of scrupulosity.
7/14/2023 • 50 minutes, 20 seconds
Through The Lens: Users
After the birth of her son, documentary filmmaker Natalia Almada asked herself: Will technology be a better mother than me?
7/7/2023 • 49 minutes, 56 seconds
Awe and the Science of Wonder with Dacher Keltner
You know that feeling you get when you see something so incredible that it transcends understanding? That’s awe. But, really, what is awe?
7/6/2023 • 48 minutes, 33 seconds
Michael Finkel on the World’s Most Prolific Art Thief
Between 1995 and 2001, Stéphane Breitweiser stole 239 works of art from more than 100 museums around Europe. He never sold a single one.
7/1/2023 • 50 minutes, 1 second
The Revolutionary Samuel Adams with Stacy Schiff
The role that Samuel Adams played in fomenting the American Revolution once made him the most wanted man in the country.
6/29/2023 • 52 minutes
Quentin Tarantino and ‘Inglourious Basterds’
What do you get when you mix conversations about burgers in Europe, debates about Madonna’s “Like a Virgin,” plus lots of violence? A Tarantino movie.
6/22/2023 • 49 minutes, 34 seconds
Is Utah Ready For The Big Leagues?
An effort is underway to bring a Major League Baseball team to Utah. But what does it mean, and what does it take to make the jump to the big leagues?
6/16/2023 • 49 minutes, 55 seconds
Abraham Verghese On ‘The Covenant of Water’
Abraham Verghese’s new novel “The Covenant of Water” is already a critical sensation. We’re talking with him about writing it, as well as the intersection between art and medicine.
6/15/2023 • 49 minutes, 44 seconds
Through the Lens: ‘Squaring the Circle (The Story of Hipgnosis)’
What do Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon,” Led Zeppelin’s “Houses of the Holy” and “Elegy” by The Nice have in common? All are iconic albums — visually, as well as musically.
6/10/2023 • 45 minutes, 12 seconds
Through the Lens: ‘Squaring the Circle (The Story of Hipgnosis)’
What do Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon,” Led Zeppelin’s “Houses of the Holy” and “Elegy” by The Nice have in common? All are iconic albums — visually, as well as musically.
6/9/2023 • 45 minutes, 12 seconds
RadioWest’s 2023 Summer Book Show
With summer here, it’s time once again to gather our trio of booksellers, who are full of good ideas about what to read poolside this year.
6/9/2023 • 51 minutes, 30 seconds
Through the Lens: ‘Squaring the Circle (The Story of Hipgnosis)’
What do Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon,” Led Zeppelin’s “Houses of the Holy” and “Elegy” by The Nice have in common? All are iconic albums — visually, as well as musically.
6/8/2023 • 0
A History of Utah Pride
Today, we’re talking about the history of the LGBTQ+ experience in Utah. At the beginning of Utah’s statehood, it was common for people of the same gender to live together. Think of groups of women in polygamist households or scores of men living together on ranches. So, did anyone question these groups’ sexuality?
6/2/2023 • 47 minutes, 38 seconds
John Vaillant On The Personality Of Fire
If you’ve been following the news, you’ll know that Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are currently burning. But this area of Canada, located just above the Northeastern U.S., is not one of North America’s hot, dry, fire prone areas.
6/2/2023 • 49 minutes, 24 seconds
Toby Wilkinson on Egypt’s King of Kings
The first known peace treaty was negotiated by Ramesses II, a pharaoh who came from a line of commoners and was the only Egyptian king known as “the Great”.
5/26/2023 • 49 minutes, 48 seconds
Latino History in Utah with Professor Armando Solorzano
Armando Solorzano, a professor at the University of Utah, says the time has come for Latino-American Utahns to reclaim their history and regain a sense of belonging to this state.
5/26/2023 • 49 minutes, 40 seconds
Little Moon Sits at the Tiny Desk
In 2008, NPR Music created the Tiny Desk concerts — a video series of live concerts performed at the desk of “All Songs Considered” host Bob Boilen. What began as a simple and intimate performance has turned into somewhat of a “cult following.”
5/19/2023 • 49 minutes, 20 seconds
Timothy Egan on the KKK’s Plot to Take Over America
At the height of its power, the Ku Klux Klan was run by a depraved charlatan named D. C. Stephenson, until a woman's deathbed confession brought him down.
5/19/2023 • 49 minutes, 20 seconds
Radio Hour Episode 16: ‘The Case of the Missing Dog’
Plan-B Theatre and “RadioWest” are back with a new hour of live radio: a world premiere by Brandan Ngo, “The Case of the Missing Dog.”
5/12/2023 • 46 minutes
A Conversation with Heather Armstrong
On Tuesday, Heather Armstrong died by suicide after a lifetime struggle with depression.
5/11/2023 • 49 minutes, 50 seconds
Rethinking John Wayne
43 years after his death, John Wayne is still among America’s most popular and revered movie stars. Today, we’re talking about his life, roles and legacy.
5/5/2023 • 53 minutes
Kelsy Burke on America’s Pornography Obsession
In 2016, Utah Republicans declared pornography a public health crisis. But their resolution was merely a modern salvo in the ongoing pornography wars.
5/4/2023 • 53 minutes
The Undelivered Great Speeches
Have you ever wondered what Hillary Clinton might’ve said if she’d become president? Actually, you can know — by reading her speech that was never delivered.
4/28/2023 • 53 minutes
Lori Daybell and 'Doomsday' Beliefs
The trial of Lori Vallow Daybell is underway in Idaho and it is bringing attention to her “doomsday” religious beliefs. This week we are revisiting our conversation with the author Leah Sottile, who wrote about Daybell in her book: “When the Moon Turns to Blood”.
4/27/2023 • 53 minutes, 6 seconds
Web Extra: NPR's A Martínez on the Future of Public Radio
When A Martínez got his first job in public radio in 2012, he was already well into a very successful radio career. He also knew nothing about public radio or the public radio world. So, how did he end up here?
4/27/2023 • 52 minutes, 54 seconds
Web Extra: Wes Anderson and “The Royal Tenenbaums”
Wes Anderson’s films are among the most stylistically recognizable in American cinema. And “The Royal Tenenbaums” is among his most lauded.
4/24/2023 • 37 minutes
What the Bible Does — and Doesn’t — Say
Dan McClellan is a faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who oversaw scripture translations at the Church for years. Dan Beecher is an ex-Mormon and an atheist. Together, they host a podcast about the Bible.
4/21/2023 • 53 minutes
Claire Dederer on Reckoning with the Great Art of Bad Men
Is it okay to consume — even to love — the art created by people who’ve done terrible things? What are the ethics of making a choice like that?
4/21/2023 • 53 minutes
The Utah Floods of 1983 — And 2023
It was spring of 1983, Utah skiers were happy, snowpack was at a record high and temperatures kept it there well into May. Until it didn’t. Sound familiar?
4/14/2023 • 52 minutes, 48 seconds
John Hendrickson’s ‘Life on Delay: Making Peace with a Stutter’
In 2019, “Atlantic” writer and editor John Hendrickson wrote a piece about then-presidential candidate Joe Biden’s struggle with stuttering. It forced Hendrickson to reconcile with his own stutter, too.
4/13/2023 • 53 minutes
The History of Juanita Brooks' History of Mountain Meadows Massacre
For nearly a century, the murder of 120 emigrants by Mormon militiamen at Mountain Meadows in early September, 1857, existed as little more than whispers around Utah. Then a rural housewife and writer named Juanita Brooks dared to tread where others had long feared to and write the first history of the Mountain Meadows Massacre.
4/12/2023 • 52 minutes, 4 seconds
Pico Iyer's Search For Paradise
Religions and myths tell us of paradise — where there is no suffering and bliss abounds. But can a real paradise ever be reached or made?
4/7/2023 • 53 minutes
Through the Lens: All That Breathes
Out of the polluted skies over New Delhi, India, birds of prey known as Black kites fall to the ground. Two brothers care for and rehabilitate them.
3/31/2023 • 53 minutes
Society's Obsession with Women’s Butts
We’ll forgive you for laughing at the headline of this episode. But the thing is, butts have a serious cultural history.
3/30/2023 • 53 minutes
Defining Christian Nationalism
Last month, a Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) poll gauged the rising influence of Christian nationalism among religious Americans. Its findings were eye opening.
3/28/2023 • 53 minutes, 1 second
Dacher Keltner on the Science of Awe
You know that feeling you get when you see something so incredible that it transcends understanding? That’s awe. But, really, what is awe?
3/23/2023 • 53 minutes
LDS Church and the GSL, Part II
On Wednesday, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced that it will donate a permanent yearly transfer of 20,000 acre feet of water to the Great Salt Lake.
3/17/2023 • 53 minutes
Open Season on Utah’s Mountain Lions
Early this month, the Utah Legislature passed a bill that would make it legal to kill mountain lions year-round. All you’d need is a basic hunting license.
3/17/2023 • 52 minutes, 23 seconds
LDS Church and the GSL, Part II
On Wednesday, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced that it will donate a permanent yearly transfer of 20,000 acre feet of water to the Great Salt Lake.
3/17/2023 • 53 minutes
LDS Church and the GSL, Part II
On Wednesday, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced that it will donate a permanent yearly transfer of 20,000 acre feet of water to the Great Salt Lake.
3/17/2023 • 53 minutes
The State and Fate of the Great Salt Lake, Part V
A report released earlier this year declared that, if it continues to dry up at its current rate, Great Salt Lake “as we know it will disappear in five years.” So, what can be done to prevent that?
3/13/2023 • 53 minutes, 2 seconds
Through the Lens: ‘The Right to Read’
37% of American fourth-graders read at “below basic” levels, which really means they can hardly read at all. A new film asks why.
3/10/2023 • 53 minutes
Wrapping up the 2023 Utah Legislative Session
The 2023 Utah Legislative Session concludes at midnight on March 3rd. We’re processing what lawmakers did—and didn’t—get done this time around.
3/3/2023 • 52 minutes, 56 seconds
A Nine Page Report on Hiding LDS Church Investments
Last week, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission issued a cease-and-desist to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, along with a $5 million fine.
3/3/2023 • 53 minutes, 3 seconds
Stacy Schiff on ‘The Revolutionary Samuel Adams’
The role that Samuel Adams played in fomenting the American Revolution once made him the most wanted man in the country.
2/24/2023 • 53 minutes
A Living History of the Green Book with Alvin Hall
In 2019, author Alvin Hall drove from Detroit to New Orleans, using the same guide that was used during the height of segregation, The Negro Motorist Green Book.
2/24/2023 • 53 minutes, 2 seconds
LDS Church and the GSL
The rapid decline of Great Salt Lake has happened within easy eyesight of the headquarters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, leading some to ask what responsibility the church has to help.
2/17/2023 • 52 minutes, 23 seconds
Jamie Kreiner on What Monks Teach Us about Distraction
Today, it’s received wisdom that screens ruined our ability to concentrate. But Medieval monks were obsessed with distraction, too — and the stakes were higher.
2/16/2023 • 53 minutes
John Hendrickson on Making Peace with a Stutter
In 2019, The Atlantic published a story by John Hendrickson about Joe Biden’s struggle with stuttering. And it forced John to reconcile with his own stutter, too.
2/9/2023 • 53 minutes
Through the Lens: Hidden Letters
For thousands of years, women in China shared a secret language — a code only women could read, that bonded them together in solidarity and sisterhood.
2/3/2023 • 53 minutes
Lake Bell: The Human Voice
A true multi-hyphenate, writer-director-actor Lake Bell is obsessed with how we sound. Her new audiobook celebrates that “least-appreciated” trait: our voices.