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RadioWest

English, Human interest, 1 season, 188 episodes, 6 days, 10 hours, 41 minutes
About
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.
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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.
10/24/202450 minutes, 30 seconds
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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.
10/23/202450 minutes, 30 seconds
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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.
10/17/202450 minutes, 30 seconds
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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.
10/16/202450 minutes, 30 seconds
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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?
10/10/202450 minutes, 30 seconds
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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.
10/9/202450 minutes, 30 seconds
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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.
10/3/202450 minutes, 30 seconds
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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.
9/26/202450 minutes
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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.
9/25/202450 minutes, 30 seconds
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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.
9/19/202450 minutes, 28 seconds
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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.
9/18/202450 minutes, 30 seconds
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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.
9/12/202450 minutes, 29 seconds
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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.
9/11/202450 minutes, 30 seconds
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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.
9/5/202450 minutes, 29 seconds
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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.
9/4/202450 minutes, 30 seconds
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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.
8/29/202450 minutes, 30 seconds
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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.
8/28/202450 minutes, 30 seconds
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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.
8/22/202450 minutes, 30 seconds
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'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.
8/21/202450 minutes, 30 seconds
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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?
8/15/202450 minutes, 30 seconds
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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.
8/14/202450 minutes, 30 seconds
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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.
8/8/202450 minutes, 30 seconds
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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.
8/7/202451 minutes, 3 seconds
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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.
8/1/202450 minutes, 30 seconds
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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.
7/31/202450 minutes, 30 seconds
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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.
7/25/202450 minutes, 30 seconds
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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?
7/24/202450 minutes, 30 seconds
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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?
7/18/202450 minutes, 30 seconds
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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.
7/17/202459 minutes, 29 seconds
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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.
7/11/202450 minutes, 30 seconds
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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.
7/10/202449 minutes, 36 seconds
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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.
7/4/202450 minutes, 30 seconds
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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.
7/4/202450 minutes, 30 seconds
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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.
7/3/202450 minutes, 30 seconds
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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.
6/27/202450 minutes, 30 seconds
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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.
6/26/202450 minutes, 30 seconds
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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?
6/19/202450 minutes, 30 seconds
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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.
6/19/202450 minutes, 18 seconds
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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.
6/19/202450 minutes, 18 seconds
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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.
6/13/202450 minutes, 30 seconds
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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.
6/12/202450 minutes, 30 seconds
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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.
6/6/202450 minutes, 30 seconds
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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.
6/5/202450 minutes, 30 seconds
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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.
5/30/202449 minutes, 36 seconds
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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.
5/29/20241 hour, 21 minutes, 5 seconds
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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.
5/28/202448 minutes, 55 seconds
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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.
5/28/202449 minutes, 34 seconds
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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.
5/16/202449 minutes, 36 seconds
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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.
5/15/202448 minutes, 49 seconds
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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.
5/9/202449 minutes, 45 seconds
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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.
5/8/202449 minutes, 32 seconds
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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.
5/2/202449 minutes, 37 seconds
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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?
5/1/202449 minutes, 57 seconds
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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.
4/25/202450 minutes, 14 seconds
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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.
4/23/202448 minutes, 3 seconds
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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.
4/18/202436 minutes, 10 seconds
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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.
4/17/202449 minutes, 14 seconds
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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?
4/11/202450 minutes, 4 seconds
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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.
4/10/202449 minutes, 28 seconds
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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.
4/4/202449 minutes, 35 seconds
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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.
4/3/202452 minutes, 20 seconds
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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.
3/28/202449 minutes, 25 seconds
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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?
3/27/202449 minutes, 39 seconds
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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.
3/21/202448 minutes, 52 seconds
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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?
3/20/202449 minutes, 15 seconds
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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.
3/18/202444 minutes
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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?
3/14/202449 minutes, 30 seconds
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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.
3/13/202449 minutes, 16 seconds
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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?
3/7/202450 minutes, 17 seconds
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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.
3/6/202449 minutes, 1 second
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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.
3/1/202449 minutes, 26 seconds
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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.
2/27/20240
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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.
2/21/202449 minutes, 35 seconds
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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.
2/21/202449 minutes, 35 seconds
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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.”
2/15/202449 minutes, 16 seconds
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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.
2/14/202447 minutes, 45 seconds
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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.
2/7/202449 minutes, 9 seconds
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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?
2/1/202450 minutes, 11 seconds
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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.
2/1/202449 minutes, 40 seconds
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The Future of D.E.I.

Lawmakers are rushing an anti-D.E.I. bill through the 2024 Utah Legislature.
1/25/202450 minutes, 12 seconds
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Sundance Film Festival 2024: ‘Sugarcane’

In 2021, unmarked graves were discovered at several residential boarding schools in Canada. Then, investigations began.
1/24/202449 minutes, 9 seconds
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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.
1/18/202449 minutes, 30 seconds
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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.
1/17/202448 minutes, 50 seconds
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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?
1/11/202449 minutes, 42 seconds
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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.
1/10/202449 minutes, 55 seconds
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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.
1/4/202449 minutes, 43 seconds
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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.
1/3/202448 minutes, 44 seconds
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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.
12/28/202349 minutes, 28 seconds
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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.
12/27/202349 minutes, 23 seconds
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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?
12/20/202349 minutes, 7 seconds
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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.
12/20/202349 minutes, 56 seconds
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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?
12/20/20230
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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.
12/20/202350 minutes, 27 seconds
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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.
12/13/202350 minutes, 18 seconds
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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?
12/7/202349 minutes, 46 seconds
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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.
12/5/202349 minutes, 28 seconds
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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.
11/29/202349 minutes, 4 seconds
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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.
11/29/202349 minutes, 41 seconds
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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.
11/21/202348 minutes, 46 seconds
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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.
11/16/202349 minutes, 47 seconds
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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.
11/15/202349 minutes, 28 seconds
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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.
11/9/202349 minutes, 30 seconds
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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.
11/7/202349 minutes, 52 seconds
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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.
11/1/202349 minutes, 35 seconds
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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.
10/31/20231 hour, 19 minutes, 40 seconds
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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.”
10/30/202350 minutes, 29 seconds
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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?
10/26/202349 minutes, 16 seconds
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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.
10/23/202349 minutes, 57 seconds
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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.
10/19/202349 minutes, 31 seconds
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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.
10/13/202348 minutes, 4 seconds
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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.
10/12/202349 minutes, 22 seconds
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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.
10/6/202348 minutes, 53 seconds
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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.
10/6/202349 minutes, 39 seconds
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"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.
9/29/202349 minutes, 54 seconds
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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.
9/29/202349 minutes, 44 seconds
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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.
9/21/20230
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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.
9/21/202349 minutes, 38 seconds
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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?
9/16/202349 minutes, 17 seconds
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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.
9/14/202350 minutes, 14 seconds
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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.
9/8/202349 minutes, 31 seconds
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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?
9/7/202349 minutes, 51 seconds
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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?
9/1/202349 minutes, 22 seconds
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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.
8/31/202349 minutes, 35 seconds
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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.
8/25/202346 minutes, 40 seconds
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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.
8/24/202350 minutes, 5 seconds
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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.
8/21/202349 minutes, 46 seconds
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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.
8/21/202349 minutes, 20 seconds
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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?
8/14/202349 minutes, 29 seconds
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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.
8/11/202348 minutes, 47 seconds
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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.
8/3/202349 minutes, 30 seconds
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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.”
8/3/202350 minutes, 22 seconds
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The Mountain Meadows Massacre, Pt. 2: Blood, Blood, Blood

“Did Brigham Young order the Mountain Meadows Massacre?”
7/27/202348 minutes, 23 seconds
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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.
7/27/202349 minutes, 33 seconds
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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.
7/27/202351 minutes, 28 seconds
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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.
7/21/202347 minutes, 47 seconds
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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.”
7/20/202348 minutes, 51 seconds
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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.
7/14/202349 minutes, 10 seconds
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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.
7/14/202350 minutes, 20 seconds
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Through The Lens: Users

After the birth of her son, documentary filmmaker Natalia Almada asked herself: Will technology be a better mother than me?
7/7/202349 minutes, 56 seconds
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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?
7/6/202348 minutes, 33 seconds
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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.
7/1/202350 minutes, 1 second
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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.
6/29/202352 minutes
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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.
6/22/202349 minutes, 34 seconds
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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?
6/16/202349 minutes, 55 seconds
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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.
6/15/202349 minutes, 44 seconds
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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.
6/10/202345 minutes, 12 seconds
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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.
6/9/202345 minutes, 12 seconds
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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.
6/9/202351 minutes, 30 seconds
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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.
6/8/20230
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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?
6/2/202347 minutes, 38 seconds
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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.
6/2/202349 minutes, 24 seconds
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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”.
5/26/202349 minutes, 48 seconds
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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.
5/26/202349 minutes, 40 seconds
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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.”
5/19/202349 minutes, 20 seconds
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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.
5/19/202349 minutes, 20 seconds
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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.”
5/12/202346 minutes
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A Conversation with Heather Armstrong

On Tuesday, Heather Armstrong died by suicide after a lifetime struggle with depression.
5/11/202349 minutes, 50 seconds
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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.
5/5/202353 minutes
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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.
5/4/202353 minutes
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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.
4/28/202353 minutes
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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”.
4/27/202353 minutes, 6 seconds
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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?
4/27/202352 minutes, 54 seconds
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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.
4/24/202337 minutes
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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.
4/21/202353 minutes
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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?
4/21/202353 minutes
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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?
4/14/202352 minutes, 48 seconds
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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.
4/13/202353 minutes
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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.
4/12/202352 minutes, 4 seconds
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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?
4/7/202353 minutes
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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.
3/31/202353 minutes
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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.
3/30/202353 minutes
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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.
3/28/202353 minutes, 1 second
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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?
3/23/202353 minutes
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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.
3/17/202353 minutes
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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.
3/17/202352 minutes, 23 seconds
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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.
3/17/202353 minutes
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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.
3/17/202353 minutes
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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?
3/13/202353 minutes, 2 seconds
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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.
3/10/202353 minutes
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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.
3/3/202352 minutes, 56 seconds
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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.
3/3/202353 minutes, 3 seconds
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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.
2/24/202353 minutes
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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.
2/24/202353 minutes, 2 seconds
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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.
2/17/202352 minutes, 23 seconds
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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.
2/16/202353 minutes
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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.
2/9/202353 minutes
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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.
2/3/202353 minutes
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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.
2/3/202351 minutes, 30 seconds