Folklorist and author Tom Mould was in Logan last week to give a lecture at Utah State University.

UPR has formed a new partnership with KRCL, presenting their newest show The Music Never Stopped on UPR Sundays from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m.

Our guest today is the Founder of Indigenous Performance Productions, Andre Bouchard (of Kootenai/Ojibwe/Pend d’Oreille/Flathead Salish descent). The Aunties is coming to the Ellen Eccles Theatre in Logan on April 5, 7:30pm. This is part of a Utah Humanities Grant, in partnership with UtahPresents/Kingsbury Hall. This show is part of the CacheARTS National Touring Season.

We revisit our conversation with James Davison Hunter. He who introduced the concept of “culture wars” 30 years ago, and tells us in this new book that historic sources of national solidarity have now largely dissolved.

Today we’ll talk with Laura Paskus, editor of the new book Water Bodies: Love Letters to the Most Abundant Substance on Earth.

Marking the 10-year anniversary of when 43 Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers College students disappeared southwest of Mexico City, Utah Tech University is commemorating the victims’ lives with Remember the 43 Students art installations and campus engagement events. Our guests are composer and musician Andres Solis, and Scot Hanna-Weir, Associate Professor and Director of Choral Activities at Santa Clara University.

On this episode, join Tom Williams live on location from the event at the Hansen Family Sports Complex in North Logan. His guests included the organizer of the 9/11 event Jenny Taylor, who is the Gold Star Widow of Utah Army National Guard Major Brent Taylor. He was also joined by the designer of the 9/11 exhibit Johnny Ferry, who is a Major Brent Taylor Foundation board member.

Kevin Fedarko has spent the past twenty years writing about conservation, exploration, and the Grand Canyon. His writing has appeared in National Geographic, the New York Times, and Esquire, among other publications. We’ll revisit our conversation with Kevin Fedarko from May.

Aired Sept. 3. In "The Peanuts Papers," 33 writers and artists, including Ira Glass and Ann Patchett, reflect on the deeper truths of Schulz’s deceptively simple comic, its impact on their lives and art and on the broader culture.

Aired Sept. 4. In 2012, Matika Wilbur sold everything in her Seattle apartment and created Project 562 to photograph all 562+ Native American sovereign territories in the U.S.

Tom Williams is in Moab for a special Access Utah program celebrating the Moab Music Festival. Our guests today include Maya Miro Johnson, Roydon Tse, and Connor Chee, along with John Weisheit, Co-Founder at Living Rivers and a Colorado Riverkeeper and Howard Dennis, Howard is a religious leader, a Flute Chief, and a clan leader from the village of Mishognonvi.

Today we’ll talk with writer Pam Houston about her new book Without Exception: Reclaiming Abortion, Personhood, and Freedom.

Most of us take for granted the features of our modern society, from air travel and telecommunications to literacy. Yet for nearly all of its six million years of existence, human society had none of these things.

Helen Thayer once walked 4,000 miles across the Sahara from Morocco to the Nile River, kayaked 2,200 miles of the Amazon River, and became the first woman to travel alone to any of the world's poles.

Today our guest is writer Azar Nafisi. We’ll talk about her new book "Read Dangerously: The Subversive Power of Literature in Troubled Times."

Derek Black was raised to take over the white nationalist movement in the United States. Their father, Don Black, was a former Grand Wizard in the Ku Klux Klan and started Stormfront, the internet’s first white supremacist website.

We’re compiling another UPR community booklist and we want to know what you’re reading. What’s on your nightstand or device right now?

In the midst of a contentious presidential election year, many of us are feeling the need for increased peace in the world, the nation, our neighborhoods, families, and in our hearts.

On this episode we revisit our conversation with novelist, feminist, and philanthropist Isabel Allende about her latest book.

On this episode we revisit our 2018 conversation with Pulitzer Prize-winner John Branch about cowboys, the rodeo, and traditions of the West.

In "Riding Like the Wind," biographer Iris Jamahl Dunkle revives the groundbreaking voice of Sanora Babb. It was Babb's field notes and oral histories of migrant farmworkers that John Steinbeck relied on to write "The Grapes of Wrath."

Today we’ll talk with Timothy Winegard about his new book "The Horse: A Galloping History of Humanity." Dr. Timothy C. Winegard is a New York Times bestselling author of five books including "The Mosquito: A Human History of Our Deadliest Predator."

What do a bunch of well-seasoned river gals do on river trips without their men? Everything you might imagine, and more.

Graffiti-covered industrial concrete ruins are all that remain today to remind us of the lives, adventures, and human relationships that once animated Bauer, Utah.

Pam Houston is the author of the memoir, Deep Creek: Finding Hope In The High Country, as well as two novels and a collection of essays. We revisit our conversation from September 2021.

Our guest Richard Hatch joins us for the hour to talk about magic, as well as his recent translation of the 1933 book 'Die Juden in der Zauberkunst', or 'Jews and Magic,' from a German author killed in the holocaust.

The Salt Lake Tribune recently reported that a Utah State University employee was paid for 2 years while he didn’t work. The employee at the school’s Price campus was supposed to oversee programs for local businesses.

Writer Marlowe Starling joined us to talk about her recent article in Deseret Magazine titled "Consider the Condor." She writes, “Once on the brink of extinction, the bald, feathered symbol of the West is making a promising comeback. If only we can get the lead out.”

Today our guest is northern Utah resident and bestselling author RaeAnne Thayne. She will publish her 75th book, "The December Market," later this year.

Today we’ll check in with reporter Alex Hager. He reports for the Colorado River Reporting Project and you hear his stories regularly on UPR.

“Today we live in a fire age in which ancient prophecies of worlds destroyed and renewed by fire have become contemporary realities, even for people living in modern cities," Stephen Pyne says.

On this episode we talk with the editors of Big Box USA, which presents a new look at how the big box retail store has dramatically reshaped the U.S. economy and its ecosystems in the last half century.

Tom Romano taught writing and English methods in USU’s English Department from 1991-1995 and consulted with the statewide Utah Writing Project for many years. A 17-year career of high school teaching led to his first book, Clearing the Way: Working with Teenage Writers (1987).

Gardening expert and UPR friend Dan Drost joined us today to answer your questions. Whether you’ve got a large backyard garden, participate in the community garden or have a small box near your window, Dan can help.

Climate change has become an unavoidable fact and an ongoing catastrophe. The science was clear decades ago. How did so many Americans come to doubt evidence so widely accepted and compelling?

Mountain lions are considered the apex predator of the Mountain West. Heavy hunting has reduced their number, but sightings are on the rise in Utah. Today we revisit our discussion about mysterious and misunderstood lives of cougars.

In the tradition of books like "Breath" and "Wintering," "Sleepless" combines science, historical research, and personal experience to explore the complicated relationship women have with darkness.

In the tradition of books like "Breath" and "Wintering," "Sleepless" combines science, historical research, and personal experience to explore the complicated relationship women have with darkness.

James Davison Hunter, who introduced the concept of “culture wars” 30 years ago, tells us in this new book that historic sources of national solidarity have now largely dissolved.

Kevin Fedarko has spent the past twenty years writing about conservation, exploration, and the Grand Canyon. His writing has appeared in National Geographic, the New York Times, and Esquire, among other publications.

Today we’ll talk with historian Joshua Zeitz about some of his recent articles in Politico magazine: A Trump-Biden Tie Would Be a Political Nightmare — But Maybe a Boon to Democracy. Biden Can Still Win — If He Runs Like Harry Truman. And 4 Ex-Presidents Who Ran Again — And What They Mean for Trump.

Our guests are CAPSA Social Services Director Makayla Hancey, and Emmalee Fishburn CAPSA’s Director of Projects and Initiatives.

We revisit our conversation with Judith Tick about her book Becoming Ella Fitzgerald, where she offers a portrait of this ambitious risk-taker whose exceptional musical spontaneity made her a transformational artist.

Loren Grush is a space reporter for Bloomberg, where she covers everything from NASA, human spaceflight, and the booming commercial space industry to distant stars and planets. The daughter of two NASA engineers, she grew up surrounded by space shuttles and rocket scientists—literally. Prior to joining Bloomberg, she was a senior science reporter for The Verge, where she covered space and hosted her own online video series called Space Craft, a show that examined what it takes to send people into the cosmos. We revisit our conversation.

Our guest is Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art (NEHMA) Museum Director and Chief Curator, Katie Lee-Koven, and we talk about current exhibits at the museum.

The Tribune recently spoke with young leaders in Utah working to help. Today we’ll talk with one of those leaders. Sarah Brown is Assistant to the Executive Director and Equine Assisted Learning Instructor at Bridle Up Hope.

Today we’ll talk with Zak Podmore, an environmental journalist and writer based in Bluff, Utah. He is author of two books, including the forthcoming Life after Deadpool. We’ll also be joined by Eric Balken, Executive Director of Glen Canyon Institute.

Professor Guiora has published extensively both in the U.S. and Europe on issues related to national security, limits of interrogation, religion and terrorism, the limits of power, multiculturalism, and human rights.

Sam Passey is Director of the Uintah County Library in Vernal and we revisit our conversation with him, reviewing current challenges and opportunities and looking to the future.

Every year for Earth Day, we check in with writer and photographer Stephen Trimble, author of “Bargaining for Eden: The Fight for the Last Open Spaces in America,” and many other books. He, alongside other guests join this episode to discuss plans for the environment under a reelected Biden administration, and under a second Trump administration.

Heidi Kühn is our guest for this episode. Through the nonprofit organization Roots of Peace, which she founded in 1997, Kühn has led initiatives to restore agriculture in former conflict zones, restore soil health, enhance food security, support livelihoods and help sustain local communities with new sources of food and income.

Our guest today is Jason Grygla, Executive Director and Founder of Techie for Life. He’ll give a talk tomorrow at noon in the Dunford Auditorium at Utah Tech University in St. George. His talk is titled Neurodiversity: A Renaissance of Development and Needed Diversity. The talk is part of Utah Tech’s Trailblazing Speaker Series.

On this episode we talk with USU professor Tammy Proctor and several students in her sports history class about a project they’re calling Sliding Into History: The Legacy of USU Women's Softball Champions 1980 – 1981.

Westwater Lost and Found: Expanded Edition is the continuing story of Westwater—a relatively short, deep canyon near the Utah-Colorado state line that has become one of the most popular river-running destinations in the Southwest—and its lasting significance to the study of the Upper Colorado River. Author Mike Milligan joins the program to discuss.

We revisit our conversation with film producer and director Kerry Candaele, who is showing the first two documentaries of his Beethoven trilogy. We discuss the films as well as the global impact of Beethoven's music.

The receding waters of Lake Powell have returned some of the dam-inundated areas of the Colorado River Basin to a more natural state, while imperiling others. Mike DeHoff joins us to discuss.

On this episode we talk with the editors of Big Box USA, which presents a new look at how the big box retail store has dramatically reshaped the U.S. economy and its ecosystems in the last half century.

Today we revisit our conversation with the editors of the book 'A Republic of Scoundrels: The Schemers, Intriguers, and Adventurers Who Created a New American Nation.' Our guests are editors Timothy Hemmis and David Head.

We talk with Wayne Wurtsbaugh, professor emeritus in the Watershed Sciences Department at USU and Jack Greene, nature educator and regular contributor to UPR’s Wild About Utah.

It’s another special Member Drive edition of the program and our guest is folklorist Lynne McNeill.

We revisit our conversation with Ben Goldfarb to talk wildlife and discuss his upcoming book, Crossings: How Road Ecology is Shaping the Future of Our Planet.

Our guest today is T.J. Ellerbeck, executive director of the Rural Utah Project, which works in voter registration and mobilization in rural areas among other initiatives. We’ll talk about voting and elections, technology, and other issues affecting rural Utah.

Many are still living with the legacies of the Vietnam War, and one of the populations deeply affected by this devastating event were the women of many backgrounds who served militarily. Susan O’Neill and Kara Dixon Vuic join us today to discuss.

Today Salt Lake Tribune religion reporter Tamarra Kemsley joins us to talk about how religious faith affects peoples’ views of the environment.

A developer plans to build a large luxury home and commercial development on scenic agricultural land in the Colorado River floodplain just outside Moab, and a residents’ group, as part of a groundswell of local opposition, has formed to oppose the development. KZMU's Molly Marcello and other guests join to discuss.

Today we’ll talk with Rep. Clancy about mental health issues, homelessness, and other issues.

We revisit our conversation with Philip Eil about his book Prescription for Pain. It follows his years-long investigation into his father’s old classmate: former high school valedictorian Paul Volkman, who once seemed destined for greatness after earning his MD and his PhD from the prestigious University of Chicago but is now serving four consecutive life sentences at a federal prison in Arizona.

In the tradition of books like Breath and Wintering, Sleepless combines science, historical research, and personal experience to explore the complicated relationship women have with darkness.

On this Valentine’s Day we're joined by Jeannie Thomas to talk about love spells, heartbreak rituals, a study about fruit flies and breakups, and anthropologist Helen Fisher’s studies on what happens to our brains when we fall in love.

Lisa Thompson and the Natural History Museum of Utah have a new book out called Wild Wasatch Front, an urban adventure guide that invites both locals and tourists to discover unexpected nature thriving in the cities and suburbs of the Wasatch Front

On this episode we’ll talk about water policy as it's being debated and acted upon at the Utah Legislature. Our guests include Salt Lake Tribune water and land use reporter Leia Larsen and Rep. Joel Briscoe, D-SLC.

Our guest is Great Salt Lake Commissioner and Great Salt Lake Strike Team Co-Chair Brian Steed, here to talk about the Great Salt Lake Data and Insights Summary, prepared for the 2024 Utah Legislature.

We all have an idea in our heads about what French food is—or Italian, or Japanese, or Mexican, or . . . But where did those ideas come from? Who decides what makes a national food canon? Recipient of three James Beard awards, Anya von Bremzen joins us to discuss.

Today historian Tanisha Ford will join us to talk about her biography of Mollie Moon, who was one of the most influential women of the civil rights era.

Michael Finkel’s book The Art Thief chronicles one of the most outrageous crime sprees in history.

On this episode of Access Utah we check in with Cache County Executive David Zook to talk about housing, transportation, the economy, homelessness and more.

Today we’ll talk about energy policy as it's being acted upon at the Utah Legislature.

We're once again joined by Craig Johnson, the New York Times bestselling author of the Walt Longmire mystery novels.

Today we'll talk with UCLA Professor Patricia Turner discusses her latest book, Trash Talk: Anti-Obama Lore and Race in the Twenty-First Century.

Sara Sanders Gardner is the openly autistic designer and developer of Bellevue College's nationally recognized Neurodiversity Navigators program, and they are the guest for this episode.

On this episode we talk with scientists and reporters who have been researching and reporting at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama.

As the 2024 session of the Utah Legislature enters its second week there are many organizations advocating for their causes. We’ll talk to several of these groups today.

Today we talk cats. Our guest is Jonathan Losos, and on this episode we discuss his book The Cat's Meow: How Cats Evolved from the Savanna to Your Sofa.

On this episode we talk speech. We revisit our conversation with Valerie Fridland, professor of linguistics in the English Department at the University of Nevada, Reno and author of Like, Literally, Dude: Arguing for the Good in Bad English.

The year 2023 marked the 50th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act. It was also another year in an ongoing crisis of biodiversity loss, species extinctions, climate change, and natural disasters. On this episode we talk with Lowell Baier about the new books: The Codex of the Endangered Species Act, volumes 1 & 2.

We revisit our converstaion about music in the movies! We're joined by Frank Lehman, Associate Professor of Music at Tufts University. He is author of Hollywood Harmony: Musical Wonder and the Sound of Cinema and recent essay, How to Write Music for Rolling Boulders.

We continue our tradition of bringing you poetry in the New Year. This year we feature conversation with and poetry from Utah Poet Laureate Lisa Bickmore, along with poets Michael Sowder and Ben Gunsberg.

We're once again joined by USU English professors Jeannie Thomas and Lynne McNeill to talk about folklore. On this episode we focus on the most popular memes and digital trends of last year.

Today we’ll spotlight the William A. Burnard Warming Center in Logan. We’ll also talk about the causes of homelessness in Cache Valley and how those differ from other areas of the state.

Today we’ll talk with Deborah Kasdan about her new book ROLL BACK THE WORLD: A Sister’s Memoir. Threaded throughout this love letter to her older sister are stories of four siblings and their parents. As the second sibling, Deborah Kasdan struggled for decades with painful emotions of grief, shame, and survivor’s guilt before deciding to share her story, and her family’s.

Where can you find a chunk of the Matterhorn enshrined at a Utah ski resort? What is the origin of Iosepa, the Hawaiian ghost town in the desert? And why is Utah called the Beehive State?

"To Boldly Grow" allows us to journey alongside Tamar Haspel as she learns to scrounge dinner from the landscape around her and discovers that a direct connection to what we eat can utterly change the way we think about our food — and ourselves.

"Time to Think Small" examines ways we can leverage the growing power of smartphones and other technologies to protect threatened species, reduce the risk from climate change and stop ocean plastic.

Today we’ll talk to two reporters participating in the Great Salt Lake Collaborative who recently traveled to Las Vegas to learn what that water-starved city is doing and what Utah might learn from them.

We revisit our conversation with Rabbi Steve Leder about life, death and the concept or writing an ethical will.

On this episode we talk about math. We're joined David Brown who recently delivered the 47th Annual Honors Last Lecture on the USU Logan Campus, which was entitled: Our Sixth Sense: Math.

On this episode we're joined by zoologist Bill Schutt to talk about the origins of circulation, still evident in microorganisms today, to the tiny hardworking pumps of worms, to the golf-cart-size hearts of blue whales.

We revisit our conversation with Jim Enote to talk about the different ways that western scientists and Native people understand the world, Bears Ears National Monument, challenges facing the Colorado Plateau, Native response to rock art and more.

On this episode we talk folklore and music with Steven Hatcher, the Idaho Folk Arts Coordinator, and Damian Rodriguez, a Tejano musician who performed as part of the 2022 Fife Honor lecture.

On this episode, we discuss how Utah’s trigger law (SB 174) went into effect briefly following the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision earlier this year, but is now being appealed and an injunction is in place.

On this episode we talk with Katherine Corcoran about her new book: In the Mouth of the Wolf: A Murder, a Cover-Up, and the True Cost of Silencing the Press.

On this episode we're joined by Temple Grandin to talk about her new book Visual Thinking: The Hidden Gifts of People Who Think in Pictures, Patterns and Abstractions.

On this episode we recap the 2022 midterm election with Utah State University Political Science Professor Damon Cann.

On this episode we feature another episode in our periodic series of programs about the internet and social media, and our guest today is Scott Cleland.

Today’s program is all about man’s best friend. In the first half of the program we talk with Alexandra Horowitz about her new book "The Year of the Puppy: How Dogs Become Themselves." In the second half, Jules Howard joins us to talk about his new book "Wonderdog: The Science of Dogs and Their Unique Friendship with Humans."

In his new book Indivisible, historian and law professor Joel Richard Paul tells the fascinating story of Daniel Webster. Joel Richard Paul joins us to discuss.

Utah food producers provide products that are unique to the state referred to as specialty crops. In the Cropping Up series, Utah Public Radio has been featuring some of these crops, their health benefits, and the role they play in helping us access fresh food.

On this episode we have a conversation with members of the Fry Street Quartet and physicist Dr. Robert Davies about The Crossroads Project.

Kristin Du Mez joins us to talk about her new book, 'Jesus and John Wayne', which is on our latest UPR Community Booklist.

On this episode we discuss Pride Flags in Schools and are joined by Larry Williams, Logan City School Board of Education President; Katie Lee-Koven, parent of a Logan elementary school student; Yvonee Marcyes, Board President of Logan Pride; and Andrea Sinfield.

On this special 'Bringing War Home' edition of Access Utah we talk with Rich Etchberger, recorded live from our event at the USU Moab Campus.

On this episode we're joined by Hal Cannon to talk about (and listen) to his new release, Nothin' Lastin'.

We’ll talk with Ute Tribe Business Committee Chairman and Uncompahgre Band Representative Shaun Chapoose regarding a new monument designation, and we revisit a portion of our conversation with Senator Mazie Hirono.

Poet David Lee joins us today to talk about his latest collection Rusty Barbed Wire.

We're joined by Priyanka Kumar to discuss our place in the landscape—and in the cosmos—by way of watching birds.

On this episode we're joined by Eric Saylor, Professor of Music History at Drake University, to discuss the compositions of Ralph Vaughan Williams.

Dr. Benjamin Pykles will deliver the 2022 Leonard J. Arrington Mormon History Lecture, titled “Historical Archaeology and the Latter-day Saint Past” Thursday evening at 7:00 in the Russell/Wanlass Performance Hall at Utah State University.

Susan Madsen is the Inaugural Karen Haight Huntsman Endowed Professor of Leadership in the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University and Founding Director of the Utah Women & Leadership Project. Today we’ll check in with Dr. Madsen to explore topics concerning Utah women.

Today we revisit our conversation with Judy Kawamoto, winner of the 2022 Evans Handcart Award from the Mountain West Center for Regional Studies in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Utah State University, for her book Forced Out: A Nikkei Woman's Search for a Home in America.

Terryl Givens, winner of the 2022 Evans Biography Award from the Mountain West Center for Regional Studies in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Utah State University, for his new book Stretching the Heavens: The Life of Eugene England and the Crisis of Modern Mormonism.

We're joined by Professor Sam Arungwa from the USU Blanding campus, Rep. Lowry Snow, and Jason Torgerson, San Juan County Sheriff.

Former NPR Moscow Bureau Chief Corey Flintoff joins us once again to discuss the current state of affairs in Ukraine and Russia.

On this episode, It’s another non-profit spotlight where we highlight your favorite non-profits within the community.

What do sports and religion have in common? Randall Balmer joins us to discuss.

We know little about the role of material culture in the history of war and forced displacement: objects carried in flight; objects stolen on battlefields; objects expropriated, reappropriated, and remembered. On this episode we discuss.

A conversation with John Garth, author of Tolkien and the Great War: The Threshold of Middle-earth, which tells the story of how Tolkien embarked on the creation of Middle-earth in his youth as the world around him was plunged into catastrophe, revealing the horror and heroism that he experienced as a signals officer in the Battle of the Somme and introducing the circle of friends who spurred his mythology to life.

We're once again joined by Craig Johnson, the New York Times bestselling author of the Walt Longmire mystery novels.

We're joined by Susan Rogers and Ogi Ogas to discuss the science of music and the brain, and Rogers also takes us behind the scenes of record-making and working with artists like Prince.

It’s a member drive special edition of the program today and our special guest for the hour is Ken Sanders.

On this special member drive episode, we talk with Jason Gilmore about bridge building and civil discourse in our current political climate.

Today in a special Member Drive edition of the program we’re going to talk about food with Tammy Proctor, Jeannie Sur, and Jaimie Sanders, hosts of Eating the Past and Lael Gilbert, one of the hosts of Bread and Butter.

In the first of our member drive specials for Fall 2022, we discuss the Great Salt Lake. We're joined by Wayne Wurtsbaugh, Bonnie Baxter, Jaimi Butler and Aimee Van Tatenhove.

Adam Dorr, an environmental social scientist and technology theorist, explains why he's optimistic about coming disruptions to energy, transportation and food technologies. Dorr says these changes will usher in a new era of prosperity and freedom.

Many of us are familiar with wartime souvenirs, whether we have direct experience with the battlefield or not. Molly Cannon, USU Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Susan Grayzel, USU Professor of History, join us to discuss how these objects can tell timeless stories of our veterans.

Queen Elizabeth II was England's longest serving monarch, and the second-longest reigning monarch in history. She served with 15 Prime Ministers, beginning with Winston Churchill. We put her long and eventful reign in context.

On this episode we talk with Anayansi Diaz-Cortes and Kate Doyle, who created the After Ayotzinapa series for Reveal.

In the past thirty years, more than 2,700 innocent American prisoners - their combined prison sentences adding up to nearly 25,000 years - have been exonerated and freed.

On this special Access Utah book show we discuss what we are currently reading, and want to know what you are reading too.

On this episode we're joined by Logan Mitchell, faculty in the University of Utah’s Department of Atmospheric Science. We talk about pollution and the history of air quality in Utah.

In this look into to the 2022 Moab Music Festival we're joined by Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate (Chickasaw, who will be attending and performing) and Pianist and conductor Timothy Long (Muscogee, Thlopthlocco, and Choctaw).

"Rock art holds power that words from the mouth don't carry," writes Craig Childs in his new book. We revisit our conversation.

Shannon Hale is the Utah-based New York Times best-selling author of the Princess Academy series, Rapunzel’s Revenge and Austenland, which was made into a movie. Her latest, Amethyst, is on our latest UPR Booklist. We revisit our conversation.

On this episode, a conversation with David Maraniss about his new book "Path Lit By Lightning: The Life of Jim Thorpe."

Isabel Allende is one of the most widely-read authors in the world, having sold more than 75 million books. She is our guest for today's Access Utah.

Next time on Access Utah we’ll revisit our conversation from March with writer Azar Nafisi. We’ll talk about her new book “Read Dangerously: The Subversive Power of Literature in Troubled Times.”

Our guest for the hour on Tuesday’s Access Utah is Brian Steed, the new Executive Director of the Janet Quinney Lawson Institute for Land, Water and Air at Utah State University. Established in 2021, the Janet Quinney Lawson Institute for Land, Water, and Air connects researchers from Utah State University with problem solvers and decision-makers around Utah. The institute envisions a state with a high quality of life for our citizens that values and optimizes our state’s shared resources while managing continued growth. We value data-driven decision-making, shared partnerships, and a non-partisan perspective as we share the latest land, water, and air research.

About one in five adults reported experiencing food insecurity in the previous 30 days. Al Switzler joins us to discuss Tabitha’s Way, a Utah-based food pantry.

We revisit our conversation with Dr. Christine Montross about her book, "Waiting For an Echo: The Madness of American Incarceration."

Gregory Madden joins us to talk about his research, which has applications for public health including substance-use disorders, pathological gambling and obesity.

We're joined by storyteller Anastasia Zadeik and talk about her debut novel “Blurred Fates,” which addresses issues of mental health and family dysfunction, among other themes.

We're joined by author Kirk Wallace Johnson to discuss the story of white fishermen and Vietnamese shrimpers clashing on the Texas coast in the 1970s and ‘80s.

Open space will be on the ballot in northern Utah in November. In this episode, we talk about a proposed $20 million bond in Cache Valley that would buy up open space to preserve it.

Gallup says that support for a third U.S. political party is at a high point. On this episode, we talk with representatives from the United Utah Party, the Constitution Party of Utah, the Utah Libertarian Party and the Green Party of Utah.

A recent report says that the Colorado River is America’s most endangered. Today we’ll talk with reporter Alex Hager.

On this episode we talk about some of the history behind the transcontinental railroad.

Today, Nicole Chung joins us to talk about her book and about several recent topics covered in her I Have Notes newsletter from The Atlantic, including writing about trauma and grief.

For much of a year, writer Sebastian Junger and three friends—a conflict photographer and two Afghan War vets—walked the railroad lines of the East Coast.

Journalist Amanda Ripley joins us to discuss her new op-ed titled, “I stopped reading the news. Is the problem me — or the product?”

In her new book, Jessica Fanzo explores how in the context of the broad global trends of population growth, climate crisis and inequitable food availability, food systems need to be re-oriented to ensure they can produce enough food to nourish the world.

On this episode we're joined by Teow Lim Goh, author of 'Western Journeys', and we discuss immigration, history and the American West.

R.E. Burrillo is an archaeologist and conservation advocate. He is the author of Behind the Bears Ears: Exploring the Cultural and Natural Histories of a Sacred Landscape. He joins us to talk about his new book, 'The Backwoods of Everywhere: Words from a Wandering Local.'

Today, we’ll partner with DEBUNKED, which dispels myths about the opioid crisis and harm reduction, for a conversation with Brian Neilson and Michelle Church.

On this episode we do a summer check-in with the arts and talk with with Michael Ballam, Founding Director of the Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theater; and Herb Newsome, who is performing with the Lyric Repertory Company.

Author & illustrator Carli Valentine joins to talk about her new book, 'The Fun Thieves'.

Charles McCollum is Managing Editor of The Herald Journal in Logan. He regularly surveys readers via Facebook. He’ll join us to share the results of some of those surveys.

Cache County Executive David Zook joins us to talk about housing, availability and affordability.

Amy Anderson, Director of Outreach for the Sunshine Terrace Foundation and Spiritual Counselor with Sunshine Hospice in Logan will join us to discuss non-profits, and we also hear from Utah Nonprofits Association CEO Jill Bennett, Nicole Burnard with the William Burnard Warming Center and Wendi Hassan with the Cache Valley Center for the Arts.

Jim Enote joins us to talk about the different ways that western scientists and Native people understand the world, Bears Ears National Monument, challenges facing the Colorado Plateau, Native response to rock art and more.

We're Joined on this episode by Dr. Susan Madsen to discuss The Utah Women and Leadership Project, their podcast and more.

Nate Schweber joins us with his new book, This America Of Ours: Bernard and Avis DeVoto and the Forgotten Fight to Save the Wild.

Thomas LeCaque, Associate Professor of History at Grand View University, joins us to discuss the rise in far right violence and extremist groups.

On this episode, Sharon McMahon joins us to talk politics, polarization, identity and more.

On this episode of Access Utah, we preview the Northern Utah Conference on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, which takes place next week at Utah State University.

In a changing reading landscape that now includes ebooks consumed on your device, what is the role of the public library, and how is that role changing?

Social capital refers to the bonds between people and among networks, which they can use to benefit themselves and the group as a whole. Low levels of social capital often lead to poor economic and social outcomes, both for individuals and for populations.

Today we talk about Juneteenth and USU's corresponding events. We're joined by Cree Taylor, Lecturer in the USU English Department and event organizer, and filmmaker Mauli Junior Bonner, whose film, “His Name is Green Flake,” will be screened on Saturday.

Today we talk beavers with environmental journalist Ben Goldfarb, author of “Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter,” and Cache Valley resident Nate Norman, who works with the USU Beaver Ecology and Relocation Center.

Rabbi Steve Leder joins us on a conversation about life, death and the concept or writing an ethical will.

We are joined by USU Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow Chris Babits and former student Chloe Miller, and dive into some short podcasts on myths and misconceptions of American religious history.

What causes bullying? How can defenders reduce its frequency? Is bullying preventable? Diana Meter joins us to help answer these questions.

On this episode, a conversation with Wyoming-based writer Craig Johnson. He joins to discuss his latest novel in the Longmire series, “Daughter of the Morning Star” and more.

Today we feature a conversation with Utah State University President Noelle Cockett. where we discuss telework and the labor market, preparing students for careers as K-12 teachers, mental health issues and more.

We revisit our conversation with writer Sandra Cisneros. Her book Martita, I Remember You / Martita, te recuerdo is included in our UPR Community Booklist.

We're joined by William Anderegg, Associate Professor in the University of Utah School Of Biological Sciences, to discuss the effects of threats, including climate change and drought, on trees and forests.

Juli Berwald joins us for Access Utah to talk about her new book “Life on the Rocks: Building a Future for Coral Reefs.

Award-winning Utah essayist Phyllis Barber has a new book out titled The Precarious Walk: Essays from Sand and Sky, which she discusses on this episode of Access Utah.

After hearing her mother’s story, Thottam set out to discover the full story of Nazareth Hospital, which had been established in 1947 by six nuns from Kentucky. She joins us on this Access Utah.

On the next Access Utah we’ll partner with DEBUNKED for a conversation with Valentina Sireech, Member of Ute Tribe and Program Coordinator for the Tribal & Rural Opioid Initiative Resource Center with USU Extension - Roosevelt Office. Her passion is to inspire Indigenous and Rural communities to create art as a form of healthy healing. We’ll also be talking with Larry Cesspooch, Ute Filmmaker/Storyteller/Spiritual Leader, who uses all forms of media to tell his stories, film, music, and lecture.

According to Politico, in a draft opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito, a majority of the U.S. Supreme Court has voted to strike down Roe v. Wade. Quoting the Salt Lake Tribune: “Depending on how the Supreme Court officially rules, either Utah’s trigger law — which outlaws most abortions in the state — or a ban on the procedure after 18 weeks of pregnancy are likely to go into effect.” in Utah. On Monday’s Access Utah we’ll talk with Planned Parenthood Association of Utah President and CEO Karrie Galloway; and Mary Taylor, President of Pro-Life Utah.

Utah has launched a “Pledge to Protect the Past” campaign to protect archaeological sites and artifacts. And Utah State Historic Preservation Office public archaeologist Elizabeth Hora says that summer often brings an increase in vandalism to important preservations of the past. To discuss, we're joined by Elizabeth Hora and Angelo Baca.

On this episode we're joined by Chelsea Sachau and Pedro De Velasco to discuss the situation at the border and Title 42.

Smell can collapse space and time, unlocking memories and transporting us to worlds both new and familiar. In her new book Revelations in Air, Jude Stewart takes us on a fascinating journey into the weird and wonderful world of smell.

How does creativity work? How can we maximize our creative potential? Matt Richtel joins us to help answer these questions.

We're joined by Jaigris Hodson and discuss why speech on Twitter, and we revisit a 2021 conversation with Eli Saslow.

Wildlife in urban areas can pose some concerns, especially as our population grows. Joining us to discuss is doctoral student at U of U Austin Green and USU Professor and Extension Wildlife Specialist Terry Messmer.

In his new book Was It Worth It?, Doug Peacock, loner, iconoclast, environmentalist and contemporary of Edward Abbey, reflects on a life lived in the wild, recounting adventures both close to home and farther afield. He joins us on this Access Utah Episode.

Rick Ridgeway joins us on this episode to share stories and talk about his new book, Life Lived Wild.

Hear some fascinating stories told inside of a C-130 aircraft on this episode of Access Utah.

We're joined by Stephanie Coontz and Greg Smalley to discuss different perspectives on marriage.

On this episode we talk with Emily White and USU Associate Professor of Journalism Matthew LaPlante about the challenges of being a journalist in an increasingly hostile environment for journalism.

On this episode we discuss climate change with Eugene Linden, and talk about his new book Fire and Flood.

Last summer we devoted an entire episode to monarch butterflies and fireflies, and after a listener suggested we do a similar episode focused on birds, we've done just that!

We're joined by Katharine Coles, and dig into her new collection, '(Solve For) X' in this poetry-filled Access Utah.

On this episode we're joined by Partick Mason and Lauren Kerby to discuss the importance of teaching and understanding religion.

David Schwendiman served as a prosecutor in the U.S. Department of Justice for more than twenty-five years. He joins on this episode of Access Utah to discuss war crimes and the war in Ukraine.

Peter Coleman joins on this episode of Access Utah to help us dive into why we are so politically polarized, and why it's making us miserable.

Damon Cann joins to discuss how things stand in Utah and nationally, in this election year, as we head toward the primaries.

Tamar Haspel joins on this episode to discuss "first-hand food", including gardening, foraging and hunting.

Chad Ford joins to discuss his book Dangerous Love, which is about conflict and how to work though it.

On this special Access Utah book show we discuss what we are currently reading, and want to know what you are reading too.

A bill regarding transgender girls and sports was passed in the recent legislative session, and we discuss on this episode of Access Utah.

On this episode we are joined by Lynne McNeill. We talk Slenderman's origins, The Kevin Bacon Number and more.

On this special Member Drive edition of the program we’ll talk about the Bringing War Home project with USU History Professor Susan Grayzel and Molly Cannon, Director of the USU Anthropology Museum and the USU Mountain West Center.

Today it’s another Member Drive special edition of the program and our guest is former NPR Moscow Bureau Chief Corey Flintoff. We’ll talk about the war in Ukraine, the situation in Russia, and about reporting on war.

It’s a member drive special edition of the program today. My special guest for the hour is Ken Sanders from Ken Sanders Rare Books in Salt Lake City.

Our brains are the most complex machines known to humankind, but they have an Achilles heel: the very molecules that allow us to exist can also sabotage our minds.

Sandy Hook: An American Tragedy and the Battle for Truth, uncovers what followed the horrifying events that took place almost ten years ago, when a shooter entered Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut and killed twenty first-graders and six teachers.

Cambridge Professor of Political Economy Helen Thompson analyzes the intersecting energy, financial, and democratic crises facing our world today and reveals the disruptions that have led us to this turbulent point.

A recent report regarding sexual misconduct on university campuses proposes some new ideas to help educate students on how to respond. We're joined by the authors of that report.

We are joined once again by Anna Pechenkina, Assistant Professor of Political Science at Utah State University. We talk about the current situation unfolding in Ukraine, the possible future and some of the politics involved.

Today our guest is writer Azar Nafisi. We’ll talk about her new book Read Dangerously: The Subversive Power of Literature in Troubled Times.

Stigma is a major barrier to recovery, because people don’t want to be labeled as “junkies” and experience social exclusion when they ask for help. What can we do?

We talk with House Speaker Brad Wilson; Senate Majority Whip Ann Millner; and Rep. Jennifer Dailey-Provost, D-Salt Lake City.

"Rock art holds power that words from the mouth don't carry," writes Craig Childs in his new book. He joins us on Thursday's Access Utah.

A growing body of research confirms the link between nature and physical, emotional and mental health. How and why does nature wield these benefits?

This year marks the 125th anniversary of Bernard DeVoto's birth, a man described by Wallace Stegner as “Utah’s most prominent writer,” yet who has been largely forgotten in Utah and in his hometown of Ogden.

What barriers prevent women from running for office? We talk with Lieutenant Governor Deidre Henderson, and Yándary Chatwin and Nina Barnes, hosts of the “Real Women Run” podcast.

We hear about Matthew LaPlante's experiences as a reporter in the Iraq war, and also reflect on his experiences in Ukraine, the former Soviet Socialist Republic of Moldova and the "frozen conflict" state of Transnistria.

One of the most widely-read authors in the world, having sold more than 75 million books, Isabel Allende is our guest for today's Access Utah.

A silent epidemic of chronic illnesses afflicts tens of millions of Americans: these are diseases that are poorly understood, frequently marginalized, and can go undiagnosed and unrecognized altogether.

Shannon Hale is the Utah-based New York Times best-selling author of the Princess Academy series, Rapunzel’s Revenge and Austenland, which was made into a movie. Her latest, Amethyst, is on our latest UPR Booklist.

A TikTok video of a young Scottish mailman singing the traditional sea shanty “Soon May the Wellerman Come,” and memes that poked fun at the self-described “QAnon Shaman” were among the top digital folklore trends of 2021.

There are many needs in our communities and many step up to help. On this episode, we shine a light on non-profits and individuals doing good in our communities.

We’ll talk about fossil fuels, renewables, nuclear, hydrogen, methane and more.

In the past thirty years, more than 2,700 innocent American prisoners - their combined prison sentences adding up to nearly 25,000 years - have been exonerated and freed.

We hear from many these days who say “the news is depressing” or “the news just makes me mad.” Today we’re going to talk about how news consumption can affect our mental health.

Could the liberal arts be the future of the digital world?

Have you ever thought about how Covid-19 has changed the way our religious communities continue to organize their efforts in promoting and maintaining spiritual faith? On this episode of Access Utah, we are joined by five religious leaders/academics who will be informing us what kind of changes they have noticed in their respective religious communities throughout the pandemic, and what the future might hold in store for them.

Many people have not returned to the workforce following the height of the Covid pandemic. Higher-than-usual numbers of employees have quit in some areas.

HB 147, sponsored by Rep. Lowry Snow, R-St. George, which would have repealed the death penalty in Utah and replaced it with a possible sentence of 45 years to life, was defeated in committee. The debate will go on, however, today on Access Utah.

Since U. S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer announced his retirement last month, speculation about his replacement has ramped up.

Rep. Angela Romero, D-Salt Lake City, is sponsoring HB98 which would create a third-degree felony offense of sexual conduct without affirmative consent. Current Utah law defines sexual abuse as when “the victim expresses lack of consent through words or conduct.”

The New York Times reports that “Russian troops are encircling Ukraine from three sides. In Washington and Brussels, there are warnings of crushing sanctions if Vladimir V. Putin orders an invasion. Embassy families — both American and Russian — are being evacuated from Kyiv.” We will be talking with Anna Pechenkina, Assistant Professor of Political Science at Utah State University.

Cache County Executive David Zook joins us to talk about public health, transportation, homelessness, mental health, the economy, immigration, COVID and other issues.

The Times reports that mink farms (some of them in Utah) threaten to become a source of new coronavirus variants — and an object lesson in how ‘spillback’ can make deadly diseases even deadlier. Today we’ll talk with David Quammen about spillover, spillback, Coronavirus and future viruses.

How do we heal from the traumas of the past, without forgetting the events that happened? Today on Access Utah we explore the Hyrum City Museum's newest exhibit and ongoing events commemorating the 159th anniversary of the US Army’s massacre of Shoshone at Boa Ogoi.

Every ten years, following the United States’ release of the Census report, we take to the drawing board and redefine district lines in order to more appropriately represent U.S. citizens in the House of Representatives. On this episode, we discuss what the new maps mean for Utah.

On Thursday's Access Utah, we talk about such issues as recognition of rights, the sharing of Jerusalem, delineation of borders, West Bank settlements, security and refugees.

Rep. Brad Wilson, Speaker of the Utah House of Representatives, is convening a Great Salt Lake Summit, and ahead of that summit we’ll be talking to Lynne De Freitas, Executive Director of Friends of the Great Salt Lake; Wayne Wurtsbaugh, USU Emeritus Professor of Watershed Sciences; and Marcelle Shoop, Director of the National Audubon Society’s Saline Lakes Program.

Recent events at several Utah schools have shown the danger, including the potential for violence, in the misuse of social media. We talk about the risks, the causes and how to address them on Access Utah.

Tuesday was the opening day of the 2022 Utah Legislature. We broadcast live from the state capitol in Salt Lake City and talked about the issues likely to be addressed in the legislature this year.

The Choir of Man is a hit musical from Andrew Kay and Nic Doodson, featuring pub tunes, folk, rock, choral and Broadway numbers. We talked with three of the cast members on Thursday.

Almost two years into the pandemic, there are record numbers of new COVID cases and hospitalizations. Today we’ll talk with ER doctor and writer Marion Bishop about hope, endemicity, health care workers and about how many of us are just “over it” — and where that leaves all of us.

Poets get to the heart of what we’re thinking and feeling. As we open the new year, we’ll hear from Utah Poet Laureate Paisley Rekdal; Logan Poet Laureate Shanan Ballam; and poet and Sonosopher Alex Caldiero.

Today we’ll be talking with Pitzer College professor Suyapa Portillo and DePaul University professor Ester Trujillo about the root causes of immigration from Central America, the dangerous immigrant journey and integration of immigrants into the United States.

In her new book, “Forced Out: A Nikkei Woman’s Search for a Home in America,” Judy Kawamoto offers insight into “voluntary evacuation,” a little-known Japanese American experience during World War II.

One beautiful September day, three men convene on Martha’s Vineyard, friends ever since meeting in college circa the sixties. They couldn’t have been more different then, or even today – Lincoln’s a commercial real estate broker, Teddy a tiny-press publisher and Mickey a musician beyond his rockin’ age.

With police shootings in Utah reaching record highs amid a nationwide debate over police accountability, FRONTLINE and The Salt Lake Tribune are presentingShots Fired: the first nationally broadcast documentary stemming from FRONTLINE’s Local Journalism Initiative.

As we head toward the holidays we want to know what you’re reading. What’s on your nightstand or device right now? Is there a book that has had a big impact on you? Which books are you looking forward to reading or giving as gifts? Perhaps you’d like to tell us a personal story connected to a favorite book. We’d love to hear about books in the adult, young adult and children’s categories. One suggestion or many are welcome.

The Sinner and the Saint: Dostoevsky and the Gentleman Murderer Who Inspired a Masterpiece is the true crime story-behind-the-story of Dostoevsky’s greatest work, Crime and Punishment, and why it changed the world. November 11th marked the 200th anniversary of Dostoevsky’s birth and author Kevin Birmingham spent years researching archival material to evoke Czarist Russia at the birth of the Russian intelligentsia, along with Siberian prison camps, high-stakes trials, and gory murders and the details of Dostoevsky’s fascinating life.

Bridge of Clay is the new sweeping family saga from Markus Zusak, author of the international bestseller The Book Thief, which swept the world and was made into a movie.

The U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan raises important questions about the meaning of peacekeeping and peacebuilding in the 21st century. There is a panel discussion today (4:30 p.m. in Old Main 115 at USU and on Zoom) called “The Afghanistan Crisis: The Challenges of Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding.”

As the planet warms, winter is shrinking. In the last fifty years, the Northern Hemisphere lost a million square miles of spring snowpack and in the US alone, snow cover has been reduced by 15-30%. On average, winter has shrunk by a month in most northern latitudes. In his new book “The Last Winter,” journalist Porter Fox travels along the edge of the Northern Hemisphere's snow line to track the scope of this drastic change, and how it will literally change everything—from rapid sea level rise, to fresh water scarcity for two billion people, to massive greenhouse gas emissions from thawing permafrost, and a half dozen climate tipping points that could very well spell the end of the world as we know it. This original research is animated by four harrowing and illuminating journeys—each grounded by interviews with idiosyncratic, charismatic experts in their respective fields and Fox's own narrative of growing up on a remote island in Northern Maine.

One in five people in the United States lives with a disability. Some disabilities are visible, others less apparent—but all are underrepresented in media and popular culture.

Brooke Williams walked twice into Southern Utah’s Mary Jane Wilderness: at the beginning of the Trump presidency, and four-years later at its end. In Mary Jane Wild, Brooke Williams documents his experience in this magical place, his sense of what happened during the Trump presidency, why and its possible long-term effects. It is also his story of how walking in the wilderness heals, helps him identify, then adapt to changing modern conditions and understand the role wildness continues to play in the evolution of life.

On a cool June evening in 2009, after performing a concert at London's Royal Academy of Music, twenty-year-old American flautist Edwin Rist boarded a train for a suburban outpost of the British Museum of Natural History.

There are few remaining frontiers on our planet. But perhaps the wildest, and least understood, are the world’s oceans: too big to police, and under no clear international authority, these immense regions of treacherous water play host to rampant criminality and exploitation.

Medical researcher and ICU physician Samuel Brown says, “While writing a book about death culture and American religion before the Civil War, I read hundreds of accounts of the ‘good death.’ I began to wonder why good dying was incredibly rare in the hospitals where I practiced medicine.”

Today we’ll talk with Robin Wigglesworth, the global finance correspondent at the Financial Times, about his new book "Trillions: How a Band of Wall Street Renegades Invented the Index Fund and Changed Finance Forever."

The Moth is true stories, told live and without notes. You hear the Moth Radio Hour each week on UPR. The Moth Mainstage, the live stage show, is coming to Cache Arts in Logan. Ahead of that event, one of the Moth Mainstage hosts, Jon Goode, will join us today.

Today we’ll be talking about theArab-American University in Palestine. Several USU faculty members and others played a role in the founding and early success of AAUP in the early 2000s.

Today a conversation with Sen. Brent Hill about civil discourse. Brent Hill is the Next Generation Program Director for the National Institute for Civil Discourse. He’ll be talking with Neil Abercrombie, USU Vice President for Government Relations, in an event at the David B. Haight Center on the USU campus on Monday at 4:00 p.m.

Our guest for the hour today is Chad Anderson. He has made a documentary film called Dog Valley which tells the story of Gordon Church, a young gay man who was kidnapped, raped, tortured and brutally murdered in rural Utah, as well as the stories of the two men who killed him, Michael Archuleta (currently on death row) and Lance Wood (currently in a minimum security prison). The film features an interview with Wood himself and delves into true crime and the long-term effects of trauma.

Two decades before official missionary work began, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints pamphlets, books and other church materials began circulating in West Africa, leading to a unique “native” Mormonism. Believers crafted churches from these bare materials and doctrinal interpretations during the 1960s and 1970s.

Throughout its history, America has been defined through maps. Whether made for military strategy or urban reform, to encourage settlement or to investigate disease, maps invest information with meaning by translating it into visual form. They capture what people knew, what they thought they knew, what they hoped for, and what they feared. As such they offer unrivaled windows onto the past.

Janice Brooks, Chairwoman of the Utah Humanities Council, governing board member for Intermountain Healthcare St. George Regional Hospital and IHC Ethics Committee member, will give a keynote address to the One Utah Summit titled Leading with Creativity, Kindness and Inclusion. That speech is tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. The summit is ongoing today and tomorrow at Southern Utah University and is being streamed live at suu.edu/sutvlive.

Stephen Trimble’s new book The Mike File is a memoir. Psychosis overwhelmed Trimble’s brother Mike at 14. Trimble’s parents had no choice but to commit Mike to the Colorado State Hospital. Mike left when Steve was six. He never lived at home again. In his new book Trimble takes readers along on Mike's heartbreaking journey, noting that Mike’s life parallels the history of our treatment of the mentally ill over the last 70 years. Stephen Trimble and Douglas Goldsmith, the former Executive Director of The Children’s Center in Salt Lake City will join us today.

The USU College of Science is presenting a panel discussion titled “A Time to Die.” This virtual panel is tomorrow at 7:00 p.m. Everyone is welcome. Panelists will discuss physician-assisted dying, currently legal in a number of U.S. states, and how this practice might be implemented in Utah.

In conjunction with the Moth Mainstage event coming to Logan next month, UPR and Cache Arts are presenting 15 Things Utahns Can’t Live Without in a Pandemic, which is based on NPR’s 15 Things Folks Can’t Live Without in a Pandemic. The project is about the power of storytelling, and how it can be a catharsis and a way of processing as we collectively deal with this ongoing global pandemic.

Today we are presenting our sixth live episode of Debunked, the only Utah podcast combining evidence-based health practices with storytelling to challenge the stereotypes, and debunk the myths about harm reduction, substance use disorders and homelessness.

The economy says we must always consume more: even the slightest drop in spending leads to widespread unemployment, bankruptcy and home foreclosure.

It’s UPR’s Fall Member Drive. During our Spring Drive we talked with emergency room doctor, writer and UPR member Marion Bishop, who works at Cache Valley Hospital and Brigham City Community Hospital. We also talked with her last year as a part of an episode featuring frontline workers.

It’s a special Member Drive edition of the program again today. And today we’ll shine a spotlight on the Cache Refugee and Immigrant Connection (CRIC), an organization in northern Utah devoted to helping refugees. We’ll review the history of refugees in northern Utah as well as current needs and we’ll talk about doing good in challenging times.

Once again it's a Member Drive edition of the program. Our special guest for the hour is Craig Jessop, Music Director of the American Festival Chorus and Orchestra.

It’s a member drive special edition of Access Utah today. My special guest for the hour is Ken Sanders from Ken Sanders Rare Books in Salt Lake City. We’ll reach into the archives for parts of some of our favorite recent episodes of the program.

Dixie State University’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences is bringing the “Remember the 43 Students” art installation to their campus. This installation commemorates the six people who were killed and the 43 students who were “disappeared” in a night of unspeakable political violence in Iguala, Guerrero state, Mexico on September 26, 2014.

On her 120-acre homestead high in the Colorado Rockies, writer Pam Houston learns what it means to care for a piece of land and the creatures on it. Elk calves and bluebirds mark the changing seasons, winter temperatures drop to 35 below, and lightning sparks a 110,000-acre wildfire, threatening her century-old barn and all its inhabitants.

On the morning of April 29, 1986, a fire alarm sounded in the Los Angeles Public Library. As the moments passed, the patrons and staff who had been cleared out of the building realized this was not the usual fire alarm. As one fireman recounted, “Once that first stack got going, it was ‘Goodbye, Charlie.’”

The Man Who Caught the Storm is the saga of the greatest tornado chaser who ever lived: a tale of obsession and daring, and an extraordinary account of humanity’s high-stakes race to understand nature’s fiercest phenomenon.

Homesickness today is dismissed as a sign of immaturity: it's what children feel at summer camp. But in the nineteenth century it was recognized as a powerful emotion. When gold miners in California heard the tune "Home, Sweet Home," they sobbed. When Civil War soldiers became homesick, army doctors sent them home, lest they die. Such images don't fit with our national mythology, which celebrates the restless individualism of immigrants who supposedly left home and never looked back.

Daniel James Brown’s bestseller The Boys in the Boat is a story about beating the odds and finding hope in the most desperate of times—the improbable, intimate account of how nine working-class boys from the American West showed the world at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin what true grit really meant.

Coral reefs around the world are vanishing at an unprecedented rate. We’ve lost 50% of the world’s coral in the last 30 years. Scientists say that climate change is now their greatest threat and it is estimated that only 10% can survive past 2050. In a new documentary film, “Chasing Coral,” a team of divers, photographers and scientists set out on a thrilling ocean adventure to discover why coral are vanishing and to reveal the underwater mystery to the world.

The U.S. Department of Education launches an investigation into Utah's ban on school mask mandates. Health officials hope personal stories — like that of a Vernal woman who got COVID after declining a vaccine — will help change minds. Gov. Spencer Cox questions the effectiveness of masks, contradicting healthcare professionals. And what the data from a European soccer championship can tell us about the spread of coronavirus at sports events in the US.

In Eager, environmental journalist Ben Goldfarb reveals that our modern idea of what a healthy landscape looks like and how it functions is wrong, distorted by the fur trade that once trapped out millions of beavers from North America’s lakes and rivers. The consequences of losing beavers were profound: streams eroded, wetlands dried up, and species from salmon to swans lost vital habitat.

Douglas Tallamy’s first book, “Bringing Nature Home,” awakened thousands of readers to an urgent situation: wildlife populations are in decline because the native plants they depend on are fast disappearing. His solution? Plant more natives. In this new book, Tallamy takes the next step and outlines his vision for a grassroots approach to conservation. “Nature’s Best Hope” shows how homeowners everywhere can turn their yards into conservation corridors that provide wildlife habitats. Talllamy says that because this approach relies on the initiatives of private individuals, it is immune from the whims of government policy. Even more important, it’s practical, effective, and easy.

An alternative prison ranch in New Mexico conducts a daring experiment: setting the troubled residents out to retrain an aggressive herd of horses. The horses and prisoners both arrive at the ranch broken in one way or many— the horses often abandoned and suspicious, the residents, some battling drug and alcohol addiction, emotionally, physically, and financially shattered. Ginger Gaffney’s job is to retrain the untrainable. With time, the horses and residents form a profound bond, and teach each other patience, control, and trust.

Today we feature a conversation with renowned actor and author George Takei. He is coming to Utah for the Moab Music Festival, which has commissioned a new work based on his speeches, personal writings, and recollections of his and his family’s internment in camps for Japanese Americans during World War II.

Take a look at your favorite pair of jeans. Maybe you bought them on Amazon or the Gap; maybe the tag says “Made in Bangladesh” or “Made in Sri Lanka.” But do you know where they really came from, how many thousands of miles they crossed, or the number of hands who picked, spun, wove, dyed, packaged, shipped, and sold them to get to you?

Today we present a live episode of the Debunked Podcast. Host Tom Williams and Debunked Podcast host Don Lyons welcome Mary Jo McMillen, Executive Director of USARA (Utah Support Advocates for Recovery Awareness) and Ashanti Moritz, Outreach Director for the Skull Valley Band of Goshutes' Warrior Spirit Recovery Center to debunk the myth “indigenous and non-indigenous groups can't work together to solve social problems.”

We’re going to talk about housing in Utah today. Here are some headlines from the past several months: How tight is Utah’s housing market? Some buyers offer $100K over asking; ‘Hyper-, hyper-competitive’ Salt Lake area housing market is white hot, but are Californians to blame?; What’s driving Utah’s housing crisis? It’s not what you think, says economist; Housing affordability in Utah entering ‘perilous territory,’ study says; The pandemic has supercharged Utah’s housing market.

A while back on Access Utah, Michael Sowder, USU professor of English and affiliated professor of religious studies, helped us learn some of the history and current practice of yoga. On Tuesday’s Access Utah he’ll lead us in an exploration of mindfulness and meditation, which may be of special interest during these times of pandemic.

Misinformation, disinformation, and fake news abound and it’s increasingly difficult to know what’s true. Our media environment has become hyperpartisan. Science is conducted by press release. Jevin West is an Associate Professor at the University of Washington. He directs the Center for an Informed Public, whose mission is to resist strategic misinformation, promote an informed society, and strengthen democratic discourse. He is co-author with Carl Bergstrom of “Calling Bullshit,” a book on how to spot and refute misinformation.

The Personal Librarian is a historical novel about J. P. Morgan’s personal librarian, Belle da Costa Greene, the Black American woman who was forced to hide her true identity and pass as white in order to leave a lasting legacy that enriched our nation, from New York Times bestselling author Marie Benedict, and acclaimed author Victoria Christopher Murray.

The Curies' newly discovered element of radium makes gleaming headlines across the nation as the fresh face of beauty, and wonder drug of the medical community. From body lotion to tonic water, the popular new element shines bright in the otherwise dark years of the First World War.

In a 6-3, party-line vote, the Salt Lake County Council votes to overturn the public health school mask order issued by county health director Dr. Angela Dunn. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issues a call to its members to wear masks and get vaccinated. And new census figures cement Utah's place as the fastest growing state in the nation.

“Sleeper Agent” is the story of the only Soviet military spy to have full security clearance in America’s top-secret project to build the first atomic bomb. He was a U.S. soldier born and raised in Iowa who charmed everyone he met, loved baseball and Walt Whitman, and all the while he was sending atomic secrets to Moscow to help build their own atomic bomb. He was never caught.

Today we’ll talk with Senator Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, the first Asian American woman and the only immigrant currently serving in the U.S. Senate. Her new memoir "Heart of Fire: An Immigrant Daughter’s Story" is an inspiring account of one woman coming into her personal and political power, a heartwarming homage to the women who raised her, and a behind-the-scenes look at some of the most fraught moments of the Trump administration.

St. Anne’s Retreat, located in Logan Canyon, is well-known to Cache Valley residents due to the folklore of the place: tales of demonic nuns, evil witches, murdered babies, and more. Often referred to as “The Nunnery,” the site is a hub for thrill-seekers who trespass onto the property to see for themselves if the stories are true.

Part memoir, part meditation on poetry, part conversation with her husband, friends, and the many animals that live with and around her, Katharine Coles’s The Stranger I Become probes the permeable boundary between inner life and outer, thought and action, science and experience. Coles begins this collection of lyric essays with a meditation on walking, and “the urge to move beyond, to understand myself as a stranger, estranged.”

Quoting the Salt Lake Tribune: “In response to the uproar over critical race theory, the Utah Board of Education has approved a new set of standards that spell out what teachers can — and especially what they cannot — say to their students about ethnicity, inclusion, equity and culture.” The Utah Legislature has also passed resolutions on the topic. Today we’ll try to define what Critical Race Theory is and isn’t and talk about what should and shouldn’t be taught in Utah’s K-12 schools.

In 2019, Utah Poet Laureate Paisley Rekdal was commissioned to write a poem commemorating the 150th anniversary of the transcontinental railroad’s completion. The result is “West: A Translation:” a linked collection of poems that responds to a Chinese elegy carved into the walls of the Angel Island Immigration Station where Chinese migrants to the United States were detained. “West” translates this elegy character by character through the lens of Chinese and other transcontinental railroad workers’ histories, and through the railroad’s cultural impact on America.

Today we’re doing another non-profit spotlight. There are many needs in our communities and many step up to help. We’d love to shine a light on your favorite non-profit or individual doing good in your community.

In his new book, Last Best Hope, award-winning author and staff writer at The Atlantic George Packer explores the four narratives that now dominate American life and describe our divides: Free America, which imagines a nation of separate individuals and serves the interests of corporations and the wealthy; Smart America, the world view of Silicon Valley and the professional elite; Real America, the white Christian nationalism of the heartland; and Just America, which sees citizens as members of identity groups that inflict or suffer oppression.

It sometimes seems like life is nothing but conflict these days, with heated disagreements on Social Media and around the dinner table. And you may be dreading a high-stakes conversation in your near future. Next time on Access Utah we’ll talk with consultant and USU lecturer Clair Canfield.

Jean Lowe is an American pop/conceptual multimedia artist whose work carefully and humorously unpacks the ironies and challenges of our 21st-century culture. Lowe employs wit and satire to create work that is both entertaining and seductive as well as intellectually provocative. Her work revolves around the intersection of popular culture, environmentalism, commerce, politics, and art history.

Next time on Access Utah, we’ll present another live episode of Debunked, the only Utah podcast combining evidence-based health practices with storytelling to challenge the stereotypes, and debunk the myths about harm reduction, substance use disorders and homelessness. This time we’re debunking the myth, “There are plenty of resources but people just don’t want the help.”

Witty, inspiring, and charismatic, Oscar Wilde is one of the Greats of English literature. Today, his plays and stories are beloved around the world. But it was not always so. His afterlife has given him the legitimacy that life denied him.

We hear from many these days who say “the news is depressing” or “the news just makes me mad.” Today we’re going to talk about how news consumption can affect our mental health. We’ll explore how to vet the news and how to find trustworthy news sources. There’s a growing divide in what we collectively accept as facts. What do we do about that? How do we combat misinformation?

In the span of a single lifetime, light pollution stemming from Artificial Light At Night (ALAN) has severed the connection with the stars that we’ve had since the dawn of time. With the nocturnal biosphere significantly altered, light’s anthropogenic influence has compelled millions of people to seek out the last remaining dark skies.

Dr. Susan Madsen, Director of The Utah Women & Leadership Project (UWLP) at Utah State University will join us on Tuesday’s Access Utah to talk about new research from UWLP into how the pandemic has affected women and work, specifically focusing on caregiver experiences.

Christine Montross has spent her career treating the most severely ill psychiatric patients. Several years ago, she set out to investigate why so many of her patients became caught up in the legal system when discharged from her care—and what happened to them in that legal system.

8:36 P.M. EST, December 12, 1972: Apollo 17 astronauts Gene Cernan and Jack Schmitt braked to a stop alongside Nansen Crater, keenly aware that they were far, far from home. They had flown nearly a quarter-million miles to the man in the moon’s left eye, landed at its edge, and then driven five miles into this desolate, boulder-strewn landscape. As they gathered samples, they strode at the outermost edge of mankind’s travels. This place, this moment, marked the extreme of exploration for a species born to wander.

In his memoir, “The Weight of Shadows,” José Orduña chronicles the process of becoming a North American citizen in a post-9/11 United States. Intractable realities—rooted in the continuity of US imperialism to globalism—form the landscape of Orduña’s daily experience, where the geopolitical meets the quotidian.

American Indian Services Pre-Freshman Engineering Program (AIS PREP) is a free STEM summer school program for middle schoolers from eight different Native American tribes. Alice Min Soo Chun, founder and CEO of Solight Designs, Inc., is this year’s AIS PREP graduation keynote speaker.

All of us—people, fish, and many other creatures—depend on the water in Utah’s rivers. The choices we make about how to develop water resources have big impacts on river habitats. In “Decisions Downstream,” an exhibit at the Natural History Museum of Utah, watershed scientist Sarah Null teams up with artists Chris Peterson and Carsten Meier to explore new ways of seeing river habitats. Critical water decisions are being made in Utah. “Decisions Downstream” highlights the water development tools, trade offs, and alternatives that can guide our choices.

For much of a year, writer Sebastian Junger and three friends—a conflict photographer and two Afghan War vets—walked the railroad lines of the East Coast. It was an experiment in personal autonomy, but also in interdependence. Dodging railroad cops, sleeping under bridges, cooking over fires, and drinking from creeks and rivers, the four men forged a unique reliance on one another.

American Festival Chorus and Orchestra (AFCO) is performing the Mozart Requiem this weekend. Craig Jessop, Director of AFCO and Gary Griffin, Managing Director of Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theater (UFOMT) will join us in-studio to talk about Mozart, the Requiem, and performing arts as we come out of the pandemic.

When the pandemic struck, nature writer David Gessner turned to Henry David Thoreau, the original social distancer, for lessons on how to live. Those lessons—of learning our own backyard, rewilding, loving nature, self-reliance, and civil disobedience—hold a secret that could help save us as we face the greater crisis of climate. Gessner’s new book is Quiet Desperation, Savage Delight: Sheltering with Thoreau in the Age of Crisis, published by Torrey House Press.

As you know, NPR is celebrating 50 years. You’ve been hearing some memories from UPR staff members and now it’s your turn! Continue the conversation and share your memories by emailing [email protected].

When Kate Washington and her husband, Brad, learned that he had cancer, they were a young couple: professionals with ascending careers, parents to two small children. Brad’s diagnosis stripped those identities away: he became a patient and she his caregiver. Brad’s cancer quickly turned aggressive, necessitating a stem-cell transplant that triggered a massive infection, robbing him of his eyesight and nearly of his life. Kate acted as his full-time aide to keep him alive, coordinating his treatments, making doctors’ appointments, calling insurance companies, filling dozens of prescriptions, cleaning commodes, administering IV drugs.

By the time he turned nineteen, Derek Black was regarded as the "the leading light" of the white nationalist movement. While at college he started to question his worldview. Then he decided to confront the damage he had done. In the book, Rising Out of Hatred,” the author, Pulitzer-prize winning reporter Eli Saslow, asks what Derek Black's story can tell us about America's increasingly divided nature.

Utah’s path to statehood was the most tortuous in U.S. history, due in no small part to the Mormon practice of polygamy. Frank J. Cannon, newspaperman, Congressional delegate, and senator, guided Utah toward becoming the forty-fifth state in the Union in 1896. But when he lost favor with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, his contributions fell into obscurity.

Many wildfires continue to burn across Utah, with the threat of more fire with the persisting hot and dry conditions. We’ll talk about wildfires in Utah today. Our guests will include Staci Olson, who has fought wildfires in the western U.S. for 10 years; Kait Webb with the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands; and Moab Mayor Emily Niehaus.

The Monarch and Other Winged Wonders Festival will happen on Thursday in Nibley. We’ll preview the event next time on Access Utah. We’ll learn about Monarch butterflies, bats, bees, fireflies, night pollinators, dragonflies and birds. We’ll talk about the decline in some of these species and how we can help. And we’ll discuss how being in nature can improve our health and well-being.

History isn’t always written by the victors. 19th century America saw a series of high-profile court cases that stripped civil rights from Black Americans following the Civil War. John Marshall Harlan was the only U.S. Supreme Court justice to stand in dissent, and his blistering, passionate rebuttals inspired future justices, such as Thurgood Marshall, who said that Harlan’s writings were his “Bible” and his blueprint as he helped to tear down Segregation a century later.

In a recent op-ed in the New York Times, titled “America’s Brutal Racial History Is Written All Over Our Genes,” Libby Copeland writes: “The debate around race consuming America right now is coinciding with a technological phenomenon — at-home genetic testing kits — revealing many of us are not who we thought we were. Some customers of the major DNA testing companies, which collectively have sold 37 million of these kits, are getting results that surprise them.”

The Mountaintop by Katori Hall is a gripping two-person drama about the last day of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In the play, King is alone in his hotel room when he is joined by Camae, a maid who works for the Lorraine Motel. What follows is a reflective, often funny, often touching conversation in which Dr. King examines his achievements, his failures, and his unfinished dreams.

A few months ago we talked with several Covid-19 long haulers. They said that some continued to suffer debilitating effects of the disease months after being infected with the virus. Many long haulers say they had active lifestyles prior to getting sick, but they are nowhere near getting back to normal. Today we’re going to check back in with Lisa O’Brien, founder of a Utah COVID-19 Long Haulers group. We’ll also be talking to Dr. Brayden Yellman of the Bateman Horne Center and Dr. Jeanette Brown, Director of the new post-COVID care clinic at the University of Utah.

Utah residents are facing a housing shortage in virtually every community and a segment of our population struggles with housing insecurity on a regular basis, partially associated with stigma and shame. Some don't fully understand the obstacles many have overcome. On the next Access Utah we’ll present another live episode of the podcast Debunked. We’ll be debunking the myth: Homeless people are lazy and don’t want to work.

On Sunday, Israel’s parliament (Knesset) voted in favor of a new government, ending Benjamin Netanyahu’s 12-year reign as prime minister. The vote ushered in a “change government”—a coalition of eight different political parties that plan to use a rotation system to fill the prime minister’s seat. Naftali Bennett, leader of the New Right Party, will initially serve as prime minister for two years, followed by Yair Lapid, leader of the Yesh Atid for two years. For the first time in Israel’s history, an Israeli Arab party will be part of the government.

Conservation groups have filed a lawsuit against the Interior Department to prevent a highway from being built through Red Cliffs National Conservation Area in Southwest Utah. The groups claim that paving over the protected land would be a violation of environmental laws which require agencies to analyze potential environmental harms before making decisions. Red Cliffs was established as a conservation area in 2009 to help recover a threatened species - the Mojave desert tortoise.

In her new book, “Dusk, Night, Dawn: On Revival and Courage,” Anne Lamott explores the tough questions that many of us are grappling with. How can we recapture the confidence we once had as we stumble through the dark times that seem increasingly bleak? As bad news piles up—from climate crises to daily assaults on civility—how can we cope? Where, she asks, “do we start to get our world and joy and hope and our faith in life itself back . . . with our sore feet, hearing loss, stiff fingers, poor digestion, stunned minds, broken hearts?”

Bryan, Ohio's hospital, is losing money, making it vulnerable to big health systems seeking domination and Phil Ennen, CEO, has been fighting to preserve its independence. Meanwhile, Bryan, a town of 8,500 people in Ohio’s northwest corner, is still trying to recover from the Great Recession.

UPR broadcasts a weekly interview with Utah State University President Noelle Cockett, checking in on whatever is happening at the university that week. Earlier you heard the condensed version of this conversation. Today on Access Utah we’ll hear the full interview. We’ll talk about new rules at USU regarding face masks, vaccination rates, transitioning to a more-normal life, and we’ll look ahead to the fall.

Elinor Cleghorn became an unwell woman ten years ago. She was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease after a long period of being told her symptoms were anything from psychosomatic to a possible pregnancy. As she learned to live with her unpredictable disease she turned to history for answers, and found an enraging legacy of suffering, mystification, and misdiagnosis.

Almost one year ago in the midst of a global pandemic, we watched the death of George Floyd. Americans responded, protesting the realities of racial injustice in cities across the country. For many individuals, this may have been the first time they recognized the depth and breadth of discrimination in the United States, in their communities, and in their classrooms.

Gary Paul Nabhan is an Agricultural Ecologist, Ethnobotanist, Ecumenical Franciscan Brother, and author whose work has focused primarily on the interaction of biodiversity and cultural diversity of the arid binational Southwest. He is considered a pioneer in the local food movement and the heirloom seed saving movement.

On the eve of the Civil War, three American businessmen launched an audacious plan to create a financial empire by transforming communications across the hostile territory between the nation’s two coasts. In the process, they created one of the most enduring icons of the American West: the Pony Express.

When the state of Colorado ordered its residents to shelter in place in response to the spread of coronavirus, writers Pam Houston and Amy Irvine—who had never met—began a correspondence based on their shared devotion to the rugged, windswept mountains that surround their homes, one on either side of the Continental Divide.

Today we’ll talk with Sharon Shattuck, director and producer of the documentary film Picture a Scientist, which offers a sobering portrait of struggles women face in pursuing studies and careers in science. We’ll also be talking with Sara Freeman, USU Assistant Professor of Biology, and Sojung Lim, USU Assistant Professor of Sociology. We’ll also hear sound clips from the film.

In a recent article for Terrain.org titled “In Defense of Pinon Nut Nation,” writer and photographer Stephen Trimble says “Piñons and junipers are the size of humans. We don’t look down at them, casually, and we don’t gaze up in awe. We are equal in scale. ‘Tree’ usually means tall, vertical, but these trees often are round. They have the reserved warmth of a Native grandmother. When you live in piñon-juniper woodland, you live with the trees, not under them. You participate, you reside."

Today we bring you another live episode of DEBUNKED, a podcast combining evidence-based health practices with storytelling to challenge the stereotypes, and debunk the myths about harm reduction, substance use disorders and homelessness. We will be coming to you live from the 2021 Intermountain Tribal and Rural Opioid Wellness Summit: Bridging Harm Reduction and Recovery Communities.

In a commentary published recently at Mongabay.com, Paul Rogers, a forest ecologist and Director of the Western Aspen Alliance at Utah State University, argues that forest managers’ “goal should not be to stop wildfire but to reduce conflicts with it.”

“Sky Songs: Meditations on Loving a Broken World” is a collection of essays that takes inspiration from the ancient seabed in which Jennifer Sinor lives, an elemental landscape that reminds her that our lives are shaped by all that has passed through.

Kurt Bestor is a Utah-based composer and performer, known for his Christmas concerts, his film and television scores, and his haunting musical prayer for peace “Prayer of the Children.” He will be leading performances of “The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber” in Logan on May 21 and 22.

You’ve been hearing about the violence in Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, and southern Israel. Amos Guiora, a law professor at the University of Utah is at his home just outside Jerusalem. He’ll join us for the next Access Utah to give us a report directly from the area. Here’s the Deseret News: “What started as a week of tense clashes in Jerusalem has escalated into violent unrest on the streets of Arab Israeli towns, as well as a deadly aerial conflict. More than 1,000 rockets lit up the skies of Israeli cities, while at least two high-rise buildings were leveled in the Israeli bombardment of the blockaded and impoverished Gaza Strip, home to 2 million Palestinians.”

Part memoir, part meditation on poetry, part conversation with her husband, friends, and the many animals that live with and around her, Katharine Coles’s The Stranger I Become probes the permeable boundary between inner life and outer, thought and action, science and experience. Coles begins this collection of lyric essays with a meditation on walking, and “the urge to move beyond, to understand myself as a stranger, estranged.”

Today our guest is Cache Valley resident Maren Johnson. She’ll tell us some fascinating stories from the world of dog sledding. For the past five years she worked for dog sledding businesses in Alaska. She lived on a glacier with 280 sled dogs. She also worked for four-time Iditarod winner Jeff King in his tourist business and assisted him in the 1,000-mile Iditarod race.

In 2019, Utah Poet Laureate Paisley Rekdal was commissioned to write a poem commemorating the 150th anniversary of the transcontinental railroad’s completion. The result is “West: A Translation:” a linked collection of poems that responds to a Chinese elegy carved into the walls of the Angel Island Immigration Station where Chinese migrants to the United States were detained. “West” translates this elegy character by character through the lens of Chinese and other transcontinental railroad workers’ histories, and through the railroad’s cultural impact on America.

Today Margaret Pettis will join us to talk about her new book of poetry titled “In the Temple of the Stars.” Her previous collection “Chokecherry Rain,” won the Utah State Poetry Society book award.

Nashville, August 1920. Thirty-five states have ratified the Nineteenth Amendment, twelve have rejected or refused to vote, and one last state is needed. It all comes down to Tennessee, the moment of truth for the suffragists, after a seven-decade crusade.

Quoting Kristen Munson in Utah State Magazine: “In mid-January, the internet was awash in sea shanty videos on TikTok. A week later, memes of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, bundled in a Burton coat and sweater mittens, made the rounds on Twitter. Within minutes, Sanders, originally photographed at the January 20 inauguration ceremony, was Photoshopped sitting on a subway, perched on the iconic Friends couch, and on the White House lawn near a boy pushing a lawnmower. Where do memes come from and why do we love them so?”

How do we properly define cultural appropriation, and is it always wrong? If we can write in the voice of another, should we? And if so, what questions do we need to consider first?

Millions of readers of Little House on the Prairie believe they know Laura Ingalls―the pioneer girl who survived blizzards and near-starvation on the Great Plains, and the woman who wrote the famous autobiographical books. But the true saga of her life has never been fully told.

St. Anne’s Retreat, located in Logan Canyon, is well-known to Cache Valley residents due to the folklore of the place: tales of demonic nuns, evil witches, murdered babies, and more. Often referred to as “The Nunnery,” the site is a hub for thrill-seekers who trespass onto the property to see for themselves if the stories are true.

Today we’ll talk with Senator Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, the first Asian American woman and the only immigrant currently serving in the U.S. Senate. Her new memoir "Heart of Fire: An Immigrant Daughter’s Story" is an inspiring account of one woman coming into her personal and political power, a heartwarming homage to the women who raised her, and a behind-the-scenes look at some of the most fraught moments of the Trump administration.

In the span of a single lifetime, light pollution stemming from Artificial Light At Night (ALAN) has severed the connection with the stars that we’ve had since the dawn of time. With the nocturnal biosphere significantly altered, light’s anthropogenic influence has compelled millions of people to seek out the last remaining dark skies.

Every year for Earth Day, we check in with writer and photographer Stephen Trimble, author of “Bargaining for Eden: The Fight for the Last Open Spaces in America,” and many other books. Next time on Access Utah, Stephen Trimble joins us along with Terri Martin, Intermountain West Organizer with the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance; and Jesse Prentice-Dunn, Policy Director with the Center for Western Priorities.

In the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin, charged in the death of George Floyd the verdict is in: guilty on all charges. Our guests today include Darlene McDonald, of the Utah Black Roundtable and a member of the Salt Lake City Commission on Racial Equity in Policing; Rep. Sandra Hollins, D-Salt Lake City; and Rep. Angela Romero, D-Salt Lake City.

Something exciting today: a live episode of the podcast DEBUNKED which seeks to dispel harmful myths and stereotypes about people who use drugs, persons in recovery, and evidenced-based harm reduction efforts. Today we’ll debunk the myth; Native Americans only live on reservations. Our guests are: Sandy Sulzer, Director of the Office of Health Equity and Community Engagement at USU; Kristina Groves, LCSW, Ute/Hopi Tribe, Therapist at Urban Indian Center of Salt Lake; and podcast host Don Lyons.

Montana-based writer David Quammen says that Covid-19 is a reminder of viruses’ destructive power, but that life as we know it would be impossible without them. In his latest article for National Geographic titled “How Viruses Shape Our World,” he reviews the evolutionary origins of viruses and how they have helped shape the history of life.

On Thursday’s Access Utah our theme is farming. In the first half of the program we’ll talk about the AgrAbility program, which helps farmers, ranchers and their family members remain in agriculture when facing limitations due to aging, disease, injury, illness, or other disability. In the second half we’ll talk about an exhibit now showing at the USU Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art called “American Farmer,” which features photographic portraits in addition to interviews with farmers from across the United States, telling the inspiring stories of the stewards of this land.

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed in the face of global climate breakdown. So how might we develop the inner resolve to confront it? Full Ecology, a collaboration between social-cultural psychologist Mary Clare and longtime science writer Gary Ferguson, suggests a path forward. Breaking the modern impulse to see humans as separate from nature, Clare and Ferguson encourage us to learn from the “supremely methodical and highly improvisational” natural systems that touch our lives. True change, they argue, begins with us stopping and questioning assumptions about our place in the world.

Of the roughly 120,000 people forced from their homes by Executive Order 9066, around 5,000 were able to escape incarceration beforehand by fleeing inland. In her new book, “Forced Out: A Nikkei Woman’s Search for a Home in America” Judy Kawamoto offers insight into “voluntary evacuation,” a little-known Japanese American experience during World War II, In the book, she addresses her personal and often unconscious reactions to her parents’ trauma, as well as her own subsequent travels around much of the world, exploring, learning, enjoying, but also unconsciously acting out a continual search for a home.

When Kate Washington and her husband, Brad, learned that he had cancer, they were a young couple: professionals with ascending careers, parents to two small children. Brad’s diagnosis stripped those identities away: he became a patient and she his caregiver. Brad’s cancer quickly turned aggressive, necessitating a stem-cell transplant that triggered a massive infection, robbing him of his eyesight and nearly of his life. Kate acted as his full-time aide to keep him alive, coordinating his treatments, making doctors’ appointments, calling insurance companies, filling dozens of prescriptions, cleaning commodes, administering IV drugs.

On Access Utah, we’ve checked in with arts organizations a couple of times during the pandemic. Today we’ll do so again. We’ll see how these organizations have fared in difficult circumstances, what creative new ideas might become standard practice, and what the future looks like. And we’ll ask you how your habits have changed during the pandemic and what you’re most looking forward to attending as things ease a bit.

We do this periodically. Today we’re doing another non-profit spotlight. There are many needs in our communities, especially during these extraordinary times. We’d love to shine a light on your favorite non-profit or individual doing good in your community.

The Deseret News reports “Guns once again were a contentious issue on Capitol Hill during the Legislature’s 45-day session that ended March 5, and after several tries through the years, lawmakers succeeded in ending the permit requirement for carrying a concealed weapon in Utah. HB60 lets any Utah resident who is 21 years or older and can legally possess a firearm to carry their weapon concealed without needing a permit.”

There’s a recurring line in the musical Hamilton that George Washington says to Alexander Hamilton: “You have no control over who lives, who dies, who tells your story.” Today we’ll feature an episode of the podcast This Is Her Place, which tells the stories of Utah women, past and present. In this episode we talk about two women who were determined to take control and make sure the true story of their people was told: Mae Timbimboo Parry, historian and matriarch of the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone; and Betty Sawyer, Community Engagement Coordinator in Access and Diversity at Weber State University and an activist on issues of racial justice in Utah for more than 40 years. We’ll also be talking to podcast co-host Naomi Watkins.

This week in Utah news:

Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson recently issued a challenge for more women to get involved in their communities and in politics. Utah Governor Spencer Cox and Lt. Gov. Henderson have issued a 500 Day Roadmap, which includes a section on Equality and Opportunity. Today, we’ll talk about the Roadmap and issues such as the gender wage gap, women in public office, and opportunities for women in leadership in the private and public sectors.

By the time he turned nineteen, Derek Black was regarded as the "the leading light" of the white nationalist movement. While at college he started to question his worldview. Then he decided to confront the damage he had done. In the book, Rising Out of Hatred,” the author, Pulitzer-prize winning reporter Eli Saslow, asks what Derek Black's story can tell us about America's increasingly divided nature.

Russ Beck, an author and a Senior Lecturer in the USU English Department, recently spent some time in southeastern Utah researching the history of uranium mining and milling and talking with local residents about the after-effects of the uranium boom in the Moab/Monticello/Blanding area.

Clinical therapist Em Capito spoke with us in October, ahead of her presentation at the Fall speaker series from the Utah Women’s Giving Circle.Titled “Triaging Resilience in the Midst of Crisis,” Em Capito shared “a research-based tangible framework for triaging our personal resilience along with the strategic shifts that deepen our roots, for ourselves, our families and our teams, toward the collective resilience that will lead our communities into the reinvention and renewal ahead.” We spoke with her about her personal history and why she defines resilience as a skill, rather than a trait.

It’s UPR’s Spring Member Drive. On Access Utah that means some very special programming, including some Best Of segments from favorite episodes and some great new conversations. On Wednesday’s Access Utah we’re talking about bridging racial and political divides. How do we talk to each other, understand each other, connect with each other when the divides only seem to be deepening? Our guest for the hour is Jason Gilmore, Associate Professor of Global Communication at Utah State University.

It’s UPR’s Spring Member Drive. On Access Utah that means some very special programming, including some Best Of segments from favorite episodes and some great new conversations. On Tuesday we’ll be talking with emergency room doctor, writer and UPR member Marion Bishop. We talked with her last year as a part of an episode featuring pandemic frontline workers. We’ll check back in to see how she’s been dealing with the pandemic, professionally and personally, since we talked last. We’ll also talk about the roll out of the vaccines and what the future might look like. And we’ll talk about grieving and loss during the pandemic.

It’s UPR’s Spring Member Drive. On Access Utah that means some very special programming, including some Best Of segments from favorite episodes and some great new conversations. Today we’re talking about food and food culture and folklore with Lael Gilbert, one of the hosts of UPR’s Bread & Butter feature; and Lynne McNeill, folklorist and Associate Professor in the USU English Department. We’ll hear some Bread & Butter segments and a portion of our Access Utah conversation from October with the editors of the book This is the Plate: Utah Food Traditions.

All of us—people, fish, and many other creatures—depend on the water in Utah’s rivers. The choices we make about how to develop water resources have big impacts on river habitats. In “Decisions Downstream,” an exhibit at the Natural History Museum of Utah, watershed scientist Sarah Null teams up with artists Chris Peterson and Carsten Meier to explore new ways of seeing river habitats. Critical water decisions are being made in Utah. “Decisions Downstream” highlights the water development tools, trade offs, and alternatives that can guide our choices.

January 2021 was the 125th anniversary of Utah statehood. Utah women have always made history, but they’re often missing in our textbooks, history classrooms, and public art. Better Days 2020 said to young people “We need your help to change that!” So they appealed to Utah students grades 4-12 to create an original essay or piece of art to tell us about a woman in Utah history who made a difference in their community, and to include what they are inspired to do today to follow in her footsteps. On the next Access Utah we’ll talk with some of the winners of the essay contest and hear them read their essays.

Latinx representation in the popular imagination has infuriated and befuddled the Latinx community for decades. These misrepresentations and stereotypes soon became as American as apple pie. But these cardboard cutouts and examples of lazy storytelling could never embody the rich traditions and histories of Latinx peoples.

Donald Trump has forged a unique relationship with American exceptionalism, parting ways with how American politicians have long communicated this idea to the American public.

Bryan, Ohio's hospital, is losing money, making it vulnerable to big health systems seeking domination and Phil Ennen, CEO, has been fighting to preserve its independence. Meanwhile, Bryan, a town of 8,500 people in Ohio’s northwest corner, is still trying to recover from the Great Recession.

The 2021 session of the Utah Legislature ended on Friday. Today we’ll recap the session with Rep. Angela Romero, D-Salt Lake City; House Executive Appropriations Chair Rep. Brad Last, R-Hurricane; Senate Minority Whip Sen. Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City, and Senate Majority Whip Sen. Ann Millner, R-Ogden. We’ll talk about Covid-19 restrictions, police reform, the budget, homelessness and more. Continue the conversation by emailing [email protected].

Julie Berry is the award-winning author of books for young adults and children. Her books include Lovely War, All the Truth That’s in Me, The Passion of Dolssa, The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place, and Happy Right Now.

In a recent op-ed in the New York Times, titled “America’s Brutal Racial History Is Written All Over Our Genes,” Libby Copeland writes: “The debate around race consuming America right now is coinciding with a technological phenomenon — at-home genetic testing kits — revealing many of us are not who we thought we were. Some customers of the major DNA testing companies, which collectively have sold 37 million of these kits, are getting results that surprise them.” We talked with Libby Copeland, author of The Lost Family: How DNA Testing Is Upending Who We Are, last year. The book is coming out soon in paperback. We’ll check back in with Libby Copeland today.

In her new book, “Dusk, Night, Dawn: On Revival and Courage,” Anne Lamott explores the tough questions that many of us are grappling with. How can we recapture the confidence we once had as we stumble through the dark times that seem increasingly bleak? As bad news piles up—from climate crises to daily assaults on civility—how can we cope? Where, she asks, “do we start to get our world and joy and hope and our faith in life itself back . . . with our sore feet, hearing loss, stiff fingers, poor digestion, stunned minds, broken hearts?” We begin, Lamott says, by accepting our flaws and embracing our humanity. Drawing from her own experiences, Lamott shows us the intimate and human ways we can adopt to move through life’s dark places and toward the light of hope that still burns ahead for all of us. “Yes, these are times of great illness and distress,” she says. “Yet the center may just hold.”

Vaccines are being rolled out and warmer weather is approaching. Those are hopeful developments. What else should we know about Covid-19 in Utah right now?

On Monday’s Access Utah we’ll broadcast a full episode from This Is Her Place, a podcast that tells the remarkable stories of Utah women past and present, in all their diversity. Podcast co-host Naomi Watkins will also join us.

Today we’ll talk with Sharon Shattuck, director and producer of the documentary film Picture a Scientist, which offers a sobering portrait of struggles women face in pursuing studies and careers in science. UPR is among several organizations sponsoring a virtual film screening of Picture a Scientist (March 5-7) and a panel discussion (March 8). We’ll also be talking with Sara Freeman, USU Assistant Professor of Biology, who is coordinating the USU events; and Sojung Lim, USU Assistant Professor of Sociology, who is participating in the panel discussion. We’ll also hear sound clips from the film.

The pandemic is coming up on the year mark. More than 500,000 have died in the U.S. and millions have been or are sick. The need for caregiving has increased. Many of us are tired, mentally, emotionally, and physically. Stress and isolation and worry are taking a toll. Today we’re going to talk about mental health during the pandemic.

Last summer, amid the protests demanding police reform following the death of George Floyd, we spoke with Darlene McDonald, of the Utah Black Roundtable and a member of the then newly-created Salt Lake City Commission on Racial Equity in Policing. She said at the time: “Once the protests end and the streets become quiet, it is imperative that we not lose focus. We must redefine a new normal in policing.”

Today our guest is Cache Valley resident Maren Johnson. She’ll tell us some fascinating stories from the world of dog sledding. For the past five years she worked for dog sledding businesses in Alaska. She lived on a glacier with 280 sled dogs. She also worked for four-time Iditarod winner Jeff King in his tourist business and assisted him in the 1,000-mile Iditarod race.

Today our focus is on rural Utah and the legislature. What issues are especially important to residents outside of the Wasatch Front? What legislation is being proposed? Our guests will include Sen. Chris Wilson, R-Logan; Sen. Evan Vickers, R-Cedar City; Rep. Christine Watkins, R-Price; Rep. Kera Birkeland, R-Morgan; and Sen. Ronald Winterton R-Roosevelt. We would love to hear from you. What is the most important issue where you live? Email us to [email protected]

In a commentary published recently at Mongabay.com, Paul Rogers, a forest ecologist and Director of the Western Aspen Alliance at Utah State University, argues that forest managers’ “goal should not be to stop wildfire but to reduce conflicts with it.” The headline for the piece is:

The Utah Women’s Giving Circle presented their “Resilient 2020 Speaker Series | From Susan B. Anthony to RBG: The history, resilience and call to community.” The concluding event in the series was held in November 2020, and was titled “New Possibilities Amidst the Unraveling.” Sara Jones, CEO of InclusionPro talked about how to identify opportunities in the midst of turmoil. She reminded us that unraveling our expectations gives us space, freedom, and clear eyes to see things differently.

How do we properly define cultural appropriation, and is it always wrong? If we can write in the voice of another, should we? And if so, what questions do we need to consider first? In her new book, “Appropriate: A Provocation,” creative writing professor and Utah Poet Laureate Paisley Rekdal addresses a young writer to delineate how the idea of cultural appropriation has evolved—and perhaps calcified—in our political climate. What follows is an exploration of fluctuating literary power and authorial privilege, about whiteness and what we really mean by the term empathy, that examines writers from William Styron to Peter Ho Davies to Jeanine Cummins. “Appropriate” presents a new framework for one of the most controversial subjects in contemporary literature.

Sara Freeman is an Assistant Professor of Neurobiology at Utah State University. She studies the neurobiology of strong social bonds. Last year, during the height of the pandemic, her mother died. Sara Freeman wrote recently about science and grief and love in Utah State Magazine, in an article titled “Love and Loss During a Pandemic.” She’ll join us for the hour next time on Access Utah.

Jim Robbins has written recently about pandemic-related overcrowding on Montana’s rivers; the connection between the growth of deadly viruses and the destruction of nature; the effects of public lands policy during the Trump Administration; geothermal energy; and an internet of animals. We’ll talk with him about public lands and related topics as the Biden Administration gets underway.

The second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump begins in the U.S. Senate today. We'll provide a preview on the program today. We'll talk about procedure, recent history and all things related. We'll be talking to USU Political Science Professor Damon Cann. And I’d love to know what you’re thinking about this. Is impeachment of a former president constitutional? Should President Trump be convicted or acquitted? What would you advise Senators Lee and Romney? If President Trump is acquitted does that mean the impeachment process is broken? What will the outcome of the trial mean going forward for our national divide? You can send us your comment or question now to [email protected]

The film Downwinders and the Radioactive West has been airing on PBS Utah. Today we’re going to review a different part of America’s nuclear history. Susan Dawson and Gary Madsen are retired Utah State University professors whose research and Congressional testimony contributed to passage of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act. In addition to providing financial compensation to downwinders and uranium miners and others, RECA also acknowledged that Congress "apologizes on behalf of the nation" to individuals who were "involuntarily subjected to increased risk of injury and disease to serve the national security interests of the United States." Professors Dawson’s and Madsen’s research from 1988 to 2010 focused on radiation exposures to underground and above ground uranium miners, uranium millworkers, and uranium transportation workers.

This special is part of UPR’s ongoing series Project Resilience. Project Resilience is made possible with support from the Utah State University Center for Persons With Disabilities.

On Wednesday’s Access Utah we’ll broadcast a full episode from This Is Her Place, a podcast that tells the remarkable stories of Utah women past and present, in all their diversity. Podcast co-host Naomi Watkins will also join us.

President Biden has issued an executive order placing an indefinite moratorium on new leases for oil and gas development on federal lands. Proponents of the moratorium say it’s a positive step and that previous lease sales on federal lands have harmed some of the West’s most cherished landscapes and slowed the nation’s shift to clean energy. Opponents argue that the moratorium will further harm already hard-hit economies with an outsized impact on rural areas. We’ll talk about it on Tuesday’s Access Utah. Our guests will include Sen. Ronald Winterton, R-Roosevelt; and Steve Bloch, Legal Director with the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

At the request of the Utah Legislature, the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute – with the assistance of a 37-person Technical Advisory Committee – has prepared a Utah Roadmap to help legislators make policy to improve air quality and address causes and impacts of a changing climate. We’ll ask legislators and others how the Roadmap is being implemented this legislative session. Our guests will include Rep. Steven Handy, R-Layton and Rep. Joel Briscoe, D-Salt Lake City. Representatives Handy and Briscoe are among the co-chairs of the Clean Air Caucus. We’ll also be talking with Thomas Holst, Senior Energy Analyst with the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute; and Josh Craft, Government and Corporate Relations Manager with Utah Clean Energy.

Today we’ll talk with David Quammen about viruses in general and the SARS-CoV-2 virus specifically.

On Wednesday’s Access Utah we’ll talk about the situation in Russia with former NPR Moscow Bureau Chief Corey Flintoff.

Today on Access Utah we’ll continue our coverage of the 2021 Utah Legislature by checking in with several advocacy and research groups. We’ll ask them what their priorities are and what they hope emerges from this session of the legislature. We’ll be talking to representatives from Sutherland Institute, Libertas Institute, Utah Health Policy Project, Utah Foundation, Utah League of Cities and Towns, and Crossroads Urban Center.

May 1943. The Battle of Attu—called “The Forgotten Battle” by World War II veterans—was raging on the Aleutian island with an Arctic cold, impenetrable fog, and rocketing winds that combined to create some of the worst weather on Earth. Both American and Japanese forces were tirelessly fighting in a yearlong campaign, and both sides would suffer thousands of casualties.

Gary Ferguson’s books include “Land on Fire: The New Reality of Wildfire in the West.” We’ll talk with Gary Ferguson about the wildfires burning now in the west. We’ll also talk about his latest book “The Eight Master Lessons of Nature: What Nature Teaches Us About Living Well in the World.”

Join us for Access Utah on Tuesday: the opening day of the 2021 session of the Utah Legislature. We’ll be talking to Governor Spencer Cox and legislative leaders, including House Assistant Minority Whip, Rep. Angela Romero; and Senate Majority and Minority Whips, Sen. Ann Milner and Sen. Luz Escamilla, respectively. And we hear some of the priorities of our listeners as we head into this legislative session.

Welcome to a special edition of Access Utah on Utah Public Radio. In this hour we’ll be highlighting L.A. Theatre Works, which can be heard on UPR on Friday evenings at 9:00. Susan Albert Loewenberg, founder, host and Producing Director of L.A. Theatre Works will join me to talk about producing theatre for radio and the role the arts play during these pandemic times and other topics. We’ll also hear sound clips from several productions.