Access Utah

On Thursday's Access Utah, we check in with our arts community. How has COVID-19 affected local arts organizations? How can audiences support the arts?

In CONFLUENCE: NAVIGATING THE PERSONAL & POLITICAL ON RIVERS OF THE NEW WEST, paddler and journalist Zak Podmore takes readers down Western rivers and deep into some of the most pressing environmental and social justice issues of our time.

“Unselfish: Love Thy Neighbor as Thy Selfie” compiled by Paul Parkinson, features 99 inspiring stories of people putting others before themselves. Everyone is trying to get noticed. Selfies are taking over the internet. We live in a world where success and achievement seem to be determined by how many “likes” or “followers” one has on social media. Selfish behavior seems to be at an all–time high.

How do survivors of sexual trauma overcome the mental health issues that often accompany these kinds of experiences? On Monday’s Access Utah we will talk to survivors about their healing journeys, as well as a wide variety of healers, who help people overcome trauma in many different ways .

Patty Rayman was born with the ability to communicate with animals and has helped thousands of people resolve many types of behavior, health, attitude and relationship issues with their animal companions. In working with all types of animals, she has developed techniques to help people move from conflict to cooperation in their relationships.

We know that the coronavirus pandemic is disrupting the economy as well as the obvious health effects. How is all of this affecting small businesses in Utah?

Jodi Byrd joined Tom Williams to discuss the next lecture in the USU College of Humanities’ Tanner Talks series: “Digital Animus in the Age of Liberation.”

How is the coronavirus pandemic affecting rural Utah? We’ll talk about concerns of smaller healthcare facilities, decisions over closures of national parks, and how the economies of rural communities are being affected.

This year marks the 157th anniversary of the largest massacre of Native Americans in the United States.

Photographer, marriage and family therapist and Utah State University alum Kimberly Anderson was on the USU campus in early March to give a presentation on her work. Her presentation, “Transitioning Within Landscapes: The Photography of Kimberly Anderson,” touched on her work as a photographer interwoven with her identity as a transgender woman.

Thi Bui was born in Vietnam three months before the end of the Vietnam War, and came to the United States in 1978. In November, she presented a lecture "Finding Home," based on her debut graphic memoir, “The Best We Could Do,” a beautifully illustrated and emotional story about the search for a better future and a longing for the past.

Utah’s K-12 public schools are closed and teachers are teaching their students online because of precautions to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Linda Hirshman, acclaimed historian of social movements, delivers the sweeping story of the struggle leading up to #MeToo and beyond: from the first tales of workplace harassment percolating to the surface in the 1970s, to the Clinton/Lewinsky scandal—when liberal women largely forgave Clinton, giving men a free pass for two decades. Many liberals even resisted the movement to end rape on campus.

We’re compiling another UPR Community Booklist and we want to know what you’re reading.

On Tuesday’s Access Utah, as a part of UPR’s Project Resilience, we’re going to talk about how to be resilient with all that’s happening with the coronavirus pandemic, including social distancing. We’ll also talk about how all of this is impacting children and individuals with disabilities. Our guests will include Vonda Jump Norman, USU Assistant Professor of Social Work and Director of the Trauma Resiliency Project at The Family Place in Logan; Matthew Wappett, Director of the USU Center for Persons with Disabilities; and Kevin Webb, Associate Director of the I-System Institute for Transdisciplinary Studies and a Licensed Social Worker.

DEBUNKED is a new podcast produced by the USU Tribal and Rural Opioid Initiative and USU Extension in conjunction with Utah Public Radio, which focuses on harm reduction and debunking myths around the opioid crisis. Their newest episode focuses on COVID-19.

As we all deal the best we can with Coronavirus and COVID-19, we want to hear examples that you have heard or experienced of people, businesses or organizations doing good.

The Utah Legislature concluded its 2020 session on Thursday. We’ll recap the session on Monday, with a special focus on issues important to people in rural Utah. We’ll also talk about COVID-19 and Coronavirus.

On Tuesday’s Access Utah, Tom Williams will talk with UNLADYLIKE2020 Executive Producer Sandra Rattley and series creator Charlotte Mangin.

The tax reform bill that was passed in December by a special session of the Utah Legislature was soundly repudiated by a referendum drive that collected the required number of signatures before the regular session of the legislature began in January. Lawmakers subsequently repealed the tax reform bill. We wondered: what about now? Is there still a need for reform? What should happen next? What is likely to happen next? We’ll talk with the organizer of the referendum drive, Fred Cox. Our guests will also include Rep. Norm Thurston, R-Provo, a Republican who voted against the bill and two Democrats, Rep.Susan Duckworth, D-Magna, and Rep. Angela Romero, D-Salt Lake City.