Access Utah

In the spring of 1983, a massive snowmelt sent runoff racing down the Colorado River toward the Glen Canyon Dam. Worried federal officials desperately scrambled to avoid a worst-case scenario: one of the most dramatic dam failures in history. In the midst of this crisis, a trio of river guides secretly launched a small, hand-built wooden boat, a dory named the Emerald Mile, into the Colorado just below the dam’s base. The captain of the dory, Kenton Grua, aimed to use the flood as a hydraulic slingshot that would hurl him and two companions through 277 miles of some of the most ferocious white water in North America and, if everything went as planned, catapult the Emerald Mile into legend as the fastest boat ever propelled through the heart of the Grand Canyon.

Journalist, advocate, and teacher, Michael frome has spent decades engaged with conversation and America’s national parks. From this experience and knowledge he understands what challenges remain and what momentum must be recovered to revitalize and preserve these special places. Part memoir, part history, and part broadside against those who would diminish our natural heritage, Rediscovering National Parks in the Spirit of John Muir bears witness through reflection and rumination to the grandeur of our parks, to the need for a renewed sense of appreciation, and to individual responsibility for their care.

Jamie Bianchini needed a lift. A big one. After a series of spectacular business flops drove him into bankruptcy and the love of his life kissed him goodbye, Bianchini knew he needed a world of help. But instead of seeking assistance from a counselor or support group, he sought comfort where he’d always found it…on his bicycle. As his world hit rock bottom, Bianchini hatched a crazy plan that just might make everything right. His life lacked purpose, passion, and connection with his fellow man. So Bianchini decided to go for a bicycle ride…around the world…on a tandem…solo…inviting everyone he met to join him for a spin. “A Bicycle Built for Two Billion” is the story of an audacious optimist who tried to change the world – while hoping the world would change him – one rider at a time.

Gina Barnett has coached C-suite executives and leaders worldwide from Fortune 500 companies to start-ups, small businesses and non-profits. She has been speaker coach for TED TAlks for the past five years. In her new book, “Play the Part: Master Body Signals to Connect and Communicate for Business Success, Barnett is distinguished from other communication experts with her understanding of embodiment: how the body affects our thoughts and emotions and, in turn, how we engage and are perceived.

On March 12, 1990, activists with disabilities pulled themselves up the 83 stone steps at the Capitol Building to demand equal rights. “The Capitol Crawl” symbolized the barriers confronting people with disabilities and helped propel the Americans with Disabilities Act into law. The bill passed on July 26, 1990.

Today, August 10th, marks the debut of many new programs on Utah Public Radio. Bringing more news, talk and culture to the station, we sit down with Utah Public Radio Station Manager Peg Arnold, to discuss the programming changes, and the exciting new content you can now find on UPR.

Thursday on Access Utah we revisit a conversation from March of 2011 with singer-songwriter Janis Ian. Her song “Society’s Child” about an interracial romance placed her right at the flash point of the racial tensions of the sixties. She writes in her autobiography about at least one experience performing the song: “I was having a hit record. I was singing for people who wanted me dead. I was fifteen years old.” Janis Ian’s songs including “At Seventeen” still resonate with audiences. We’ll talk with her about her autobiography, Society’s Child, her love of science fiction, and her current work. Janis Ian on Thursday's Access Utah.

I’ve had conversations with scientists that go like this: I say: “A significant percentage of Americans/Utahns don’t believe in human-caused climate change.” They say: “But they should, the science is overwhelming.” “But they don’t, and if effective political action is going to happen, they’ll need to be convinced.” “Well they should.” “But they don’t.” “But they should.” And etc. While it’s not scientists’ primary job to convince non-believers, I sense frustration on the part of those who see climate change as a significant problem. On Wednesday’s AU we talk with two marketing expert about how to effectively sell climate change, or reframe the discussion. How should we talk about climate change and sustainability?

Tuesday's interview with James Anderson is an encore presentation.

Today's broadcast of AU is an Encore presentation which originally aired earlier this year.

“This summer Congress finds itself once again driving full-speed toward the ‘highway cliff,’ the moment when our transportation law expires and Washington suddenly can't meet its promises to help states build highways, fix their bridges, and keep the nation's cars and trucks moving.”

In 2005, historian James Whiteside bought a Harley Davidson Heritage Softail, christened it “Old Blue,” and set off on a series of motorcycle adventures. Over six years he traveled more than 15,000 miles. In his new book “Old Blue’s Road” Whiteside recounts his travels to the Pacific Northwest, Yellowstone, Dodge City, Santa Fe, Wounded Knee, and many other places and considers the ongoing struggle between Indian and mainstream American culture, the meaning of community, the sustainability of the West's hydraulic society, the creation of the national parks system, the Mormon experience in Utah, the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, and more. Whiteside reflects on the processes of change that made the American West what it is today and the complex ways in which the West's past and present come together.

Should Spanking Children Be Forbidden in the U.S.? Renowned criminologist Christian Pfeiffer from University of Hannover, Germany recently presented the European experience as a of the USU Provost’s Series on Instructional Excellence, and he joined us for AU. We’ll revisit that conversation today.

On Tuesday’s AU we’ll look at the problem of homelessness with author Elaine Taylor, who writes in her new book "Karma Deception and a Pair of Red Ferraris" of how she came to find her self dedicated to helping the homeless. Previously Taylor wrote on her blog, “the best of my life is behind me. I’m entering the period of throat wattles and colonoscopies every five years … and uselessness. Irrelevance.”

From their earliest days on the American frontier through their growth into a worldwide church, the spatially expansive Mormons made maps to help them create idealized communities, migrate to and colonize large parts of the American West, visualize the stories in their sacred texts, and spread their message internationally through a well-organized missionary system. This book identifies many Mormon mapmakers who played an important but heretofore unsung role in charting the course of Latter-day Saint history. For Mormons, maps had and continue to have both practical and spiritual significance. In addition to using maps to help build their new Zion and to explore the Intermountain West, Latter-day Saint mapmakers used them to depict locations and events described in the Book of Mormon.

“Many scientists say it’s impossible to study thought and emotion in non-humans. Animals, they say, don’t communicate their inner turmoil through spoken word, which is why any attempt to understand their psyche is typically sneered at as ‘anthropomorphism’ (transferring your own experiences and emotions onto the animals you study) and deemed ‘unscientific,’” writes Becca Cudmore on www.audobon.org.Marine Biologist Carl Safina says that scientists who watch wild animals realize the absurdity of not addressing an animal’s inner life. In his new book “Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel” he takes us inside the lives and minds of animals, witnessing their profound capacity for perception, thought and emotion.

On Tuesday's Access Utah we're airing interviews conducted in Vernal, while the Utah Public Radio team visited the Utah StoryCorps Booth. Vernal, and much of the Uintah Basin, are a community very much tied to oil and gas development, so we talk about the issues the area faces as their economy depends on oil industry. We speak with Vernal City Council member JoAnn Cowan, Vernal City Manager Ken Bassett about the future of Vernal and the Uintah Basin. Then later in the program we hear from Danielle Anderson, from StoryCorps.

In Lucy Sana's newest novel, "The Cherry Harvest," she outlines a memorable coming-of-age story which explores a hidden side of the home front during World War II, when German POWs were put to work in a Wisconsin farm community. In the novel, the war has taken a toll on the Christiansen family. With food rationed and money scarce, the protagonist Charlotte, struggles to keep her family well fed. When their upcoming cherry harvest is threatened, strong-willed Charlotte helps persuade local authorities to allow German war prisoners from a nearby camp to pick the fruit.

So what do men really want when it comes to choosing a mate? Apparently the answer to that question is complex and part of it comes down to population size. A recent study conducted by anthropologists provides clues to why and when men will seek long-term relationships. Today on the program Sheri Quinn talks to Ryan Schacht, anthropologist at the University of Utah and co-author of the study, who breaks down sexual stereotypes.

This broadcast of "Access Utah" is an encore presentation. Our interview with Paul Vanouse originally aired in April, 2015 on Utah Public Radio.