Access Utah

Last week our UPR community compiled an impressive book list. Now, we want to know what movies & television shows you’re watching. What’s in your Netflix queue right now? Is there a movie or show that has had a big impact on you? Which shows and movies are you looking forward to seeing? Maybe you’d like to tell us a personal story connected to a favorite movie. We’d love to hear about movies and shows in any and all genres. What’s on your all-time top ten list?

The U. S. Supreme Court has struck down a key provision of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, declaring that same-sex couples who are legally married deserve equal rights to benefits under federal law. The court also has sent California’s Proposition 8, which defines marriage as only between a man and a woman, back to the appellate court. What do you think of these rulings? Did the Supreme Court get it right? What does this mean for Utah? For you? What comes next? Are you in favor of gay marriage? Why or why not?

As we head into summer we want to know what you’re reading. What’s on your nightstand right now? Is there a book that has had a big impact on you? What are you looking forward to reading? 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 & children’s categories. One suggestion or many are welcome. Post your list on the Utah Public Radio Facebook page, email us or use the comments section below.

Pictured is the Bringhurst family's new addition, Poseidon. His next project is loose-leash walking training. A recent survey shows that pet ownership is at its highest level in two decades. We're going to talk about your pet on Access Utah. We'll have a Petsmart Utah area pet trainer Marc Ellis with us to answer your questions. Post a picture of your pet on the Utah Public Radio Facebook page along with a brief message bragging about him/her and we'll share your message on Thursday's Access Utah. Or your can post a message in the comments section below.

The immigration debate has raised some of the most difficult questions our nation has ever faced. How can we preserve the integrity of sovereign borders while also respecting the dignity of human beings? How should a border be humanely and effectively maintained? To understand the experience of those directly impacted by the immigration crisis, Ananda Rose traveled to the Sonoran Desert - a border region where the remains of 2,000 migrants have been recovered over the past 10 years. There she interviewed Minutemen, Border Patrol agents, Catholic nuns, humanitarian aid workers, ranchers

On Tuesday we will have Maximilian Werner, author of "Evolved, Chronicles of a Pleistocene Mind."

Victor S. Navasky former editor and publisher of The Nation, and at The New York Times Magazine is on Access Utah.

Yesterday on Access Utah we talked with members of a modern-day polygamous community. Today, in part two of our series, we’ll learn how polygamy began in America. When Joseph Smith began to reveal and teach the doctrine of plural marriage in 1841, even stalwart church members like Brigham Young were shocked and confused. In her new book, “Revelation, Resistance, and Mormon Polygamy--The Introduction and Implementation of the Principle, 1830-1853” (USU Press) historian Merina Smith considers the ideological, historical, and psychological elements of the process and captures the emotional and cultural detail of this exciting and volatile period in Mormon history.

In Utah we often have occasion to talk about polygamy. But it is rarer to be able to talk with people who practice it. Wednesday we'll talk with members of the Centennial Park community near the Arizona/Utah border. They are being featured on National Geographic Channel’s Polygamy USA series and recently recorded their stories when UPR hosted StoryCorps in St. George.

CEO Marissa Mayer’s recent decision to require Yahoo! workers to come to headquarters for work has provoked a vigorous discussion about telecommuting. On the other end of the spectrum, some suggest that in today’s world, employees shouldn’t have set hours just clear goals. And no matter what else may change, we’ll likely always have to deal with office politics. How is your workplace changing? Is telecommuting working for you? What are your company's rules? Are you able to manage a good work/life balance?

Utah Attorney General John Swallow is the subject of a federal and state investigation into a series of allegations, including that he helped broker deals to assist a businessman suspected of fraud and that he promised protection to potential campaign donors to his predecessor, Mark Shurtleff. House Democrats are calling for his impeachment and point to the case in renewing their call for ethics reform. Some Republicans are calling for Swallow accept paid leave or resign, and at least one, Rep. Spencer Cox, says the House should consider impeachment. The Attorney General insists that he broke no laws and says he has no plans to quit.

More than 800 movies have been filmed in Utah since filmmaking began in the state in the 1920s with the Parry brothers near Cedar City. Utah has played host to all manner of moves from potboilers on lean budgets to some of the most memorable films ever made, including The Searchers, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Planet of the Apes, Footloose, and Thelma & Louise. Through the years millions of dollars have been poured into the economy. As one Utah rancher said, Hollywood moviemakers "don't take anything but pictures and don't leave anything but money." And with changes in landscapes, movies are the only places to see how some Utah areas used to look.

Jeopardy! champion Ken Jennings has been a guest on NPR’s Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me! but last week he appeared as a panelist. Wednesday we’ll revisit an Access Utah conversation with Ken Jennings from January. His latest book is “Because I Said So! - The Truth Behind the Myths, Tales, & Warnings Every Generation Passes Down to Its Kids.” Many of these myths and warnings are culture-specific. We’ll talk about the Korean “Fan Death” tale, which Jennings first encountered growing up in Seoul.

Angelina Jolie’s recent announcement that she’d received a double mastectomy to reduce her chances of cancer, highlights a series of decisions we all may be facing in this age of genetic testing: Do I want to know? Whom should I tell? What should I do with the information? Should I take a chance on passing on genetic problems? What about privacy and insurance? Dr. Robert Klitzman addresses these concerns in his book, Am I My Genes?: Confronting Fate and Family Secrets in the Age of Genetic Testing.

When the national park system was first established in 1916, the goal "to conserve unimpaired" seemed straightforward. But Robert Keiter, author of a new book, To Conserve Unimpaired: The Evolution of the National Park Idea, argues that parks have always served a variety of competing purposes, from wildlife protection and scientific discovery to tourism and commercial development. He says that parks must be managed more effectively to meet increasing demands in the face of climate, environmental, and demographic changes. Keiter argues that parks cannot be treated as special islands, but must be managed as the critical cores of larger ecosystems.

Last year, in a surprising development, more than 300 members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints marched in the Utah Pride Parade. The group Mormons Building Bridges predicts that with Mormons for Equality also involved, church members will turn out in record numbers to march in this year’s parade on Sunday. Are you planning to march in the parade this year? What do you think of those who are? What does it mean that some Mormons are marching again?

As National Bike Month comes to a close, we’re talking bicycling on Wednesday’s Access Utah. Is biking a legitimate form of everyday transportation? Should more of us park our cars in favor of our bicycles? Could you get by without owning a car? Is your community bike-friendly? How can you stay safe while cycling? How can we better accommodate each other as drivers and bikers?

Parenting in an online world is our topic for the hour on Tuesday’s Access Utah. We’ll be talking with tech-savvy Utah parents Jonathan & Loralee Choate and Dr. Jim Taylor, author of several books, including Raising Generation Tech: Prepare Your Children for a Media-fueled World.

In his new book, "Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation," Michael Pollan explores the previously uncharted territory of his own kitchen. Here, he discovers the power of the four classical elements—fire, water, air, and earth—to transform the stuff of nature into delicious things to eat and drink. "Cooked" becomes an investigation of how cooking involves us in a web of social and ecological relationships: with plants and animals, the soil, farmers, our history and culture, and, of course, the people our cooking nourishes. Cooking, above all, connects us.

Almost 20 billion times each year, a person walks into a doctor's office and becomes a patient. Dr. Kevin Jones says that physicians can’t tell you what they don’t know. They can tell you when they don’t know, but they might not. Dr. Jones, in his book "What Doctors Cannot Tell You: Clarity, Confidence, and Uncertainty in Medicine," explores the uncertainty that pervades medicine.