Access Utah

Pastor Don Mackenzie, Rabbi Ted Falcon and Imam Jamal Rahman -- known as the Interfaith Amigos --are co-authors of “Getting to the Heart of Interfaith:The Eye-Opening, Hope-Filled Friendship of a Pastor, a Rabbi & a Sheikh.” Known for their unique blend of spiritual wisdom and humor, they openly address the usual taboos of interfaith dialogue — the “awkward” parts of each tradition — in order to create a more authentic conversation -- a conversation about the real issues that make interfaith dialogue and cooperation difficult.

We continue a series of conversations with authors whose books are featured on our UPR Book List. Today: Kevin Fedarko talks about his new book, “The Emerald Mile: The Epic Story of the Fastest Ride in History Through the Heart of the Grand Canyon.” Here’s how the publisher, Simon & Schuster, describes the book: “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 and rocketed toward the dark chasm downstream, where the torrents of water released by the dam engineers had created a rock-walled maelstrom so powerful it shifted giant boulders and created bizarre hydraulic features never previously seen.

Award-winning filmmaker Helen Whitney says “forgiveness is elusive, mysterious, primal...an idea and an ache that is rooted in existential concerns.” PBS describes her film Forgiveness: A Time to Love and a Time to Hate this way: It “provides an intimate look into the spontaneous outpouring of forgiveness: from the Amish families for the 2006 shooting of their children in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania; the struggle of '60s radicals to cope with the serious consequences of their violent acts of protest;

Physicist and climate change & sustainability educator, Dr. Robert Davies responded to Monday's Access Utah (about the new book: "What to Expect When No One's Expecting") by saying that the author, Jonathan Last, “was throwing out one piece of misinformation after another, contradicted by the data, utterly unchallenged." Robert Davies asked for rebuttal time, and we're happy to continue our discussion on population and the environment on Tuesday’s Access Utah. We received comments from Peter, and from Dell in Minneapolis which we'll share and discuss as well.

For years, we have been warned about the looming danger of overpopulation: people jostling for space on a planet that’s busting at the seams and running out of oil and food and land and everything else. In his new book “What to Expect When No One’s Expecting” Weekly Standard senior writer Jonathan Last says it’s all bunk. The “population bomb” never exploded. Instead, he says, statistics from around the world make clear that since the 1970s, we’ve been facing exactly the opposite problem: people are having too few babies.

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.