Access Utah

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Award-Winning Filmmaker Helen Whitney on Tuesday's Access Utah Jan 28, 2013

Show notes

Helen Whitney is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, known for telling the stories of religion and people. Her films have aired on PBS, HBO, ABC and NBC. She has been filmmaking for 42 years. She will be giving a series of lectures on the campus of Utah State University during the week of Jan. 28 - Jan. 31. The lectures will be held at 7:30 p.m. each night in the Performance Hall. She will be discussing many of her films including The Mormons and Forgiveness; A Time to Love and a Time to Hate.

Opening of the Legislature with Governor Gary Herbert on Monday's Access Utah Jan 28, 2013

Show notes

Broadcasting from the Utah State Capitol, it is the first day of the legislature open. Joining us on the first half of the program is Governor Gary Herbert. He discusses various topics that are on the agenda for this year’s legislature including budget priorities, healthcare reform, ethics reform, the Outdoor Recreation Plan, immigration and gun control. On the second half, state senators Ralph Okerlund and Gene Davis join us to continue the discussion of what to expect for this years legislature.

Fiddler Mark O'Connor and the New Outdoor Recreation Vision for Utah on Thursday's Access Utah Jan 23, 2013

Show notes

He’s a multi-Grammy winning musician and composer and is the only person who has won the National Fiddle Championship, National Guitar Flatpicking Championship and the World Mandolin Championship. Mark O’Connor is a celebrated violinist and fiddler player, with styles ranging from classical to American folk. He joins us on Access Utah to talk about his talent, his history and his determination. He’ll be performing at the Caine College of the Arts Grand Gala at Utah State University Friday, Jan. 25. For more information, click here.

Miners Strike: Killing for Coal on Tuesday's Access Utah Jan 23, 2013

Show notes

One spring morning in 1914 members of the United Mine Workers of America clashed with guards employed by the Rockefeller family and state militia in Colorado. When the dust settled, 19 men, women and children from the miners' families lay dead. The strikers had killed at least 30 men and destroyed 6 mines and laid waste to two company towns. We revisit a discussion with Thomas Andrews, author of his book "Killing for Coal" and recounts this 1914 massacre and the great coal field war. He situates it not only in labor history but in the environment. As fossil fuels and especially coal shaped the west, and continue to do so.

Coyote Controversy on Friday's Science Questions Jan 23, 2013

Show notes

Coyotes are the most abundant predator in America. Today we talk about the controversial K9 and it’s perseverance in the West and question the force of human kind and nature.

Urban Myths and Legends on Access Utah Wednesday Jan 22, 2013

Show notes

Our guest for the hour on Wednesday is Jeopardy champion Ken Jennings, who will be in Salt Lake City on January 30, for an appearance at The King’s English Bookshop. He’s out with a new book: "Because I Said So: The truth behind the myths, tales, and 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. Ken Jennings also grew up as map nerd, and we’ll talk about his previous book: Maphead, in which he travels the nation meeting others of his tribe--map librarians, publishers, "roadgeeks," pint-sized National Geographic Bee prodigies, and the computer geniuses behind Google Maps and other geo-technologies. Jennings says that technology and geographic illiteracy are increasingly insulating us from the lay of the land around us, and we are going to need mapheads more than ever.

Ioan Grillo discusses book "El Narco: Inside Mexico's Criminal Insurgency" on Thursday's Access Utah Jan 17, 2013

Show notes

Tom Williams’ guest for the hour on Thursday is journalist Ioan Grillo, who has written about Mexican narcotraffickers for the past decade, even interviewing members of the cartels and their death squads. He says that “El Narco is not a gang; it is a movement and an industry drawing in hundreds of thousands from bullet-ridden barrios to marijuana-growing mountains.” Grillo believes these cartels “have transformed into a criminal insurgency that threatens the nation’s democracy and spirals into the United States.”

Journalism and Advocacy on Access Utah Wednesday Jan 16, 2013

Show notes

In 2008, a group of armed Hindu extremists attacked and burned a village of Christians in Odisha state in India, seeking to forcefully reintegrate the villagers into the caste system left behind by their Christian beliefs. The survivors fled into the jungle to escape. National Geographic photojournalist Lynn Johnson and human rights advocate Jen Saffron have organized the Koraput Survivors Project and will give a lecture entitled “Building Bridges: When Journalism and Advocacy Meet” as a part of the Morris Media and Society Lecture series on Wednesday at USU.

Air Quality in Utah – What Can Be Done? Jan 15, 2013

Show notes

Our air quality problem is visible above the inversion line and is physically noticeable when passing below. Utah’s air at times has been rated the worst in the nation. Our questions are: What can be done? What should be done? What can regular citizens do? What should the government do? During the first half of the show, Bo Call, manager of the Air Monitoring Center for Utah Division of Air Quality and Gerry Carpenter, a representative for Utah Transit Authority will join us. During the second half we discuss possible solutions with Stephanie Tomlin, program director for Aggie Blue Bikes and the USU Student Sustainability Office; Cherise Udell, founder of Utah Moms for Clean Air; and Jean Lown, Utah State University Professor of Family Consumer Human Development.

Dixie Name Controversy and License Plate Scanners on Access Utah Jan 11, 2013

Show notes

In the first half of the program we discuss the controversy over the name Dixie State College. Some say the name Dixie holds negative connotations of slavery and the Confederacy. Others say that the southern Utah area has always been known as Dixie, and that the name hearkens back to the settling of the area by Mormon Pioneers. We talk with former president of Dixie State College, Doug Alder and UPR Southern Utah correspondent Chris Holmes.

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