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'Craving Supernatural Creatures' With Claudia Schwabe On Monday's Access Utah Jun 17, 2019

Show notes

Craving Supernatural Creatures: German Fairy-Tale Figures in American Pop Culture analyzes supernatural creatures in order to demonstrate how German fairy tales treat difference, alterity, and Otherness with terror, distance, and negativity, whereas contemporary North American popular culture adaptations navigate diversity by humanizing and redeeming such figures. This trend of transformation reflects a greater tolerance of other marginalized groups (in regard to race, ethnicity, ability, age, gender, sexual orientation, social class, religion, etc.) and acceptance of diversity in society today. The fairy-tale adaptations examined here are more than just twists on old stories—they serve as the looking glasses of significant cultural trends, customs, and social challenges. Whereas the fairy-tale adaptations that Claudia Schwabe analyzes suggest that Otherness can and should be fully embraced, they also highlight the gap that still exists between the representation and the reality of embracing diversity wholeheartedly in twenty-first-century America.

The Future Of Artificial Intelligence With David Brown On Wednesday's Access Utah Jun 12, 2019

Show notes

David Brown is Professor of Mathematics and Statistics at Utah State University. A while back he gave a talk in the Science Unwrapped series from the College of Science titled “Artificial Intelligence: Too Late to Stop the Robot Apocalypse?” Professor Brown says “Perhaps ironically, salient technology superstars, like Elon Musk and Bill Gates, and publicly known geniuses, like Stephen Hawking, have spoken out and warned us about the advent of artificial intelligence (AI). On the other hand, doing so won them the Luddite Award from CNET, and 'alarmist' labels from WIRED and E & T magazines. What's the truth? Is AI the next atomic bomb and are AI research labs the next Los Alamos? If Yes, are there nevertheless compelling reasons to pursue AI? What distinguishes AI from generic computer science or programming or robotics?” We’ll talk about it today on the next Access Utah.

The Disappearing Great Salt Lake With Wayne Wurtsbaugh On Tuesday's Access Utah Jun 11, 2019

Show notes

John DeVilbiss writes in USU Magazine, "It flashes like a beacon to millions of birds on migratory marathons. It is a sea in the sand that shimmers lavender in one glance and pale turquoise in another. A place you can go for an entire day without seeing a single soul, yet where two million people live within an hour's drive. It is a lake of paradoxes, said historian Dale Morgan, a liquid lie, said Terry Tempest Williams. The salty truth, however, is that the Great Salt Lake, the largest saline lake in the Western hemisphere, is drying up."

'Beyond The Savanna' With Maryann Martinsen On Monday's Access Utah Jun 10, 2019

Show notes

In a rural Kenyan village, nineteen-year-old Hannah Blake labors alongside her American parents to provide healthcare for a tight-knit tribal community steeped in culture and tradition. But it is impossible for her to deny her true north—her spiritual connection to the wild creatures of the African savanna.When a lion cub is orphaned, Hannah instinctively comes to its rescue and the two form an unbreakable bond. Her unbridled passion to protect animals leads to a crossroads with a poacher, creating a dangerous enemy and unintentionally setting off a chain of events that leaves her life in shambles.Forced to flee to America, she faces an unknown future. Alone in a foreign land and surrounded by cold hearted strangers, she is certain she will never know happiness again, until she finds comfort in the companionship of a handsome young college professor. Hannah senses a powerful shared connection with Sam Daniels, but since he is both her teacher and a taken man, anything more than friendship seems unthinkable.In her journey beyond the savanna, Hannah must find a reason to believe, a way to forgive, and the courage to trust in her wild heart again.

Revisiting Global Development And Conservation: Joseph Kiesecker On Thursday's Access Utah Jun 06, 2019

Show notes

Over the next several decades, as human populations grow and developing countries become more affluent, the demand for energy will soar. Parts of the energy sector are preparing to meet this demand by increasing renewable energy production, which is necessary to combat climate change. But many renewable energy sources have a large energy sprawl—the amount of land needed to produce energy—which can threaten biodiversity and conservation. Is it possible to meet this rise in energy demand, while still conserving natural places and species?

Remembering Barre Toelken On Wednesday's Access Utah Jun 05, 2019

Show notes

Today on Access Utah, we remember acclaimed folklorist Barre Toelken. Our guests include Randy Williams, folklore curator and oral history specialist with the Special Collections and Archives at the Merrill-Cazier Library, USU Assistant Professor of English Lynne McNeill, and Barre's daughter Kazuko Toelken.

Nathan Richardson & Renée-Noelle Felice As Frederick Douglass & Lucretia Mott On Access Utah Jun 04, 2019

Show notes

Today on Access Utah, we preview an event next week. Living historians Nathan Richardson and Renée-Noelle Felice will perform on the USU campus as Frederick Douglass and Lucretia Mott, honoring their amazing lives and legacies, which are as relevant today as they were one hundred years ago.

'The Rosie Result' With Graeme Simsion On Monday's Access Utah Jun 03, 2019

Show notes

Until ten years ago, geneticist Don Tillman had never had a second date. Then he developed The Wife Project and met Rosie, 'the world's most incompatible woman'. Now, having survived 3,653 days of marriage, Don's life-contentment graph, recently at its highest point, is curving downwards.

'Silence: In The Age Of Noise' With Erling Kagge On Wednesday's Access Utah May 31, 2019

Show notes

Explorer, lawyer, art collector, publisher, and author, Erling Kagge is the first person to have completed the Three Poles Challenge on foot—the North Pole, the South Pole, and the summit of Mount Everest. He has written six previous books on exploration, philosophy, and art collecting, and runs Kagge Forlag, a publishing company based in Oslo, where he lives.

Revisiting The Crisis On The Colorado River With Jim Robbins On Thursday's Access Utah May 30, 2019

Show notes

A recent article in the online magazine Yale Environment 360 is headlined “The West’s Great River Hits Its Limits: Will the Colorado Run Dry?” And the sub-headline: “As the Southwest faces rapid growth and unrelenting drought, the Colorado River is in crisis, with too many demands on its diminishing flow. Now those who depend on the river must confront the hard reality that their supply of Colorado water may be cut off.”

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