Valley 101

Latest Episodes:

The farmers behind Chris Bianco's famous pizza Jul 03, 2023

Show notes

Anyone who knows pizza or even knows Arizona cuisine knows Chris Bianco.

Bianco skyrocketed to fame when his pizza became world-renowned, making Phoenix an unexpected go-to destination for foodies worldwide.

Back in 2003, he was the first pizza maker ever to win the James Beard Award for Best Chef Southwest. Bianco is often referred to as the father of the modern pizza movement.

Twenty years later, he’s still winning awards. As recently as last year, Bianco collected a James Beard Award for Best Restaurateur.

But what makes his pizzas so good?

For this week's episode of Valley 101, a podcast by The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, we traveled the state visiting the farmers who work with Chris Bianco and discovered just how rich Arizona’s agricultural industry is.

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The good and the bad of Ozempic and other semaglutide drugs Jun 26, 2023

Show notes

Doctors’ offices and medical spas in Arizona are getting flooded with requests for prescriptions for new drugs.

They originally were approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat Type 2 diabetes, but their success in helping people lose weight is what's making them a near-household name. As patients are reporting promising results, word is getting around.

It’s almost impossible to avoid hearing about Ozempic, Wegovy and their active ingredient, semaglutide, in the news or on social media.

But are these new so-called miracle drugs too good to be true? Who are they really for, and how can people get them? This week on The Lab at azcentral, in conjunction with Valley 101, we look into how the drugs work and the reality of how they make people feel.

We spoke with doctors, patients and others to find out why the drugs are different from other weight-loss interventions and why the medications have become divisive, both culturally and socioeconomically.

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Hot news: How Arizona ended up supplying most of the nation's chili pepper seeds Jun 19, 2023

Show notes

Spicy: it's the flavor you see everywhere. Just take a look at your local convenience store. Spicy chips, spicy chicken sandwiches, spicy noodles. There's even a movie now about Flamin' Hot Cheetos.

It's also culture-defining. What would Mexican, Thai or Indian food be without chili kicking up the heat?

But before that spicy seasoning can be sprinkled onto your favorite foods, it starts in the ground as a chili pepper seed. One of the people producing those seeds is Ed Curry, who operates the Curry Seed and Chile Co. in Pearce, Arizona.

Curry has been working on the genetics of peppers for almost his whole life. In the farming industry, most of the peppers grown commercially in the United States can be traced back to his farm.

But how did chili peppers get to Arizona in the first place? And why are Arizona's chilis making such a huge impact nationwide?

In this episode of Valley 101, in conjunction with The Lab, we find out these answers and more.

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How many saguaro cactuses grow in the Valley? Jun 12, 2023

Show notes

The saguaro cactus is perhaps the most iconic symbol of our state. You can find it everywhere from coffee cups to murals to tattoos. People love saguaros but we know surprisingly little about them.

The Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix and other researchers are trying to fix that. The first step is to count as many of the saguaros growing in the Valley as possible.

"Naively, we call this the Saguaro Census because we thought we were going to be capable of counting every single saguaro in the city. We clearly overestimated our capabilities because the Phoenix Valley is huge," Tania Hernandez says. She works as a research scientist at the Desert Botanical Gardens.

For help with this task, the Gardens are turning to the public for help.

In this episode of Valley 101, in conjunction with The Lab, we're exploring two questions: why does the saguaro cactus only grow in the Sonoran Desert? And how many are there?

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The Lab on Valley 101: What is genetic testing? Jun 05, 2023

Show notes

Our DNA can help tell a story about our past, present, and future through genetic testing, and that testing is becoming much more common.

Solio Felix came into the emergency room last June with what he thought was heat stroke or a heart attack. This is when a nurse told him that he'd be a perfect candidate for a genetic testing study.

He and his wife have no family history of cardiovascular disease, but this doesn't mean that they aren't at risk or that they didn't pass something along to their teenage daughter.

Through genetic testing done in Arizona, they were able to find out their risk level and prepare for the future.

But what is genetic testing, and how is it improving doctors' advice and treatment plans?

This episode marks the start of the second season of our podcast The Lab at azcentral, being hosted on Valley 101, where we dive into science stories that affect everyday life.

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5 of the best places to beat the Arizona heat this summer May 29, 2023

Show notes

Valley 101 surveyed the best places in Phoenix to keep cool this summer. From Lake Pleasant to the Salt River, Sunsplash to Hurricane Harbor, hosts Kaely Monahan and Amanda Luberto hash out their top picks for spots to beat the heat. Plus they explore pools of the past and the new water attractions coming to Phoenix. We're getting wet and wild in this episode!

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Arizona got a lot of rain and snow. Was it enough to ease the drought? May 22, 2023

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In the winter of 2022 and early spring of 2023, Arizona got a lot of rain. We had the rainiest January and March in years.

In addition, 2022-23 brought record snowfall for Flagstaff. As the days heat up and that snow melts, the runoff is making its way into the state's reservoirs.

Did all of this rain and snow make a difference, or was it just a drop in the bucket for the state’s 29-year-long drought?

In this week's episode of Valley 101, a podcast by The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, we talk with weather experts about the state’s rainfall, where that precipitation goes and how it will affect the state's future.

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From Washington to Roosevelt: Why the streets in downtown Phoenix are named after US Presidents May 15, 2023

Show notes

We love bringing you stories about metro Phoenix and the cities around us. Whether you’re a native or a transplant, answering your questions helps us discover more about what makes Arizona the way it is.

One question we get a lot is “Why are the streets downtown named after Presidents?”

So as we prepare a special summer series for you, we’re bringing back an episode from the archive to answer this question.

In today’s episode of Valley 101, a podcast from The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, we find out how this came to be and what it would take to continue it.

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What is Paolo Soleri's Arcosanti? Take an audio tour of the architectural gem in Arizona May 08, 2023

Show notes

A lot of things are unique about Arizona. One of them is our architecture, from the beautiful buildings to the overpasses on the highway that include decorations you just don't see in other states.

People from all over the world come here to be inspired by Arizona and incorporate it into their designs.

And about an hour north of Phoenix is another remarkable feat of architecture. It's off the beaten path, and the signs are easy to miss. And the buildings were designed with the environment in mind, so they blend in perfectly.

This is the artist collective known as Arcosanti. It was the brainchild of Italian-born architect Paolo Soleri in 1970.

Today, the Valley 101 podcast will give you an audio tour. Along the way, we'll answer three key questions:

What is Arcosanti?
How did it get started?
What are the residents up to today?

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What's happening to Fiesta and Metrocenter malls? May 01, 2023

Show notes

What's next for Fiesta Mall? What about Metrocenter? Which brick-and-mortar shopping hubs are still hopping? In this episode, The Republic's real estate development and growth reporter Corina Vanek, reveals what's next for Valley shoppers.

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