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12/9/09: The Platte

Tue, Dec 8 Listen

Wednesday, Doug takes another look at local music with The Platte. Andrew Shaw's music is perfect for a cold, wintry day. He says his work reflects on expansive landscapes - from the plains of his native Nebraska to the mountains of Utah. His music is simple, maybe even stark, but Shaw believes it's about giving every note and rhythm the chance to stand out. The Platte's new CD is called "Grus," and Shaw and others join us to play and talk about the work.

12/8/09: Spectacle of Deformity

Mon, Dec 7 Listen

If you've got complaints about today's entertainment industry, consider these words in the British periodical "Punch." It was 1847, and the writer bemoaned the public's "prevailing taste for deformity." It was the age of the freak show and in a new book University of Utah historian Nadja Durbach takes a look at characters like the Elephant Man and a hairy seven-year-old advertised as Darwin's "missing link." Tuesday, she joins us to talk about "otherness" and what it teaches us about...

12/7/09: Public Enemies

Sat, Dec 5 Listen

In the mid-1930s, the FBI waged a "war on crime" against the American underworld. It was the time of the Great Depression. Prohibition had just ended - and bankrobbers like John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson and Pretty Boy Floyd had captured the public imagination. Bryan Burrough is the author of the book "Public Enemies," and he joins Doug to strip away the myths behind the 2-year battle that secured the FBI's power. (Rebroadcast)

12/4/09: The Nutcracker

Thu, Dec 3 Listen

Dance scholar Jennifer Fisher says that The Nutcracker - at least in North America - has become as "regular as clockwork." Some may find it cliche - and for some it may be obligatory. But Fisher argues that Tchaikovsky's piece is one of the most powerful traditions in the world of ballet and that it tells us a lot about the values we share. Fisher joins Doug, along with Ballet West Artistic Director Adam Sklute, for a look at The Nutcracker and the place it holds in our culture. (Rebroadcast)

12/3/09: 2009 Holiday Book Show

Wed, Dec 2 Listen

With Thanksgiving behind us, it's time to turn our attention to the holiday gift giving list. We suspect you may have a few bibliophiles to think about, so we've invited Salt Lake's local book sellers to give us their suggestions. They're bringing children's books, novels, non-fiction, Western titles and miscellanea ... a little something for everyone.

12/02/09: Isabel Allende

Tue, Dec 1 Listen

Chilean-American writer Isabel Allende has been called the most widely read Spanish-language author in the world. She's also regarded as a feminist icon, and Wednesday she's delivering the Tanner Lecture on Human Values at the University of Utah. Her lecture will explore femininity and try to follow the thread of hope that transcends cultures and generations. Allende also has a new memoir, and she'll join Doug Fabrizio in studio.

12/01/09: The Greatest Show On Earth

Mon, Nov 30 Listen

British biological theorist Richard Dawkins is perhaps the world's best known atheist. He is certain that we have evolution to thank for life on earth, not a creator. Evolution is the topic of his new book, "The Greatest Show On Earth." Dawkins says the book is his "personal summary of the evidence that the 'theory' of evolution is actually a fact - as incontrovertible a fact as any in science." He joins Doug on Tuesday to discuss the evidence for evolution.

11/30/09: Obamanos!

Wed, Nov 25 Listen

Hendrik Hertzberg is political analyst for The New Yorker, so it's little surprise he followed the 2008 presidential race closely. But this election was different. Hertzberg says he was captured by what he calls the "remarkable character" of Barack Obama, and that he began to think of the presidency not as a branch of government, but as a person. Hertzberg has collected his articles and blog posts into a new book called Obamanos! and Monday he joins Doug to talk about the historic election.

11/25/09: Growing Up with Undiagnosed Asperger's

Tue, Nov 24 Listen

Tim Page was 45-years-old when he was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome - a high functioning autistic disorder. For Page, who just three years earlier had won the Pulitzer Prize as the Classical Music Critic for "The Washington Post," the diagnosis was a chance to take another look at his complicated childhood and his creative development. He's now written a book about his life with Asperger's and joins Doug to talk about how it actually contributed to his success.

11/23/09: Keynes - The Return of the Master

Mon, Nov 23 Listen

Today on RadioWest we're reconsidering the ideas of the economist John Maynard Keynes. Our guest is Keynes' preeminent biographer the British scholar Robert Skidelsky. Skidelsky says that Keynes has never been more relevant. He says the current crisis has brought to a head ideas that Keynes thought about all the time: how we explain human behavior and the role of moral judgments in economics. Here's Keynes in nutshell - inescapable uncertainty about the future. (Rebroadcast)

11/19/09: Stephen Fry in America

Thu, Nov 19 Listen

The British comedian Stephen Fry has always loved America. It began to figure largely in his imagination when he learned a shocking secret from his mother: he was almost born in New Jersey. His curiosity about the country led him on a journey through all 50 states, talking to people and experiencing the music, the food and the landscape that make it unique. In this prerecorded interview, Fry shares with Doug the experience of America through the eyes of an Englishman.

11/18/09: Daniel Pinchbeck and 2012

Tue, Nov 17 Listen

NASA's David Morrison has received thousands of letters from people who are terrified over what 2012 may bring. Morrison says there's nothing to worry about, but websites dedicated to surviving a coming doomsday and a new feature film have some panicked. For Daniel Pinchbeck the predictions of the Mayan calendar give us an opportunity for a transformation of human consciousness. Wednesday, Doug talks to Pinchbeck, whose book helped introduce the Mayan Calendar to the world.

11/17/09: Until it Hurts

Mon, Nov 16 Listen

Sports writer Mark Hyman admits he was once one of them. You've probably met over-zealous sports parents who seem more interested in bragging rights at cocktail parties and dreams of college scholarships than in how sports are impacting their kids. Hyman joins Doug for a look at how adults have taken over the world of kids sports and what it means for the health - and happiness - of children. (Rebroadcast)

11/16/09: Don't Ask, Don't Tell

Fri, Nov 13 Listen

Monday on RadioWest, we're talking about the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy which prohibits gay service members from serving openly in the US armed forces. The policy is meant to promote good order and discipline, but some say it's had just the opposite effect. Now President Obama says he wants to end the rule. The Salt Lake Tribune's Matthew LaPlante guest hosts for a look at "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

11/13/09: High Crimes on Everest

Thu, Nov 12 Listen

When the journalist Michael Kodas went to climb Mount Everest in 2004, he envisioned the project as an adventure piece. By the time he returned he had a crime story. Kodas discovered an atmosphere of corruption on Everest: petty thieves and con men, prostitutes, extortionists. Michael Kodas joins Doug to talk about the book he's written on the experience. It's an expose of a culture that exploit the grand impulse for adventure. (Rebroadcast)

11/12/09: The Chaos Scenario

Wed, Nov 11 Listen

Media critic Bob Garfield says that "the digital revolution" isn't just an abstract idea. It's an actual revolution, like fire or the wheel. Those ones and zeros have changed the way we consume news and entertainment, which means the whole system - programming, marketing and commerce - has to respond. Garfield has written a book called The Chaos Scenario, but it's not just a requiem for traditional media. He joins Doug to talk about solutions and how the new world could look. (Rebroadcast)

11/11/09: Back Home

Tue, Nov 10 Listen

When soldiers return from the battlefield with severe injuries, life is forever changed - not only for the veterans but for those closest to them. In her new novel, author and journalist Julia Keller writes about the complicated journey one family makes after their disabled father returns home. Wednesday on RadioWest - the impact of war on spouses, extended families and children.

11/10/09: Speaking of Faith's Krista Tippett

Mon, Nov 9 Listen

The sociologist Peter Berger once said that religion is "something done in private between consenting adults." And that's the way things were in polite American society for much of the late 20th century according to Krista Tippett. Tippett is the host of the public radio program "Speaking of Faith," and Tuesday, she's giving the University of Utah's McMurrin Lecture in Religion and Culture. She'll join us in studio to talk about the role of religion in public life and public conversation...

11/9/09: Crazy - America's Mental Health Madness

Sat, Nov 7 Listen

Pete Earley had been a journalist for 30 years when his work on crime and punishment became personal. His son Mike was declared mentally ill, and in one episode, he damaged a neighbor's house when he broke in to take a bubble bath. Mike was arrested and the ensuing journey led Pete into the maze of the mental health care system. Pete Earley is coming to Utah and Monday he joins us to explain how U.S. prisons have become the new mental asylums and what it means for those suffering from...

11/6/09: The Shape of Imagination

Thu, Nov 5 Listen

Where do you let your imagination take you? It's a different journey for each person, so to get at the question of what imagination is, you would need to talk a variety of people. This week is the annual Science and Literature Symposium at the University of Utah, and Friday, we're talking to the keynote speakers. Mathematician Barry Mazur, Poet Alice Fulton and Composer Fred Lerdahl will join us to explain the similarities and the differences of their creative processes.

11/5/09: Planet Money

Wed, Nov 4 Listen

TARP, TALF, Toxic Assets. Listening to a conversation about the upheavals in the American financial landscape can be like listening to a foreign language. Enter Planet Money, NPR's multimedia project that's just trying to make sense of it all. Correspondent Adam Davidson and Editor Alex Blumberg are in Salt Lake City, and Thursday, they join Doug to talk about their coverage of our rapidly changing economy.

11/4/09: Resolved

Tue, Nov 3 Listen

400 words per minute. It may not sound like the best way to make an argument, but in the world of competitive debate, it's how you cram as many facts as possible into the allotted time. Filmmaker Greg Whiteley was a high school debater and he knew he could find some interesting characters in the debate world. The result is his Emmy nominated film "Resolved." It follows one of the best teams in the nation - and an inner-city team that decided to break all the debating rules.

11/3/09: Fact Checking the Health Care Debate

Mon, Nov 2 Listen

Have the arguments over health care reform left you scratching your head? Politicians and pundits from left to right throw around poll results, dollar figures and tax projections to make their cases, but how's a voter to know what to believe? Tuesday, Doug is joined by Angie Drobnic Holan, who follows health care for the fact checking website Politifact.com. We'll ask Holan to tease out the truth of health care reform and to explain why it's been such an emotional debate.

11/2/09: The Fallen Sky

Fri, Oct 30 Listen

To say that Utah State English professor Christopher Cokinos' new book is about meteorites is to tell only part of the story. His 8-year quest to learn about space rocks and the people who have studied them took Cokinos from Greenland to Kansas to Antarctica. Along the way though, he says he discovered new things about himself and about home. Monday, our conversation with Christopher Cokinos about his book. It's called "The Fallen Sky: An Intimate History of Shooting Stars." (Rebroadcast)

10/30/09: Radio Hour - Alice

Thu, Oct 29 Listen

In 1862, Lewis Carroll created a tale to delight a little girl. That girl of course was named Alice, and 3 years later the story was published as Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Since then, the journey down the rabbit hole has become a favorite - reproduced in silent films, Walt Disney animation, television, comics and even video games. Now, for our fifth and final Halloween drama, Plan B Theatre Company and RadioWest bring you Radio Hour - Alice, a dark reimagining of Carroll's enduring...

10/29/09: Fingerprints of God

Wed, Oct 28

Thursday, Doug talks to NPR reporter Barbara Bradley Hagerty about her book Fingerprints of God. It's an exploration of the science behind spirituality, but it is not just a third person telling. The book is quite personal - the story of her own quest to understand faith. There are some big questions here: Is spiritual experience real or delusional? Can prayer affect the body? Mostly it gets at this one - Is there more than this? (Rebroadcast)

10/28/09: Autism's False Prophets

Tue, Oct 27

Parents facing the challenges of a child with autism are of course looking for answers, and that quest has led to treatments like stringent diets, high-temperature saunas and magnetic clay baths. It's also led many parents to withhold vaccines from their children. Vaccine expert Dr. Paul Offit says that many of the people offering cures are "modern-day false prophets." Wednesday, he joins Doug to talk about autism research and why so many are susceptible to bad science.

10/27/09: And Here's the Kicker

Mon, Oct 26 Listen

What does it take to be funny? If you've ever had to sit through a painful wedding toast or an awkward business luncheon, you know it's not as easy the pros make it look. The journalist Mike Sacks wanted to get to the bottom of it, so he set out to talk to some of the world's great comedic geniuses. In his new book, Sacks interviews the likes of Marx Brothers writer Irving Brecher to Borat co-creator Dan Mazer and NPR favorite David Sedaris, and he learned that it's not all fun and games.

10/26/09: The History of American Health Care

Fri, Oct 23 Listen

Today's attempts to change health care in the United States aren't the first. There were efforts in the early part of the 20th century to create compulsory health insurance plans. So how is it that while some 16 European nations had nationalized insurance by 1920, the United States developed a private system centered around employment? Monday, we'll talk to economist Melissa Thomasson about the history of health care in America - and how we got where we are today.

10/23/09: Painter Douglas Snow

Thu, Oct 22 Listen

Most of us know the paintings of the artist Douglas Snow through his public installations - at the airport and the lobby of the Pioneer Theatre. His pieces are often shocking when you first come upon them and they prompt a strong reaction. That reaction must have delighted Snow, who never created his works to simply blend in. Doug Snow died this week at the age of 82, and Friday, we're rebroadcasting our 2004 conversation with him about his connection to place.

RadioWest (Talk)