Access Utah

USU Professor Emeritus Ross Peterson is among the most beloved American history teachers ever to step inside a college classroom. Several generations of students have voted him their favorite instructor, and a fair number became teachers themselves. Ross Peterson’s new book “Christmas in Montpelier” offers a look into his early life, where his wry humor, work ethic, and kindness were honed. Twelve Christmases come to life as he grows from a small boy in a hardscrabble farmhouse with no running water inside and a two-hole privy outside, to one of the nation's most honored educators.

With a surge in Covid-19 cases continuing in Utah and a vaccine on the horizon, we’ll look at the current situation and look ahead today. Our guest for the hour is Doctor Stuart Fischer, Medical Director of Bronx Gardens Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in New York City. We’ll talk about the impact of holiday travel on the spread of the virus, how people living with chronic conditions can stay healthy, and lessons learned from the pandemic, among many other topics.

Poet Ben Gunsberg will join us for Access Utah on Wednesday. He’s been writing poems for the pandemic. We’ll hear some of those poems today. His latest collection is “Welcome, Dangerous Life.” He writes about the vulnerability of being a parent.

Thursday on Access Utah we’ll spotlight the ongoing Moab Music Festival. We’ll talk with master fiddler Alasdair Fraser, cellist Natalie Haas, and violinist Charles Yang, all of whom are performing at the festival. We’ll also hear music performed by these artists.

The American Legacy Project is a nonprofit organization committed to helping American veterans and their families memorialize their time in service to the nation so that their legacies are never lost. Wyatt Frasier and Zachery Page, two Army Lieutenants and West Point graduates, started The American Legacy Project to help veterans preserve their stories of service for their families and the American public. Frasier and Page realized that incredible stories, especially those decorating the landscape of the American military, are too often lost, simply because these stories’ protagonists do not know how or where to tell them.

Thanksgiving is traditionally a time when extended family gathers together. This year many of us will be gathering in smaller groups, but many of our traditions will endure and hopefully the food will be just as delicious. Today we’ll ask you about your traditions and your plans in this unusual year and we’ll answer your cooking questions.

A coalition of organizations hosted a national virtual event in August on the 75th anniversaries of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, to commemorate the survivors of nuclear weapons and production. Still Here: 75 Years of Shared Nuclear Legacy included highlights from local events, stories from survivors, and a look toward a future free from nuclear threats.

Responding to a recent Access Utah episode on COVID-19 in Utah, Lisa O’Brien wrote us to say that she had founded a Utah COVID-19 Long Haulers group, and that many are still struggling with long term effects of COVID. She says that some have hit 8 months or longer and that studies are now showing that at least 10% are ending up with long term effects & that Post COVID Care centers are going up across the country for Long Haulers to help those dealing with Post Viral symptoms. Today we’ll talk with Lisa O’Brien, Stacie Linderman, and Christine Maughan.

Today on Access Utah, writer Bill Shapiro joins us to talk about what draws him to other people's photos. He says other people's photographs are "like time-travel and a shortcut to empathy." We talk about how photography can pull us outside of ourselves, connecting us to something greater.

Simon Wang is Professor of Climate Dynamics and Assistant Director of the Utah Climate Center at Utah State University. Dr. Wang studies climate variability, weather process, extreme events, and long-term prediction. He recently gave a presentation to news reporters for a virtual event organized by InsideClimate News, titled “Wildfire, Heatwaves, Snowpack and Floods: Climate Change in the Mountain West.”

In a recent article for Terrain.org titled “In Defense of Pinon Nut Nation,” writer and photographer Stephen Trimble says “Piñons and junipers are the size of humans. We don’t look down at them, casually, and we don’t gaze up in awe. We are equal in scale. ‘Tree’ usually means tall, vertical, but these trees often are round. They have the reserved warmth of a Native grandmother. When you live in piñon-juniper woodland, you live with the trees, not under them. You participate, you reside."

Julie Berry is the award-winning author of books for young adults and children. Her books include Lovely War, All the Truth That’s in Me, The Passion of Dolssa, The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place, and Happy Right Now. She’s leading a virtual workshop on Writing Historical Fiction for the Provo City Library and The King’s English Bookshop this evening at 7:00.

Governor Herbert has issued a State of Emergency due to an increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations and what he says are unsustainable case rates. The Utah Department of Health says that hospitalizations and ICUs are nearing capacity, and that healthcare providers will be unable to care for Utahns in the coming days if this surge continues.

From Delicate Arch to the Zion Narrows, Utah’s five national parks and eight national monuments are home to some of America’s most amazing scenic treasures. In his new book “Wonders of Sand and Stone,” Frederick Swanson presents little-known accounts of people who saw in these sculptured landscapes something worth protecting. introducing us to the early explorers, scientists, artists, and travelers as well as the local residents and tourism promoters who worked with the National Park Service to build the system of parks and monuments we know today.

“Leave it as it is,” Theodore Roosevelt announced while viewing the Grand Canyon for the first time. “The ages have been at work on it and man can only mar it.” Roosevelt’s rallying cry signaled the beginning of an environmental fight that still wages today.

It’s the day after Election Day. We don’t know for sure who has won the presidential election. Control of the U.S. Senate is still unclear. Many votes are still being counted. The picture in Utah is clearer. We’ll talk about where we are and where we go from here.

Today we check in with representatives from several arts organizations in Utah. With COVID cases not only continuing but increasing in many of our communities, how are arts organizations adapting? And how can audiences support the arts while staying safe?

Utah recently set a new single-day record for Covid-19 cases. Governor Herbert has announced new guidelines. And the Utah Public Health Association is calling for stricter measures to be taken to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

The Utah Women’s Giving Circle is presenting their “Resilient 2020 Speaker Series | From Susan B. Anthony to RBG: The history, resilience and call to community.” The concluding event in the series is on Thursday and is titled “New Possibilities Amidst the Unraveling” Sara Jones, CEO of InclusionPro will talk about how to identify opportunities in the midst of turmoil. She will remind us that unraveling our expectations gives us space, freedom, and clear eyes to see things differently.

On a page on their website titled “Fix Our Broken System,” and in answer to the question: Why a third party? The Green Party says that third parties can force progress on political issues; they can provide an “emotional bridge” for voters weary of voting for one major party but not ready to vote for the other; and they can help turn one of the major parties out of power.