Access Utah

On Monday's Access Utah we discuss the recruitment of western peoples by ISIS, the extremist militant group terrorizing Iraq and Syria. The group, utilizing social media, has managed to lure thousands of young adults from the United States, Canada and Europe to join their efforts in the Middle East. On the program today we speak with Christianne Bourdreau, a Canadian mother whose works to prevent the ISIS' recruitment follows the death of her son, Damian Clairmont, who died in Syria after relocating and fighting for the Islamic State. Christian Bourdreau now works with the Mothers For Life network, which aims to build support for mothers who have experienced Jihadist radicalization. Joining us for the hour is also Dr. Anne Speckhard, Adjunct Associate Professor of Psychiatry in the School of Medicine and of Security Studies in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. Dr. Speckhard talks about the discourse and ideology of terrorism recruitment, which she details in her new book "Bride of ISIS."

Joe Hill was a Swedish immigrant, a songwriter, a worker and a member of the Industrial Workers of the World, the Wobblies. He was a prolific songwriter for his union, which contributed to the IWW’s growth in the early 20th century AS a singing union. While working in Utah, he was accused of a double homicide, which he likely did not commit. Despite an international campaign to save him, which included the Swedish ambassador, Helen Keller and President Wilson, he was executed for those murders. The State of Utah easily condemned Joe Hill and his union as troublemakers.

Author Leanne Brown moved to New York from Canada to earn a master’s degree in food studies at New York University. Facing the reality that 46 million Americans have to survive on only $4/day, her focus soon became food insecurity, and more specifically the question: how well can someone really eat on $4 a day? That’s the amount provided through the U.S. government’s food stamp program. To determine the answer, she took to her kitchen, developing resourceful recipes made of whole, unprocessed foods that promote the joy of cooking and that show just how delicious and inspiring a “cheap” meal can be when cooked at home.

During its sometimes awkward years of adolescence and maturation, Utah was gradually incorporated into the American political, social, and economic mainstream. Urban and industrial influences supplanted agrarian traditions, displacing people socially, draining the countryside of population, and galvanizing a critical crisis in values and self-identification. National corporations and mass labor movements took root in the state as commerce expanded. Involvement in world events such as the Spanish-American War, two world wars, and the Great Depression further set the stage for entry into the modern, globalized world as Utahns immersed themselves in national politics and became part of the democratic, corporate culture of twentieth-century America.

As Holly Isaac sees it, Planned Parenthood saved her life.

Research on human beings saves countless lives, but has at times harmed the participants. To what degree then should government regulate science, and how? The horrors of Nazi concentration camp experiments and the egregious Tuskegee syphilis study led the US government, in 1974, to establish Research Ethics Committees, known as Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) to oversee research on humans. The US now has over 4,000 IRBs, which examine yearly tens of billions of dollars of research -- all studies on people involving diseases, from cancer to autism, and behavior. Yet ethical violations persist.

Anyone would be hard-pressed to find a pastime more emblematic of the western spirit than fly-fishing. Liberating, poetic, wild, soothing and inspiring, it pushes the boundaries of the mind. In essays ranging from introspective to ironic, angler authors Chadd VanZanten and Russ Beck distill the purest truths of fly-fishing into essential, often humorous rules of thumb. With kernels like "always tell the truth sometimes" and "all the fish are underwater," wade into the blue ribbon waters of Montana, Idaho, Wyoming and Utah to reflect metaphysically on these lines of practical wisdom.

In the spring of 1983, a massive snowmelt sent runoff racing down the Colorado River toward the Glen Canyon Dam. Worried federal officials desperately scrambled to avoid a worst-case scenario: one of the most dramatic dam failures in history. In the midst of this crisis, a trio of river guides secretly launched a small, hand-built wooden boat, a dory named the Emerald Mile, into the Colorado just below the dam’s base. The captain of the dory, Kenton Grua, aimed to use the flood as a hydraulic slingshot that would hurl him and two companions through 277 miles of some of the most ferocious white water in North America and, if everything went as planned, catapult the Emerald Mile into legend as the fastest boat ever propelled through the heart of the Grand Canyon.

Journalist, advocate, and teacher, Michael frome has spent decades engaged with conversation and America’s national parks. From this experience and knowledge he understands what challenges remain and what momentum must be recovered to revitalize and preserve these special places. Part memoir, part history, and part broadside against those who would diminish our natural heritage, Rediscovering National Parks in the Spirit of John Muir bears witness through reflection and rumination to the grandeur of our parks, to the need for a renewed sense of appreciation, and to individual responsibility for their care.

Jamie Bianchini needed a lift. A big one. After a series of spectacular business flops drove him into bankruptcy and the love of his life kissed him goodbye, Bianchini knew he needed a world of help. But instead of seeking assistance from a counselor or support group, he sought comfort where he’d always found it…on his bicycle. As his world hit rock bottom, Bianchini hatched a crazy plan that just might make everything right. His life lacked purpose, passion, and connection with his fellow man. So Bianchini decided to go for a bicycle ride…around the world…on a tandem…solo…inviting everyone he met to join him for a spin. “A Bicycle Built for Two Billion” is the story of an audacious optimist who tried to change the world – while hoping the world would change him – one rider at a time.

Gina Barnett has coached C-suite executives and leaders worldwide from Fortune 500 companies to start-ups, small businesses and non-profits. She has been speaker coach for TED TAlks for the past five years. In her new book, “Play the Part: Master Body Signals to Connect and Communicate for Business Success, Barnett is distinguished from other communication experts with her understanding of embodiment: how the body affects our thoughts and emotions and, in turn, how we engage and are perceived.

On March 12, 1990, activists with disabilities pulled themselves up the 83 stone steps at the Capitol Building to demand equal rights. “The Capitol Crawl” symbolized the barriers confronting people with disabilities and helped propel the Americans with Disabilities Act into law. The bill passed on July 26, 1990.

Today, August 10th, marks the debut of many new programs on Utah Public Radio. Bringing more news, talk and culture to the station, we sit down with Utah Public Radio Station Manager Peg Arnold, to discuss the programming changes, and the exciting new content you can now find on UPR.

Thursday on Access Utah we revisit a conversation from March of 2011 with singer-songwriter Janis Ian. Her song “Society’s Child” about an interracial romance placed her right at the flash point of the racial tensions of the sixties. She writes in her autobiography about at least one experience performing the song: “I was having a hit record. I was singing for people who wanted me dead. I was fifteen years old.” Janis Ian’s songs including “At Seventeen” still resonate with audiences. We’ll talk with her about her autobiography, Society’s Child, her love of science fiction, and her current work. Janis Ian on Thursday's Access Utah.

I’ve had conversations with scientists that go like this: I say: “A significant percentage of Americans/Utahns don’t believe in human-caused climate change.” They say: “But they should, the science is overwhelming.” “But they don’t, and if effective political action is going to happen, they’ll need to be convinced.” “Well they should.” “But they don’t.” “But they should.” And etc. While it’s not scientists’ primary job to convince non-believers, I sense frustration on the part of those who see climate change as a significant problem. On Wednesday’s AU we talk with two marketing expert about how to effectively sell climate change, or reframe the discussion. How should we talk about climate change and sustainability?

Tuesday's interview with James Anderson is an encore presentation.

Today's broadcast of AU is an Encore presentation which originally aired earlier this year.

“This summer Congress finds itself once again driving full-speed toward the ‘highway cliff,’ the moment when our transportation law expires and Washington suddenly can't meet its promises to help states build highways, fix their bridges, and keep the nation's cars and trucks moving.”

In 2005, historian James Whiteside bought a Harley Davidson Heritage Softail, christened it “Old Blue,” and set off on a series of motorcycle adventures. Over six years he traveled more than 15,000 miles. In his new book “Old Blue’s Road” Whiteside recounts his travels to the Pacific Northwest, Yellowstone, Dodge City, Santa Fe, Wounded Knee, and many other places and considers the ongoing struggle between Indian and mainstream American culture, the meaning of community, the sustainability of the West's hydraulic society, the creation of the national parks system, the Mormon experience in Utah, the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, and more. Whiteside reflects on the processes of change that made the American West what it is today and the complex ways in which the West's past and present come together.

Should Spanking Children Be Forbidden in the U.S.? Renowned criminologist Christian Pfeiffer from University of Hannover, Germany recently presented the European experience as a of the USU Provost’s Series on Instructional Excellence, and he joined us for AU. We’ll revisit that conversation today.