RadioWest is changing — not how we do the show, but when we do the show. Starting November 1st, we are moving to Wednesday at 9 a.m. / 7 p.m. and Thursday at 9 a.m. / Saturday at 11 a.m. Find us there for in-depth conversations and stories that explain how the world works.
Author image credit: Alexis Knapp.
/
W.W. Norton Publishing
When you think of the Grand Canyon, you probably think of rocks and, of course, the Colorado River. But in the summer of 1938, two women risked their lives to study another feature of the canyon: its plants.
Miranda couldn’t wait to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She was eager to convert new members and spend time thinking about her faith. But when she made it to the mission field, she discovered a strange culture of dieting, obsession with weight, and a troubling association between thinness and Godliness.
-
In 1874, a farmer named Joseph Glidden patented what became known as “the perfect fence:” two wires lined with sharp, metal barbs. -
For many of us, cooking is an annoying, boring chore. But the food writer Bee Wilson says there’s a simple secret to an easier life in the kitchen, and it begins with the person who cooks.
-
Abraham Verghese’s novel “The Covenant of Water” is a critical sensation. We’re talking with him about writing it, as well as the intersection between art and medicine.
-
Miranda couldn’t wait to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She just didn’t know her weight would be a problem.
-
In 1951, the U.S. government began test detonations of nuclear bombs in the Nevada desert. It wasn’t long before people started getting cancer.
-
The race for Salt Lake City mayor comes down chiefly to two people, and both are, in a way, seeking re-election.
-
During the silent film era, women directed, wrote scripts and had a lot of say over how they were portrayed on screen. Fast forward a hundred years to the #metoo movement, and that dynamic has entirely changed.
-
The oceanographer Helen Czerski wants you to think of the ocean as a vast, planet-spanning engine. And what it drives is no less than life itself.
-
When Mitt Romney was 17 years old, he attended the 1964 Republican national convention with his dad, then-governor of Michigan. George Romney, disgusted by the extremes he saw in his party, delivered a scathing rebuke. Years later, his son found himself in a very similar situation.
-
It’s through the senses of taste, sight, hearing, smell and touch that we perceive the world around us. But just how reliable, really, are those senses?
In 1874, a farmer named Joseph Glidden patented what became known as “the perfect fence:” two wires lined with sharp, metal barbs.
Get updates from Doug and the RadioWest team.