If trees could speak, what might they say? In Richard Powers’ Pulitzer Prize winning novel The Overstory, a tree tells a woman, “Your kind never sees us whole.” Powers joins us to talk about his book and how to see trees as more than “amputations.”

Over the summer, the RadioWest team tossed around a lot of ideas on how to improve the show. When we finally landed on airing RadioWest twice a week, we wanted to make sure one of those hours dealt with local issues. Thus was born what we named RadioWest Friday to distinguish it from the second hour, which generally features an interview with a nationally-known guest. 

Director Aaron Schimberg’s new film Chained for Life examines society’s perceptions of and obsessions with beauty in a sometimes artificial, often funny and always unsentimental way. Schimberg is coming to Salt Lake for a screening of Chained for Life and a Q&A with Doug as part of our Through the Lens series with the Utah Film Center on Wednesday, Nov. 13.

You know who just about everyone loves? Dolly Parton. But journalist Jad Abumrad’s podcast Dolly Parton’s America isn’t just about how amazing Dolly is; it’s a deep exploration of a great American icon “at the crossroads of America’s culture wars.”

In 2012, award-winning essayist John D’Agata and fact checker Jim Fingal released their at-times heated discussion in the book, The Lifespan of a Fact. Now, their debate over truth versus accuracy is on stage, both on Broadway starring Daniel Radcliffe, and in Salt Lake City. Pioneer Theatre Company's production of the new three-person play will run through Nov. 16.

When you think about Darrell Hammond, you probably think of the impressions he did on Saturday Night Live, not the childhood abuse he suffered at the hands of his mother.  Director Michelle Esrick’s new film, Cracked Up, tells Hammond’s story of trauma, repressed memory and recovery.

The American Prairie Reserve’s goal is to create a wildlife conservation area on approximately 3.2 million acres of land in northeastern Montana, with the aim of reviving the land’s ecosystem. If this group of wealthy investors finds a way around their problems, the country may see the creation of what some people are calling the next Yellowstone.

Sometimes, New York Times critic-at-large Wesley Morris wishes he could just watch a movie. Just watch, and not think about what racial message is being sent. When he joined us for our speaker series, we talked with Wesley Morris about the power of film and popular culture to mold and influence us.

Are you obsessed with true crime? Maybe you identify with the victim or the detective—or possibly even with the killer. The journalist Rachel Monroe says that women are the most ravenous consumers of true crime. In Savage Appetites, she sets out to learn why. 

  Should the religion of a political candidate matter to voters? It’s a question that has stirred up debate here in Salt Lake City, where former mayor Rocky Anderson has made an issue of current mayoral candidate Luz Escamilla’s LDS faith.