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Staff Pick: Richard Powers On 'The Overstory'

Tim Slover
/
KUER

If trees could speak, what might they say?

If trees could speak to us, what might they say? In The Overstory, 2019’s Pulitzer Prize winner by Richard Powers, a tree tells a woman, “Your kind never sees us whole.” Powers says that’s true in more than a literal sense. It’s not just that the part of a tree that’s above ground is only half of the creature; it’s that we see trees only as extensions of our own needs and aspirations. Powers joins us to talk about his novel and how to see trees as more than “amputations.”

Here’s what RadioWest producer has to say about the episode:

For me, trees have always had a kind of magic to them. So, a novel in which trees are characters was always going to draw me in. Plus, Richard Powers still sticks out as one of the warmest guests we’ve had in my memory of the show.

Doug Fabrizio has been reporting for KUER News since 1987, and became News Director in 1993. In 2001, he became host and executive producer of KUER's RadioWest, a one hour conversation/call-in show on KUER 90.1 in Salt Lake City. He has gained a reputation for his thoughtful style. He has interviewed everyone from Isabel Allende to the Dalai Lama, and from Madeleine Albright to Desmond Tutu. His interview skills landed him a spot as a guest host of the national NPR program, "Talk of the Nation." He has won numerous awards for his reporting and for his work with RadioWest and KUED's Utah NOW from such organizations as the Society of Professional Journalists, the Utah Broadcasters Association, the Public Radio News Directors Association and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
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