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The Emerald Mile

In the summer of 1983, the flooded Colorado River threatened to overwhelm Glen Canyon Dam. The dam’s engineers had no choice but to open the floodgates. Down river, three boatmen had a crazy plan: use the raging river to slingshot a wooden boat called the Emerald Mile through the Grand Canyon faster than any vessel ever. In their attempt, the boatmen experienced the Colorado’s ancestral power, as it was before being shackled by two enormous dams. The journalist Kevin Fedarko has written a book about this epic story, and he joins us Tuesday to tell it.

Kevin Fedarko will give a reading of his new book, The Emerald Mile: The Epic Story of the Fastest Ride in History Through the Heart of the Grand Canyon, on Wednesday July 31st at The King's English Bookshop in Salt Lake City. That event begins at 7 p.m. Click here for more details.

GUEST

Kevin Fedarko is a journalist and a part-time guide on the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. His work has appeared in Outside, where he worked as a senior editor, as well as Esquire, Time, National Geographic and others. His new book is called The Emerald Mile: The Epic Story of the Fastest Ride in History Through the Heart of the Grand Canyon [IndieBound/Amazon]

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.