RadioWest

U.S. churches enjoy tax-exempt status for a variety of reasons. One is that they don’t make official political endorsements. But now the IRS says they can.

Transcribed - Published: 20 August 2025

In 1987, the Salt Lake Trappers were an unaffiliated rookie league team at the very bottom of the ranks. By the end of their season, they had earned a place in the National Baseball Hall of Fame for the longest winning streak in the sport’s history. 38 years later, that record is still unbroken.

Transcribed - Published: 14 August 2025

Writer Caroline Crampton survived cancer, but she still didn’t feel well. Instead, she was stuck with a persistent, anxious fear that the cancer would come back.

Transcribed - Published: 13 August 2025

In the aftermath of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, John Williams, a wilderness survival trainer from Utah, embarked on a dangerous mission to infiltrate American militias. Posing as an ally, Williams spent years undercover within groups like the Oath Keepers.

Transcribed - Published: 6 August 2025

In 1974, a group of students organized a new project to discuss what Mormonism meant to them — a magazine called Sunstone. The magazine’s goal was to “raise the questions, pursue the discussions, and bear the witness worthy of a living faith that is both intellectually vigorous and spiritually discerning.”

Transcribed - Published: 31 July 2025

Multilevel marketing is something of an American tradition. A new book tells the story of the money-making schemes that continue to ensnare people today.

Transcribed - Published: 30 July 2025

One of Utah's many oddities is its state bird: the California gull. But did you know that the humble gull is the hero in its own miracle tale?

Transcribed - Published: 24 July 2025

New Age spirituality is everywhere these days, from tarot cards and crystals, astrology and energy healing. A new book traces the history of New Age movements.

Transcribed - Published: 23 July 2025

When J.D. Vance’s memoir “Hillbilly Elegy” came out in 2016, it made waves by humanizing the white working poor. At the time, Vance was firmly anti-Trump. Now he’s the Vice President.

Transcribed - Published: 17 July 2025

Alua Arthur’s life’s work is all about death. She’s a witness and shepherd to people who have reached the end of life. And she wants you to think about death too.

Transcribed - Published: 16 July 2025

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox wants to double energy production in the state within the next ten years, and he and other state leaders are betting that a new generation of nuclear reactors can help.

Transcribed - Published: 9 July 2025

The Wild West has been the subject of much mythologizing in American culture. But for all the fantasy, at least one figure was real: the gunfighter.

Transcribed - Published: 3 July 2025

Much of the Joseph Smith story turns on this question: Did he really discover golden plates? Historian John Turner says no, but he doesn’t dismiss what came next.

Transcribed - Published: 2 July 2025

Utah Senator Mike Lee wants to sell off public lands in the West, but after fierce bipartisan opposition to his plans, he’s been forced back to the drawing board.

Transcribed - Published: 26 June 2025

There’s a new biography of Joseph Smith, and author John Turner’s approach is new in the world of books about Mormonism’s charismatic founder.

Transcribed - Published: 25 June 2025

Minnesota lawmaker Rep. Melissa Hortman was murdered on June 14. The next day, Utah Sen. Mike Lee wrote on X, “This is what happens when Marxists don’t get their way.”

Transcribed - Published: 19 June 2025

Jeff Goodell knows a thing or two about the climate crisis. He’s been writing about it for years. But it didn’t become personal until the heat nearly killed him.

Transcribed - Published: 18 June 2025

During the 1800s, the Victorians had the natural world pretty much figured out, or so they thought. Then a 12-year-old discovered the first dinosaur tracks.

Transcribed - Published: 12 June 2025

Last week, we discussed the possible revival of the Utah Democratic Party. Long time political observers told us that would take some heavy lifting. The political consultants and influencers Gabi Finlayson and Jackie Morgan are up for the task.

Transcribed - Published: 11 June 2025

Utah Democrats minted a new leader in Brian King over the weekend. But with the party relegated to the political margins in a state dominated by a Republican supermajority, some are wondering if anyone can turn its fortunes around.

Transcribed - Published: 5 June 2025

Is a river alive? That’s the animating question in Robert Macfarlane’s new book. And if the answer is yes, and rivers are living things, what do we owe them?

Transcribed - Published: 4 June 2025

Some families seem to have the secret code to sibling success. How else to explain how an Olympic athlete, an award-winning novelist and a successful entrepreneur could all be raised under a single roof? The journalist Susan Dominus set out to answer this puzzle.

Transcribed - Published: 29 May 2025

These days, you might type ideas into the Notes app. But that’s just a testament to the importance of history’s real creative titan: the humble notebook.

Transcribed - Published: 28 May 2025

A recent article co-published by The New York Times and The Salt Lake Tribune raises the question of whether or not, as Great Salt Lake continues to dry up, the political will to save the lake is likewise evaporating. If so, what can be done to reinvigorate it?

Transcribed - Published: 22 May 2025

HBO’s “Succession” bears a strong resemblance to media mogul Rupert Murdoch and his children. But in a stranger-than-fiction moment, the show may have also influenced the actual Murdoch family — and its future.

Transcribed - Published: 21 May 2025

Sebastian Junger is no stranger to death. He covered the war in Afghanistan for years. But it was a medical emergency that brought him face to face with dying — and an afterlife.

Transcribed - Published: 16 May 2025

For many people, the night sky is an afterthought, especially if you live in a big city, where all the artificial light drowns out the stars. But the nature writer Craig Childs wants to help us rediscover the dark heavens and consider what they show us about who we are and where we fit in the universe.

Transcribed - Published: 14 May 2025

Spring is brief in Utah, so there isn’t much time to get your garden and landscape dialed in for the year. To help, we brought sustainable landscape designer Daryl Lindsey back into the studio for some ideas on how to make our yards more beautiful and resilient before summer sets in.

Transcribed - Published: 8 May 2025

Here’s how many debates about contentious societal issues stall out: someone declares, “because the Bible says so.” End of story. But what does the Bible say?

Transcribed - Published: 7 May 2025

You’d think that certain bonds couldn’t be broken by different beliefs, even strongly opposed convictions. But some conspiracies are just that powerful.

Transcribed - Published: 1 May 2025

The new book "Abundance," by journalists Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, argues that blue-led cities struggle with housing more than red-led cities. We'll spend the hour asking local housing experts how Utah and Salt Lake City are doing.

Transcribed - Published: 30 April 2025

Mary Beard is an expert on the Roman Empire, and her latest book is about the rulers who presided over it — 30 emperors in nearly three centuries.

Transcribed - Published: 24 April 2025

In 2024, Utah lawmakers eliminated D.E.I. programs from the state’s public schools. Today, the University of Utah is trying a new approach.

Transcribed - Published: 23 April 2025

This year, the Utah Legislature passed a bill banning fluoride in public water. The change comes on May 7. We’re asking what it all means.

Transcribed - Published: 17 April 2025

The author Katherine Rundell didn’t believe in love at first sight — until she met a pangolin. The encounter with the anteater-like creature made her curious about other endangered animals, and now, she wants us to notice more of these exquisite creatures.

Transcribed - Published: 16 April 2025

The Utah Way is built on compromise and collaboration, and for years it has defined the Utah Republican Party's approach to legislating. But can the state GOP sustain its ways in the face of Donald Trump’s hold on the party?

Transcribed - Published: 10 April 2025

In 2000, the social scientist Robert Putnam wrote the book “Bowling Alone.” It was a warning about the collapse of the American community. Why? Declining participation in neighborhood networks and civic clubs.

Transcribed - Published: 9 April 2025

Sundance is leaving Park City for Boulder, Colorado. We’re processing the breakup and asking what all jilted partners do: Was it something we did?

Transcribed - Published: 3 April 2025

The evidence is clear that Jesus of Nazareth was a real, historical person. But beyond that, says the scholar Elaine Pagels, there are more questions than answers about what kind of person Jesus was and what can be known about his life.

Transcribed - Published: 2 April 2025

Do you find yourself struggling in conversations? Fear not. There’s actually science to help you get better at the art of talking with other people.

Transcribed - Published: 27 March 2025

This week, we're revisiting two of our recent favorite shows, focusing on how we find balance in our lives.

Transcribed - Published: 26 March 2025

Satanic panics — a fear that satanic cults secretly performed ritualistic abuse and sacrifices — were common in the late '80's and early '90's. One seems to be playing out in San Pete County today.

Transcribed - Published: 20 March 2025

On September 2, 1885, tragedy struck the coal-mining town of Rock Springs, Wyoming, when white coal workers brutally attacked and murdered Chinese immigrants brought in to work the mines.

Transcribed - Published: 19 March 2025

Another legislative session is in the books. This year, lawmakers passed over 500 bills. We’re talking about what’s new after the 2025 Utah Legislative Session.

Transcribed - Published: 13 March 2025

In 1980, Jane Fonda and her producing partner Bruce Gilbert, took a serious issue — women in the workforce not receiving equal pay — and made it into the accessible and smash-hit comedy “9 to 5.” Starring Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dolly Parton, it became a pop culture hit.

Transcribed - Published: 12 March 2025

Kevin Fedarko’s best friend said it would be easy: Hike from one end of the Grand Canyon to the other. He said it would be “a walk in the park.” It wasn’t.

Transcribed - Published: 6 March 2025

Johann Hari spent a year on the weight-loss drug Ozempic, and it worked — better than he could’ve imagined. But the treatment left him deeply conflicted.

Transcribed - Published: 5 March 2025

It’s unclear whether President Donald Trump gives much thought to public land in the West. Nonetheless, observers on all sides are fairly certain his new administration will have a noticeable impact on public lands policy in the region. Which begs the question: If Trump isn’t the one guiding those policies, who is? And what does that mean for America’s 640 million acres of federally-owned public land?

Transcribed - Published: 27 February 2025

If the word “Viking” conjures for you a braided warrior raiding a village in the north of Europe, you’re not wrong. But there’s a lot more to the story.

Transcribed - Published: 26 February 2025

In the aftermath of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, John Williams, a wilderness survival trainer from Utah, embarked on a dangerous mission to infiltrate American militias. Posing as an ally, Williams spent years undercover within groups like the Oath Keepers.

Transcribed - Published: 20 February 2025