RadioWest

David Archuleta became famous at 17 years old, when he was a finalist on “American Idol.” He joins us to talk about his new memoir, coming out as gay and about leaving the LDS Church.

As plans take shape for an extensive homeless campus in Salt Lake City, a divide has emerged between those who support the current system of homeless services and a new guard that wants to take a more punitive approach to the problem.

LDS President Dallin H. Oaks has chosen a new apostle. His name is Clark G. Gilbert, and his appointment is raising controversy among the faithful. Scholar Benjamin Park joins us to explain why.

Lots of people dream about leaving it all behind, but Maurice and Maralyn Bailey really did it. They bought a boat and set sail in June of 1972.

Eight years ago, Utah voters approved Proposition 4, a ballot initiative that, after a long legal battle, resulted in newly drawn congressional boundaries. Now, a group backed by the Utah Republican Party is trying to get a new initiative on the ballot, one that would eliminate Prop 4, and it has raised a lot of controversy.

Jack Kerouac published “On the Road” in 1957, and it became the defining novel of the Beat Generation. Today, a new documentary explores the book's legacy.

Latter-day Saint temple garments are the subject of a new book. The authors surveyed thousands of Church members for their project.

As big freighters go, the Edmund Fitzgerald was the biggest, the best and the most profitable ship on the Great Lakes. Then, on Nov. 10, 1975, facing gale-force winds and 50-foot waves, the ship sank, taking all 29 men aboard her down into the icy depths of Lake Superior.

Forty years ago, the space shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after launch. According to NPR's Howard Berkes, the lessons learned from the disaster are as critical as ever.

Journalist Michael Scherer had a lofty goal for his profile of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. He wanted to “help narrow the political divide” separating the country.

In a new documentary premiering at Sundance, local filmmaker Abby Ellis follows two scientists and a government official fighting to stave off environmental disaster and save Great Salt Lake.

In a new biography, the historian Max Perry Mueller argues that Wakara, a Timpanogos Ute leader, should be considered one of the founding figures of the American West.

“Affordability” is a buzzword of the current political moment, and it's top of mind for Utah lawmakers as they gear up for the general legislative session.

“Affordability” is a buzzword of the current political moment, and it's top of mind for Utah lawmakers as they gear up for the general legislative session.

Coltan Scrivner is a psychologist who studies why some of us are drawn to look at gruesome things. He calls it morbid curiosity, and he says it's not a bad thing.

In recent years, Utah has seen a surge in winter visitors to its world-class ski resorts. Sam Weintraub, a ski industry observer, isn't the only one who's noticed that as more and more people come here to ski, the more it reshapes the skiing experience.

On Sept. 10, 2025, political activist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed at Utah Valley University. The very next month, Greg Lukianoff gave a lecture there, about why free speech is an antidote to violence.

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

If you've ever wanted to share a room with two great actors talking about Shakespeare, here's your chance — with Dame Judi Dench and Brendan O'Hea.

In 2021, protestors stormed the U.S. Capitol and tried to overturn the presidential election. In that moment, author Charles King turned to Handel's Messiah.

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

Multilevel marketing is something of an American tradition. Journalist Bridget Read tells the story of the money-making schemes that continue to ensnare people today.

Jesus's mother Mary likely lived for over 40 years, but many believers only think of her in two places, the Nativity and the Crucifixion. The scholar James Tabor wants to change that.

Author and journalist Jonathan Rauch is a Jewish atheist. And yet, he's calling on Christians to remember their faith — and practice it the way Founding Father James Madison might have done.

What do books say about us? This week, Catherine Weller, Ken Sanders and Anne Holman join us to talk about their favorite winter reads — the titles they recommend that we can all gift to each other or curl up with while the snow (hopefully) falls and the fire crackles.

What weighs five pounds, hasn't been seen in print for 20 years, but still shapes the way we think about language? Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary — and author Stefan Fatsis is here to tell us why it matters.

Jerry Kane and his teenage son Joseph were men of no nation. Their lives — and their violent ends — are the subject of the new feature film “Sovereign,” directed by Christian Swegal, who joins us to talk about it.

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.

Of the many casualties of violent conflict, food is yet another. Michael Shaikh's new book explains how war and genocide change what we eat.

Wallace Stegner made a name for himself writing about the place that shaped him: the Mountain West and the people there. Alex Beam's biography tells the story.

Lots of people dream about leaving it all behind, but Maurice and Maralyn Bailey really did it. They bought a boat and set sail in June of 1972.

A lengthy chapter in the battle over Utah's congressional boundaries came to a close yesterday when a judge chose a new congressional map for Utah. Judge Dianna M. Gibson's ruling shakes up the state's political landscape and likely its representation in Congress. We are joined by Sen. Scott Sandall, Salt Lake Tribune columnist Robert Gehrke and KUER reporter Martha Harris.

What happens when a progressive Hollywood filmmaker and a conservative congressman team up to document one of the most volatile chapters in American politics? We're talking with Steve Pink — director of “Hot Tub Time Machine” — and former Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger about their unlikely collaboration and the film that emerged.

This week we spoke with Matthew Whitaker about his film “Truth & Treason.” He's coming back to talk more about the movie, as well as making it with Angel Studios.

During Hitler's rise to power, a young Latter-day Saint named Helmuth Hübener dared to defy the regime. He was 17 years old when the Third Reich executed him for telling the truth. Filmmaker Matthew Whittaker and scholar Alan Keele tell his story.

Mars isn't just a modern-day obsession, because we earthlings were nuts for the Red Planet more than a century ago. David Baron's new book tells the story.

When Brigham Young and the Mormons arrived in Utah in the mid-1800s, they encountered a Native American leader who already dominated the region. Wakara, a Timpanogos Ute, was a fierce warrior, prolific horse thief and merciless slave trader. In a new biography, the historian Max Perry Mueller argues Wakara should be considered one of the founding figures of the American West.

In 1954, photographers Ansel Adams and Dorothea Lange traveled to southern Utah to capture life in three Mormon towns — Gunlock, Toquerville and St. George. We'll talk with art historian James Swensen about what their images reveal and how these communities have evolved since then.

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.

Dennis Peron came back from the Vietnam War with three pounds of marijuana. Later, he'd become one of the preeminent figures in the movement to legalize weed.

Dallin H. Oaks is the new president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We're talking about who he is, and what to expect under his leadership.

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.

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?

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

A 2001 rule crafted by the U.S. Forest Service banned road construction and most commercial logging on nearly 45 million acres of public lands. Now the Trump administration wants to rescind that rule, which it deems overly restrictive.

On Saturday, Sept. 27, Russell M. Nelson, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, died at his home. He was 101 years old.