Guest User

“The Crucible of Friendship:" a conversation between old friends, the novelist / biographer / essayist Judith Freeman the writer / artist Teresa Jordan

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According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a friend is “one joined to another in mutual benevolence and intimacy. Not ordinarily applied to lovers or relatives…a boon companion.” It first appears in “Beowolf” in 1018 A.D. as “freondum.” Though the opposite of “fiend,” both words root in the same Germanic word soup for “love” and “hate,” so therefore inextricably intertwined.

Here, two old friends, Teresa Jordan and Judith Freeman, both remarkable and accomplished writers and artists, born and bred in the American West, examine their own enduring relationship through the lens of Judith’s latest novel, the incisive, insightful, at times ruthless “MacArthur Park.” The novel’s core finds two older women, both accomplished writers and artists, born and bred in the American West, attempting to re-kindle their lifelong friendship after intimate convolutions blew them apart. Spoiler alert: marrying the same man may become a problem. No, not Teresa and Judith; her characters Verna and Jolene as they road trip across the West towards some notion of their shared childhood. What destroys friendships? Can good intentions alone heal those implosive moments of toxic intimacy almost inevitable in friendships? Who here has not lost a friend?

Guest User

“Wisdom in Patience” - The Re-emergence of Glen Canyon

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As the drought continues and water levels continue to drop, we decided to go have a look. We told our board about the idea and it turns out that board member Catherine Smith rafted the Colorado River through Glen Canyon as a teenager in 1955. We were so pleased that she insisted on coming along.

The level when we took our trip in May was only 1/4 full at 3523 feet – just 33 feet above the minimum power pool of 3,490 feet, or where there’s not enough water to run the power generators. Dead pool is 120 feet lower, at 3,370 feet.

But the big picture is that Lake Powell is really only of value to generate power, tourist economy aside. So if it drops below minimum power pool, then evaporation and rock-saturation coefficients start to play in. So, is Lake Powell doomed? And is Glen Canyon going to return?

Guest User

“Steer the Wind:” Audrey Tang is Saving the World with Direct Digital Democracy

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For anyone concerned about the current global state of Democracy, which should be everyone, Audrey Tang, Taiwan’s Digital Minister, may be our greatest hope:

“I’m not here to make citizens transparent to government, I’m here to make government transparent to citizens.”

She has flipped Big Brother, proving that this very same unprecedented internet connectivity can be harnessed to cultivate and manifest the very best of us as well — connecting instead of isolating, confirming truths instead of spreading lies, distributing power instead of consolidating it.

Guest User

Helper, Utah and the Mysteries of Community: Part 3 "The Ineffable Authentic"

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You’ll hear every one of the people I talk to in this episode, Gary DeVincent, Jaron Anderson, and Shallee Johanssen, mention in their own words that Helper lacks pretense, that it feels authentic, and it’s that feeling of authenticity that is drawing them to Helper.

But what happens when authenticity is ultimately obtained? When it becomes the commodity? Take a listen to find out if Helper can hang on to whatever it is that makes it so special, as the town continues to be revitalized.

We ask these questions and more as a way to continue exploring the mysteries of what brings together and then maintains that elusive sense of community. Sure, we're talking specifically about Helper, interesting enough in itself. But we're also examining Helper in light of these broader questions. At the end of this podcast, Logan and Ben will consider what these interviewees have said to see if Helper offers itself as a microcosm to understand the slippery nature of community.

Lake Powell Pipeline

Is the Water Wet? - Lake Powell Pipeline Part 3 with Jane Whalen

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Having created historical context for the pipeline in two previous podcasts, In Site now explores the pipeline itself. Jane Whalen, board member of Conserve Southwest Utah and Coordinator of the Lake Powell Pipeline Coalition, was the primary architect of their collective, incredibly thorough and detailed one hundred and eighty-six page objection to the pipeline (see link below). Quite simply, nobody involved with the pipeline understands it better than Jane.

Is the Water Wet? - Lake Powell Pipeline Part 2 with Eric Kuhn

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This is the second podcast in the Lake Powell Pipeline series, offering a historical perspective on water law in the West. It picks up at the ill-fated Colorado River Compact of 1922 and brings us to the present day, setting the stage for examining the pipeline itself in the next podcast. Eric Kuhn is the co-author of Science be Dammed: How Ignoring Inconvenient Science Drained the Colorado River. He was General Manager of the Colorado River Conservation District (CRCD) for twenty-two years. In the second part of our series on the Lake Powell Pipeline, Eric digs into how politicians ignored drought data to create the Compact, and how that intentional myopia continued for almost a century. Today, the entire basin must finally reckon with what has been true all along; that the originally allocated water just is not there. He busts two foundational myths along the way, one about the science and data, and the other about water use. He then situates the Lake Powell Pipeline (LPP) into the present moment of truth, setting the stage for our next, perhaps final podcast about the LPP itself.

Is The Water Wet? - Lake Powell Pipeline Part 1 with Greg Smoak

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This is Part One of a three-part series on the proposed Lake Powell Pipeline (LPP). The first two podcasts explore the historical roots of the complex issues underpinning the pipeline proper. Here, Historian Greg Smoak joins us to discuss the origins of water law in the West, beginning with, appropriately enough, the lake’s namesake John Wesley Powell, and his populist perspective on how water in this arid region might be equitably managed. Professor Smoak is a Professor of History at the University of Utah and the director of the American West Center. He’s the author of many articles and essays on various American west topics including water rights, Native American law, environmental policy, and American Indian policy among other things. He’s the author of the book Ghost Dances and Identity: Prophetic Religion and American Indian Ethnogenesis in the Nineteenth Century.