Access Utah

When Graham Cavanaugh divorced his first wife it was to marry his girlfriend, Audra, a woman as irrepressible as she is spontaneous and fun. But, Graham learns, life with Audra can also be exhausting, constantly interrupted by chatty phone calls, picky-eater houseguests, and invitations to weddings of people he’s never met. Audra firmly believes that through the sheer force of her personality she can overcome the most socially challenging interactions, shepherding her son through awkward playdates and origami club, and even deciding to establish a friendship with Graham’s first wife, Elspeth. Graham isn't sure he understands why Audra longs to be friends with the woman he divorced. After all, former spouses are hard to categorize—are they enemies, old flames, or just people you know really, really well? And as Graham and Audra share dinners, holidays, and late glasses of wine with his first wife he starts to wonder: How can anyone love two such different women? Did I make the right choice? Is there a right choice? “Standard Deviation” is a hilarious and rueful novel of love, marriage, infidelity, and origami.

Today we’ll revisit an episode from October 2018. This was part of “Our Favorite Books” series, and we celebrated the 100th anniversary of the publication of Willa Cather’s “My Antonia.”

Edward Hirsch is the celebrated author of nine books of poetry. He is also the author of “A Poet's Glossary,” a complete compendium of poetry terms and the author of the bestseller about poetry, “How to Read a Poem and Fall in Love with Poetry.” He has received numerous awards and fellowships, including a MacArthur Fellowship, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and the Prix de Rome. He is an international advocate for poetry and serves as a chancellor of the Academy of American Poets. He taught creative writing at Wayne State University and the University of Houston and is now president of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, which offers fellowships to those engaged in any field of knowledge and creation of the arts.

Utah Patients Coalition, which is leading a ballot initiative campaign in support of medical marijuana, says that “right now, Utah patients battling cancer, seizures, and other life-threatening conditions must break the law in order to relieve their pain and suffering. By passing the medical cannabis ballot initiative … Utah can end this cruel and unjust policy.” A recent poll, published by UtahPolicy.com, shows that 77% of Utahns strongly or somewhat favor access to medical marijuana. It appears likely that this measure will appear on the November ballot in Utah.

David Roberts has spent his career documenting voyages to the most extreme landscapes on earth. In his new book, “Limits of the Known,” he reflects on humanity’s—and his own—relationship to extreme risk; and he tries to make sense of why so many have committed their lives to the pursuit of adventure.

Some 200 years after her death, Jane Austen's books are still widely read and loved. Many film adaptations and spin-offs such as 'Pride, Prejudice and Zombies' are also adored by many. The BBC said this about Austen.

Fifty years after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., just one in 10 African Americans think the United States has achieved all or most of the goals of the civil rights movement. That’s according to a recent poll by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. On Wednesday’s Access Utah, on the 50th anniversary of Dr. King’s death, we’ll talk about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., his legacy, and the future of the ideals he so eloquently articulated and strove for.

Last week USU’s Department of Languages Philosophy and Speech Communications hosted a panel discussion titled “Meaning and #MeToo.” Panelists discussed the #MeToo movement and provided historical, cultural, and legal analysis. On Tuesday’s Access Utah we’ll continue the discussion with the panelists: Erica Holberg, USU Assistant Professor of Philosophy; Mattie Burkert, USU Assistant Professor of English; and Nicole Vouvalis, Director of USU’s Institutional Review Board Office.

This episode of Access Utah is part of the “Democracy and the Informed Citizen” Initiative administered by the Federation of State Humanities Councils in partnership with the Pulitzer Prizes Board for a collaboration between UPR, Utah Humanities, and The Salt Lake City Library. The initiative seeks to deepen the public’s knowledge and appreciation of the vital connections between democracy, the humanities, journalism, and an informed citizenry. The initiative is supported by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

It’s the final pledge drive special edition of Access Utah for our Spring drive today. My special guests this hour are some of the great people who have served as student interns and producers of Access Utah. We’ll be talking with Dani Hayes, Adison Pace, Katie Swain, Bennett Purser, Aimee Cobabe and Connor Rivers. We’ll reach into the archives for parts of some of our most memorable episodes. We’ll revisit discussions about lifting the ban on gay Boy Scouts, and about Sex Positivity. And we’ll hear some music from our program on the history of the Banjo. We’ll invite you to pledge your support to UPR to ensure that Access Utah continues strong on this last day of UPR’s Spring Pledge Drive.