Instead

When we hear the term “buy local,” many of us picture that cute mom and pop restaurant downtown; but don't forget the farmers! During COVID-19, farmers across the U.S. have been scrambling to make ends meet due to new restrictions. To swiftly adapt, many of these farms have begun to redefine themselves and are looking to find a market in the everyday consumer.

Sit down with Wyatt and applied agricultural economist Kynda Curtis as they break-down farming in the state of Utah. Learn why dairies dumped milk when COVID hit, Challenges facing this year's harvest, and how you can get your hands on some locally grown food.

Utah's Own
https://www.utahsown.org

Utah CSA Directorty
http://csautah.org/find-a-csa

Dr. Kynda Curtis's Blog
https://extension.usu.edu/apec/news/

USU Resources for people experiencing food insecurity
https://extension.usu.edu/news_sections/general_news/usu-students-provide-food-to-aid-area-pantries

For hundreds of years, the Colorado River has provided vital water supply for seven states in the Western U.S. Wyatt sits down with USU researcher Jack Schmidt, Professor of Watershed Sciences and Janet Quinney Lawson Chair Member at the Center for Colorado River Studies.

Dr. Schmidt explains the essential functions of the river in the state of Utah and its role in the development of urban western areas. We discuss how it got the nickname "The River of Law," and dive into the past, and future of the Colorado River.


The Center for Colorado River Studies
https://qcnr.usu.edu/coloradoriver/



*External Podcast Episodes Related to Current National Events

Unlocking Us – Brené Brown
Brené with Ibram X. Kendi 
on How to Be an Antiracist

CodeSwitch – NPR
A Decade Of Watching Black People Die

Reply All – Gimlet Media
The Crime Machine

Wyatt speaks with Erik Dickamore, a senior studying statistics at USU. Erik dives into the numerous projects he is working on involving data collection and the future of smart cities around the world. Erik also shares his experience as an undergraduate researcher, and the path he took to kick off his journey as a researcher at USU.

Utah is the 8th most urbanized state in this country, with 90% of its residence living in urban areas. No wonder there's congestions on your way to work. Last month, we sat down with USU researcher Dr. Patrick Singleton as he painted a picture of what the transportation industry might look like after the COVID-19 pandemic died down. In this episode Wyatt sits down with Carlos Braceras, the executive director of Utah Department of Transportation, and dives in deeper, talking about Utah's unique landscape, weather pattern, and urban issues UDOT deals with, along with the solutions to create greater mobility through mass transit and active transportation. We also dive into the key role USU students play in UDOT, a new way to build freeways, and a little known ferry system in Southern Utah.

Possible take away from this episode? Less frustration during traffic cone season. It's worth the hassle. 

During your quarantined google searching, the infiltration of the Asian Giant Hornets 'murder hornets' into the U.S may have come across your screen. But are they really a threat? Wyatt and Dr. Joe Wilson, one of USU's evolutionary biologists, calms our nerves (especially for us in Utah) and gives us a look into the lives of these wasps, along with honeybees' domestication and 'endangerment'. 

The stock market has plunged and 36 million Americans have filed for unemployment. In this episode of Instead, USU Huntsman School of Business researcher Dr. Chad Albrecht helps us connect the dots between the COVID-19 pandemic and the Great Depression. We also explore the intricate world of financial fraud across cultures, and some empowering words about your personal finances. 

Pause and notice the key items in your community. What makes people visit, stay, and engage with the town? Todd Johnson, USU’s Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning practitioner in residence tunes in with us today, along with graduate student Jim Anglesey, to answer these questions. Todd helps fulfill USU extension mission by identifying what makes communities special? And then creates visions of what that community should look like.

Dr. Breanne Litts is an explorer at heart. You can find her either in the great outdoors going on wilderness adventures, or in the classroom investigating the way people learn best. Breanne started and runs the LED Lab to investigate how people learn through making, designing, and producing in diverse cultural and community contexts. In this episode dive into online learning experiences. This is a vital aspect of the school environment during current times were social distancing has made traditional classrooms unsafe, making thousands of USU courses move online within a couple of days. 

View Diagram on instagram
https://www.instagram.com/p/B_ppVgLAsZH/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

“The structure of our election system influences our voting outcomes”. In this episode Damon Cann, a professor of political science at Utah State University and Mayor of North Logan City, helps us weigh in the pros and cons with the various voting platforms; mail-in voting, electronic voting machines, and local ballots. Dr. Damon Cann also fills Wyatt in on how Utah switched to mail-in ballots and goes into the role of local government in our lives, from either side of a pandemic. 

COVID-19 has reduced traffic on our roads. Could there be lasting changes to the way people get around? As an engineer, Dr. Patrick Singleton specializes in understanding the sociological factors that need to be accounted for. Wyatt and Patrick discuss how COVID-19 could alter transportation after a sense of normality returns. And how it’s affecting his research area. We also talk about ways cities can be friendlier to bikes. The challenges and opportunity to our big fat Utah streets. And, how autonomous vehicles could affect wellness.