Remote-controlled bombs consisting of 6 sticks of dynamite erupted underneath the drivers side of the car. The explosion was contained, but destructive. The lower half of his body was blown off, the driver’s door ripped open, and the reporter lay waiting for help.

The story goes that he uttered three things while in the parking lot injured that day: “John Adamson” “Emprise” and “Mafia.”

But stories are never that simple. Almost 50 years later, there is still a debate on why Don Bolles was murdered and who was to blame.

Welcome to Valley 101, a podcast by the Arizona Republic and azcentral.com about metro Phoenix and beyond. I’m producer Amanda Luberto, and today I’m joined by our in-house Don Bolles expert Richard Ruelas to discuss why the case is still interesting to people and to discuss new hypotheses that have arisen.

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Movies used to be the dominating driving force in pop culture. 

Hollywood was the center of entertainment. Actors, producers, directors: dreams being made. The Silver Screen was a fantasy come true for many.

But over the past decade, things have changed. That domination lessened as new players entered the game. Streaming apps gained more and more popularity, becoming the go-to spot to see a film.

Numbers have jumped this year, but are still lagging behind pre-COVID levels. The impact has the entire industry thinking about its future and how to move forward.

For this week of Valley 101, a podcast by The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, we spoke with Arizona State University film and media professor Kevin Sandler to talk about the movie theatre industry, the current problems and we look ahead to the future. 

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Arizona has sharks. No, really. Around 300 million years ago, portions of the 48th state were covered in shallow seas. And prowling these primordial waters were some wild and bizarre sharks. A few might even rival the mighty megalodon. In this episode of Valley 101, we unearth which sharks called Arizona home, whether or not megalodon swam here, and what modern-day sharks you can see in the Valley.

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Think you know Arizona? You might want to think again. The 48th state is filled with weird, unusual, and just downright quirky facts that even long-time residents might not know. We found three Arizona-only oddities that just might surprise you.

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Summers in Arizona mean heat, triple-digit temperatures, and desperately trying to stay cool. But summers in Arizona also mean monsoons - big, bright thunderstorms returning rain to the desert. 

During the summer monsoon season, Phoenix receives one-third of its annual rainfall, a necessary relief to help combat the drought that 83% of the state is experiencing, according to the National Weather Service. 

While monsoons bring reprieve from the extreme heat and aid in the drought, they are sometimes responsible for power outages and extreme flooding.  

Flooding in urban areas, such as Phoenix, often causes minor headaches such as traffic congestion on surface streets and highways. However, in parts of the state outside the Valley, floods can be dangerous, and occasionally deadly. 

In this week's episode of Valley 101, a podcast from The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, we share the good and the bad of monsoon season in Arizona.

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This past Saturday, temperatures rose to 118 degrees, breaking a 25 year old record. Excessive heat warnings are planned throughout the week. 

It’s that time of year when all your out of state friends ask, “Why do you live there again?” The answer is winters, but this week, they might have a point. It hasn’t been this hot for this long in almost 50 years. Arizona has now had 18 days in a row of temperatures over 110. 

Tomorrow will break the record from 1974.

And while we don’t deal with tornadoes, hurricanes or blizzards, our extreme heat does impact the flights in and out of Sky Harbor International Airport.

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It's no secret that the Arizona Diamondbacks have struggled a lot. But, right now, they are in first place in the National League West behind budding star outfielder Corbin Carroll. Valley 101 talks baseball.

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Anyone who knows pizza or even knows Arizona cuisine knows Chris Bianco.

Bianco skyrocketed to fame when his pizza became world-renowned, making Phoenix an unexpected go-to destination for foodies worldwide.

Back in 2003, he was the first pizza maker ever to win the James Beard Award for Best Chef Southwest. Bianco is often referred to as the father of the modern pizza movement.

Twenty years later, he’s still winning awards. As recently as last year, Bianco collected a James Beard Award for Best Restaurateur.

But what makes his pizzas so good? 

For this week's episode of Valley 101, a podcast by The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, we traveled the state visiting the farmers who work with Chris Bianco and discovered just how rich Arizona’s agricultural industry is.  

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Doctors’ offices and medical spas in Arizona are getting flooded with requests for prescriptions for new drugs.

They originally were approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat Type 2 diabetes, but their success in helping people lose weight is what's making them a near-household name. As patients are reporting promising results, word is getting around.

It’s almost impossible to avoid hearing about Ozempic, Wegovy and their active ingredient, semaglutide, in the news or on social media.

But are these new so-called miracle drugs too good to be true? Who are they really for, and how can people get them? This week on The Lab at azcentral, in conjunction with Valley 101, we look into how the drugs work and the reality of how they make people feel.

We spoke with doctors, patients and others to find out why the drugs are different from other weight-loss interventions and why the medications have become divisive, both culturally and socioeconomically.

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Spicy: it's the flavor you see everywhere. Just take a look at your local convenience store. Spicy chips, spicy chicken sandwiches, spicy noodles. There's even a movie now about Flamin' Hot Cheetos.

It's also culture-defining. What would Mexican, Thai or Indian food be without chili kicking up the heat?

But before that spicy seasoning can be sprinkled onto your favorite foods, it starts in the ground as a chili pepper seed. One of the people producing those seeds is Ed Curry, who operates the Curry Seed and Chile Co. in Pearce, Arizona.

Curry has been working on the genetics of peppers for almost his whole life. In the farming industry, most of the peppers grown commercially in the United States can be traced back to his farm.

But how did chili peppers get to Arizona in the first place? And why are Arizona's chilis making such a huge impact nationwide?

In this episode of Valley 101, in conjunction with The Lab, we find out these answers and more.

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