KZMU Public Affairs

Guides love telling stories. And on the latest History Hour, three local guides pop in to spin some yarns about their favorite cultural histories of this region – and their own legendary past trips. We’ll hear how the pit toilet in Cisco can warm up snow-averse boaters, how past developers tried drilling holes in the river bottom of Cataract Canyon, and how to spot a fur trapper’s infamous signatu...

Lift Up is a KZMU storytelling project intending to deepen understanding and empathy within our community and reinforce a sense of safety and belonging for all. // Our next Lift Up storyteller is Kaitlin Myers, a housing advocate, rafter, and glitter enthusiast. She moved to Moab as an Americorps VISTA from Tampa, FL and has lived here year-round for 7 years. She is currently the Executive Directo...

What do monsoon season, hazard mitigation and the upcoming solar eclipse have in common? They are all things on the mind - and the planning desk - of Grand County's emergency management director Cora Phillips. On the latest This Week in Moab, guest Phillips gives us some updates on her department and insights into the work of emergency preparedness and response. // Music in this episode is Holizna...

The 2023 Red Rock Arts Festival welcomes neighbors and wanderers to Moab for three days of ‘storytelling, ceremony, and play.’ From Sept 29th to Oct 1st, events will highlight the theme ‘human history and dreams for the future’ through collaborative projects, art experiences, and all-ages events. On the latest This Week in Moab, host Christy Williams-Dunton gets the deets from Moab’s arts and spec...

What comes first, the music or the musicians? Tune in to the latest Art Talks where host Richard Codd explores this question and more with Moab Music Festival co-founder Leslie Tomkins. They cover the festival’s ongoing concerts as well as hot topics like primadonnas, dead heads and ‘extreme’ chamber music. Plus, artists Renée Reizman and Tom Hansell are wrapping up their reuse residency at Moab A...

On the latest This Week in Moab, Moab City's new community development director, Michael Black, and city manager, Carly Castle, join the program to talk about this new department. Community development covers a wide range of public-facing issues, including housing, sustainability, active transportation and more. And later, hear from Grand County School District Superintendent Taryn Kay, Moab City...

What do deep water running, ultimate frisbee and disc golf all have in common? You can hear about all of them (and how to get started in them locally) on the latest Great Wide Open. Join intrepid host Lisa Hathaway as she dives in and highlights alternative recreation activities in our own backyard. // Show Notes: https://www.kzmu.org/alternative-rec-returns-on-great-wide-open/

Is there seasonality to your reading habits? Do you like books that are more fizzy in the summer and more contemplative in the winter? Or, like one of Radio Book Club’s intrepid hosts, does the weather (and your reading) find you wanting to dive deep…to the bottom of the ocean? Submerse yourself in literary works on the latest Radio Book Club. Hosts feature books they can’t stop thinking about. A...

Live la vie en rose and tune in to the latest episode of Chefs’ Adventures with Buck & Bernie. Co-host Bernard Guillas takes fellow chef Tim Buckingham on a culinary journey to his home country, France! They discuss cheeses, andouille sausage, fleur de sel, and cast iron pots full of goodness in the French countryside. C’est bon! // Find recipes here: https://www.kzmu.org/french-cooking-on-buck-be...

Travel to the highest peak in the world on the latest This Week in Moab. Local Jason Ramsdell recently returned from 29,032 feet – the summit of Mount Everest in Nepal. And, he has some tales to tell! Tune in to hear about his mental and physical journey during this once in a lifetime mountaineering excursion. And later, our partners at KRCL interview a military industrial complex reporter looking...

Want to know more about water in Moab? A group of community members have organized a series of three water workshops intended to overview local water resources as Moab City and Grand County plan for the future. The first workshop on watershed basics happened on July 26th, and there are more coming! Tune in to hear from organizers Trish Hedin and Rani Derasary. Plus, Grand County's school district...

We’re casting a wide hoop over the creative and procreative process during the latest This Week in Moab. Folks are increasingly identifying as ‘spiritual’ rather than religious. Host Christy Williams Dunton discusses everyday spiritualism with author and former Castle Valley resident Deanna King, who recently published Bringing Ceremony Home: Creating Ceremony in an easy at-home format for Spiritu...

Two fascinating multimedia artists are guests on the latest Art Talks! First is wood carver, writer, and musician Herman Herrera, who discusses the cultural and familial influences in his prolific art. Next up is painter, poet, and musician Buzz Williams. Buzz discusses his artistic preoccupation with literal and figurative portals, including synesthesia. Tune in! // Music in this episode is ‘Swin...

Tune in to our next episode of Lift Up, a storytelling project intending to deepen understanding and empathy within our community and reinforce a sense of safety and belonging for all. // Our next Lift Up storyteller is John Costanza. From Moab, John graduated from Grand County High with the class of 1976. As a cook, he spent decades living from coast to coast before recently coming back to Moab,...

Aestivation is a state of animal dormancy, similar to hibernation, although taking place in the summer rather than the winter. It happens during times of heat and dryness, often in the summer months. On the latest Radio Book Club, hear about the latest titles our hosts are devouring during summer aestivation. They include poetry, old works, and literary treasures at the bottom of the ocean. Plus,...

Author and river historian Roy Webb joins the latest History Hour to weave some incredible stories about the Colorado and Green Rivers. Webb has been researching and studying Colorado and Green River history for 40 years. He works closely with the John Wesley Powell River History Museum and others to educate and inform folks about this fascinating subject. Plus, he’s been seeking out and saving hi...

Tune in for a really special episode of Art Talks! Nearly two decades ago, an article in The Times-Independent posed the question: Where is Moab’s arts community headed? Will Moab become the next Taos or Santa Fe? Well, many years later, that hasn’t exactly happened. But Moab has its own artistic cultural community. What is it like? Where is it headed? Well, the latest Art Talks gets into it! Gues...

Lift Up is a KZMU storytelling project intending to deepen understanding and empathy within our community and reinforce a sense of safety and belonging for all. // Our next Lift Up storyteller is Zachary Johnson. A long-time Moab resident, Zachary grew up here and graduated from Grand County High School. He’s worked in Moab’s hospitality industry most of his life. He is fluent in Spanish, and love...

Exciting stuff on the latest This Week in Moab. First up is guest Alexi Lamm(2:00), Moab City's sustainability director, discussing a potential new city-wide ordinance. The water efficient landscape ordinance may implement new standards on vegetation and conservation. Next is filmmaker Amanda Madden(25:00), who's experimental documentary 'A Spell for Queer Home' will be screened in Moab along with...

Some might find outdoor recreation and the creation of art to be strange bedfellows. But for creatives in Moab, the two are often intrinsically linked. On the latest Great Wide Open, we hear from four of our Southeast Utah Community Artists in the Parks about that relationship. Learn how their activities in the wild informs and shapes their art and how it was even more greatly influenced by their...

It's Pride Month so you better believe our Radio Book Club hosts will be discussing some of their favorite queer works and authors from past and present! From novels by (and about) Patricia Highsmith to James Baldwin classics to the contemporary coziness of T.J Klune. Plus, written work keeping a close eye on doing better in our democracy. Tune in! // Radio Book Club Reviews & Mentions: https://ww...

You won't want to miss the latest Chefs' Adventures with Buck & Bernie! Dynamic chefs and hosts Bernard Guillas and Tim Buckingham interview Matt Redd of Dugout Ranch. Hear about the history of this working cattle ranch, which also serves a research center studying the effects of climate change and land use. Dugout Ranch ranch is researching and raising Criollo cattle, a heritage breed, as a poten...

KZMU's Crystal Bunch, Host of The Artist Speaks recently interviewed Indiana Bradley about his new EP Pale City. Indiana Bradley is a Los Angeles based artist and has prior LP titled, Ghost Star. "Indiana Bradley's style is authentic, melodic, and engaging. Having lived in dozens of countries from Argentina to Indonesia, stories accumulated and perceptions were made working as a journalist far fro...

On the latest History Hour, hear about Chief Posey’s War, the last in a long series of conflicts between the United States and the Ute and Piaute tribes. Host and guide Blaine shares stories and research from Moab, Monticello, Blanding and Bluff at the turn of the 20th century. // Music in The History Hour is ‘Speedy Delta’ by Lobo Loco

KZMU's Crystal Bunch, Host of The Artist Speaks, sat down with Graciela Serena about her latest release. The new album, Fighting With Me & You was independently released in April 2023.