by Troy Williams
Change is good. In fact it’s essential to sustained creativity and health. After eight years of producing a week-nightly, one-hour live talk show, I’ve decided to try some things new. Innovation often demands reinvention. So let’s shake the whole thing up. We ended our nightly show last month. Not because my team of hosts weren’t awesome — they most certainly are. We just wanted to rattle the status quo. We wanted to create something new that will have a positive and hopefully bigger impact on our listeners.
Now fear not, you lovers of talk radio! The long-format RadioActive that you know and love will return on Sunday evenings starting (most probably) in late October. We will announce details when they are firm. In the meantime…
photo by David Newkirk
KRCL has this rather sizable (and growing) audience all throughout the weekdays and weekends during our music shows — and I thought to myself – I want them! How on earth can I reach them? How can I create little nuggets of inspiring culture transforming radio that will radically elevate the social consciousness of all who listen along the Wasatch Front? And how can I embed these empathy enhancing, soul ascending narra-bytes into our already phenom music sets — right between the Rolling Stones and Radiohead?
Yes, I want to invade your playlist. And I’ll do it in the length of a song.
So, with the encouragement of my most awesome co-workers I began crafting little three minute mini-radio docs which highlight the incredible people and organizations who are creating seismic culture change right here in Utah. These are the people who are digging in, standing tall and making a difference. They defy stereotypes. They lift up people around them. They protect the vulnerable and they inspire everyone to get engaged.
These segments will air in rotation — all day and night, seven days a week. Here is a sample of my first few shows.
Gorgeous Jared
Meet Gorgeous Jared — one of Utah’s most enigmatic trans warriors. He’s a contradiction in many ways — a muscle queen in heels from a Latin American Utah family in Cottonwood Heights. Jared is full of surprises. He has become a teacher of sorts to the rising baby queers — reminding everyone of the power of transgressing boundaries and living authentically. Hear the Gospel of Gorgeous Jared:
Jeffrey Daniel
Nurse Jeffery Daniel cares for homeless youth at the Open Door Clinic. His love of fashion and style almost got him kicked out of BYU nursing school. He dodged several honor code violations and has since become a champion for Utah’s homeless population. Hear his story and heath care philosophy:
Joanna Brooks is the Book of Mormon Girl. She is a feminist Latter-day Saint who has seized the so-called “Mormon Moment” to show the world that not all Mormons are monolithic is their politics or social views. Her new memoir explores a different kind of Mormon story — filled with elements often not found in traditional LDS narratives — unorthodoxy and heart-break. These are the stories life has given her to tell. Have a listen.
Brandie Balken
Meet Brandie Balken — the executive director of Equality Utah — the state’s largest LGBT civil rights organization. Brandie brings a particular quality to her queer activism. She refuses to play the “us vs. them” game. She boldly engaged people whom many would consider her adversaries — and she does it all by acknowledging their humanity first. Learn more about her philosophy on transcending social divisions right here.
Finally, meet Haji, an elderly Iraqi refugee who is making a new home for himself here in Salt Lake City. Haji’s life was torn apart as his country fell into sectarian violence. Shattered and alone, Haji sought asylum in an alien nation. Thanks to the work of Utah Health and Human Rights, he’s found a new life and home.
More shows are coming. Tune in all day at 90.9 FM — or check out the RadioActive page at KRCL for the first ten episodes. Thanks for all of your support over the past eight years — and thanks for engaging on the new work we are doing. I’m looking forward to the new adventure. Change feels good. Let’s create some more.
