Listen to it!You've seen the Olympics on TV, but do you want to know what's really happening in Utah? In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, a special program recorded in front of a live audience at the Red Butte Garden in Salt Lake City. From the culture of snowboarding to past Olympic scandals. Plus some Utah humor. It's free-style To the Best of Our Knowledge.
TTBOOK goes to the Olympics! At the invitation of KCPW, on February 17th, Jim Fleming, Steve Paulson and Doug Gordon presented a special edition of the program before a live audience in the Orangerie of Red Butte Garden at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. Guests included sports commentators, athletes, NPR reporter Howard Berkes, and a sports psychologist. Live music was performed by guitarist Steve Flygare, and John Flanders on clarinet and saxophone.
In this segment, NPR correspondent Howard Berkes, who is based in Salt Lake City, tells Jim Fleming what it's like to ride a luge and a bobsled. And he plays some sound he recorded on the ice during his luge runs! Also, Steve Paulson talks with Bill Kerig - stock broker, professional skier, commentator for ESPN's X-Games, and author of "The Snowboarder's Total Guide to Life" and "Utah Underground." Kerig talks about the culture of snowboarders and how it's changed. They're still rebels but they smile more.SEGMENT 2:
American cross country ski champion Nina Kemppel tells Jim Fleming that winning an Olympic medal matters to every athlete who competes. She also talks about what happened when she over-trained and how she fought her way back to fitness. And she contrasts the attitudes of American athletes with those of the Norwegians with whom she lived and trained. Also, Doug Gordon profiles "Kyle Thornhill" - a figure skater who decided he really just wanted to wear the cool clothes, so he started his own boy band.SEGMENT 3:
Sports psychologist Steven Ungerleider is the author of the harrowing "Faust's Gold: Inside the East German Doping Machine." He tells Steve Paulson that massive abuse of steroids and hormones was routine - even mandatory - among the athletes of the GDR, which also conspired to hide the doping results. Today, many of the athletes suffer drug-induced diseases and reproductive difficulties, including birth defects in their children. Also, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Laura Sessions Stepp covers adolescents for the Washington Post. She's the mother of a teenage boy and the author of "Our Last Best Shot: Guiding Our Children Through Early Adolescence." She tells Jim Fleming that sports are good for kids and that all kids need something to be passionate about. Athletic success can be especially helpful for girls, who deserve better than hand-me-down uniforms and inconvenient practice times.Cassette copies are available at 1-800-747-7444. Ask for program number 02-02-24-A.
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