Folklore

In her new book "This Haunted Land: Reckoning with Ghosts and the Stories that Shape America," Betsy Gaines Quammen takes us on a journey into haunted towns, forgotten lives, and abandoned places.

We talk with folklorist Andrew Peck about NyQuil Chicken, one example of a larger, ongoing phenomenon raising questions about the role of social media in facilitating misinformation.

We talk with folklorist Lynne McNeill about the dangers and positives of artificial intelligence, social media and phone bans in schools, and the value of folklore.

Utah State University Classics Professor Jacob Butera joins us today to talk about "The Odyssey." We discuss the ancient text and the newly released film.

In the 2026 Fife Honor Lecture at USU, professor Katherine Borland of Ohio State University’s Center for Folklore Studies, focused on miracle narratives. She joins us for the hour.

“The beauty of fairy tales is they are applicable in so many different disciplines,” a USU librarian said of the program, which will offer internships, student events, symposiums, and more.

Intermountain Song Trails is a new oral history project exploring how songs travel across generations, families, and migration routes, from lullabies to work songs to church or scouting traditions.

For years, Utahns spun spooky stories about what lurked in this old canyon retreat. Its history harks back to the wealthy and accomplished, and its future is under construction.

Our guest today is folklorist Lynne McNeill. Lynne McNeill is an associate professor of folklore at Utah State University, as well as co-founder of and faculty advisor for the USU Folklore Club.

Today we’ll mark a decade of USU’s Farm in Literature and Culture course. Our guests include USU lecturers, professors, and a USU student who says the class has had a continuing influence on her life.