Utah Thrives show

Utah Thrives

Summary: Utah Foundation is a private, non-partisan public policy research group founded in 1945. We study tax policy, public school funding, environmental issues and many other topics of interest to the community and to Utah's political leaders. Our mission is to promote a thriving economy, a well-prepared workforce and a high quality of life for Utahns. The Utah Thrives podcast looks at how Utah Foundation research is received and applied and how the topics we've studied are seen in the community.

Podcasts:

 Utah Thrives Podcast | Interview with Kathleen Riebe | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 16:03

The Utah Thrives podcast has invited candidates of the second Congressional District Special Election to speak with Utah Foundation board member Thomas Young. In these interviews, Thomas asks questions relating to the Utah Foundation’s Utah Priorities Project and how these candidates hope to address the issues most important to Utah voters. In this edition of Utah Thrives, Steven Everett joins Thomas to speak with Utah State Senator Kathleen Riebe. This podcast has been edited for … Continued

 Utah Thrives Podcast | Interview with Brad Green | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 16:03

The Utah Foundation has invited candidates of the second Congressional District Special Election to speak with Thomas Young. In these interviews, Thomas asks questions relating to the Utah Foundation’s Utah Priorities Project and how these candidates hope to address the issues most important to Utah voters. In this edition of Utah Thrives, Thomas Young speaks with the Libertarian nominee, Brad Green. This interview was edited for brevity.

 Utah Thrives Podcast | Interview with Celeste Maloy | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 11:10

The Utah Foundation has invited candidates of the second Congressional District Special Election to speak with Thomas Young. In these interviews, Thomas asks questions relating to the Utah Foundation’s Utah Priorities Project and how these candidates hope to address the issues most important to Utah voters. In this edition of Utah Thrives, Thomas Young speaks with the Republican nominee, Celeste Maloy.

 Utah Thrives Podcast | Interview with Becky Edwards | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 26:29

The Utah Foundation has invited each of the Republican primary candidates for Utah’s 2nd congressional district special election to speak with Thomas Young. In these interviews, Thomas asks six questions relating to how these candidates would address the issues most important to Utah voters. For instance, what could Congress do about housing prices? And what about healthcare costs and accessibility? In this edition of Utah Thrives, Thomas Young speaks with Becky Edwards who served as … Continued

 Utah Thrives Podcast | Utah Voter Priorities | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 24:12

In this edition of Utah Thrives, Thomas Young interviews Utah Foundation President Shawn Teigen about the results of the 2020 Priorities Project. They discuss past priorities and theorize about how voters’ priorities might change in the upcoming 2024 election season.

 Utah Thrives Podcast | Bonus Conversation with Dr. Steve Hanke | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 11:13

This bonus episode is an interview with Dr. Steve H Hanke. Dr. Hanke is a professor of applied economics and founder and co-director of the Institute for Applied Economics, Global Health, and the Study of Business Enterprise at the Johns Hopkins University. We reached out to Dr. Hanke to discuss the Hanke Misery index – an index of four factors that attempt to summarize the level of a country's misery based on economic conditions. You can learn more about the Utah Foundation's report on Utah’s Misery Index and how it compared to other states in our previous Utah Thrives episode. However, our talk with Dr. Hanke went beyond the index to hear about his fascinating career. The Utah Foundation is providing this segment as a bonus podcast. We hope you enjoy listening to him as much as we did.

 Utah Thrives Podcast | Utahns’ Misery | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 11:30

Utah Foundation staff discuss the findings of our Misery Index, released in December as part of the 2022 Quality of Life Series. We also hear from Representative — and economist — Robert Spendlove and Dr. Steve Hanke, the creator of the index we used. Just what is making Utahns miserable and how miserable are they? Listen to find out.

 Utah Thrives Podcast | Five Years and 50 Reports Later … | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 32:15

New Utah Foundation President Asks Old One What He Learned   In this edition of Utah Thrives, new Utah Foundation President Shawn Teigen sits down with departing President Peter Reichard to ask what Reichard learned about public policy in Utah since taking the helm during the summer of 2017.   

 Utah Thrives Podcast | Finding Space for New Development | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 10:55

In this edition of Utah Thrives, Utah Foundation Vice President Shawn Teigen and President Peter Reichard sit down to discuss the new report, Filling in the Blanks: How Utah Communities Can Deploy Infill Development to Advance Quality of Life.  

 Utah Thrives Podcast | Social Capital in Utah | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: Unknown

Social Capital: An Overview of the 2021-22 Series In July, the Utah Foundation released the eighth installment in its Utah Social Capital Series. The series examined roughly 30 metrics in seven topical areas. They included civic engagement, social trust, community life, family life, social cohesion, social mobility and the focus on the next generation. The Network of Relationship: Utah’s Social Capital Index is the final report in the series. It takes together the findings of the previous … Continued

 Significant Statistics | Utah’s Social Capital Index score stands at 94. What does that mean? | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 1:31

In July, the Utah Foundation released the eighth report in its Social Capital Series, summarizing the findings of the series and tallying the metrics we deployed. Across roughly 30 metrics in seven categories, Utah emerged with a strikingly high composite score of 94.     In 2021, Utah had the highest level of social capital in the nation, and has consistently been among the top states during the previous eight years. Following a decline, Utah's index number began rising after 2017.     The importance of social capital cannot be overstated. Low social capital levels often lead to poor economic and social outcomes, both for individuals and for populations. Policymakers seek to ameliorate these poor outcomes through endeavors that span educational efforts, public assistance programs and law enforcement interventions. As social capital declines, the challenges become more acute – and social scientists across the political spectrum affirm that social capital in the U.S. is in long-term decline. But in places where social capital is comparatively robust, it can translate into heightened economic prospects and lower demands on the public sector. Utah is just such a place.    Interestingly, neighboring Nevada, New Mexico and Arizona have some of the very lowest social capital in the nation. Were they to suddenly obtain Utah's levels of social capital, the impacts would be significant; they might see themselves as entering into a time of social flourishing. All of this is to say that Utahns should pay close attention to social capital, shoring up its strengths and addressing its weaknesses.   Get the full picture by visiting the Utah Social Capital Series project page here. You can listen to Utah Foundation President Peter Reichard discuss social capital in the Salt Lake Chamber's "Speaking on Business" segment below.    

 Utah Thrives Podcast | Improving Community Quality in Utah | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: Unknown

What's on Utah's Punch List to Improve Community Quality of Life? At the end of June, the Utah Foundation released The 2022 Utah Community Quality of Life Index: Is a Booming Economy Making Life Better? The report focuses on community quality of life – based on a survey where Utahns rate their communities on a series of 20 factors.  Since 2011, the Utah Foundation has measured community quality of life with the Index five times. In 2022, the Community Quality of Life Index stands at 64 out of a possible 100 points, making this year the clear low mark. In this edition of Utah Thrives, Utah Foundation President Peter Reichard, Vice-President/Research Director Shawn Teigen and Senior Analyst Christopher Collard discuss why this is happening and areas where policymakers might improve quality of life in Utah communities.

 Utah Thrives Podcast | Is Utah Losing Focus on its Children? | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 23:14

In this edition of Utah Thrives, Senior Analyst Christopher Collard and President Peter Reichard discuss the May 2022 Utah Foundation report, The Flowering of Youth: The Next Generation in Utah. The report is the sixth installment in the Utah Social Capital Series. The report revealed some surprising trends nationally, but also in a state that takes pride in its focus on youth. 

 Utah Thrives Podcast | Broadening Utah Students’ Horizons | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 18:01

Broadening Educational Horizons, Bridging Socio-Economic Gaps How can Utah inspire K-12 students to look beyond a high school diploma? When looking beyond high school, some Utah students face low expectations, a shortfall in post-secondary readiness, a lack of knowledge around post-secondary options and financial challenges. Our new report, Broadening Horizons: Clearing an Early Path to Post-Secondary Success, not only explores these challenges, but also seeks to reveal the network of supports that can help smooth the … Continued

 Utah Thrives Podcast | The Middle-Class and Social Cohesion | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 20:34

How does economic stratification look in Utah? Utah is unique among Western States on a key measure of social cohesion   In March, the Utah Foundation put out a new edition in our Utah Social Capital Series called The Soil of Common Ground: Social Cohesion in Utah. On maybe the most important metric, Utah came out on top nationally. On another, Utah stands alone in the Western states. In this edition of Utah Thrives, Utah Foundation Senior … Continued

Comments

Login or signup comment.