Valley 101 show

Valley 101

Summary: Whether you're a longtime Arizona resident or a newcomer, chances are there's something you've always wondered about the Valley. From The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com comes Valley 101, a weekly podcast where our journalists find answers to your questions about metro Phoenix and beyond. From silly to serious, you tell us what to investigate. You can submit questions at valley101.azcentral.com or reach us on social media @azcpodcasts. Producers of the show are Amanda Luberto and Kaely Monahan.

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  • Artist: The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com
  • Copyright: USA TODAY Network

Podcasts:

 Meet Kenny Dillingham, one of the youngest coaches in college football | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 1500

The Sun Devils, under the direction of then-coach Herm Edwards, had fallen behind in a crucial area for their future: high school recruiting. Smaller schools like Northern Illinois and Western Kentucky were finishing ahead of ASU in the recruiting rankings.  There were a number of reasons for this, most notably the NCAA investigation that ASU is still under for alleged recruiting violations that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic.  At the same time, school officials began searching for a new person to lead the program. A former ASU assistant and Phoenix native was waiting for this exact opportunity. Enter: Kenny Dillingham, the 33-year-old offensive coordinator from the University of Oregon who was hired to be the face of ASU football last November. This week on Valley 101, a podcast by the Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, we sat down with Coach Dillingham and talked about his journey to head coach of the ASU Sun Devils football team. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

 Is there a new theory in the Don Bolles case? | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 2234

Remote-controlled bombs consisting of 6 sticks of dynamite erupted underneath the drivers side of the car. The explosion was contained, but destructive. The lower half of his body was blown off, the driver’s door ripped open, and the reporter lay waiting for help. The story goes that he uttered three things while in the parking lot injured that day: “John Adamson” “Emprise” and “Mafia.” But stories are never that simple. Almost 50 years later, there is still a debate on why Don Bolles was murdered and who was to blame. Welcome to Valley 101, a podcast by the Arizona Republic and azcentral.com about metro Phoenix and beyond. I’m producer Amanda Luberto, and today I’m joined by our in-house Don Bolles expert Richard Ruelas to discuss why the case is still interesting to people and to discuss new hypotheses that have arisen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

 Examining the movie theatre industry in Arizona after the pandemic | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 1250

Movies used to be the dominating driving force in pop culture.  Hollywood was the center of entertainment. Actors, producers, directors: dreams being made. The Silver Screen was a fantasy come true for many. But over the past decade, things have changed. That domination lessened as new players entered the game. Streaming apps gained more and more popularity, becoming the go-to spot to see a film. Numbers have jumped this year, but are still lagging behind pre-COVID levels. The impact has the entire industry thinking about its future and how to move forward. For this week of Valley 101, a podcast by The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, we spoke with Arizona State University film and media professor Kevin Sandler to talk about the movie theatre industry, the current problems and we look ahead to the future.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

 Did the "Meg" swim in Arizona's prehistoric waters? | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 2212

Arizona has sharks. No, really. Around 300 million years ago, portions of the 48th state were covered in shallow seas. And prowling these primordial waters were some wild and bizarre sharks. A few might even rival the mighty megalodon. In this episode of Valley 101, we unearth which sharks called Arizona home, whether or not megalodon swam here, and what modern-day sharks you can see in the Valley. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

 Think you know Arizona? Think again and consider these 3 things you probably don't know about the Grand Canyon State | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 2547

Think you know Arizona? You might want to think again. The 48th state is filled with weird, unusual, and just downright quirky facts that even long-time residents might not know. We found three Arizona-only oddities that just might surprise you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

 Are monsoons good or bad? | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 1201

Summers in Arizona mean heat, triple-digit temperatures, and desperately trying to stay cool. But summers in Arizona also mean monsoons - big, bright thunderstorms returning rain to the desert.  During the summer monsoon season, Phoenix receives one-third of its annual rainfall, a necessary relief to help combat the drought that 83% of the state is experiencing, according to the National Weather Service.  While monsoons bring reprieve from the extreme heat and aid in the drought, they are sometimes responsible for power outages and extreme flooding.   Flooding in urban areas, such as Phoenix, often causes minor headaches such as traffic congestion on surface streets and highways. However, in parts of the state outside the Valley, floods can be dangerous, and occasionally deadly.  In this week's episode of Valley 101, a podcast from The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, we share the good and the bad of monsoon season in Arizona. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

 It might be too hot to fly planes: why? | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 865

This past Saturday, temperatures rose to 118 degrees, breaking a 25 year old record. Excessive heat warnings are planned throughout the week.  It’s that time of year when all your out of state friends ask, “Why do you live there again?” The answer is winters, but this week, they might have a point. It hasn’t been this hot for this long in almost 50 years. Arizona has now had 18 days in a row of temperatures over 110.  Tomorrow will break the record from 1974. And while we don’t deal with tornadoes, hurricanes or blizzards, our extreme heat does impact the flights in and out of Sky Harbor International Airport. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

 The Corbin Carroll Effect: Looking at the 2023 Arizona Diamondbacks' season | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 1568

It's no secret that the Arizona Diamondbacks have struggled a lot. But, right now, they are in first place in the National League West behind budding star outfielder Corbin Carroll. Valley 101 talks baseball. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

 The farmers behind Chris Bianco's famous pizza | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 2017

Anyone who knows pizza or even knows Arizona cuisine knows Chris Bianco. Bianco skyrocketed to fame when his pizza became world-renowned, making Phoenix an unexpected go-to destination for foodies worldwide. Back in 2003, he was the first pizza maker ever to win the James Beard Award for Best Chef Southwest. Bianco is often referred to as the father of the modern pizza movement. Twenty years later, he’s still winning awards. As recently as last year, Bianco collected a James Beard Award for Best Restaurateur. But what makes his pizzas so good?  For this week's episode of Valley 101, a podcast by The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, we traveled the state visiting the farmers who work with Chris Bianco and discovered just how rich Arizona’s agricultural industry is.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

 The good and the bad of Ozempic and other semaglutide drugs | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 1792

Doctors’ offices and medical spas in Arizona are getting flooded with requests for prescriptions for new drugs. They originally were approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat Type 2 diabetes, but their success in helping people lose weight is what's making them a near-household name. As patients are reporting promising results, word is getting around. It’s almost impossible to avoid hearing about Ozempic, Wegovy and their active ingredient, semaglutide, in the news or on social media. But are these new so-called miracle drugs too good to be true? Who are they really for, and how can people get them? This week on The Lab at azcentral, in conjunction with Valley 101, we look into how the drugs work and the reality of how they make people feel. We spoke with doctors, patients and others to find out why the drugs are different from other weight-loss interventions and why the medications have become divisive, both culturally and socioeconomically. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

 Hot news: How Arizona ended up supplying most of the nation's chili pepper seeds | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 1960

Spicy: it's the flavor you see everywhere. Just take a look at your local convenience store. Spicy chips, spicy chicken sandwiches, spicy noodles. There's even a movie now about Flamin' Hot Cheetos. It's also culture-defining. What would Mexican, Thai or Indian food be without chili kicking up the heat? But before that spicy seasoning can be sprinkled onto your favorite foods, it starts in the ground as a chili pepper seed. One of the people producing those seeds is Ed Curry, who operates the Curry Seed and Chile Co. in Pearce, Arizona. Curry has been working on the genetics of peppers for almost his whole life. In the farming industry, most of the peppers grown commercially in the United States can be traced back to his farm. But how did chili peppers get to Arizona in the first place? And why are Arizona's chilis making such a huge impact nationwide? In this episode of Valley 101, in conjunction with The Lab, we find out these answers and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

 How many saguaro cactuses grow in the Valley? | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 2524

The saguaro cactus is perhaps the most iconic symbol of our state. You can find it everywhere from coffee cups to murals to tattoos. People love saguaros but we know surprisingly little about them. The Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix and other researchers are trying to fix that. The first step is to count as many of the saguaros growing in the Valley as possible. "Naively, we call this the Saguaro Census because we thought we were going to be capable of counting every single saguaro in the city. We clearly overestimated our capabilities because the Phoenix Valley is huge," Tania Hernandez says. She works as a research scientist at the Desert Botanical Gardens. For help with this task, the Gardens are turning to the public for help. In this episode of Valley 101, in conjunction with The Lab, we're exploring two questions: why does the saguaro cactus only grow in the Sonoran Desert? And how many are there? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

 The Lab on Valley 101: What is genetic testing? | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 889

Our DNA can help tell a story about our past, present, and future through genetic testing, and that testing is becoming much more common. Solio Felix came into the emergency room last June with what he thought was heat stroke or a heart attack. This is when a nurse told him that he'd be a perfect candidate for a genetic testing study. He and his wife have no family history of cardiovascular disease, but this doesn't mean that they aren't at risk or that they didn't pass something along to their teenage daughter. Through genetic testing done in Arizona, they were able to find out their risk level and prepare for the future. But what is genetic testing, and how is it improving doctors' advice and treatment plans? This episode marks the start of the second season of our podcast The Lab at azcentral, being hosted on Valley 101, where we dive into science stories that affect everyday life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

 5 of the best places to beat the Arizona heat this summer | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 1827

Valley 101 surveyed the best places in Phoenix to keep cool this summer. From Lake Pleasant to the Salt River, Sunsplash to Hurricane Harbor, hosts Kaely Monahan and Amanda Luberto hash out their top picks for spots to beat the heat. Plus they explore pools of the past and the new water attractions coming to Phoenix. We're getting wet and wild in this episode! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

 Arizona got a lot of rain and snow. Was it enough to ease the drought? | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 1137

In the winter of 2022 and early spring of 2023, Arizona got a lot of rain. We had the rainiest January and March in years. In addition, 2022-23 brought record snowfall for Flagstaff. As the days heat up and that snow melts, the runoff is making its way into the state's reservoirs. Did all of this rain and snow make a difference, or was it just a drop in the bucket for the state’s 29-year-long drought? In this week's episode of Valley 101, a podcast by The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, we talk with weather experts about the state’s rainfall, where that precipitation goes and how it will affect the state's future. Follow Valley 101 and all azcentral podcasts on Twitter and on Instagram. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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