Caroline Ballard
All Things Considered HostCaroline Ballard is a central Virginia native and a graduate of the Columbia Journalism School. Ever since 2014 – to her delight and the dismay of her East Coast family and friends – she has steadily moved further west. For five years she served as Morning Edition host at Wyoming Public Radio, as well as its newsroom editor and host of the podcast HumaNature. She earned two PRNDI (Public Radio News Directors Inc.) awards for Best Podcast for her work as lead producer on episodes of the show. In 2016, her reporting project Women Run the West, which examined the representation of women in western politics, was selected to be a part of the first NPR Story Lab. Caroline became KUER’s All Things Considered host in August 2019. When she’s not behind the mic, you can find her spending time with her husband and her rescue pup Scrappy, and cooking recipes that are far too complicated for her skill level.
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Being engaged with local politics doesn’t just mean running for office or organizing rallies. It can also look like voting, volunteering with advocacy groups, meeting with lawmakers or just doing research. KUER politics reporter and State Street co-host Sonja Hutson shares some useful tips on navigating the process. -
Between a lack of support and few role models, women and people of color can have a hard time running for office. KUER politics reporter and State Street co-host Emily Means discusses barriers to running for office and how people have faced them.
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From its break-neck speed (45 days!) to its Republican-heavy makeup, understanding Utah’s legislative session can seem a little overwhelming. KUER politics reporter and State Street co-host Sonja Hutson helps unpack how the state’s legislature operates.
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About a quarter of Utah’s population is made up of racial and ethnic minorities. But a new investigation by the Salt Lake Tribune and Frontline PBS found that a third of the people Utah police shoot at are minorities.
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Utah politicians like to talk about something called the “Utah way." It’s the idea that politics in the state have an emphasis on being nice, civil and open to compromise. But who gets a seat at the table and who’s left knocking at the door depends on who you are and what you’re asking for.
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Pamela McCall is KUER's Morning Edition host. But 20 years ago, she was working in New York City for CBS News Radio. She covered the 9/11 terrorist attacks live in lower Manhattan for that news outlet.
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The work “Lost Freedom: Japanese American Confinement in America” brings together the music of Kenji Bunch and the narration of actor George Takei, who spent his childhood in internment camps during World War II. With hate crimes against those of Asian descent making headlines, Bunch calls art and music “our last best hope for coming together.”
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Egyptologist Cynthia May Sheikholeslami has spent much of her career studying burial equipment in ancient Egypt. The painted stela of Kharu-Sheri is beautifully preserved and reveals more about the profession of doorkeepers than meets the eye. It is currently on exhibit at the Natural History Museum of Utah.
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Around 30 athletes at this summer’s Olympics had ties to Utah. Reporter Shara Park was part of the KSL team following their journey in Tokyo. She said she’ll mostly remember the empty seats and generosity of the Japanese people.
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For kids obsessed with princesses, being deeply engaged with those stories can have long-term effects. A new study from BYU researcher Sarah Coyne followed a group of kids for years, and found that those who loved “princess culture” had more positive body image and more equal views of men and women as they approached adolescence.
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Presidential and Congressional elections are a big draw for voters. This year is an “off-cycle” election, though, when municipalities across Utah will hold local elections. New research from Brigham Young University finds that can result in outsized influence of special interest groups.
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In 2019, Michael Chad Breinholt was shot by a West Valley City police officer while in custody at the station. A new investigation by The Salt Lake Tribune and PBS Frontline found that it wasn’t Sgt. Tyler Longman’s first fatal shooting, and that he’s not the only Utah officer who has been involved in multiple shootings.
