Utah Real Talk
By Charles Max Wood
Categories: News, News Commentary, Government, Politics
Big decisions get made in Utah every week, about your water, your land, your power bill and your tax dollars, and most of them get a few minutes of coverage before the news moves on. Utah Real Talk stays on the story. Each episode is a long-form conversation with the people who know the details: state officials, advocates, experts and the Utahns living with the consequences. We go through the documents, the numbers and the history, and we ask the questions that usually go unasked. Topics include data centers and MIDA, water rights and drought, energy and air quality, land use, local government, and the policy fights that will shape Utah for decades. No spin and no talking points. Just the full story, told out loud. Got a tip or a story Utah needs to hear? [email protected]
7 episodes indexed on PodSearch.
Recent episodes
- Utah's 2026 Ballot: Amendments A & B and the Justice Pohlman Retention Vote
In this solo episode, host Charles Max Wood walks through the three statewide items on Utah's November 3, 2026 ballot. He starts with how constitutional amendments get on the ballot and the history of Utah's initiative process, from its adoption in 1900 through the 2018 redistricting initiative…
- Election Integrity in Utah: Audits, Voter Rolls & Transparency with Marilyn Momeny
On this episode of Utah Real Talk, host Charles Max Wood talks with Marilyn Momeny. She worked in the Utah County Election Office during the 2022 election and has since followed election legislation in Utah. She explains how ballots are handled and counted, and gives her views on mail-in voting…
- Tina Cannon on MIDA, the Stratos Data Center & Who Oversees It
Host Charles Max Wood talks with Utah State Auditor Tina Cannon about what her office oversees and the more than $520 million in waste, fraud and abuse it has identified. The conversation centers on the Military Installation Development Authority (MIDA). Cannon traces it from the Falcon Hill…
- Mary Taylor of Pro-Life Utah on the Trigger Law and Supporting Mothers
Host Charles Max Wood talks with Mary Taylor, president of Pro-Life Utah, about the legal status of abortion in Utah and the group's work with pregnant women. Taylor tells her own story and explains how Pro-Life Utah started. She describes its women's support program, which offers life grants, two…
- How Utah Water Rights Work & The Stratos Data Center with Ernie John
In this episode, host Charles Max Wood talks with Ernie John, an American Fork city council member and North Utah County Water Coordinator, about how water gets from mountain snowpack to Utah homes and farms. They cover culinary and pressurized irrigation systems, aquifer recharge, priority dates…
- Inside the Stratos Data Center: MIDA, Water, Gas Power & Box Elder County
On this solo episode of Utah Real Talk, host Charles Max Wood explains why he started the show: to go deeper on Utah issues than short news segments can. He then works through the proposed Stratos data center in Box Elder County. He covers how the Military Installation Development Authority (MIDA)…
- What This Show Is & The Box Elder County Data Center Questions
In the first episode of the Utah Real Talk podcast, host Charles Max Wood introduces the show’s purpose and format: going beyond surface-level talking points on Utah issues by bringing in experts, asking hard questions without “gotcha” agendas, and helping listeners understand how local government…
PodSearch is a free, independent podcast search engine. Read about PodSearch, the privacy policy or contact us.