My Minute of News with Jeff Caplan
540 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 1 month ago - ★★★★★ - 26 ratingsKSL Newsradio's Jeff Caplan offers his own unique spin on the fun, quirky things that happen alongside the news.
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Episodes
The Pet Food Shortage
February 04, 2022 01:27 - 1 minute - 837 KBIf you have a dog or cat, you already know about the pet food shortage. Humans have been scrambling for crunchies or kibble - or whatever you call it. And if Fluffy McFluffface a picky eater and will only accept one brand of pet food, it’s a nightmare. Rushing to Walmart when a new shipment comes in, scouring the online sites, constantly gauging how many days of Fido’s choice you have left before the pantry runs dry. It’s stressful. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Extreme Ironing
January 29, 2022 01:37 - 1 minute - 909 KBJeff used to think the most ridiculous sport in the world was Speed Skydiving. Here’s how it works: You take an airplane ride to 13-thousand feet, put on your helmet, jump out of the plane and plunge headfirst. Hands at your sides you plummet faster and faster as you try to break the record of 318 miles an hour. You maintain perfect body control, turning yourself into an arrow shooting downward. When you max out your speed you gently curve your body to slow down. Gently because otherwise yo...
Olympic Sized Fake-out
January 27, 2022 01:29 - 1 minute - 796 KBIt’s going to look like the Winter Olympics. Sorta the way they’re remembered here in Utah. Not quite the same though. Same song and everything, but watch closely. Because there’s a lot you’re not supposed to see in Beijing. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Forgotten Moms of the Pandemic
January 25, 2022 01:44 - 1 minute - 923 KBIt was a throwback Thursday nobody wanted. Late last week thousands of Utah kids were back in remote learning. Once again putting pressure on parents deal with a new pandemic development, and it’s been driving people nuts. Especially the moms, who have to worry about succumbing to the virus, nurturing the sick, working or working from home keeping after the kids, who never left the house last week. It never ends. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
How does a country get cut off from mankind?
January 25, 2022 01:43 - 1 minute - 889 KBMaybe for a week, maybe just a weekend, we all fantasize about getting off the grid. But in Tonga everybody’s off the grid, and it's a nightmare. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
MMON Inauguration Anniv A
January 21, 2022 00:59 - 2 minutes - 969 KBThis is what Jeff remembers most from a year ago today. And he kids you not, it’s a message from a listener on the KSL Text line. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Woman Who Almost Suited-up for the Jazz
January 20, 2022 01:39 - 2 minutes - 965 KBLucy Harris was an amazing woman… and if things worked out a little differently she coulda been the first woman … to play for the Utah Jazz. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
They don't speak English in England
January 20, 2022 01:36 - 1 minute - 767 KBWe’ve talked about the British Prime Minister… and the scandal that may cost him his job. From this we learn once again the lying is the easiest way for a politician to get in trouble. And we also learn that they speak a different language in England. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
How to write a hit song
January 19, 2022 19:06 - 1 minute - 869 KBWhen Jeff listens to popular song he's fascinated how the most gifted songwriters suddenly get a glimmer of inspiration that quickly turns into a sparkle of genius. Every so often lightning strikes, and we get a song that resonates for generations. The latest song? It's from a Disney Movie - Encanto. There’s a character named Bruno in the movie. Bruno can predict the future and tell you all the bad things that are gonna happen to you. So they explained this to Lin Manuel Miranda, and he imm...
Tom Brady Helped Me Beat Brain Cancer
January 19, 2022 02:01 - 1 minute - 788 KBFor 10 year old Noah Reeb, 2022 is starting off way better than 2021. The Highland child went through 6 months of radiation and treatment at Primary Children’s Hospital last year. This year he got tickets to the Super Bowl from Tom Brady. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Shawn Bradley, after the crash
January 15, 2022 00:14 - 1 minute - 905 KBHe was the tallest player ever to wear a BYU basketball uniform. In his playing day, they called him the Stormin' Mormon. Bradley’s outstretched arms and shot blocks earned him 70-million dollars over his career in the NBA. But then came the bike crash in St George. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Can we stop talking for a minute?
January 14, 2022 01:39 - 1 minute - 727 KBWe have the legislature considering whether to put the kibosh on "test to stay.” Remote learning is popping up in at least a few places. Teachers are out sick. The school lunch lady in the cafeteria just got a positive test. Parents are organizing in favor of masks. They’re against masks. We’re hearing about tyranny… community… personal responsibility. County councils have catfights. We’re swamping the hospitals. But its just an Omicold! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
WE NEED Question Time!
January 12, 2022 22:43 - 1 minute - 934 KBUsually when we follow dysfunction in England, we focus on the Queen and her sloppy family problems - mostly because it teaches us that even the wealthiest, most privileged people on this earth have their own messy problems, just like us. But today, let’s focus on the drama swirling around British Prime Minister Boris Johnson - a rumpled populist with tussled hair, who seems to have a problem - he’s a hypocrite. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Omicron LeBrons
January 12, 2022 22:42 - 1 minute - 823 KBThe NBA sells NFT’s. Digital files of highlights on the courts. Most people don’t understand what an NFT really is … Jeff could tell you its unique blockchain digital asset, and regurgitate all the technical jargon, but Jeff has no clue what an NFT is. What he does know is that at the same the NBA is leaping into the digital future, they’re also rooted deep in the past, keeping precious videotape of great moments, locked in an actual nuclear bunker. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy ...
Paradise in the Desert?
January 12, 2022 01:54 - 1 minute - 876 KBYou’ve have never been to Telosa, Utah. Because you’d have to hop on I-15 and take an off-ramp to the future. Telosa has yet to be built. It’s still a fantasy being dreamed-up by tech billionaire Marc Lore. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Nyquil Chicken!
January 12, 2022 01:54 - 1 minute - 818 KBThey say chicken soup is food for the soul. But apparently chicken breasts cure the common cold. At least that’s what a lot of people think when they prepare the latest culinary delight in the kitchen. I kid you not. Chicken breast braised in NyQuil. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Texting with your tongue
January 08, 2022 01:00 - 1 minute - 658 KBMaybe you do this. You’re reading something on the phone, and somebody -say your spouse- starts talking to you. And she says “the dishwasher is acting up again. I’m gonna call the repair guy.” You're completely absorbed by your phone. All you heard you heard was "bhalh zah dish womp womp” As you continue reading you respond “uh uh .. okay,” and you never heard a word. It’s worse when you try to talk to your kids. They’re busy speed texting, and makin’ duck lips and completely ignoring yo...
Cars that Change Color
January 07, 2022 00:30 - 1 minute - 777 KBWhen you buy a car… many a couple has reached the point of breakdown over a simple decision. What color? The other day BMW put the discussion about color to rest. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Capitol feels different after January 6
January 06, 2022 19:46 - 1 minute - 897 KBA year after the attack on the US Capitol, Jeff Caplan reflects on his own visit to the Capitol building back in July -- and the "new normal" that emerged from that day. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Things we stuck up our noses last year
January 05, 2022 21:24 - 1 minute - 860 KBHave you ever shoved anything up your nose? I’m not talking about nose drops or tissues - I’m asking like - if you ever stuck something like chopsticks up your nose? Jim Carrey Style. I ask because each year the US Consumer Product Safety Comission compiles a list of the items pulled out of peoples’ noses, in emergency rooms. And in a year we were warned non-stop to mask-up, hide our faces, and avoid putting our own fingers in our nostrils, let’s just say some people got inventive because t...
Our First Good News Story of 2022!
January 04, 2022 01:33 - 2 minutes - 986 KBRed Hamilton is low on the hockey totem poll. He’s the assistant equipment manager for the Vancouver Canucks. He sits on the bench at games, and makes sure everybody has a stick. A few weeks ago, some crazy lady started banging on the glass behind the bench… See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Candwich!
December 17, 2021 01:41 - 2 minutes - 984 KBThis is the story of one man and a dream. For a dozen years, Utah inventor Mark Kirkland has been trying to sell a product called the Candwich. Back in 2010 Steven Colbert explained what a Candwich is. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Astronaut wings, sans music
December 14, 2021 01:45 - 1 minute - 823 KBBack in the day, any time any American went into space, they’d get their wings. Astronaut wings - little godlen pin that signified they’d flown more than 50 miles up, and came 50 miles down. But no more. Last week… the FAA announced they’re retiring the practice. And guess who’s among the last humans to be awarded their wings? Jeff Bezos. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Astronaut Wings
December 14, 2021 01:20 - 1 minute - 823 KBBack in the day, any time any American went into space, they’d get their wings. Astronaut wings - little godlen pin that signified they’d flown more than 50 miles up, and came 50 miles down. But no more. Last week… the FAA announced they’re retiring the practice. And guess who’s among the last humans to be awarded their wings? Jeff Bezos. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Name the Snowplow
December 09, 2021 19:34 - 1 minute - 690 KBWhile we wait for snow blanket the region… ushering in the Christmastime season The men with their snowplows are gassed up to go But what do we call the trucks pushing snow? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Is the Apple Sticker Edible?
November 18, 2021 00:38 - 1 minute - 795 KBYesterday Jeff grabbed an apple… and in one practiced motion… he put it in his palm while pulling the hand toward my already opening mouth…. and as he braced for that first delightful chomp…. he froze. The fruit sticker was in Jeff's target zone. He stared at the sticker. It stared back. And the fruit devil on his left shoulder said “Eat It. Eat the Sticker.” The fruit angel on my right said “peel it off Jeff” And it got him wondering ... is it ok to eat the sticker? See omnystudio...
The Metaverse is a giant helping of Word Salad
November 17, 2021 01:22 - 1 minute - 840 KBJeff's spent the past two weeks… no kidding… trying to find out what the metaverse is? He's been reading. He's been watching youtube… and he doesn’t get it. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
When the Polar Bears are Gone
November 05, 2021 23:50 - 1 minute - 911 KBChurchill Canada bills itself as the Polar Bear Capitol of the World. Perched at the Northern tip of Manitoba… and pressed up against the Arctic Circle… the people of Churchill are pondering a problem. With not a single road leading back to the rest of the world… they depend on wealthy tourists to come see the bears… and leave their bucks behind. Tundra Buggies take them out on tours … --- Churchill is the place that polar bears wait for the ice to harden …. and as winter takes hold t...
Election Day: Never Again
November 03, 2021 17:46 - 1 minute - 822 KBElection Day… and the only people who are gonna drop-off their ballots today are the same ones who do their Christmas shopping December 23rd. Voting by mail makes it so easy. But we need a changeYou sit home … you go to each candidates facebook page and discover they’re all in favor of family values and the American way of life…. they’re against higher taxes… so you just pick the one with a name you’ve heard before… seal it up… and send it off. At some point you’ll find out who won. Or ...
Oxford Word of the Year 2021
November 03, 2021 17:45 - 1 minute - 817 KBThere are two English Language dictionaries. There’s Merriam Webster… And there’s the other one that you sniff before you say the name. That would be the (sniff) Oxford Dictionary. It was created in England in the 1850’s… by Justin Quincy Bieber .. actually the great great grand fa… no I’m just messing with you. It was created at Oxford University and ever since they’ve been naming a word of the year. You probably heard the word of the year for 2021… is vax. It was barely used before...
The Big Spanx Giveaway
October 26, 2021 22:50 - 1 minute - 883 KBWe’ve seen this countless times. The founder sells his company to an investment firm. Next thing a bunch of beancounters in expensive suits show up… and they start laying people off. To “tighten up the balance sheet.” But not at Sarah Blakely’s company. 20-years ago she invented panty hose without the feet. Nobody thought of it. So she started Spanx. And her idea was noticed by Oprah. Oprah Raved… And the rest is history. With an emphasis on female empowerment… Spanx grew and grew...
Thanksgiving Prices
October 26, 2021 22:50 - 1 minute - 770 KBYou’ve been hearing about supply chain problems for Christmas… but before we get there I’m a little worried that thanksgiving dinner might be a squeeze of ketchup … a glass of water… and a cup of baking soda from the back of the fridge. It is looking bleak at the grocery store. The New York Times reports that people all over the country are scouring the supermarkets for favorite ingredients out of fear we’ll see last-minute shortages. So far there’s no sign of shortages but the stuff yo...
Vikings Arrival
October 22, 2021 00:14 - 1 minute - 821 KBAnybody who’s been through 4th grade can figure this out. In the summer of 21 a neighborhood of new houses went up. Wood frames with contoured landscaping that allowed grass grow its way up a slope to the roof. These homes were furnished with custom Swedish furniture. They had working fireplaces. But what they did not have… was realtors prowling the neighborhood looking for folks who might want to flip they’re just built homes. This neighborhood consisteing f 8 houses finished in th...
The Squid Game - Watch in Korean!
October 19, 2021 21:40 - 1 minute - 820 KBMy wife & I are now watching the squid game. It’s horrific and violent …and all you need to know is that each episode ends with a body count. But it’s the most popular show in Netflix history… and my job requires me to stay on the cutting edge of popular culture. So I watched the first five episodes. Fair warning the show is in Korean… and the English dubbing doesn’t quite match the mouths and it’s distracting. Even worse- the American voice actors who performed the dubbing are about as ...
Customer Service: CHILL!
October 19, 2021 17:38 - 1 minute - 857 KBA few of the sit down restaurants I’ve been to aren’t the same anymore. The food isn’t quite as awesome. Service is a little slower. And during that endless wait for the appetizers… 5 minutes. 10 minutes. And tthere’s a little devil on my shoulder demanding that I say something. Uh … Excuse me. Excuse me. But the angel on the other shoulder says I have to calm down and be an adult. The restaurant does not care that I’m wrestling with my demons. They’re sick and tired of stressed o...
The Mediocre Salt Lake
October 13, 2021 15:45 - 1 minute - 818 KBCan we still call it the Great Salt Lake? If you've been out to water's edge you know the Salt Lake isn't close to what it used to be, and it's our fault. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
China's Flex
October 05, 2021 23:31 - 1 minute - 895 KBHave you been following events in China? They just celebrated their 4th of July… and part of the celebration was flying jets into Taiwan’s airspace. They violated the territory of their sworn enemy. 38 military jets on Saturday. 39 on Sunday. More than 50 of them yesterday. China chuckles that this was .. heh heh. like a military parade. People in Capitalist Taiwan. Our friends. Our trading partners…. grin and bear these ever escalating tweaks… all the time. But consider this. ...
Men in College
September 24, 2021 22:51 - 1 minute - 674 KBAt the rate this is going… I wonder if Kyle Whittingham is gonna be able to field a football team . I mean… a MEN’S football team. Because fewer and fewer young men are choosing college. If you go to the average campus this fall… you’ll find the student body is 40 percent male. 60 percent female The numbers have been creeping this wayr years… and the Wall St Journal reports the gap is growing ever wider. One college enrollment counsultant tells the Journal this gender disparity is ...
Life Imitates Art. Or is it the other way around?
September 20, 2021 21:40 - 1 minute - 844 KBIn Paris… the French are gawking at the Arc de Triumph. A massive stone war memorial in the heart of paris…that’s been completely covered with silver cloth. It’s a massive art project that will draw millions of people to stare over the next two weeks. Meantime in California… they’re wrapping another monument. A living monument. This project is anything but art. National Parks workers wrapped the base of The General Sherman Tree. the mightest of the Giant Sequoias… it’s 2500 years old....
Never Forget
September 14, 2021 23:34 - 1 minute - 945 KBAfter tragic moments in American history… we’ve always been asked to remember what happened. In the 1800’s the battle cry was Remember the Alamo! In the 1900’s… Remember Pearl Harbor. But we don’t say Remember 9/11. We say Never Forget. And there’s a difference. Remember the Alamo… almost sounds like a request. Through the lens of time we hear “Remember Pearl Harbor” and as the greatest generation fades away it seems less like a battle cry, and more like a plea that a dark moment and...
Woolly Mammoths. What could go wrong?
September 14, 2021 23:26 - 1 minute - 790 KBThe Jurassic Park movies. Do they end with dinosaurs giving little kids horsey rides. No. They do not. Every one of those movies features, razor sharp claw marks etched in blood, giant jaws ripping apart human torsos, and airborne pterodactyl assaults. And now a brand new genetics company - planning to use its test tubes to stir-up a massive prehistoric creature extinct for 800,000 years. What could go wrong? The company is Colossal and their goal is to reanimate the Woolly Mamouth....
The University of Utah got this cool prize
September 14, 2021 23:24 - 1 minute - 899 KBSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Fear of Flying
September 10, 2021 21:40 - 1 minute - 754 KBYou might remember that flying… used to be fun. ——Sh— Classic moment from the movie Airplane… a comedy from 1980 that couldn’t be made today. Because of September 11th. If you flew on September 10th, 2001… your family walk with you to the gate to say goodbye. Nobody checked nuthin. The plane had a flimsy cockpit door with a lock as secure as the one on your bedroom door. Do you remember this… sometimes… they’d fly with the door open. And you’d see scenes like this. Ahhhh the s...
Words you can't say Anymore: Yahoo
September 08, 2021 21:40 - 1 minute - 832 KBThe English language is constantly changing…and I try to roll with it. The word yahoo once described a race of brutish creatures in Gulliver’s Travels. Then it was used to describe crass and stupid people “what a bunch of yahoos” Now… it’s a website. It’s email. And for that matter… google only became a word within the last 20 years. So I try to keep up… but when it comes to words that used to be good… and now they’re bad.. it’s a little harder to break habits. This summer I understoo...
Facial Recognition
August 19, 2021 23:28 - 1 minute - 728 KBwarned ya two years ago… they’re tracking your every move. — CUT —— See? That was 2019. And two years later… retailers have upped their game bigtime.. with facial recognition. You stop by Macy’s and they record your face in a database. Next time you visit they not only pinpoint where you are… but they can recognize you. Not by name. They say they don’t attach personal information to the faces on file. But if you have the store’s app… they already know “oh… nancy’s here!” Cuz ...
Air Force Heroics in Kabul Crowded Flight
August 18, 2021 00:06 - 1 minute - 721 KBChances are you’ve been on a crowded flight. No space in the overhead bin… crying babies. Bathroom lines. Friends …these are first world problems. Because the world has just seen what a crowded flight really looks like. There’s a picture making the rounds of the interior of a giant C-17 cargo jet taking off from Kabul on Sunday. You look at this picture and you can’t believe it. The cargo hold is teeming with humanity. Hundreds and hundreds of Afghan refugees crammed into this airborne ...
Your Metabolism Ain't Slowing
August 13, 2021 21:40 - 1 minute - 816 KBI’m gonna talk about medical science. Now exhale… this has nothing to do with Covid. A new study just published shows that everything we thought about our metabolism… is wrong. This comes from a paper published in journal Science yesterday…. and experts are calling it a pivotal study that turns our knowledge of metabolism upside-down. 6500 people were studied. They were everywhere from 8 days to 95 years old. Men … women… And it’s expensive to measure people’s metabolism. It involv...
Rent Anything
August 03, 2021 23:50 - 1 minute - 895 KBI think this all started with AirBnB. The idea you can rent-out something you own but aren’t using all the time. Why not make a few bucks. And the idea spread to cars… and now … swimming pools. You have a backyard pool… it’s August you don’t use it as much as you did in june…. so rent it out… with an online service called Swimply. That’s basically AirBnB for swimming pools. The price ranges from $30 to $45 dollars an hour. The company plans to branch out into hot tubs… private baske...
Girl Scott Cookie Surplus!
June 15, 2021 22:28 - 1 minute - 660 KBFirst you pierce the think layer of chocolate with your teeth… and your upper palette tingles from the mint. Then comes the satisfying crunch of the wafer inside. There’s nothing like a Thin Mint from the Girl Scouts. It’s a huge business… but a little less huge during the pandemic… because the normal channels used to peddle the cookies were closed off. You couldn’t set up a booth. You couldn’t send mom and dad to work with a sign up sheet … because… everybody was home. So sales were ...
Lake Chaugagogmanchahgagaggchaubunagungamaug
June 04, 2021 22:52 - 1 minute - 821 KBEver been to Lake Chaugagogmanchahgagaggchaubunagungagaug? The longest town name in America. And making matters more complicated… it’s in the state with the longest name… so if you’re looking for the lovely lake on the google… type in Chaugagogmanchahgagaggchaubunagungamaug, Massachessets. Out of necessity… the town’s Welcome sign is 16 feet long. The name is a native american term for the boundary between the English and the local Indian Tribe. 49 letters … that town name. The lette...