Can "The Utah Way" Fix a Broken America?

On this episode of "Deseret Voices," Utah Gov. Spencer Cox joins host McKay Coppins for a candid, wide-ranging conversation that touches on everything from national political polarization to the sudden intersection of rural Utah and artificial intelligence.

Despite writing a new book, leading to some speculation, Cox insists he isn't eyeing the White House — but he is looking to export Utah’s unique cultural framework to the rest of a fractured nation.

In this episode, Coppins and Cox discuss:

• The Danger of Contempt: Why Cox chose this specific word for his new book, “Off Ramp,” and why looking down on our political rivals is far more dangerous than simply disagreeing with them.

• The Future of the GOP: How the pendulum of political overreach keeps swinging and why the Republican party needs to pivot back toward commonsense middle America to achieve lasting success.

• The AI and Social Media Battle: Cox defends his dual approach of aggressively restricting social media algorithms to protect kids while simultaneously backing major AI infrastructure and data centers in Utah.

• The Gerrymandering Debate: A deep dive into Utah’s controversial redistricting process, the limits of gubernatorial power and whether the chess match of redrawing maps is actually what broke American democracy.

• The "Utah Way": What the rest of the United States can learn from Utah’s nation-leading statistics in volunteering, charitable giving and institutional social capital.

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