How it all Started
Knowledge in a Nutshell hosted by Sheri Quinn was the first community science radio show in Utah. It launched in 1999.
Quinn edited the first show on big tape reels inside a rickety makeshift studio the size of a phone booth (when they still existed) at KRCL. The inaugural show was a University of Utah talk by author and anthropologist Sarah Hardy, about her book Mother Nature, recorded on cassette tape. Luckily, digital editing arrived just in time for the rest of the shows.
Rocket science, genetics, evolutionary biology, famous physicists at parties, monk life in the Utah mountains, were popular topics.
A few years down the road, Sheri met Suzi on Radio West. Sheri was producing the show and Suzi was a guest. They ended up pairing up to design and deliver a radio documentary course at City Academy Charter School.
In 2006, they launched an independent science radio show harkening back to the work Sheri started in 1999. They've been going ever since.
Who we are
Sheri Quinn Gibbs is a journalist in the public radio arena and is the founder of the statewide science radio show SQ Radio, and KIAN (the first science show on community radio in Salt Lake City). Her reporting has taken her across the United States and to the deep jungle of Paraguay, where she learned to appreciate eating bugs and living off the grid.
After a stint as a Reporter and News Director on the Lost Coast in rural redwood country, Mrs. Gibbs is back in SLC. After teaching youth storytelling through the medium of podcasting, and working on a book about rocketry, she took a position as Utah Public Radio as News Director. She is also moonlighting with the STEM Center on a series that features Temple Grandin. Salt Lakers often spot her frequenting cafes and trails with her Great Pyrenees.
Suzanne Montgomery is a noted media arts educator in Utah. She founded the youth podcast program SQuid. She has developed curriculum for numerous educational institutions and facilities including the University of Utah, Brigham Young University, Spy Hop, Higher Ground Learning, where she was director for many years, and multiple K-12 schools. She mentors teachers and youth in the film making and podcasting.
She is currently developing video and curriculum around Utah thought leaders for West Valley Arts; working for the University of Utah as a Training and Development Specialist; and producing shows with SQ Radio.
She has a beloved beagle named Pyle that she rescued while SQ was on an assignment in West Virginia, documenting the impacts of fracking on the communities and families.