On Monday's Access Utah we discuss the recruitment of western peoples by ISIS, the extremist militant group terrorizing Iraq and Syria. The group, utilizing social media, has managed to lure thousands of young adults from the United States, Canada and Europe to join their efforts in the Middle East. On the program today we speak with Christianne Bourdreau, a Canadian mother whose works to prevent the ISIS' recruitment follows the death of her son, Damian Clairmont, who died in Syria after relocating and fighting for the Islamic State. Christian Bourdreau now works with the Mothers For Life network, which aims to build support for mothers who have experienced Jihadist radicalization. Joining us for the hour is also Dr. Anne Speckhard, Adjunct Associate Professor of Psychiatry in the School of Medicine and of Security Studies in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. Dr. Speckhard talks about the discourse and ideology of terrorism recruitment, which she details in her new book "Bride of ISIS."
Tom Williams worked as a part-time UPR announcer for a few years and joined Utah Public Radio full-time in 1996. He is a proud graduate of Uintah High School in Vernal and Utah State University (B. A. in Liberal Arts and Master of Business Administration.) He grew up in a family that regularly discussed everything from opera to religion to politics. He is interested in just about everything and loves to engage people in conversation, so you could say he has found the perfect job as host “Access Utah.” He and his wife Becky, live in Logan.