Molly Wampler

As the days get cold and temperatures dip below freezing, some people may be putting away their bikes for the winter. But before that, Boise State Public Radio's Wanna Know Idaho podcast wants to take you back to those summer bike rides, which are sometimes punctuated quite literally by a pesky foe known as the goathead.

Back in 2016, Wanna Know Idaho listener Marshall Simmonds was out on a summer bike ride with some friends on the Boise Greenbelt. Suddenly, a bike tire popped. Then, another. Soon, Marshall and his friends found themselves walking their bikes back home with 18 popped tires, thanks to a patch of goatheads, or puncture vine, that had made its way onto the trail. 

When the pandemic hit in March, businesses suffered. And all those people who were going to start new jobs or internships were suddenly left hanging. But Boise State’s College of Business and Economics saw an opportunity. They’re matching students with local nonprofits and small businesses for internships supported by some generous grant funding. 

Boise State History professor Bob Reinhardt saw a problem in his department. His students were learning valuable skills about how to collect and share histories, but had limited opportunities to use those skills out in the world until they graduated.  

In 2015, a Ted Talk by podcast host Roman Mars went viral. In the talk, Mars, whose podcast ‘99% Invisible’ looks for good and bad design elements all around us, tackled an issue he’s particularly passionate about: city flags.   

Boise’s Treefort Music Festival is postponed until September 2020. But while we wait, “Filmfort,” Treefort’s film festival, is hosting a mini fest this weekend. 

This interview originally aired Apr. 23, 2020.

The Boise Library’s Comic Arts Festival has become an annual tradition over the last eight years. But this year, like so many events, the summer event has been reformatted. 

Thirteen years ago, a new film festival tradition began in our own Sun Valley, Idaho. And since then, every year the ‘Family of Woman' film festival has highlighted inspiring films about women’s issues from all over the world. 

Idaho’s history is full of weird, surprising, or quirky stories. But many of them are stuck in the archives — until now. 

The annual Art in the Park event is Boise Art Museum’s single biggest fundraiser of the year. But this year, due to COVID-19, the arts market that usually happens in Julia Davis park, is moving online. 

We’re excited to share the most recent episode of Boise State Public Radio's Wanna Know Idaho podcast. The podcast explores the curious elements of life in Idaho… with you, our listeners!

This month, we answer listener Debra Smith's question: “Did Idaho have any housing discrimination laws during the Jim Crow era?”

Up until her retirement a few months ago, Debra Smith taught high school English in Meridian. Every year, she had her 11th graders read "A Raisin in the Sun" by Lorraine Hansberry.

This interview originally aired Apr. 7, 2020.

You don’t have to be sick or even know someone who is to feel the effects of the coronavirus. This virus has gone viral in other ways: scary news about chaotic financial markets, suspended sports events, closed schools and new infection numbers dominate the radio, TV and our conversations.

This interview originally aired Apr. 29, 2020.

The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted how we grieve and heal. Families are forced to stay apart to stay healthy and it is in this space where hospital chaplains have become intermediaries, providing messages of love, support and compassion during a time of physical distancing.

As we head into election season, it’s interesting to think about all the factors that affect a candidate’s electability. Yes, the presidential election is on everyone’s minds, especially during these weeks of the two party’s national conventions. But what about those local elections for members of congress? 

Back in 1966, a mining company had a plan to develop an open-pit mine in the North Cascade Mountains of Washington state. Endangering the Glacier Peak Wilderness Area, local and national conservationists got to work. 

Every year, thousands of people attend lectures and take classes at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Boise State University. But like everything else, the courses — which are open to folks who are at least fifty-years-old — moved online in March.