Samantha Wright
Idaho Matters Senior ProducerExpertise: Reporting, producing, writing, editing, hosting, interviewing, board operating
Education: Boise State University + interviewing every expert and reading every book I can find to constantly keep learning
Highlights
- I got to chase Martian Dust Devils in the Oregon desert
- I wisely skipped breakfast the day I flew in a Red Baron Squadron Stearman stunt biplane
- My tombstone will probably read “Brought the Parachuting Beavers story to Idaho”
- I rode in the belly of an M1 Abrams Tank across the Idaho desert
Experience
As Senior Producer of our live daily talk show Idaho Matters, I’m able to indulge my love of storytelling and share all kinds of information (I was probably a Town Crier in a past life). My career has allowed me to learn something new everyday and to share that knowledge with all my friends on the radio. I am so grateful to have been honored by my peers with Edward R. Murrow Awards for my stories including wheelchair rugby, blind bird watching, making pies for Lent, learning to can food during a recession, and walking through a living nativity.
I love playing with audio and had great fun putting together my Canning Makes a Comeback story which won Best Use of Sound from the Public Media Journalists Association (PMJA). I love interviewing fascinating people from Idaho musician Rosalie Sorrels to best-selling author Sharon Kay Penman. I also sat down with three of the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders and several of the surviving Tuskegee Airmen. I hosted “Folk Trails” on KBSU for several years and got paid to play celtic, bluegrass and folk music while chatting with everyone from “Artis the Spoonman” to singer Christine Lavin.
I’ve followed guide dog trainers for Voice of America, reported on how road noise affects Boise’s Foothills for New Yorker Magazine, gathered sound for This American Life, trekked to Stanley, Idaho for NPR for the 50th Anniversary of the Wilderness Act, and reported for the New York Times and National Native News. I loved producing stories for the Idaho Storycorps Project each time it came to Boise and had great fun hosting the Legislative Breakdown podcast for several sessions of the Idaho Legislature.
My goal is to find out what’s on the mind of our listeners and to Never Be Boring!
Email: If you have a suggestion for an Idaho Matters segment, please email idahomatters@boisestate.edu.
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How can AI help seniors with their mental health? And as you age, why do your sleep patterns change? -
The Shoshone-Paiute Tribes sign a deal with the owner of a proposed Owyhee County mine. -
It’s Friday, which means it's time for our Reporter Roundtable when Idaho Matters gets you up to date on all the news that made headlines this past week. -
Collecting beer cans is a worldwide hobby and we look at a huge collection tucked away in an Idaho garage. -
Hundreds of people may have been exposed to rabies in Wyoming, Eli Lilly has a new GLP-1 pill to help people lose weight and doctors may become dependent on AI. -
A nonprofit group of actors is popping up in unusual places, like parks and breweries to provide more intimate and affordable ways to experience classic plays. -
Last Friday Gov. Brad Little announced the Gem State has to cut its budget by 3% to deal with falling revenue. -
If you’re interested in hiking or how a changing climate is impacting our public lands or even finding ways to deal with grief, we’ve got a podcast for you. -
Horses are ridden in Nez Perce ceremonial gatherings and parades, where participants dress in traditional regalia, and their horses do too. -
It’s Friday, which means it's time for our Reporter Roundtable when Idaho Matters gets you up to date on all the news that made headlines this past week.
