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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For 65 years, the Ada County Medical Society has been recognizing doctors and medical professionals for their service and contribution to the community. Now, ACMS is diversifying that acknowledgment with a brand new award. -
More adults are getting diagnosed with ADHD and autism every year. In 2023, the CDC estimated 15.5 million adults in the United States had a current ADHD diagnosis and just over half were diagnosed as an adult. -
Whenever someone is executed, a few journalists act as witnesses and report on what happened. It’s an incredibly difficult job, and those who do it are profoundly changed by what they see. -
The largest Christian church in the world is set to choose a new leader beginning May 7th. It’s a tradition that has been passed on for centuries, but is often shrouded in mystery. -
Five years ago, the COVID pandemic hit, leaving musicians around the world stuck at home. For one performer though, this period of isolation served as one of the most "creative periods" of his life. -
Late last month, President Donald Trump issued an executive order ending collective union bargaining rights for many federal agencies, including Veterans Affairs. -
Close to nine million people a week watch the game show Jeopardy and recently an Idaho native lead a three day winning streak! -
There's a new push to reduce the levels of forever chemicals in our land, water, and our bodies. -
There are over 7,000 rare diseases, and up to 30 million people in the U.S. are fighting one of these diseases every day, many of them children. -
Idaho Dance Theatre has a new spring show that's sure to wow!
