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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A ProPublica reporter has been taking a deep dive into Idaho's troubled coroner system and has uncovered another tragedy. -
Al Larson passed away this month at the age of 103, and Idaho Matters wanted to take you back 10 years ago and reflect on how he got started saving the bluebirds. -
Bryan Kohberger sat in a courtroom in Boise and watched as the family members of the four University of Idaho students he murdered spoke out about their loved ones. -
In 1984, a 39-year-old woman ran the inaugural women’s Olympic marathon. She finished the grueling race bent over and barely able to walk, but she crossed the finish line and became an example of endurance and perseverance. -
Despite ending the fiscal year with a surplus, the state could see some budget cuts. -
Sprinkled throughout Idaho's wildlands are many edible plants and fruits. However, it can be hard to know which of these are safe to eat, which is why Idaho Matters sits down with an expert for a few tips on foraging. -
It's Friday and time for our Reporter Roundtable when Idaho Matters catches you up on the past week's headlines, including cuts to funding for public media and sheep headed to the Payette National Forest. -
Livestock face attacks from a new tick and the return of the screwworm, so now the U.S. is preparing to fight back. -
To learn more about how a lavender farm works, Idaho Matters went out to Two Hoots Lavender near Five Mile and Overland in Boise. -
Time to talk about contractors — the bad and the good — and why consumers have to be careful when it comes to having anything done on their home.
