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.
-
African weaving workshops in Idaho are spinning tradition into community, culture and connection. -
Prehistoric Planet turned Bruneau Dunes State Park into an Ice Age stage, bringing mammoths and movie magic to the sands of Idaho. -
A new book is putting a spotlight on the stories of 50 Latina women who have had an undeniable influence on the place we call home. -
With Norway rats able to multiply into the thousands in a single year, pest control officials say the Treasure Valley's growing infestation is a numbers game that could quickly spiral. -
When grief felt overwhelming and words weren't enough, a dog named Galaxy had a way of making people feel seen, comforted and no longer alone. -
From sweeping classics to Oscar-nominated shorts and behind-the-scenes pop music stories, here's your guide to What to Watch this weekend! -
Your daily coffee habit, and a few brain games, might be a simple way to help protect your brain from dementia. -
Zoo Boise is buzzing with new arrivals giving visitors plenty of reasons to swing by and explore! -
Starting Feb. 15, Idaho's new SNAP rules will ban candy and soda purchases, forcing thousands of shoppers, and the stores that serve them, to rethink how they buy and sell groceries. -
This Valentines Day, the World Center for Birds of Prey is trading chocolates for claws with Talon-tines Day!
