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 cure for HIV, a surprising link between junk food and knee pain and why popular weight-loss drugs don't work for everyone. -
Facing a shortage of first responders and limited training access, Idaho’s Saint Alphonsus Health System is launching an EMS conference to bring critical, hands-on education closer to home. -
Spring has arrived, which means its the perfect time to dream kitchen garden in to a thriving source of fresh and sustainable food. -
Each Monday on Idaho Matters, we’ll bring you a snapshot of a small corner of our Capital City and its unique past and today we head to the Pierce Park Neighborhood! -
Research has shown that chemicals in everyday plastics are driving a global health crisis, linked to hundreds of thousands of deaths and diseases from heart conditions to cancer. -
A warehouse in Nampa is home to vanilla beans from more than 50 different countries. -
A nonprofit is working to give every kid a bed to sleep in, no matter what their circumstances. -
Each Monday on Idaho Matters, we’ll bring you a snapshot of a small corner of our Capital City and its unique past and today we head to the Owyhee Hotel! -
As growth surges in Idaho, some resources are running thin, causing groups to rethink how they approach land conservation. -
NASA’s Artemis II mission is firing up for a return to the moon, putting the Orion spacecraft through its paces.
