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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Following the inauguration, Trump has signed a slew of executive orders, including one that affects the future of wind energy in Idaho. -
According to a new survey, Idahoans are worried about more than just housing, property taxes and the economy this year. -
The new year marked an unwelcome milestone for Idaho as a second case of Chronic Wasting Disease was identified in the Gem State. -
30 years ago a small group of wolves were reintroduced into the Idaho wilderness. Now, activists are looking back on that release and where wolves are today. -
Preservation Idaho has big plans for 2025, many of which include you! -
Former president Jimmy Carter took a float trip on Idaho's Middle Fork of the Salmon River which inspired him to save millions of acres of Alaska's wilderness. -
Hawthorne Elementary kids in Boise will get a chance to sit down with an astronaut on the ISS and ask questions about space. -
The new legislative session is here and the debate over school choice is among the many topics that will be on this years agenda. -
Now that the 2025 legislative session has kicked off Idaho Matters is taking a look at what's in store for the Gem States economy. -
The legislative session is kicking off with new faces and new challenges. Idaho Matters takes a look at the top issues lawmakers will be tackling and how they could shape our future.
