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.
-
This year Idaho is looking back at one of the state's natural wonders as they celebrate 50 years of beauty and collaboration. -
It’s Friday, which means it's time for our Reporter Roundtable when Idaho Matters gets you up to date on all the news that made headlines this past week. -
In recent decades, wildfires have gotten larger and more intense. But new research looking at centuries of wildfires shows that, today’s blazes pale in comparison. -
A brand new streaming service is getting rave reviews, there's a series looking back at historical villains and we're tipping our hats to Conan O'Brien. -
There’s a new study looking at which diet will help you live longer, tuberculosis in India is on the rise and a recent story says that getting bit by a tick could make you allergic to red meat. -
Western Idaho Community Health Collaborative, or WICHC for short, has an action plan to try to address the top three concerns of community members. -
The Ada County Coroner’s Office is home to the only forensic pathologists in the state. -
Last Wednesday, Gov. Brad Little signed House Bill 345 into law, making sweeping changes to Idaho's voter-approved Medicaid Expansion. -
In 1895, a passenger train in France was running late, so the driver put on some extra speed to make up lost time, resulting in an infamous disaster. -
The country of Rwanda is still recovering from the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. The country is going through a period of healing and recovery while rebuilding the social and political systems that collapsed during that period.
