Idaho Matters

(Jeremy Pettitt / Flickr) Writing powerhouse Jasmine Guillory has written eight novels in just four years. Her work has been praised by numerous media outlets including NPR, The Washington Post and Entertainment Weekly. She joined Idaho Matters to talk about her latest novel "Drunk on Love" .

(Michal Svec / Flickr) This episode of Idaho Matters originally aired on April 20, 2022. In 1946, six nuns from Kentucky made a journey to one of the poorest states in India to start a hospital and train women to become nurses. This never before told story is being memorialized in a new book, “Sisters of Mokama.”  The book’s author, who is also the senior opinion editor at the New York Times, Jyot...

(Kevin Lawver / Flickr) This episode of Idaho Matters originally aired on August 12, 2022. Author Kirk Wallace is out with a new book and the story sounds like the plot to a great whodunit movie, but here's the twist: it's true! He joined Idaho Matters to talk more about The Fisherman and The Dragon .

This episode of Idaho Matters originally aired on July 27, 2022. When our summer intern Jack Bevan heard rumors that Yellowstone National Park could explode soon and start a new ice age, he had to find out if there was any truth to it. First, he set out to find if Yellowstone or any other volcanic formations in the northwest, like Mount St. Helens, were likely to blow up soon and he found himself...

The front cover of Carter Bays new novel, The Mutual Friend. This episode of Idaho Matters originally aired on May 11, 2022. The co-creator of the Emmy award-winning show "How I Met Your Mother" is back, this time with his first novel. Idaho Matters sits down with Carter Bays to talk more about his debut novel, " The Mutual Friend ".

(ThomasLife / Flickr) This episode of Idaho Matters originally aired on August 1, 2022. Literacy in the United States is at a critical level. One statistic shows that 43 million Americans between the ages of 16 to 65 can't read well enough to fill out a job application. So, is the concept of reading out loud to our kids enough to get them ready for school? Writer, educator and literacy advocate Ma...

(berny-s / Flickr) This episode of Idaho Matters originally aired on July 29, 2022. The Editor-in-Chief of CrimeReads, Dwyer Murphy, is debuting his new novel - a gripping crime fiction titled, An Honest Living. Dwyer joined Idaho Matters to talk more about his book.

A bunch of children playing and running around a playground at a church party. ( Flickr) This episode of Idaho Matters originally aired on May 23, 2022. As we continue to see heated debates around social justice issues, education freedom and how post-pandemic life might look - what seems to be lacking is a place for kids and caregivers to find resources to be able to talk about these issues and at...

(Tom Magliery / Flickr) Days before this year’s Boise Pride Festival was set to kick off, the new chair of Idaho's Republican Party, Dorothy Moon , issued a news release stating that two Pride events, Drag Kids and Drag Story Time, were encouraging the sexualization of children. And she called on sponsors to withdraw their support. The tactic worked. After people from all over the country started...

This weekend, the Idaho Botanical Garden will be full of music. Opera singers Cecilia Lopez and Levi Hernandez, along with pianist Nathan Salzar will be celebrating Mexican Independence Day with musical favorites, bringing the community together to commemorate an important moment of freedom. Celebrando a México is an outdoor event and performers will be moving around the garden as the event unfold...

More than three dozen A-10's line up on the tarmac at Gowen Field in Boise. (Michael Martin) There are 37 large fighter planes lined up in two rows at Gowen Field and they're glinting in the hot afternoon sun. Standing in the shadow of one of these jets is Colonel Ryan Richardson. “ It's a dream come true. I think I'm the luckiest guy in the world. Yeah, the airplane is a absolute dream to fly. Th...

( Elizabeth Miranda) For decades Grammy winning singer and songwriter Melissa Etheridge has been baring her soul with songs that include I'm The Only One , Come To My Window and I Want To Come Over , just to name a few. She'll be performing those songs next week during a performance in Boise at the Morrison Center . Etheridge joined Idaho Matters to talk more about life and music.

(BookMama / Flickr) Writing can be a lonely profession - spending hours behind a computer screen with doors shut, in complete silence. That may be the image that comes to mind when picturing the stereotypical author. But books are not always written in a vacuum, at least not for one group of local authors. After joining the Aero Caffe Writers Group, each one published their own written works. Auth...

(Benson Kua / Creative Commons attribution-share alike 2.0) Idaho GOP puts together a call of action in response to a Boise Pride Festival event , liquor licenses in Idaho are a tense topic , Reclaim Idaho is pulling its initiative off the November ballot and an update on the country's largest wildfire . It’s Friday - which means it's time for our Reporter Roundtable when Idaho Matters gets you up...

David Pettyjohn, left and Geoffrey Parks, right. ( StoryCorps) It was just a bite to eat, a way to reconnect among old school friends. “So we have a fantastic dinner. I mean, it was great and I felt something,” says David Pettyjohn. He hadn’t seen Geoffrey Parks since they lost touch after school. They met in eighth grade and were friends through middle and high school. And when it was time for th...

The new booster shot would be an update to Pfizer's current version of the shot, which was designed for the original strain of the coronavirus. (Nam Y. Huh / AP) Another vaccine is coming out for COVID-19 and it's got many people confused and wondering why and if they need this latest shot. Dr. David Pate, Former CEO of St. Luke's Health System and a current member of Idaho's Coronavirus Task Forc...

(Emilie Ritter Saunders / Boise State Public Radio) The Boise School District held an election Tuesday for five of the seven seats on the Board of Trustees. omething that used to be a rather sleepy kind of election has changed dramatically, thanks to issues like COVID-19, critical race theory and banning books in school libraries. Kevin Richert, the Senior Reporter and Blogger with Idaho Education...

Baby trees from the Franklin H. Pitkin Forest Nursery. ( Andrew Nelson) Reforestation plays an essential role in mitigating climate change and revitalizing our ecosystems, but it can be hard to plant new trees when you don’t have enough seeds. According to a recent study from Frontiers, nurseries across the country are short more than two billion seedlings annually. Seeds aren't the only thing in...

New indigenous stories are hitting tv screens - like the latest season of Fox's Reservation Dogs and Dark Winds on AMC. That sort of native storytelling is rare on TV and in the movies. The 2021 Hollywood Diversity Report says less than one percent of top film roles were native in 2020. But some organizations are investing in indigenous representation in the media. Plus, we visit a canyon in centr...

In the 19th century, when gold mining was all the rage in the west, thousands of Chinese miners settled into what became known as the Gem State. However, much of Chinese history in Idaho has been erased over time. Now there's a growing effort to educate and celebrate that rich legacy. Our Morning Edition host George Prentice sat down to spend a few minutes on a chapter of Idaho history that we nee...

( Penguin Random House) New York Times bestselling author, Deanna Raybourn is back with a new novel. It's called Killers of a Certain Age and she joined Idaho Matters to talk more about her new book.

(James Dawson / Boise State Public Radio) We break down the Idaho Legislature's special session , school bond and levy elections , Aaron von Ehlinger's sentencing, and drought is causing big issues for Eastern Idaho . 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. Our journalist panel today:...

The Boise Philharmonic is Idaho's oldest performing arts organization and this week we learned that Tim Young will be its new executive director. He's led orchestras in Texas, Alabama, Nevada, and now Idaho. Our Morning Edition Host George Prentice sat down with him earlier this week .

(Keith Ridler / AP) Thursday at 8:00 am lawmakers gathered in the statehouse in Boise and gaveled in a special session of the Idaho legislature. The session was called by Gov. Brad Little, who is the only one who can call a special session, and Little said his goal is to cut taxes and boost education funding. Little pulled together a lot of bipartisan support on a bill that will use some of the st...

(Micron Technology) Micron Technology announced Thursday morning that it will build its new $15 billion computer chip manufacturing plant in Boise . Micron says it will create 2,000 direct jobs and over 17,000 new American jobs by 2030. The company will get federal tax support, thanks to the CHIPS and Science Act and support from the Idaho legislature. BoiseDev.com has been reporting on the possib...