Idaho Matters is a wonderful way to stay up to date, meet people and understand there’s much more to this great state. Hosted by Gemma Gaudette on Boise State Public Radio News, it features arts and politics, growth and education, and the interesting stories that make Idaho unique. Send us your questions, comments or story ideas by emailing idahomatters@boisestate.edu or sending us a voicemail using the “Talk To Us” feature on the free Boise State Public Radio app.
New survey reveals maternal healthcare providers are leaving Idaho
Apr 11, 2023
Show notes(JGI/Tom Grill / Getty Images/Tetra images RF)
When Roe v. Wade was overturned last summer, allowing states to decide how far they want to ban abortions, Idaho’s near total abortion ban went into effect. The only exceptions are in the case of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother.
This law, and others in Idaho restricting abortion, have caused some doctors who practice in the state to consider moving. Some medical students also are rethinking coming to Idaho to practice medicine.
A recent survey asks how Idaho's abortion laws are affecting the state’s maternal healthcare doctors and the results are concerning, especially for women considering pregnancy.
Dr. Lauren Miller, who leads the Idaho Coalition for Safe Reproductive Health Care and who conducted the survey, professor and attorney McKay Cunningham, the Director of On-Campus Experiential Learning at the College of Idaho and Maternal Fetal Medicine Specialist, Dr. Maria Palmquist joined Idaho Matters to talk more.
Mountain West tribe works to gain access to water rights
Apr 11, 2023
Show notesA community corn field at the Jemez Pueblo in north-central New Mexico, seen here on March 17, 2023. The Pueblo, which is largely supported by farming, irrigates its farms with snowmelt from the surrounding mountains. (Kaleb Roedel / Mountain West News Bureau )
For 40 years, a tribe in our region has been working to access the water they feel they’re owed by the federal government. And those efforts are more urgent than ever as climate change and development continue to affect their water supplies.
The Mountain West News Bureau’s Kaleb Roedel reports.
'Natural Beauty': An author interview with Ling Ling Huang
Apr 11, 2023
Show notes( Dutton)
Natural Beauty is the debut novel by Ling Ling Huang. This behind-the-scenes look at the beauty industry examines issues of consumerism, race, identity and self-worth.
The book has already been optioned for a tv series. Huang joined Idaho Matters to talk more about her new book.
Who should decide what our kids read?
Apr 10, 2023
Show notes(CCAC North Library / Flickr)
More and more libraries and librarians are caught up in what is becoming a more polarized world.
Next week Emily Drabinski will be speaking to the OSHER Lifelong Learning Institute in Boise. She’s an Associate Professor and Critical Pedagogy Librarian, Graduate Center, City University of New York and she joined Idaho Matters to talk more.
Albertsons Library hosting 'Americans and the Holocaust' exhibition
Apr 10, 2023
Show notesThe United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's exhibit, "Americans and the Holocaust," surfaces the complexity of national attitudes and concerns that weighed heavily on the nation's role during the Holocaust.(Eslah Attar/NPR)
The exhibition explores the different influences that formed America's response to the crisis in Europe during the 1930s and 40s. Historian Rebecca Erbelding and Albertsons Archivist, Librarian and Exhibit Manager Gwyn Hervochon joined Idaho Matters to talk more.
How does climate change impact the spread of infectious diseases?
Apr 10, 2023
Show notesBlack-legged ticks, also known as deer ticks, can carry Lyme disease.(Kenneth H Thomas / Science Source/Getty Images)
As the planet continues to warm and seasons begin to change many people are starting to see warmer winters and earlier springs which makes it easier to spread infectious diseases, especially as insects have more time to reproduce and expand into new territory.
Dr. Christine Hahn, Idaho state epidemiologist and medical director in the Division of Public Health, Teresa Bradford, the student chapter president of Idaho Clinicians for Climate Health and Dr. Sky Blue, an Infectious Disease Specialist working in hospital epidemiology and infection prevention joined Idaho Matters to talk more.
'When the Moon Turns to Blood:' An author interview with Leah Sottile
Apr 10, 2023
Show notes( Twelve)
Opening statements began Monday in Boise in the murder and conspiracy trial of Lori Vallow Daybell. She’s charged with the deaths of two of her children.
Portland-based journalist and author Leah Sottile has written a book about the case, called “When the Moon Turns to Blood.” She sat down with All Things Considered host Troy Oppie.
Idaho Matters Reporter Roundtable: April 7, 2023
Apr 07, 2023
Show notes(James Dawson / Boise State Public Radio)
The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare is being questioned by the Attorney General's office, efforts to override Gov. Little's library veto failed, Idaho's population continues to grow and we take a look at why Planned Parenthood Northwest is suing AG Raúl Labrador.
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:
Kevin Richert, senior reporter and blogger with Idaho Ed News
Nicole Blanchard, Outdoors Reporter with the Idaho Statesman
Kelcie Moseley-Morris, National Reproductive Rights Reporter with States Newsroom
NPR's longest-serving international reporter says goodbye
Apr 06, 2023
Show notes
Sylvia Poggioli is hanging up her headphones. Yes, that Sylvia Poggioli, NPR's longest-serving reporter on the international desk.
She’s covered three popes, war in the Balkans, immigration in Europe and so much more in her 51 years in journalism. She joined Idaho Matters from Rome to talk more.
Teaching teachers how to make STEM fun for kids
Apr 06, 2023
Show notes Teachers will learn experiments like this one, which shows how things rust.(Jessica L. Economy / Boise State University)
Dr. Harold Ackler pours salt and hydrogen peroxide into beakers of water in a science lab on the campus of Boise State University.
“So this one is a corrosion experiment,” says Dr. Ackler, the Clinical Assistant Professor and Materials Teaching Lab Coordinator, as he starts ripping apart a scrubby pad of steel wool.
The four beakers are filled with solutions of water, salt and hydrogen peroxide before the steel wool is added to the mix.(Jessica Economy / Boise State University)
“It's intended to give students an idea of what happens to a metal when you put it in different kinds of solutions, different environments, basically corrosion or rusting, things like that,” he says as he puts a hunk of steel wool into four beakers and stands back to watch what happens.
This is just one experiment that teachers will learn how to do this summer at a special workshop designed to teach teachers how to make STEM more fun for kids.
Dr. Harold Ackler is a Clinical Assistant Professor and Materials Teaching Lab Coordinator at Boise State. (Jessica Economy / Boise State University)
“So the teachers at this summer camp are going to be learning how to do this, to do it with their students back at their schools,” says Dr. Ackler.
Each beaker has a different liquid solution. The fourth beaker has a mix of water, salt and hydrogen peroxide. After a few minutes, that beaker starts to bubble and turn an orange/brown color.
“The one with both peroxide and salt is kind of a nice, rusty, frothy brew,” he says. The beaker keeps turning a darker brown, with bits of rust floating on the steel wool.
“It's nasty,” says Dr. Amy Moll, professor and director of the Micron School of Materials Science and Engineering as she peers at the icky solution in the fourth beaker. The third beaker, with just hydrogen peroxide, is starting to turn yellow, also showing some signs of rusting.
The ASM Materials Camp gives teachers the tools they need to create these simple, safe and inexpensive experiments for their students.
The goal, said Dr. Moll, is to get kids thinking about how and why things happen.
“Understanding how things rust, why they rust, how to make that better, that's applied science, right? That's what material science is. So you can see how it applies to your real life and we can make it fun,” says Dr. Moll.
Beaker four has turned into a rusty, bubbling brew after just a few minutes.(Jessica Economy / Boise State University)
Dr. Ackler says the rust experiment was a success.
“I think the one with salt and peroxide actually surprised me. It was faster and more aggressive than I thought it would be.”
Dr. Moll says they’re still looking for teachers to sign up for the free workshop this July at Boise State and encourages educators to take advantage of the camp and what it has to offer.
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