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.
A tale of love and tragedy at the Idaho Shakespeare Festival
Jul 15, 2022
Show notes
Well, it's no secret that our Morning Edition host George Prentice loves Shakespeare and the Idaho Shakespeare Festival.
So when he found out that Sara Bruner was going to direct Romeo and Juliet, which opens this weekend, he had to sit down with her and Angela Utrera, who plays Juliet in the the production.
How can Yellowstone flood in the middle of a drought?
Jul 14, 2022
Show notes
Last month, Yellowstone National Park and surrounding areas were hit by historic flooding, though much of our region remains in a severe drought.
How can those extremes occur side-by-side? Wyoming Public Radio's Caitlin Tan reports for the Mountain West News Bureau.
A new documentary chronicles the life of one Ukranian family
Jul 14, 2022
Show notes
Before Russia invaded Ukraine, Steven Wright lived and worked in the country with his wife and two daughters. Needless to say life has been very different since then.
Wright will talk about his experience before and after a new film at the Flicks in Boise is aired. It's called "The Earth is as Blue as an Orange." The movie chronicles the life of another family and their day-to-day struggles in Ukraine as the war continues.
Our Morning Edition host George Prentice sat down with Wright to find out more about his story.
A look at the challenges many immigrants in Idaho are facing
Jul 14, 2022
Show notes(City of Ketchum / Facebook)
Back in June, Idaho Mountain Express published a story about one woman's perilous journey from Peru to Idaho in the hope of finding a better life for herself and her children.
Her story is one that has been experienced by countless immigrants south of the border.
The article follows Simona as she faces dangerous landscapes, kidnapping and even the threat of death, before finally finding herself in Ketchum Idaho.
Without a penny to her name, Simona took on three jobs, working tirelessly until she had enough money to bring her three sons to the Gem State.
Despite having saved them from impending violence her family still faced risk. Being undocumented residents of the United States meant that the possibility of deportation lurked around every corner.
Simon's story is just one of many that The Alliance of Idaho hears every day. The nonprofit group helps "protect the human rights of immigrants and their families" by providing access to legal services, education and more.
Joining Idaho Matters to talk more about the challenges that immigrants in Idaho face are Executive Director of The Alliance, Becky Lopez, Director of Communications and Development Sarah Sentilles, immigration and human rights lawyer Luis Campos and Attorney Sam Linnet.
A walk through the forests around McCall
Jul 14, 2022
Show notes
Poet Marie Fuhrman is Idaho's current writer in residence. She uses nature soundscapes to inspire her writing that often focuses on issues affecting native people in the west.
In this seasons final episode of Expressive Idaho, Arlie Sommer follows Fuhrman for a walk in the forests around McCall where the author lives.
Idaho Matters Doctors Roundtable: July 13, 2022
Jul 13, 2022
Show notes(Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)
Its been nearly two and half years since the coronavirus pandemic started and health officials around the world are saying the most infectious and transmissible variant to date has arrived.
Joining Idaho Matters to talk more about this and what it means for Idaho is Dr. David Pate, former CEO of St. Luke's Health System and a current member of the Idaho Coronavirus Task Force.
A conversation with Pulitzer prize-winning author Elizabeth Kolbert
Jul 13, 2022
Show notes
It's not everyday you can take a journey to Devils Hole, Nevada, the Great Barrier Reef, the Mississippi Delta, the Chicago River and Southern Iceland with a Pulitzer Prize-winning author. However, that is exactly what Elizabeth Kolbert does with her new book, "Under a White Sky, the Nature of the Future."
Our Morning Edition host George Prentice chatted with Kolbert just before her appearance at the Sun Valley Writers Conference.
Take a journey through Idaho's wilderness with Baratunde Thurston
Jul 11, 2022
Show notes Baratunde spent some time on an Idaho ranch for his program America Outdoors.(Part 2 Pictures/Twin Cities PBS)
“The outdoors can be a source of escape, of freedom from all the stresses of our lives,” says New York Times best-selling author and podcaster Baratunde Thurston. “It determines how we work, where we live, and ultimately who we are.”
Thurston is an outdoor enthusiast and he has been traveling all around the country, meeting people who live and play in the outdoors, and to also find out how climate change is impacting some of our favorite places.
“I'm all about exploring the outdoors that shape us as Americans. This country is wild. And its natural landscapes are as diverse as its people,” says Thurston.
Baratunde does a little mountain biking on his trip to Idaho.(Part 2 Pictures/Twin Cities PBS)
He has documented his travels in a new series on PBS. It's called America Outdoors with Baratunde Thurston.
“We think we invent things and create things and define ourselves by ourselves. But that's not the whole story. The truth is, we are co-authors with the world around us,” says Thurston.
Tuesday, the second episode, Idaho Tied to the Land, will air on Idaho Public Television.
“Idaho was like the shocker episode for me. And if I had to pick one where I'm like, well, this just blew me away the most, it was your state because you've got everything and you're hiding it, you know, you're tucked away in between these mountains and squeezed between some other states,” he says.
He traveled all over the state for his program.
“I also spend time with the Shoshone Bannock tribe, the Salmon People, as they refer to themselves up on the South Fork of the Salmon River, who've been here even longer than any of us. And being able to tap into their relationship with nature, even the language they use Brother Salmon, Father Tree, witnessing the beauty and some of the sadness, you know, of what's happening to our environment,” says Thurston.
He was planning on hunting salmon with tribe members but it never happened.
“They called off because the water levels were too low, because the temperature was too high, the salmon too scarce, and the ones they found too soft,” Thurston says, “They were kind of being slowly cooked in their own home, which is a pretty literal metaphor for what's happening to a lot of our species as the planet heats up.”
Backcountry pilot Lori MacNichol is the President/Owner of McCall Mountain Canyon Flying Seminars LLC. (Part 2 Pictures/Twin Cities PBS)
Thurston met ranchers, hikers, and one wilderness pilot who showed him more than just Idaho’s beautiful landscape.
“You know, I just feel blessed that I have this wonderful opportunity to be a pilot and have access to the uncrowded wilderness in the backcountry, fly in and land on an airstrip of sorts, and enjoy being unplugged off the grid in this wonderful environment,” says McNichol.
Before this experience, Thurston had only been to Idaho once, while driving through to somewhere else. So he was intrigued to spend some time here and in the other states he visited for America Outdoors.
Baratunde tries his hand at roping during his visit to Idaho.(Part 2 Pictures/Twin Cities PBS)
“I wanted to do this show to reconnect with the little kid in me that grew up doing a lot outdoors and being very connected as a Boy Scout, as my mother's son, who took me and my friends out to the wilderness to escape a declining Washington, D.C. in the 1980s during the crack wars,” Thurston says.
And there’s another big reason he wanted to do this show.
“This country feels extremely divided right now, and it's because it is in many ways. However, all the people that we put on this show share this love of the common ground that we literally share. And so this show is a great way to see the beauty of the country literally and also metaphorically and kind of celebrate the diverse landscapes as well as the diverse people and our common bond to nature,” says Thurston.
Baratunde Thurston stands in the sunlight in an Idaho barn during his horseback riding trip.(Part 2 Pictures/Twin Cities PBS)
A special robot from the University of Idaho can help people after a stroke
Jul 11, 2022
Show notesUniversity of Idaho College of Engineering therapeutic robots used for physical therapy and rehab in Spokane at St. Luke's Rehabilitation Medical Center.(Melissa Hartley/University of Idaho Photographic / Photos by Melissa Hartley, University Creative Services.)
According to the World Stroke Organization, 14 million people each year have a stroke which can cause varying degrees of disability.
Paralyzed arms or legs, weakness and movement limitations can greatly reduce the quality of life after a stroke. The damage from a stroke differs from person to person, so identifying that damage is crucial to targeting individual therapy that will best help each patient.
Associate Professor in U of I's Department of Mechanical Engineering, Joel Perry and Chris Bitikofer, who is completing his doctorate in mechanical engineering this summer joined Idaho Matters to tell us more.
The legacy of Erma Hayman and her River Street home
Jul 11, 2022
Show notes
Over the years, the River Street Neighborhood in Boise has seen many changes.
According to the Boise City Department of Arts & History, River Street, for the better part of a century, was the most ethnically and culturally diverse area in Boise. Home to immigrants from around the world and later, due to housing segregation, home to many of the city’s African American residents.
Despite the changes that this neighborhood has seen, as families move away and houses are sold and rebuilt, there is one home that has remained, the Erma Hayman House.
In 2018 the City of Boise set out to preserve this piece of rarely discussed history, planning to transform it into a cultural site for education, art and community.
Interim Cultural Sites Program Manager for the Boise City Department of Arts & History, Kristen Hill and History Program Manager Travis Jeffres joined Idaho Matters to tell us more about the history and future of the Erma Hayman House.
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