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.
Boise Baroque Orchestra wraps up summer music festival
Aug 28, 2024
Show notes People watch the Boise Baroque Orchestra at the Château des Fleurs.(Jonathan Collins / Boise Baroque Orchestra)
This weekend the Boise Baroque Orchestra will be performing their last concert of the summer.
Wrapping up their four-week festival with an evening of music you won't want to miss.
Robert Franz, artistic director of the orchestra, joined Idaho Matters to talk more about the upcoming event.
The Love of My Afterlife: An author interview
Aug 28, 2024
Show notes( Berkley)
Love can find you in the most unexpected of places, even in the afterlife, wearing embarrassing pajamas after joking on a very questionable burger.
It may not be the meet-cute every girl dreams of, but, hey, who said romance was easy?
Certainly not Kirsty Greenwood, author of July's GMA book club pick, "The Love of My Afterlife." She joined Idaho Matters to talk more about her newest release.
Breaking down barriers in the world of athletics
Aug 27, 2024
Show notesThe Boise State Adaptive Athletics Tennis team: Steve Baxter, Kevin Falk, Randy Corbett and Tommy Schroeder( Steve Baxter / Boise State University)
Globally, more than one billion people live with a disability, which can create barriers in everyday life. A fact that coach Steve Baxter is very aware of.
That's why he's heading up an adaptive sports program at Boise State University, giving athletes with physical disabilities the chance to compete in the sports they love.
Baxter joined Idaho Matters to talk more about this effort.
Sparking imagination: the Sawtooth Writing Retreat returns
Aug 27, 2024
Show notes(Boise State University )
Inspiration can come from the most unlikely of places, but when you're working from the Idaho mountains, there's sure to be an abundance. Which is why an upcoming retreat will be taking writers into nature for three days to help hone their craft and spark imagination.
Morning Edition host George Prentice sat down with Boise State University professor Edward "Mac" Test to talk more about the Sawtooth Writing Retreat and the unique opportunities it provides.
The deadline to apply for the retreat is on Friday, Sept. 6 and the retreat is Thursday, Sept. 19-22. Featured authors at the retreat are Kim Cross and Paul Bogard.
'When the Night Comes Falling:' An author interview with Howard Blum
Aug 27, 2024
Show notes( Harper)
In the early morning hours of November 13, 2022, the small town of Moscow, Idaho, was forever changed when four University of Idaho students were killed.
Today, one man sits in the Latah County Jail accused of the killings as he awaits trial next June. This story has garnered world-wide attention, spawning numerous podcasts and books.
New York Times best-selling true crime author and former New York Times investigative reporter Howard Blum has also followed this story, and his new book "When the Night Comes Falling" takes us behind the scenes of this horrific crime.
Blum joined Idaho Matters to talk more.
'Wild and Distant Seas:' An author interview with Idaho author Tara Karr Roberts
Aug 26, 2024
Show notes( W. W. Norton & Company)
This episode of Idaho Matters originally aired on March 14, 2024.
Imagine a minor character in the classic novel Moby Dick getting her own voice and her own story. That's exactly what happens in Idaho author Tara Karr Roberts debut novel, "Wild and Distant Seas."
She joined Idaho Matters to talk more about her recent release.
Idaho Matters Reporter Roundtable: August 23, 2024
Aug 23, 2024
Show notes(Alan Yoo / Flickr)
Your favorite Albertsons could be changing hands
Aug 22, 2024
Show notes(<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/16441604@N07/">Holcombe of Hidalgo</a> / Flickr)
Your favorite Albertsons could be changing hands.
Ten Albertsons stores will be sold to C&S Wholesale Grocers if the merger with Kroger finally goes through. This includes six stores in Boise and one in Meridian.
Don Day, the founder and editor of BoiseDev.com, joined Idaho Matters to talk more about what this would mean for local shoppers.
Support groups for people anxious about climate change are on the rise. Do they help?
Aug 22, 2024
Show notesFarmer Melissa Gilbert (left) and therapist Caitlyn Wallace lead climate cafes in Reno, Nev., where people can share their feelings about the effects of human-caused climate change.(Kaleb Roedel / Mountain West News Bureau )
It’s a Saturday morning on a small urban farm tucked into a residential neighborhood in Reno, Nev., and Melissa Gilbert, holding a dark gray meditation bowl, is standing in front of a small group of people.
She taps the bowl with a small rod, sending a soft ringing sound into the air.
“Let the bells bring your attention back to your breath, back to your body, and let's enjoy the vegetables that are planted in the ground,” Gilbert says with an encouraging smile.
She leads the small group on a meditation walk through a section of the Reno Food Systems farm. They crunch along a gravel path past rows of carrots, kale, garlic, and even chickens, who add to the ambience with incessant clucking.
“Bring your attention to your feet on the earth,” Gilbert says as she rings the bowl once more. “Your connection – the earth supporting you.”
This is the start of the third climate cafe Gilbert has helped host along with group leader Caitlyn Wallace, a certified therapist based in Reno. Wallace was trained by the Climate Psychology Alliance North America, a nonprofit that teaches therapists how to run climate cafes.
“The need in my practice came from working with new moms, who are feeling a lot of guilt around bringing kids into the world,” Wallace says. “This was specifically during wildfires, and smoke seasons.”
Her goal is to provide a safe space for all people – not just mothers – to share their feelings about the effects of human-caused climate change, such as extreme heat waves and intensifying wildfire seasons.
That’s what brought Jaline Castell to this free climate cafe.
“The Caldor Fire impacted me a lot,” Castell says, her voice catching and eyes welling up with tears.
Firefighters battle flames approaching a major highway during the 2021 Caldor Fire, which scorched over 200,000 acres south of Lake Tahoe in California. (Kara Capaldo / Adobe Stock)
That fire in 2021 scorched over 200,000 acres south of Reno and Lake Tahoe. The blaze forced thousands to evacuate, and blanketed the region in wildfire smoke for weeks.
“Being in it is so different,” Castell says. “To be in the smoke for that amount of time, and to look straight at the sun without having the glow of it.”
Castell was one of four participants in this climate cafe in Reno.
Another was Nikki Raffail, who says climate change has caused her to wrestle with big questions like “do I want to bring a child into this world?”
Raffail has put her energy into babysitting and connecting to nature by growing a garden on her patio.
“When everything else is spiraling out of control, and you feel like the world is on fire and you can’t do anything about it, it's really nice to just go outside and tend to your little sunflower,” Raffail says with a smile. “So, that’s been nice because I have been riddled with anger.”
Sherry Lugone, a retired school teacher, says that was her reaction to the climate crisis for many years. Now, she works on reducing her carbon footprint.
“I use cloth napkins and I try not to drive unless I need to,” Lugone says. “And I try to eat an environmentally conscious diet.”
Climate cafe participants are not required to translate their feelings into actions. But that naturally happens, says Barbara Easterlin, co-president of the Climate Psychology Alliance North America.
She says people may leave climate cafes feeling empowered, “and some sense of like, ‘Oh, I'm actually doing something here and I can actually be an example to other people.’ ”
Easterlin, who lives in western Wyoming, says the alliance is creating a program to research how often climate cafes lead to people taking action. In addition, the nonprofit plans to bring these support groups to marginalized communities, which often face the brunt of climate change.
“We’re seeing more of that feeling of feeling betrayed, by the government or the global system, the capitalist system,” Easterlin says.
Climate cafes are being held at the Reno Food Systems Farm, where participants take mindful walks and discuss their anxiety and fears about the climate crisis.(Kaleb Roedel / Mountain West News Bureau)
Back in Reno, the mood at this climate cafe has shifted from somber to hopeful. Attendees share warm smiles and laughter as they end their time together.
Therapist Caitlyn Wallace says that shows why support groups for people dealing with climate anxiety are more important than ever.
“It’s going to be us that saves ourselves, at the end of the day,” Wallace says. “We’re going to show up and feed each other and help each other and take care of each other when the larger systems around us are no longer able to because they're defending corporations.”
Wallace and Gilbert are leading their next climate cafe at 9 a.m. on Aug. 18 at the Reno Food Systems farm. Participation is free.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Colorado and KANW in New Mexico, with support from affiliate stations across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
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