Idaho Matters

(shutterstock/birdiegal)"The Talk" with your kids doesn't have to be awkward and embarrassing. Idaho Matters talks with a doctor holding workshops that teach puberty, hygiene and sexuality in a direct, honest and comfortable manner.

(Wing Luke Asian Museum, the Hatate Collection / The National Archives / Bamboo and BArbed Wire-Facebook)Bamboo and Barbed Wire documents the stories of Japanese-Americans interned at the Minidoka War Relocation Center in Jerome County, Idaho and looks at parallels to current evetns. The film is premiering at The Egyptian Theatre and Idaho Matters talks with the film's director, Karen Day, and Katie Hirai, president of the Boise Valley Japanese American Citizens League and granddaughter of Katherine Chizuru Hirai, a Minidoka internee.

Gemma Gaudette leads a round table discussion of the week's headlines with the region's top journalists. This week, Idaho Matters speaks with Kevin Richert of Idaho Education News, Scott McIntosh of the Idaho Press and Bill Manny from Idaho Public Television.

(nasa)Ceres was discovered orbiting the sun between Mars and Jupiter in 1801 by Italian astronomer Giuseppe Piazzi. Long considered a planet, the body has been relegated to a "minor planet" designation. Dr. Margaret Landis of the Planetary Science Institute will be lecturing on Ceres for the Boise State Physics Department's 'First Friday' lecture series and she joins Idaho Matters to talk about efforts to explore the icy body.

(ADAM COTTERELL / BOISE STATE PUBLIC RADIO)The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints announced on Thursday it is reversing a controversial 2015 policy that labeled church members in same sex marriages as "apostates" and barred children of same sex couples from receiving blessings and baptisms. The church's president, Dallin Oaks, reiterated that the church still considers same sex marriages within the church "a serious transgression." On Friday's Idaho Matters, we speak with Sunny Smart, an inactive member of the LDS Church and an advocate with Affirmation, a nonprofit support group for LGBTQ/SSA Mormons and their families.

(Boise Philharmonic/Facebook)Musicians with the Boise Phil voted last week to unionize by joining the American Federation of Musicians. This is a growing trend for regional symphonies and philharmonics. We spoke with violinist Geoffery Hill and assistant concertmaster Kate Jarvis about this decision.

(Cmglee/wikimedia)Intuitive's da Vinci Robot puts Star Wars technology in the operating room. We speak with Dr. Christopher Reising and Dr. Johnny Green, a pair of Saint Alphonsus surgeons using robots for colorectal, gynecological and thoracic surgeries.

(Limberlost Press) The Limberlost Review was a literary journal that was published throughout the 1970s and 80s that collated poetry, prose and essays from writers around the Mountain West. The Review has been published sporadically since for 30 years. Rosemary and Rick Ardinger have brought back the journal with works from Nancy Takacs, Greg Keeler and Mary Clearman Blew. Rick and Rosemary join Idaho Matters to talk about The Linberlost Review and the voices of the Mountain West.

(Mali Lazell/Curtis Stigers)Boise-raised singer, songwriter and saxophonist Curtis Stigers grew up jamming with Gene Harris in the Idanha Ballroom and found fame charting singles like "I Wonder Why" and "You're All That Matters to Me." He has cut 12 albums and his work has appeared on The Bodyguard, Dawson's Creek and Sons of Anarchy soundtracks. Stigers is playing The Egyptian April 10 ahead of a global tour and he joins Idaho Matters to talk about barroom blues, ballroom jazz and growing up Boise.

(facebook)Adree Edmo is a 31-year-old transgender woman serving time in an IDOC men's facility for a 2012 sexual abuse of a child under 16. She has appealed to the state to provide gender confirmation surgery while she is incarcerated. The state challenged the request and in December, a U.S. District Court ruled IDOC must provide the surgery. Last month, that ruling was put on hold. Idaho Matters speaks with Edmo's attorney, Deborah Ferguson and Mountain West News Bureau reporter Amanda Peacher about this case.

(famousmotelcowboys.com)Country music legend Pinto Bennett drops his newest (and final) album this month. The Idaho native has been compared to Bruce Springsteen, Woody Guthrie and Earnest Hemingway. Bennett joins Idaho Matters to talk about The Last Saturday Night, sheep farming and old dogs.

(wikimedia)Idaho Matters talks with Heather Brown of Delta Dental of Idaho about Oral Cancer Awareness Month.

(Alex Rhodes/TEDxBoise)TEDxBoise celebrates its fifth year of sharing ideas and innovation and this year's TEDx event will be held on April 20. Idaho Matters talks with TEDx coach Nancy Buffington and 2019 speaker Gurtej Sandhu.

(facebook)Reporter Samantha Wohlfeil shares the story of Angel McGehee of Northern Idaho in the most recent edition of The Inlander. McGehee was married at 13 and she joins Idaho Matters with Wohlfeil on Tuesday to share her story.

(stock)Less than 15% of Idahoans have honest end-of-life discussions with their physicians, according to a survey conducted by the Center for the Study of Aging at Boise State University. Idaho Matters discusses the importance of these conversations with Kim Martz, associate professor in Boise State's School of Nursing.

(LOCALWIKI)The Boise Public Library holds an annual "Books by the Bag" sale to raise funds for the library district. Jim James and Diana Cross of the Friends of the Boise Public Library join Idaho Matters to discuss the event.

(CREDIT BEYOND NEON / FLICKR)Boise residents gathered last week to remember Florence and Bob Goar, who both died after being hit by a car while crossing a downtown street in February. Two days after the vigil, three Boise High students were hit while walking to school. We speak with Cynthia Gibson, executive director of the Idaho Walk Bike Alliance, and Don Kostelec, a planner with Vitruvian Planning and a pedestrian advocate.

(legislature.idaho.gov)Concordia law professor McKay Cunningham recently had a column published in the Idaho Falls Post Register question the current legislature's efforts to change the state's ballot initiative processes. Cunningham joins Idaho Matters on Monday to discuss his concerns.

(Post Falls Police Department)April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month and we discuss detecting, preventing and reporting child abuse with Molly Kaczmareck of St. Luke's Children at Risk Evaluation Services (CARES) and Taryn Yates of the Idaho Children's Trust Fund.

(Sahnish Scouts/Facebook)Lissa Yellowbird Chase has been searching for missing and murdered Indigenous Americans since 2011. She works out of North Dakota with the Sahnish Scouts, a group of people dedicated to finding the missing and forgotten. Lissa was recently profiled in a collaborative piece by High Country News and the BBC and on Monday she joins Idaho Matters to discuss the issue of violent crime targeting tribal members and the jurisdictional problems that lead to faulty and non-existent investigations.