Idaho Matters

(Kevin T. Quinn / Flickr)It’s just three days until Thanksgiving and you may be getting ready to sit down with a loved one that you don’t get to talk to very often. Storycorps is hoping you will see that as an opportunity to record an interview and create a bit of oral history in America. It’s called the “Great Thanksgiving Listen” and it started out encouraging high school students to sit down with an elder and make a record for the Library of Congress.Since 2015, high schools have preserved more than 100,000 interviews.But the idea has expanded and anyone with a smartphone can download the app and record a piece of history with someone they love. Idaho Matters sat down with Storycorp CEO Robin Sparkman to talk about the app. And you can hear, and watch, a special Storycorps right here:

(stock)Host Gemma Gaudette leads a round table discussion of the week's headlines with the region's top journalists. This week Idaho Matters speaks with Idaho Public Television's Bill Manny, Scott McIntosh from the Idaho Press and BoiseDev's Don Day.

(Olivia Weitz)Expressive Idaho's Olivia Weitz visits a young ranch-hand learning the Western Art of saddle making.

(Kelly Hopping)Boise State assistant professor Kelly Hopping was traveling in Tibet when a friend stopped to buy an odd-looking fungus. This lead Hopping to research the impacts of climate change in the Himalayan region and her findings are startling. Hopping talks to Idaho Matters about the decline of caterpillar fungus and our warming planet.

(Shutterstock)Pancreatic cancer is the third-leading cause of cancer-related deaths in America and we learn about advances in detection and treatment, and meet a survivor.

(st. luke's)Having 'end-of-life' conversations are difficult, and oncologists find they have these discussions as a matter of nature. St. Luke's MSTI medical director Dan Zuckerman talks about those conversations.

(DreamWorks / MGM / Warner Bros / Disney)Rocky returns, the world's wettest superhero and a glimpse into the Jim Crow-era South are a few things you'll see on the silver screen as the year draws to a close. Boise Weekly film critic (and Boise State Public Radio weekend warrior) George Prentice stops in to talk about the films playing out 2018.

(amazon)University of Concordia law professor Ryan Stoa's Craft Weed: How Family Farming can Remain in Marijuana’s Future examines the parallels between the craft beer industry and the growth of cannabis distribution. Stoa joins Idaho Matters to look at how these business models could work.

Payton McGriff saw an opportunity to help girls in impoverished Sub-Saharan nations better their futures by attending school. With some fellow business students from the University of Idaho, McGriff formed Style Her Empowered. They teach girls in Togo to sew their own school uniforms, overcoming one of the largest obstacles to education in Africa. McGriff joins Idaho Matters to talk about their work and empowering people through education.

(stock)Dealing with cow waste has been a challenge for dairy farmers in Idaho since the Gem State became America's third-largest dairy producer in 1980. Researchers at Idaho National Laboratory are studying the economic benefits of turning cow flops into fuel and yes, there is gold in them thar hills of manure. Idaho Matters speaks with an INL researcher about their pungent findings.

(Saint Alphonsus)Saint Alphonsus' Festival of Trees is a 35-year tradition that invites the public to see a magnificent display of Christmas trees and holiday revelry at the Boise Center. The event welcomes the holiday season to Boise while raising funds for healthcare in the Treasure Valley. 

(Alexandra Beier/Getty Images/File)The State Department of Education released the results of this fall's reading scores. The results are not positive. We talk with Idaho Education News reporter Kevin Richert about why this year's reading numbers are below last year's.

(University of Idaho/Anew Foods)Everybody has made a batch of cookies or brownies and thought, "These are really good ... people would buy these." We discuss the path from foodie daydreams to marketable product with Albertsons and the University of Idaho's Food Technology Center.

(deathcafe.com)Death Cafe takes the discussion of dying out of the zone of discomfort and makes it something socially palatable. The focus isn't on grief counseling — it's more about having honest discussions about buying the farm "with a view to helping people make the most of their (finite) lives."

(deskgram)Only 25% of Idaho defendants facing deportation proceedings do so with legal counsel. Attorney Maria Andrade recognized this disparity and established Immigration Justice Idaho to provide free and accessible legal aid for people facing charges of immigration violations. Andrade joins us to talk about her work and the equity of justice in immigration courts.

(Photo courtesy Brassey Family Collection)More than 100 Idahoans served with the 20th Forestry Regiment during World War I. They were tasked with infrastructural projects and supplies. The granddaughter of Willis Brassey, one of those Idahoans, has curated a record of the service of the Idahoans of the 20th.Eve Chandler joins us to talk about the regiment and we'll talk with Boise State grad student Hayley Noble who has researched the role played by Old Idaho Pen prisoners in World War I.

(idahoelectricalapprenticeship.org)November 12-18 is National Apprenticeship Week and the Department of Labor is highlighting the benefits of programs that match trainee/students with employers willing to teach trades and cultivate the workforce. We'll meet with Idaho's Department of Labor and a Kuna heating and air firm that trains apprentices.

(Boise Weekly)Boise Weekly's 17th Annual Fiction 101 contest enourages writers throughout the Treasure Valley to submit works of fiction that are exactly 101 words. We'll talk with the BW about the contest and meet last year's winner.

(stock)Host Gemma Gaudette leads a round table discussion of the week's headlines with the region's top journalists. This week Idaho Matters speaks with Rebecca Boone of the Associated Press, Kevin Richert of Idaho Education News and Melissa Davlin of Idaho Public Television.

(Your Health Idaho)Your Health Idaho was established following the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in 2010. One of the provisions of the ACA is that each state maintains a health insurance marketplace where consumers can comparitively shop for plans. On today's Idaho Matters, we speak with Pat Kelly, executive director of Your Health Idaho, about the open enrollment period and the impact of Medicaid expansion on Idaho healthcare plans.