x

75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

PODCAST

The Neal Larson Show

Neal Larson is an Associated Press Award-winning newspaper columnist and radio talk show host. He has a BA from Idaho State University in Media Studies and Political Science. Neal is happily married to his wife Esther with their five children in Idaho Falls.Julie Mason is a long-time resident of east Idaho with a degree in journalism from Ricks College. Julie enjoys reading, baking, and is an avid dog lover. When not on the air she enjoys spending time with her three children and husband of 26

news politics

All Episodes

86:52

4.24.2026 - Idaho Elections, Medical Marijuana, Iran...

The Neal Larson Show ·

2026/04/24

Send us Fan Mail Today on the show, Neal Larson and Julie Mason bounce between big headlines and very local stakes. They hit the latest on Iran and President Trump’s posture of “peace through strength,” then pivot hard into Idaho’s May 19 primary season—why they’re prioritizing legislative races, what’s coming up in candidate interviews and debates, and why Neal is skeptical of voter initiatives after past ballot measures felt intentionally packaged to sound simple while changing a lot more u...

en-us

84:02

4.23.2026 - Bills in Drawers, Campaign Cash,...

The Neal Larson Show ·

2026/04/23

Send us Fan Mail Today felt like one long group-therapy session about politics—how exhausting it is, how obvious some of the games are, and how hard it can be to stay sane when you’re watching people run as one thing and govern as another. We talked about the weird reality that you can genuinely like candidates as human beings (Marco Erickson and upcoming guest, Jalene Berger, got called out as prime examples of “nice people you still have to scrutinize”), while still being fed up with the sy...

en-us

91:20

4.22.2026 - DEBATE - Rep. Rod Furniss and Karey...

The Neal Larson Show ·

2026/04/22

Send us Fan Mail Today’s show was a mix of pre-debate commentary and a full-on District 31 rematch debate between Representative Rod Furniss and former Representative Karey Hanks. Before the candidates came in, we previewed the format (including a little “AI gotcha question” twist), then pivoted into two big statewide punching bags: allegations involving the Southern Poverty Law Center (framed as manufacturing racist incidents for fundraising/narrative purposes), and the Idaho Education Assoc...

en-us

82:56

4.21.2026 - Election Races, Media Trust, Cultural...

The Neal Larson Show ·

2026/04/21

Send us Fan Mail Today was one of those shows where we admitted up front: the news cycle is a mess, and it’s hard to even know what deserves attention anymore. We talked through the flood of conspiracy-laced clips people send in (often with a weird demand that we *have* to watch them), and why confirmation bias is basically supercharged right now—especially online. We don’t have unlimited time, and we’re not interested in being dragged into an outrage treadmill. Instead, we focused on what *i...

en-us

89:51

4.20.2026 - Iran Tensions, Police Endorsements,...

The Neal Larson Show ·

2026/04/20

Send us Fan Mail Today we bounced between the global and the hyper-local, which is kind of where life actually lives right now. Neil unpacked the volatility in the Strait of Hormuz and why “deals” with Iran are so hard to trust, arguing that protecting U.S. interests may ultimately require something closer to regime removal—even if nobody wants to call it that. We also hit the pace of the news cycle (and what it drops when Trump pivots to the next big headline), plus Kash Patel’s vow to sue *...

en-us

87:00

4.17.2026 - S4C Aaron Ball Band, Dark Money, Idaho...

The Neal Larson Show ·

2026/04/17

Send us Fan Mail Idaho’s getting “discovered,” and with the population growth we’re seeing, we’re also getting a flood of out-of-state money and national agendas trying to reshape what makes this place work. We talked through what that looks like on the ground: dark-money mailers and attack ads aimed at conservative lawmakers (with Rep. Barbie Hart as the first big target), a likely marijuana initiative on the November ballot, and a broader strategy where groups that can’t win with Democrats ...

en-us

89:31

4.16.2026 - INTERVIEW: Sen. Jim Risch, Iran Update,...

The Neal Larson Show ·

2026/04/16

Send us Fan Mail Neal Larson and Julie Mason check in with U.S. Senator Jim Risch for a fast-moving update on Iran, the Strait of Hormuz, and where things go next. Risch argues Trump deserves major credit for finally forcing a decisive moment after decades of Iranian aggression, says the military phase is largely “winding down” because so much of Iran’s military and government capability has been flattened, and stresses this won’t turn into another forever war. They also touch NATO—Risch is c...

en-us

78:36

4.15.2026 - DEBATE: Bingham vs McKellar D32B

The Neal Larson Show ·

2026/04/15

Send us Fan Mail Today’s show had that “debate day” energy right from the start—Neal Larson and Julie Mason set the table for a live legislative debate in Idaho House District 32B between appointed incumbent Representative **Aaron Bingham** and challenger **Brian McKellar**. Before bringing the candidates in, they walked through the bigger news cycle too: cautious optimism that the Trump administration might be nearing a deal with Iran, discussion about leverage around the Strait of Hormuz an...

en-us

83:00

4.14.2026 - Trump AI Image, Outrage Culture, Idaho...

The Neal Larson Show ·

2026/04/14

Send us Fan Mail Today we spent a good chunk of time on the social-media firestorm over President Trump sharing (and then deleting) an AI-generated image with heavy religious symbolism—something a lot of people took as “Trump portraying himself as Jesus.” We didn’t defend the post (it was a boneheaded move), but we also talked about how our cultural outrage gauge is totally busted: people rush to the loudest, most performative reaction, often more for clicks and group approval than conviction...

en-us

86:15

4.13.2026 - Iran Breakdown, Idaho Union Bill, Primary...

The Neal Larson Show ·

2026/04/13

Send us Fan Mail This episode was one of those “it’s Monday but it doesn’t feel like Monday” shows—because everything hit at once. We walked through the collapse of the Iran peace talks after a marathon 21-hour negotiation, with J.D. Vance central to the effort and both sides stuck on a non-starter: Iran’s nuclear future. From there, the conversation shifted to what happens next—Trump signaling the war is back on, focusing immediately on the Strait of Hormuz and using Truth Social as a tool t...

en-us

87:14

4.10.2026 - INTERVIEW: ISU AD Pauline Thiros, S4C Ty...

The Neal Larson Show ·

2026/04/10

Send us Fan Mail We kicked off by laying out the next month of political coverage—four straight weeks of candidate debates, plus the usual logistical chaos that comes with trying to get everyone in the same room at the same time. And honestly, we meant what we said: we’re grateful for the lawmakers willing to show up, take tough questions, and explain themselves. That set the tone for a busy show where we bounced from upcoming local races to the bigger cultural and institutional stuff that’s ...

en-us

86:45

4.9.2026 - Ceasefire Confusion, Boise Pride...

The Neal Larson Show ·

2026/04/09

Send us Fan Mail Today we bounced between the global and the hyper-local, starting with the messy reality of an Iran ceasefire—how it’s not a clean “light switch,” and how a so-called “10-point deal” making the rounds was basically a media-fueled ghost document. The core point stayed the same: Trump’s red line is still no Iranian enrichment, and the chatter about him accepting an Iranian “wishlist” doesn’t line up with what VP JD Vance and Karoline Levitt said. From there, we pivoted back hom...

en-us

82:30

4.8.2026 - Trump, Iran, NATO

The Neal Larson Show ·

2026/04/08

Send us Fan Mail Neal Larson and Julie Mason spend most of the show working through two big themes: how to interpret President Trump’s public threats and how much weight we should give our own emotional reactions to politics. Neal argues that people keep making the same mistake with Trump—taking his hyperbolic language literally instead of looking for the negotiating objective underneath it, especially with a regime like Iran. In his view, Trump’s “end of civilization” style messaging is mean...

en-us

83:23

4.7.2026 - Artemis Awe, Iran Warnings, Boise Pride...

The Neal Larson Show ·

2026/04/07

Send us Fan Mail Today was a real whiplash kind of show—in the best and worst ways. We spent a lot of time sitting in the wonder of NASA’s Artemis II mission: four astronauts (three Americans and a Canadian) pushing farther past the moon than humans have ever gone, including that surreal stretch of radio silence on the far side. For a lot of us, it hit the same emotional nerve as the old shuttle days—one of those rare moments where you can just feel proud of what America can do when we aim hi...

en-us

87:20

4.6.2026 - Artemis II, Bracket Drama, Easter Debates

The Neal Larson Show ·

2026/04/06

Send us Fan Mail Today felt like one of those “how is all of this happening at once?” mornings. We’re following Artemis II as it closes in on the moon—about 10 hours out from the big loop around the far side—with a real focus on scouting for water, because if we’re serious about a future lunar base, that’s the whole ballgame. Neal nerds out (in the best way) about how unreal it is that we can send humans a quarter-million miles away and talk to them the whole time, while also swatting away th...

en-us

85:01

4.3.2026 - Sine Die, School Boundaries, Harriman Fallout

The Neal Larson Show ·

2026/04/03

Send us Fan Mail The session is finally signed sine die, and it feels like a relief—but also like we’re closing the book on a year that was all over the map. We walked through the rough spots (budget turbulence, cultural bills, and the frustration of basically nothing meaningful getting done on immigration), while also acknowledging a few wins—like ending the flow of taxpayer dollars to teachers unions. The biggest “wait, what?” moment was the viral clip of Janie Ward-Engle King saying, “When...

en-us

87:57

4.2.2026 - INTERVIEW: Sgt. Brian Lovell (FOP),...

The Neal Larson Show ·

2026/04/02

Send us Fan Mail Today’s show had that late-session “everybody’s a little saucy” energy—Neal Larson and Julie Mason were feeling it, the listeners were feeling it, and the Idaho Legislature was absolutely feeling it. We dug into the end-of-session maneuvering (including a “radiator cap” move that sparked Rep. Britt Raybould’s frustration), and then shifted into the bigger policy fights: immigration enforcement bills and the push to require (or effectively require) local agencies to partner mo...

en-us

87:54

4.1.2026 - INTERVIEW: Rep. Mike Simpson, SCOTUS hears...

The Neal Larson Show ·

2026/04/01

Send us Fan Mail This episode was a whirlwind look at two big, very “right now” stories: the Supreme Court’s oral arguments on birthright citizenship (with President Donald Trump in the chamber) and the ongoing partial government shutdown centered on DHS funding. We listened in as U.S. Solicitor General John Sauer laid out the administration’s argument that “subject to the jurisdiction” in the 14th Amendment should be read through an allegiance/domicile lens—meaning not everyone born on U.S. ...

en-us

89:41

3.31.2026 - Parental Transparency, Attorney General...

The Neal Larson Show ·

2026/03/31

Send us Fan Mail Today we worked through a packed slate of Idaho policy and a few national flashpoints, with the big focus on the Senate moving bills that have been stuck in the pipeline. We dug into House Bill 822—framed as closing a loophole in Idaho’s vulnerable child protections—aimed at preventing schools, counselors, and health care professionals from keeping a child’s social transition secret from parents. Neal argued this shouldn’t even need to be legislation, but said the cultural re...

en-us

88:58

3.30.3036 - No Kings Protests, Bathroom Bill,...

The Neal Larson Show ·

2026/03/30

Send us Fan Mail Neal Larson and Julie Mason kicked off the week sizing up a busy weekend in East Idaho—especially the “No Kings” protests—and the bigger point they kept coming back to was this: if you’re going to rally, at least be clear about what you’re trying to accomplish. Neal argued that “No Kings” functions more like a shared expression of anger than an actionable goal, and that without a concrete objective (a real verb, not “raise awareness”), these events don’t move policy and won’t...

en-us

429 results

Similar Podcasts

Expres Ráno

Expres FM

PBS News Hour - Full Show

PBS News

CD Voice

China Daily

Israel Today: Ongoing War Report

Noa Levi

Jeffrey Epstein: The Coverup Chronicles

Bobby Capucci