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 years.
Together these two are a powerhouse of knowledge with great banter that comes together in an entertaining and informative show.
Episodes
443 episodes
5.13.2026 - Dark Money, Local Races, Voter Sanity
With six days to go before the election, Neal Larson opens with a pretty accurate picture of what this moment feels like: multiple tornadoes on the horizon—chaos in a bunch of places at once. He does a needed “we’re going to be okay” wellness c...
5.12.2026 - INTERVIEW: Mark Fitzpatrick, Primary Turnout, Big Money Politics, Fitzpatrick vs. Little
With a week left before the primary, Neal and Julie are feeling that familiar end-of-cycle fatigue—when everything feels louder than it should and it’s tempting to snap back on social media. But the bigger point Neal keeps coming back to is thi...
5.11.2026 - INTEREVIEW: Judge Cody Brower, Idaho Primaries, PAC Money
We’re in that familiar spot where the Idaho primary is the real election, and there’s simply more happening than any show can realistically hold. A big chunk of the conversation centers on the sudden, statewide panic over Jordan Redmond putting...
5.8.2026 - INTERVIEW: AG Raul Labrador, Rep Barb Ehardt S4C: Skyline HS's The Chamber
We kicked off the morning talking straight about election season in East Idaho—specifically how to spot (and ignore) the deceptive “dark money” mailers that show up dressed in feel-good names like “water champions” or “veterans” groups. Neal’s ...
5.7.2026 - INTERVIEW: Secretary of State Phil McGrane, Idaho Primaries, Campaign Cash
This morning felt like a full-on smorgasbord: we kicked around the national headlines (including cautious optimism about an Iran deal and Marco Rubio heading to Rome to meet with Pope Leo), but the center of gravity was Idaho politics with the ...
5.6.2026 - Candidates Worley (Dist28), and Young (Dist30) talk about their campaigns and Labrador endorsements
This episode is a snapshot of what it feels like to live in the political pressure-cooker right now—locally and nationally—where the chaos is constant, social media makes it worse, and people are genuinely asking if something terrible is around...
5.5.2026 - DEBATE: Stephanie Mickelsen v Kelly Golden
Neal Larson and Julie Mason set the table for a busy stretch of primary season, including a live, in-studio debate between Representative Stephanie Mickelsen and challenger Kelly Golden. Before the debate, we talked through how fried and combus...
5.4.2026 - PARODY: "Larry Golden Kimball", INTERVIEWS: James Lamborn, D28 candidate, Supt. Debbie Critchfield
Today’s show was a mix of election-season levity and serious policy talk. We kicked things off with a parody ad imagining challenger Larry Golden trying to compete with the built-in name recognition of Brit Raybould by “upgrading” his last name...
5.1.2026 - S4C: Ruth sings Adele -- Also:Election Integrity, Candidate Records, Studio Performance
We’re officially in that “two-and-a-half weeks to Election Day” stretch, and it feels like the volume keeps turning up—forums everywhere, social media at peak car-wreck energy, and a lot of people showing sides of themselves that aren’t exactly...
4.30.2026 - DEBATE: Ehardt vs Cook, INTERVIEW: US Senator Jim Risch
Today’s show was one of those “no time to breathe” mornings: Neal Larson and Julie Mason set the stage for a live, in-studio legislative debate—complete with Facebook Live, listener texts, and a back-and-forth candidate question segment—because...
4.29.2026 - Dems warmly greet a... KING, Supreme Court Redistricting Ruling, Idaho Primary Showdowns
Today’s show was one of those “hold on, a lot is happening” mornings. We kicked it off with the optics (and comedy) of King Charles showing up to Congress, the standing ovations, and the way President Trump and the White House lean into trollin...
4.28.2026 - FlashPoll: Idaho Gubernatorial Race, Chemtrail importance, Assassination attempt aftermath
Today’s show centered on the disturbing reality that we’ve now seen multiple credible assassination attempts against President Trump in a short span—and what that says about where our culture is headed. We tried to “reverse engineer” why this k...
4.27.2026 - Trump Security, Kempthorne Legacy, Political Temperature
Neal Larson and Julie Mason spend the morning processing a heavy weekend: a third public assassination attempt against President Donald Trump and the death of Idaho statesman Dirk Kempthorne. We talk through the whiplash of covering high-stakes...
4.24.2026 - Idaho Elections, Medical Marijuana, Iran Tensions
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 the...
4.23.2026 - Bills in Drawers, Campaign Cash, Authenticity
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 w...
4.22.2026 - DEBATE - Rep. Rod Furniss and Karey Hanks- Immigration Bills, Education, Spending
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 go...
4.21.2026 - Election Races, Media Trust, Cultural Flashpoints
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 ...
4.20.2026 - Iran Tensions, Police Endorsements, Education Enrollment Cliff
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. int...
4.17.2026 - S4C Aaron Ball Band, Dark Money, Idaho Spending, Space Awe
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:...
4.16.2026 - INTERVIEW: Sen. Jim Risch, Iran Update, Idaho Politics, Medical Marijuana
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 I...
4.15.2026 - DEBATE: Bingham vs McKellar D32B
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 **Bri...
4.14.2026 - Trump AI Image, Outrage Culture, Idaho Primaries
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 di...
4.13.2026 - Iran Breakdown, Idaho Union Bill, Primary Money Questions
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...
4.10.2026 - INTERVIEW: ISU AD Pauline Thiros, S4C Ty Liddle NIL Turbulence, Cowboy Poetry, Local Politics
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 ...
