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.
The Neal Larson Show
3.16.2026 - Budget Stalemate, Iran Messaging, Parental Rights
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Neal Larson and Julie Mason kick off the week already feeling like it should be Thursday, bouncing between birthday banter and real frustration with how things are going—especially at the Idaho Legislature. They dig into the Senate’s blow-up over a major budget, agreeing Senator Doug Ricks is one of the few who shows up the same way in every room, and pushing back on the idea that one dramatic floor speech “changed everything.” In their view, the speech mostly raised the emotional temperature without offering a path forward, and now JFAC is stuck trying to find enough Senate votes without alienating the ones they’ve already got. From there, they pivot to a broader complaint: lawmakers and agencies kicking hard problems down the road, including the ongoing fight over ending automatic teacher union dues deductions—something they argue should be straightforward if lawmakers are actually in charge.
The show then swings national, reacting to the Iran conflict (Operation “Epic Fury”), skepticism of media narratives that lean on Iranian claims, and Caroline Leavitt’s criticism of anonymous-source reporting and subsequent “corrections.” They talk through divisions on the right, the weird incentives in political coverage, and why they see national security as worth short-term pain (including gas prices). Back home again, they call out loaded language in coverage of a bill requiring schools/health professionals to inform parents about transgender identification requests, arguing parents aren’t the villains and kids don’t have “privacy rights” from mom and dad. They also revisit oversight issues at Idaho Health and Welfare (and the AG’s authority to investigate COVID-era childcare grants), then close with a warning that a medical marijuana petition drive is using the same “compassion campaign” playbook as Medicaid expansion—and they think it could work.
**Highlights**
- Why the Senate budget fight isn’t about one speech—and why JFAC is now negotiating in a minefield
- Media vs. Iran narratives: distrust of Iranian “reporting,” anonymous sources, and why corrections matter
- “Outing” vs. “informing parents”: the loaded language battle over schools and parental rights
- Idaho Health and Welfare oversight concerns and the ongoing authority fight for investigations
- Medical marijuana petitions: the “compassion” pitch, and why they think it may pass
Let’s talk advertising. When you want to advertise on the radio, you call the station, right? But what about Facebook, Instagram, Hulu, Disney+, Peacock, and other streaming platforms?
You could try clicking around, reading books, or taking online courses to figure it out—or you can let us handle it. At Sandhill Media Group, we’re your local experts in both radio and digital marketing.
Visit SandhillMediaGroup.com today.