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
4.24.2026 - Idaho Elections, Medical Marijuana, Iran Tensions
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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 underneath the hood. They also dig into the ongoing intra-party fight over what “conservative” actually means in Idaho politics, including how voting data gets used (and misused) to label legislators as independents, moderates, or something worse.
The middle of the episode gives everyone a breather with a Studio 4 Cover: 10-year-old Margot performs “How Far I’ll Go” from *Moana*, and she absolutely nails it. After that, Open Lines turns into a serious, experience-based conversation about medical marijuana and the almost-inevitable slide toward recreational legalization. Callers weigh in with firsthand stories from states like California and Oregon, concerns about loopholes, dispensary culture, secondhand smoke, workplace impacts, and the bigger question Idaho voters keep coming back to: even if you can find individual cases where people “function fine” using it, what happens when you scale it up statewide?
### Highlights
- A clear rundown of upcoming Idaho legislative interviews and debates leading into May 19
- Neal’s framework for evaluating “party-line” voting: focus on contrast votes, not consensus votes
- Callers with direct experience in legalized states warn that “medical” quickly becomes recreational in practice
- A standout Moana performance from Margot (age 10) that lightens the mood before politics returns
- Ongoing skepticism about the voter initiative process and out-of-state money driving messaging
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