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
5.1.2026 - S4C: Ruth sings Adele -- Also:Election Integrity, Candidate Records, Studio Performance
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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 their best. We talked through why we keep coming back to voting records and scorecards, even when people hate them: it’s the scoreboard. Context matters, sure, but pretending the score doesn’t exist just protects politicians from accountability. Neal also shared some numbers he ran that suggest East Idaho’s voting outcomes in Boise don’t match how conservative the region actually is, and that the only real fix is turnout—especially from conservatives who’ve been a little too apathetic while moderates/left-leaning voters show up consistently.
We also hit the fatigue point Julie mentioned—how exhausting it is watching people fight without decorum, and how frustrating it is when candidates run as Republicans while not actually intending to govern anywhere near the party platform. From there we got into why the longer-form debates have mattered (dark money, misleading campaign claims about votes and budgets, and how soundbites can distort what really happened). We closed out with a strong Studio 4 Cover performance from Ruth Holland (Ruthie dot Holland), a quick local note on the Shilo Inn closure in Idaho Falls, and then a wider-ranging grab bag: AI’s growth pains and energy demands (and why INL/nuclear keeps coming up), skepticism about AI tools “steering” results, and a reminder that “unfunded promises” from politicians deserve the same scrutiny as unfunded mandates. We ended on a sharp example of why taxpayers are skeptical: a Valley View school land deal under criminal investigation after trustees approved paying $5M for land appraised at $2.87M—exactly the kind of thing that makes “we need more funding” a harder sell.
### Highlights
- Why voting records/scorecards are the “scoreboard,” and why context can’t replace accountability
- East Idaho’s conservative identity vs. what the voting data suggests happens in Boise
- Studio 4 Cover: Ruth Holland performs Adele’s “When We Were Young” (and nails it)
- Shilo Inn in Idaho Falls closes abruptly; questions for the Snake River Event Center
- AI: data centers, power/water concerns, and why the “energy problem” may be solved by AI (or nuclear)
- Valley View school land purchase raises fraud concerns and a criminal investigation
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