About

I am an audiobook narrator and radio broadcaster, and can be heard on Boise State Public Radio.

This podcast is part of an ongoing exploration of the newspaper archives at the Library of Congress website Chronicling America

Idaho Newspaper History is an appreciation of the thought and writing of Idahoans over a century ago. 

It is a textual voyage, following this chart: each day, an article is presented that appeared 108 years ago in a newspaper published in Idaho.

Why 108 years?

Going back a century felt somewhat arbitrary. Searching for more fertile time spans, I looked at other time cycles, including weather, astronomical events, mathematics, business, and superstition. Multiples of the Metonic cycle (19 years) were interesting, as were planetary returns. The number 108 is significant in some cultures, and it has interesting factors: two squared times three cubed.

Comparing the results of various timespans, 108 years was consistently fruitful. Newspaper material from 108 years ago is safely in the public domain, and so after some practical research, it became the timespan used for Idaho Newspaper History.

I hope you find something you like among this podcast’s myriad gems.