Borah Pridecast

43 episodes listed below

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One Boise high school, told by its own people.

The gist

Borah Pridecast is made by the faculty and staff of Borah High in Boise, Idaho. Chuck McHenry hosts it from a studio that used to be the audiovisual closet in the school library. Guests have included Battle of the Books readers, former Senate pages, a government teacher, and two colleagues arguing over favorite cover songs.

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About Borah Pridecast

Borah Pridecast is made inside Borah High School in Boise, Idaho, by the school's faculty and staff, and the school itself is its subject. Chuck McHenry hosts. He records in a cramped studio that used to be the audiovisual closet of the Borah library. On air he calls it the only school-produced podcast in the Boise School District, and he says it comes out about once a month during the school year. It is now in its ninth season. Episodes take different shapes. Some are straight interviews, some have two colleagues talking around a theme, and some are made up of several shorter pieces. A season preview promises student hosts from the sophomore, junior and senior classes, correspondents reporting from the field, and faculty and staff hosts talking about subjects they know well. Reading gets serious attention in 'Book Nerds.....Assemble!'. In it, five juniors who have competed in Idaho's Battle of the Books for four years talk about trivia, recommend books to each other, and share their excitement over an author visit from Jennifer Yu, who wrote Grief in the Fourth Dimension. McHenry calls himself an old English teacher and says the conversation warmed his heart. Civics is another thread. Government teacher Corinne Rue appears in 'What Would James Madison Say?'. She talks through checks and balances, the Supreme Court and the still-undefined limits of presidential immunity, and the host brings up her misgivings about teaching government in a heated political climate. In 'Watching the Sausage Get Made', she interviews seniors Mira Brearley and Ivor Iverson about working as Senate pages in Washington, D.C. That includes what they could hear through the door at leadership caucus lunches. The same episode brings back Pat Rose's prep period cold call, which McHenry introduces as an old favorite. Not everything is a lesson. Chris King and Brad Peachey have a mixtape series. Their third installment is about favorite cover songs, and it includes Everything But The Girl's version of the Elvis Costello song 'Alison' and a joking tally of who keeps being wrong. McHenry admits at the start that he expects to be schooled on music he has never heard. Dexter's Quick Take appears in more than one episode. It has graded Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios and asked Miss Paris about the Haunted House, a production put together in a found space instead of on a stage. 'Embrace the Future You!' asks students where they see themselves in five years. It also features Ms. Portia, who gets called the advice bringer, talking about goals and taking risks. The host's tone is warm and self-mocking, and he jokes about misusing student slang like 'fire' and 'rizzing'. Episodes sign off with the refrain 'These are Borah voices', and that line sums up what the show is for.

Made for: Suits a listener who likes hearing a high school's own students and teachers talk about what they do there. Topics range from Battle of the Books trivia and Senate page stories to cover-song debates and a haunted-house production.

What sets it apart: The school is the subject. Borah High's own faculty and staff produce it, and it moves between serious civics conversations, student competitions, music arguments between colleagues and campus segments like Dexter's Quick Take, all tied to one building in Boise.

In their own words

Our goal is to explore and celebrate all the cool aspects of this high school. We have great, interesting, exciting students, teachers, and staff and we hope to share many of their stories with our listeners. We think Borah is a special place and we hope this podcast offers our listeners a glimpse into why it is so special. These are Borah voices.

Why you'd press play

Chuck McHenry's library studio puts you beside two students who served as Senate pages.

Press play if you want

  • to hear a government teacher wrestle with political heat while teaching checks and balances
  • to catch five avid readers getting excited about their Battle of the Books picks
Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →
student activities and competitionscivics and U.S. governmentbooks and readingmusic picks and cover songsplanning for life after graduationHalloween events and school productionsteachers and staff at Borah High

Talks about

Best episodes of Borah Pridecast

Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.

#39 -- 4.3.26-- “Book Nerds.....Assemble!"Apr 3, 2026

Five Bora juniors bring warmth and real classroom life to a thoughtful Idaho Battle of the Books conversation.

Five Bora juniors make Idaho Battle of the Books feel like part of the pulse of school life, not just another assignment. In conversation with Chuck McHenry, they look back on four years with the statewide reading motivation and comprehension program, talk through their Friday…

#38 -- 2.26.26 -- “Peachey and King Mix Tape #3 -- the “We have you covered” episodeFeb 26, 2026

A friendly covers discussion turns "Alison" into a sharp, relaxed argument about how taste reshapes a song.

Bora Pridecast's third mixtape episode treats favorite covers as a question of ownership: what changes when one artist passes a song to another.

#37 -- 1.30.26 -- “Embrace the Future You!”Jan 30, 2026

A school podcast makes future planning feel human through risk, support, and a student's scholarship story.

Bora Pridecast's "Embrace the Future You!" keeps future planning at student height, starting with a five-year vision of becoming a therapist and widening into fear, hope, goals, graduation, and the unknown.

#36 -- 11.20.25-- "Watching the Sausage Get Made"Nov 20, 2025

Two student Senate pages make congressional politics feel physical, social, and surprisingly human.

Government teacher Corinne Rue sits down with seniors Mira Brearley and Ivor Iverson, both former Senate pages in Washington, D.C., and turns their time on Capitol Hill into a clear, grounded civics conversation.

#35-- 5.21.25-- “What Would James Madison Say?”May 21, 2025

A grounded civics discussion on the first 100 days, checks on power, and teaching government under political pressure.

Bora Pridecast opens its government discussion with the familiar first-100-days marker, then uses that frame to ask how executive power is meant to be checked.

Podcasts like Borah Pridecast

Episodes

  1. 1

    #39 -- 4.3.26-- “Book Nerds.....Assemble!"

    Hidden gem

    Borah Pridecast #39 features Chuck McHenry with five Bora juniors who have spent four years in Idaho Battle of the Books, or IBOB, and they describe it as a statewide reading and trivia competition with 12-book sets.

    Apr 3, 2026·19m·1 clip
  2. 2

    #38 -- 2.26.26 -- “Peachey and King Mix Tape #3 -- the “We have you covered” episode

    Hidden gem

    Borah Pridecast #38 is a mixtape episode about favorite covers, opened by Chuck McHenry, Chris King, and Brad Peachy explaining why a cover works when it becomes “a tribute” or gives a song “its own spin.” Chris King names Aretha Franklin’s “Respect,” Elvis Costello’s “Alison” covered by Everything But The Girl, Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide” covered by the Smashing Pumpkins, Run DMC’s “Walk This Way,” and Johnny Cash’s “Hurt” as the emotional high points of her list.

    Feb 26, 2026·41m·2 clips
  3. 3

    #37 -- 1.30.26 -- “Embrace the Future You!”

    Hidden gem

    Borah Pridecast #37, “Embrace the Future You!,” centers on Chuck McHenry’s conversation with Bora High School college and career counselor Charisse Portia about sophomores, juniors, and seniors planning after graduation.

    Jan 30, 2026·44m·2 clips
  4. 4

    #36 -- 11.20.25-- "Watching the Sausage Get Made"

    Hidden gem

    Borah Pridecast Episode 36 centers on Corinne Rue interviewing seniors Mira Brearley and Ivor Iverson about serving as U.S.

    Nov 20, 2025·47m·3 clips
  5. 5

    Season 9 Preview -- 10.20.25 -- Fall is Here!

    Chuck McHenry previews season 9 of the Borough Pridecast, highlighting new student and teacher voices, interviews, and correspondents, followed by a segment on The Haunted House.

    Oct 21, 2025·6m
  6. 6

    #35-- 5.21.25-- “What Would James Madison Say?”

    Hidden gem

    Chuck McHenry and government teacher Corinne Rue use the Trump administration’s first 100 days to talk through 171 executive orders, court injunctions, and the role of the Supreme Court in checking presidential power.

    May 21, 2025·33m·2 clips
  7. 7

    #34 -- 4.17.25 -- “Alum Spot: Boise Dev's Don Day”

    Hidden gem

    Borah Pridecast host Chuck McHenry interviews former student Don Day, founder of Boise Dev, about a career that began at Channel 7 while Day was still in high school.

    Apr 17, 2025·34m·2 clips
  8. 8

    #33 -- 1.15.25 -- “Peachey and King: Mix Tape #2”

    Hidden gem

    On Borah Pridecast #33, counselor Chris King asks history teacher Brad Peachy to match songs to life moments.

    Jan 14, 2025·28m·2 clips
  9. 9

    Season 8 is coming! 11.5.24

    Nov 5, 2024·3m
  10. 10

    #32 --4.17.24--"Peachey and King: Mix Tape #1"

    Apr 17, 2024·14m
  11. 11

    #31 --4.6.24--"I'm on the [Pridecast] thinkin' 'bout the government"

    Hidden gem

    Borah High School teacher Corinne Roo describes how the 2016 election and social media changed classroom discussions of US government.

    Apr 6, 2024·21m·2 clips
  12. 12

    #30 Promcast Redux 4.26.23 : Episode #7 -- The Grand March, 5 years later

    Apr 26, 2023·23m
  13. 13

    Borah Voices S1 E3 4.4.23: "It's Springtime and the Food Trucks are in Full Bloom"

    Apr 4, 2023·25m
  14. 14

    Borah Voices S1 E2 1.16.23: "Winter: it's debatable"

    Jan 16, 2023·43m
  15. 15

    Borah Voices S1 E1 12.20.22: "Cross Country, Carnival, and Comic Books"

    Dec 20, 2022·41m
  16. 16

    #29 -- 11.18.22 -- Borah Voices: A New Hope

    Nov 18, 2022·16m
  17. 17

    #28 -- 4.25.22 -- Find a Racket, Find a Friend, Get Out There

    Apr 25, 2022·31m
  18. 18

    #27 -- 11.16.21 -- Twisting Tropes: Carlos and Miles' Excellent Podventure

    Nov 16, 2021·29m
  19. 19

    #26 -- 10.5.21 -- Giving it the Ole College Try

    Oct 5, 2021·27m
  20. 20

    #25-- 5.14.21 -- Jad Abumrad: "The Interview"

    A high school podcast club interviews renowned podcaster Jad Abumrad about his high school experience and career in podcasting.

    May 14, 2021·1h
  21. 21

    #24-- 5.7.20- Wake up, game, do the homework, and it's that forever

    May 7, 2020·22m
  22. 22

    #23-- 3.2.2020-- Love Shack

    Mar 2, 2020·36m
  23. 23

    #22: 2.7.2020-- Weird Science!

    Feb 7, 2020·16m
  24. 24

    #21: 1.13.20 -- Is your Dad in a Band? The Music Episode

    Jan 13, 2020·17m
  25. 25

    #20: 11.15.19 -- What's your mascot going to be? The College episode

    Nov 15, 2019·35m
  26. 26

    #19: Halloweeny stories!

    Oct 30, 2019·7m
  27. 27

    #18: Homecoming: lost sophs, carnival kids, new voices

    Oct 16, 2019·31m
  28. 28

    Summer Bonus Pridecast Review!

    The host introduces a summer review episode featuring highlights from past episodes and a student essay.

    Jul 11, 2019·31m
  29. 29

    #17: 5.30.19 -- Graduation Night: nervous, happy, and excited all at the same time

    May 30, 2019·7m
  30. 30

    #16: 5.21.19 -- You can be a WEB Scholar and still have fun!

    This episode of the Borah Pridecast features interviews with Borah High School's William E.

    May 21, 2019·35m
  31. 31

    #15: 4.10.19-- Borah alum special: Polyester, mix tapes, and a nickel in your ear

    Borah High School alumni from the 1970s share their memories and experiences of returning to work at their alma mater.

    Apr 10, 2019·57m
  32. 32

    #14: 2.13.19 -- This isn't a dating service, it's just a podcast

    Feb 13, 2019·22m
  33. 33

    #13: 12.18.18 -- Serenity, Love, Joy

    Dec 18, 2018·14m
  34. 34

    #12: 11.16.18 – Thankful for this Star Salad

    Nov 16, 2018·30m
  35. 35

    #11: 10.29.18 – It’s Like A Steampunk Horror Novel Down There!

    Oct 29, 2018·17m
  36. 36

    #10: 10.5.18 -- Homecoming: Unicorns, Vampires, and Chess Boxing

    Oct 5, 2018·10m
  37. 37

    #9: 6.1.18 -- Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye

    Jun 1, 2018·13m
  38. 38

    #8: 5.22.18 - 1850 degrees

    May 22, 2018·20m
  39. 39

    #7: 4.27.18 - The Grand March

    Apr 27, 2018·22m
  40. 40

    #6: 3.30.18 - It's a Sensual Thing

    Chuck McHenry interviews art and special education teachers about a student's art series titled 'On the Spectrum'.

    Mar 30, 2018·25m
  41. 41

    #5: 1.31.18 - Spaghettified

    Feb 1, 2018·22m
  42. 42

    #4: 11.17.17 - Pop Filters Made from Coat Hangers

    Nov 17, 2017·22m
  43. 43

    #3: 6.2.2017 - Addendum: Honey Bear Don't Give a Bleep

    Jun 2, 2017·17m