Are you feeling the pull to be connected this winter? We have some opportunities for you to be a part of New Mexican culture featuring art, history, science, poetry, and live conversations.

Plus find out who loves winter and who does not... Encounter Culture host Emily or producer Andrea?

Learn more about the Folk Art Apprenticeship Program & Apply: https://bit.ly/nmartsfolk

Get details about the reopening of the Museum of Natural History & Science: https://bit.ly/nmnathistory

Join Us For An El Palacio Reading:

January 11, 2026, 2pm @ FUSION, Albuquerque - https://bit.ly/elpaljan2026

February 22 at 2 pm in the Donnelly Library at New Mexico Highlands University - Details coming soon. Follow El Palacio on Instagram or Facebook for updates.

Read more in El Palacio:

Before the Famous Fossils: Ancient Life in the Paleozoic Era in New Mexico by Tamara Enz, Spring 2025

Winter 2025 issue!

Your Encounter Culture Playlist:

The American Mystique of the Cowboy Boot with Deana McGufin and Jes Márquez, Season 8

TIme Travel: From GIant Millipedes to Modern Landscapes with New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science, Season 8

Ancient LIfe: There's No Shame in Extinction video on YouTube

Big, Toothy, and Conveniently Dead: Why We Are Obsessed with Dinosaurs Featuring Anthony Fiorillo, Season 5

An Underground Love Affair, The Palace Seen and Unseen with Archaeologists Cordelia Snow & Stephen Post, Season 1

Everyone Wants to be Included in the Story of New Mexico: The Wonders on Wheels Mobile Museum, Season 9

Good Heart Work: Poetry as Medicine with Manuel González, New Mexico Poet Laureate, Season 9

Don't miss the upcoming issues of El Palacio - SUBSCRIBE NOW!

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We'd love to hear from you! Let us know what you loved about the episode, share a personal story it made you think of, or ask us a question at [email protected]. OR leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!

Visit newmexicoculture.org for info about our museums, historic sites, virtual tours, and more.

Our favorite way to fully experience everything they have to offer is with the New Mexico CulturePass. Reserve yours online! ***

Encounter Culture is a production of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, produced and edited by Andrea Klunder at The Creative Impostor Studios.

Hosted by Emily Withnall, editor at El Palacio Magazine Executive Producer: Daniel Zillmann Technical Director & Post-Production Audio: Edwin R. Ruiz Recording Engineers: Collin Ungerleider & Kabby at Kabby Sound Studios in Santa Fe Editor & Production Manager: Alex Riegler Associate Producer & Editor: Monica Braine (Assiniboine/Lakota) Theme Music: D'Santi Nava

Instagram: @newmexicanculture and @elpalaciomagazine

New Mexico has a new Poet Laureate! Although Manuel González is well known in the slam poetry circles in Albuquerque—where he also served as the city's poet laureate from 2016 to 2018—he is now stepping into a larger role with big visions about how to engage the entire state in the unique connection and expression inherent to poetry.

Throughout his career, González has made it his mission to reach the most marginalized people in New Mexico, and now he plans to leverage his role as Poet Laureate heal hearts in as many communities as possible.

Discover more:

Manuel González Xicanopoet

New Mexico Arts

Manny and the Casanovas

Al Hurricane

Native American Community Academy

Hear more on Encounter Culture:

From Goatheads to Grand Canyons: A Love Letter to the Landscape with New Mexico State Poet Laureate, Lauren Camp, Season 6

Curanderismo, Poetry, and How to Heal a Broken Heart with Tommy Archuleta, Santa Fe Poet Laureate, Season 7

Read more in El Palacio:

Art and Activism at Highlands University, by Myrriah Gόmez, Winter 2025

Don't miss the upcoming issues of El Palacio - SUBSCRIBE NOW!

***

We'd love to hear from you! Let us know what you loved about the episode, share a personal story it made you think of, or ask us a question at [email protected].

OR leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!

Visit newmexicoculture.org for info about our museums, historic sites, virtual tours, and more.

Our favorite way to fully experience everything they have to offer is with the New Mexico CulturePass. Reserve yours online! ***

Encounter Culture is a production of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, produced and edited by Andrea Klunder at The Creative Impostor Studios.

Hosted by Emily Withnall, editor at El Palacio MagazineExecutive Producer: Daniel Zillmann Technical Director & Post-Production Audio: Edwin R. RuizRecording Engineers: Collin Ungerleider & Kabby at Kabby Sound StudiosEditor & Production Manager: Alex RieglerAssociate Producer & Editor: Monica Braine (Assiniboine/Lakota) Theme Music: D'Santi Nava

Instagram: @newmexicanculture and @elpalaciomagazine

New Mexico is the fifth largest state, making access to art, history, and culture at museums or historic site difficult for many. The Wonder on Wheels mobile museum traverses the state to bring art and history directly to small towns, villages, and Pueblos, ensuring everyone can participate in the rich cultural conversations so central to New Mexican identity.

The exhibition inside the thirty-eight-foot RV changes annually and this year, the eight New Mexico State Historic Sites tell the state's story across centuries, from 1150 to the early twentieth century. The staff pack rich history into a small space, supported by oral narratives and dialogue.

Plan your visit:

Wonders on Wheels

Wonders on Wheels Facebook Group

New Mexico Historic Sites

Hear more on Encounter Culture:

Listen, and Speak the Truth: Collaborating Through Conversation on the Bosque Redondo Memorial with Manuelito Wheeler and Aaron Roth, Encounter Culture, Season 2

Listen to the Land: Art at Bosque Redondo with Dakota Mace, Daisy Trudell-Mills, and Kéyah Keenan Henry, Encounter Culture, Season 6

Everything Past is Present at Los Luceros Historic Site with Rebecca Ward and Carly Stewart, Encounter Culture, Season 3

The Land is Everything: Voting Rights vs Tribal Sovereignty with Dr. Maurice Crandall, Encounter Culture, Season 4

Read more in El Palacio:

"The Man in the Sala," El Palacio Summer 2023

"Cathay Williams: In Search of Liberation with the Buffalo Soldiers," El Palacio Summer 2025

Don't miss the upcoming issues of El Palacio - SUBSCRIBE NOW!

***

We'd love to hear from you! Let us know what you loved about the episode, share a personal story it made you think of, or ask us a question at [email protected].

OR leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!

Visit newmexicoculture.org for info about our museums, historic sites, virtual tours, and more.

Our favorite way to fully experience everything they have to offer is with the New Mexico CulturePass. Reserve yours online! ***

Encounter Culture is a production of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, produced and edited by Andrea Klunder at The Creative Impostor Studios.

Hosted by Emily Withnall, editor at El Palacio MagazineExecutive Producer: Daniel Zillmann Technical Director & Post-Production Audio: Edwin R. RuizRecording Engineers: Collin Ungerleider & Kabby at Kabby Sound StudiosEditor & Production Manager: Alex RieglerAssociate Producer & Editor: Monica Braine (Assiniboine/Lakota) Theme Music: D'Santi Nava

Instagram: @newmexicanculture and @elpalaciomagazine

In anticipation of another rich season of New Mexico history, art, and culture, El Palacio editor and Encounter Culture host Emily Withnall and producer Andrea Klunder reflect on a year of award-winning storytelling.

From earning national recognition for both the podcast and the magazine to the art of curating New Mexico's most compelling voices, Andrea and Emily share what it takes to craft stories that resonate across time and place.

They also look ahead to a new season of conversations with artists, historians, and cultural stewards. Plus, tune in to hear about a few favorite winter traditions that make this time of year uniquely New Mexican! Join us for a window into the creative collaboration that continues to shape Encounter Culture.

Read more in El Palacio:

Father, I Hardly Knew Ye: A Nisei Daughter's Memories of Japanese American Incarceration

Strike and Struggle: The National Miners' Union and The Great Gallup Coal War, 1933-1935

Hear more on Encounter Culture:

From Goatheads to Grand Canyons: A Love Letter to the Landscape with New Mexico State Poet Laureate, Lauren Camp

Don't miss the upcoming winter & spring issues of El Palacio - SUBSCRIBE NOW!

***

We'd love to hear from you! Let us know what you loved about the episode, share a personal story it made you think of, or ask us a question at [email protected].

OR leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!

Visit newmexicoculture.org for info about our museums, historic sites, virtual tours, and more.

Our favorite way to fully experience everything they have to offer is with the New Mexico CulturePass. Reserve yours online! ***

Encounter Culture is a production of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, produced and edited by Andrea Klunder at The Creative Impostor Studios.

Hosted by Emily Withnall, editor at El Palacio Magazine Executive Producer: Daniel Zillmann Technical Director & Post-Production Audio: Edwin R. Ruiz Recording Engineers: Collin Ungerleider & Kabby at Kabby Sound Studios in Santa Fe Editor & Production Manager: Alex Riegler Associate Producer & Editor: Monica Braine (Assiniboine/Lakota) Theme Music: D'Santi Nava

Instagram: @newmexicanculture and @elpalaciomagazine

For as long as humans have been on this earth, we have looked to the cosmos for information and direction. The Indigenous people of North America used the skies to make sense of their environments and to guide them in planting crops, building villages, and conducting ceremonies. The new exhibition at the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture, Makowa: The Worlds Above Us, showcases a wide range of art, photographs, videos, and more to center the wisdom and longevity of Native astronomy and to remind us that we are all interconnected. On this episode of Encounter Culture, guest consultants for the Makowa exhibition, Misha Pipe and Kaela Waldstein, join host Emily Withnall in the studio to talk about all of this and more.

Mentioned in this Episode:

Makowa: The Worlds Above Us exhibition at the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture

"Symphonies in the Skies": article about Makowa in Summer 2025 issue of El Palacio

"Star Parties, Rim Blown Flutes, and Pueblo History at Jemez Historic Site with Marlon Magdalena," Encounter Culture podcast episode

Lowell Observatory

Jemez Historic Site (and summer Star Party events)

We'd love to hear from you! Let us know what you loved about the episode, share a personal story it made you think of, or ask us a question at [email protected]. You can write an email or record a short voice memo and attach it for us to listen to.

Visit newmexicoculture.org for info about our museums, historic sites, virtual tours, and more.

Our favorite way to fully experience everything they have to offer is with the New Mexico CulturePass. Reserve yours online!

If you love New Mexico, you'll love El Palacio Magazine! Subscribe to El Palacio today.

Encounter Culture, a production of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, is produced and edited by Andrea Klunder at The Creative Impostor Studios.

Hosted by Emily Withnall, editor at El Palacio Magazine Executive Producer: Daniel Zillmann Technical Director & Post-Production Audio: Edwin R. Ruiz Recording Engineer: Collin Ungerleider and Kabby at Kabby Sound Studios in Santa Fe Editor & Production Manager: Alex Riegler Associate Producer & Editor: Monica Braine (Assiniboine/Lakota) Theme Music: D'Santi Nava Instagram: @newmexicanculture and @elpalaciomagazine

On the surface, Diné author Daniel Vandever's picture books might appear to be straightforward stories, but the messages about the power of imagination and adventure in his books are imbued with layers of meaning. In his book Fall in Line, Holden!, a little boy breaks free from the constraints of rules and discipline by using his imagination. On a deeper level, the book speaks to the history of Indian Boarding Schools in pushing cultural assimilation.

Likewise, in his wordless picture book Herizon, a girl goes on a magic scarf ride to find her lost sheep. This book is imbued with symbolism about the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) epidemic, as well as cultural references to the Navajo Nation. Herizon was nominated to represent New Mexico at the 2024 National Book Festival.

Mentioned in this Episode:

Fall in Line, Holden! by Daniel Vandever

Herizon by Daniel Vandever

We Weave by Daniel Vandever

Salina Bookshelf

New Mexico representation at the 2024 National Book Festival

The Long Walk

Livestock Reduction Act

"A Brief History of Navaj- Churro Sheep" in the Spring 2025 issue of El Palacio

Navajo Code Talkers

Deb Haaland's Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative Investigative Report: Volume I and Volume II

The Foot Book by Dr. Seuss

Roadrunner's Dance by Rudolfo Anaya

Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin

We'd love to hear from you! Let us know what you loved about the episode, share a personal story it made you think of, or ask us a question at [email protected]. You can write a regular email or record a short voice memo and attach it for us to listen to.

Visit newmexicoculture.org for info about our museums, historic sites, virtual tours, and more.

Our favorite way to fully experience everything they have to offer is with the New Mexico CulturePass. Reserve yours online!

If you love New Mexico, you'll love El Palacio Magazine! Subscribe to El Palacio today. Encounter Culture, a production of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, is produced and edited by Andrea Klunder at The Creative Impostor Studios.

Hosted by Emily Withnall, editor at El Palacio MagazineExecutive Producer: Daniel Zillmann Technical Director & Post-Production Audio: Edwin R. RuizRecording Engineer: Collin Ungerleider and Kabby at Kabby Sound Studios in Santa FeEditor & Production Manager: Alex RieglerAssociate Producer & Editor: Monica Braine (Assiniboine/Lakota) Theme Music: D'Santi Nava Instagram: @newmexicanculture and @elpalaciomagazine

A long, long time ago, the region that is now New Mexico was part of a giant land mass, and it was located on the equator. The climate was warm and tropical and much of the present-day state was covered in shallow seas. This was long before humans or even dinosaurs existed—252 to 541 million years ago.

The New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science has recently opened a new permanent exhibition, The Bradbury Stamm Construction Hall of Ancient Life, that covers the vast geologic history of ancient life in the state. Piecing together the story of ancient life in New Mexico can read like a detective story, and Matt Celeskey, Curator of Exhibits, and Spencer Lucas, Curator of Paleontology, help us unravel it.

Mentioned in this Episode:

New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science

The Bradbury Stamm Construction Hall of Ancient Life

Before the Famous Fossils: Ancient Life in the Paleozoic Era in New Mexico article in Spring 2025 issue of El Palacio

Video walkthrough of exhibition in its final stages of construction

Gordodon reptile fossil found near Alamogordo

Eoscansor tree-climbing reptile fossil found near Chama

***

We'd love to hear from you! Let us know what you loved about the episode, share a personal story it made you think of, or ask us a question at [email protected]. You can write a regular email or record a short voice memo and attach it for us to listen to.

Visit newmexicoculture.org for info about our museums, historic sites, virtual tours, and more.

Our favorite way to fully experience everything they have to offer is with the New Mexico CulturePass. Reserve yours online!

If you love New Mexico, you'll love El Palacio Magazine! Subscribe to El Palacio today. Encounter Culture, a production of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, is produced and edited by Andrea Klunder at The Creative Impostor Studios.

Hosted by Emily Withnall, editor at El Palacio MagazineExecutive Producer: Daniel Zillmann Technical Director & Post-Production Audio: Edwin R. RuizRecording Engineer: Collin Ungerleider and Kabby at Kabby Sound Studios in Santa FeEditor & Production Manager: Alex RieglerAssociate Producer & Editor: Monica Braine (Assiniboine/Lakota) Theme Music: D'Santi Nava

Instagram: @newmexicanculture and @elpalaciomagazine

What did New Mexico look like before the time of the dinosaurs?

The 3,000-square-foot Bradbury Stamm Construction Hall of Ancient Life at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science tells the story of 300 million years of evolution featuring never-before-seen fossils from ancient fish, amphibians, invertebrates, reptiles, and more uncovered across the state.

Take a behind-the-scenes tour of the exhibit being contructed in the weeks before its grand opening with Spencer Lucas, Curator of Paleontology, and Matt Celeskey, Curator of Exhibits. (Then go see the exhibit fully assembled!)

New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science

The Bradbury Stamm Construction Hall of Ancient Life

Before the Famous Fossils: Ancient Life in the Paleozoic Era in New Mexico article in Spring 2025 issue of El Palacio

***

We'd love to hear from you! Let us know what you loved about the episode, share a personal story it made you think of, or ask us a question at [email protected]. You can write a regular email or record a short voice memo and attach it for us to listen to.

Visit newmexicoculture.org for info about our museums, historic sites, virtual tours, and more.

Our favorite way to fully experience everything they have to offer is with the New Mexico CulturePass. Reserve yours online!

If you love New Mexico, you'll love El Palacio Magazine! Subscribe to El Palacio today. Encounter Culture, a production of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, is produced and edited by Andrea Klunder at The Creative Impostor Studios.

Hosted by Emily Withnall, editor at El Palacio MagazineExecutive Producer: Daniel Zillmann Technical Director & Post-Production Audio: Edwin R. RuizEditor & Production Manager: Alex RieglerAssociate Producer & Editor: Monica Braine (Assiniboine/Lakota) Theme Music: D'Santi Nava

Instagram: @newmexicanculture and @elpalaciomagazine

The Media Arts & Technology department at New Mexico Highlands University is a one-of-a-kind program. Students not only learn about technology and design, but they get to implement their ideas, working from brainstorming and mind mapping to exhibition design and installation, interactive displays, and so much more.

NMHU professors Lauren Addario and Becca Sharp join Emily Withnall to talk about their program and their 20-year partnership with the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, including their exhibition design at many of DCA's Historic Sites. This partnership and internship program is one way students from rural parts of the state can learn about various jobs in the arts and develop their skills in design, interpretation, cultural technology, and so much more.

Mentioned in this Episode:

NMHU Media Arts & Technology

Los Luceros Historic Site

Jemez Historic Site

Coronado Historic Site

Bosque Redondo Memorial at Fort Sumner Historic Site

New Mexico State Land Office

Returning Home article by DezBaa' about the NM State Land Office's land exchange program

Mineral Hill (Lauren's band!)

We'd love to hear from you! Let us know what you loved about the episode, share a personal story it made you think of, or ask us a question at [email protected]. You can write an email or record a short voice memo and attach it for us to listen to.

Visit newmexicoculture.org for info about our museums, historic sites, virtual tours, and more.

Our favorite way to fully experience everything they have to offer is with the New Mexico CulturePass. Reserve yours online!

If you love New Mexico, you'll love El Palacio Magazine! Subscribe to El Palacio today. Encounter Culture, a production of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, is produced and edited by Andrea Klunder at The Creative Impostor Studios.

Hosted by Emily Withnall, editor at El Palacio MagazineExecutive Producer: Daniel Zillmann Technical Director & Post-Production Audio: Edwin R. RuizRecording Engineer: Collin Ungerleider and Kabby at Kabby Sound Studios in Santa FeEditor & Production Manager: Alex RieglerAssociate Producer & Editor: Monica Braine (Assiniboine/Lakota) Theme Music: D'Santi Nava

Instagram: @newmexicanculture and @elpalaciomagazine

New Mexico Arts runs a Folk Arts Apprenticeship Program that pairs masters in a particular art form with apprentices so that a wide variety of arts unique to New Mexico can be passed on. In this episode of Encounter Culture, host Emily Withnall chats with bootmakers Jes Márquez and Deana McGuffin about their experience with the Apprenticeship Program and the wonderful challenge of making beautiful cowboy boots.

Mentioned in this Episode:

New Mexico Arts Folk Arts Apprenticeship Program

Jes Márquez Instagram profile

Jes Márquez website

New Mexico Arts Art in Public Places

Zozobra event in Santa Fe

We'd love to hear from you! Let us know what you loved about the episode, share a personal story it made you think of, or ask us a question at [email protected]. You can write a regular email or record a short voice memo and attach it for us to listen to.

Visit newmexicoculture.org for info about our museums, historic sites, virtual tours, and more.

Our favorite way to fully experience everything they have to offer is with the New Mexico CulturePass. Reserve yours online!

If you love New Mexico, you'll love El Palacio Magazine! Subscribe to El Palacio today.

Encounter Culture, a production of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, is produced and edited by Andrea Klunder at The Creative Impostor Studios.

Hosted by Emily Withnall, editor at El Palacio Magazine

Executive Producer: Daniel Zillmann

Technical Director & Post-Production Audio: Edwin R. Ruiz

Recording Engineer: Collin Ungerleider and Kabby at Kabby Sound Studios in Santa Fe

Editor & Production Manager: Alex Riegler

Associate Producer & Editor: Monica Braine (Assiniboine/Lakota)

Theme Music: D'Santi Nava

Instagram: @newmexicanculture and @elpalaciomagazine