Rivers have long been the lifeblood of human civilizations. But taken for granted, many of them are bleeding out. Restoration is still possible… but is it a priority? With unexpected optimism, our guests make the compelling case that it should be.

Written, produced, and narrated by Patricia Schwartz, a graduate student in the School of Geography, Development and Environment, University of Arizona. This episode features interviews with stream ecologist Mark Briggs and cultural anthropologist Joaquin Murrieta-Saldivar.

Between the two of them, they’ve worked on restoring every river in the western borderlands… including the up-and-coming Santa Cruz.

We hope they might inspire you to learn more about restoration at home and on a city-wide scale, as they have inspired host Patricia Schwartz (a cynical grad student who spends much of her time wallowing in water policy woes).

Depending on where you're standing, summer rains in the desert can mean rejuvenation or destruction (or both). Rapid urbanization has put borderlands cities out of touch with the storm waters that sustain them, an oversight for which they pay dearly in flood damages and eroded soils. What predictions can we make about the future of the monsoon in the Sonoran Desert? What are we doing to make use of the rain and prevent it from sweeping us away? How can storm water management be used to promote environmental justice and urban equity?

Written, produced, and narrated by Patricia Schwartz, a graduate student in the School of Geography, Development and Environment, University of Arizona. Featuring interviews with Dr. Gregg Garfin, University Director of the Southwest Climate Adaptation Science Center and Associate Professor/Extension Specialist at the School of Natural Resources and the Environment at the University of Arizona; and Dr. Adriana Zuniga-Teran, Assistant Research Scientist and Professor at the School of Landscape Architecture and Planning and the Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy at the University of Arizona.

Our apologies for any blemishes in audio quality –interviews were recorded online during the Covid-19 era (i.e. from Patricia’s basement).

In the second part of the conversation, Dr. Coronado reflects on and contextualizes the current crisis triggered by the COVID pandemic, commenting on the lack of referents in the last generations and the ascent of populism in America, from South to North.

Dr. Coronado is the Director of SBS Mexico Initiatives in the University of Arizona. A law and history scholar, he has studied the cultural and intellectual history of XIX and XX century Mexico, largely through the lens of celebrations and public rituals. Luis has published articles, books and book chapters on Mexican law, history, historiography, and legal philosophy. In his most recent work, he explores popular culture and cultural heritage shared between Mexico and the United States

Laiken Jordahl details in this second part of the interview how the pandemic is being used to accelerate work in the construction of the wall and the most immediate damage it is causing to specific areas and fauna of the borderlands, apart from the health threats posed by COVID-19.

nowall.org, @LaikenJordahl, facebook.com/laiken.jordahl

Laiken Jordahl, borderlands campaigner for the Center for Biological Diversity, discusses his work protecting wildlife, ecosystems and communities along the US-Mexico borderlands. Laiken shares his experiences at the National Parks Service and his struggle to alert about the damage caused by the wall and the militarization of the border.

Second part of our morning coffee with Dr. Rubio, reviewing six decades of research, community activism, and the very history of Mexico and the US. Raquel shares her rich anecdotes from her academic and militant experiences, and her invaluable insights on the present of migrations flows across the Southwest.

Dr. Rubio-Goldsmith is the co-director of the Binational Migration Institute in the University of Arizona's Department of Mexican-American Studies. A professor of History at Pima College for three decades, she has participated since the late sixties on a diversity of human rights initiatives in Tucson and the greater Southwest, and has led numerous community-based research projects focused on the effects of US immigration and border enforcement policies.

A chat with Dr. David Seibert, watersheds restoration manager and co-founder of the Borderlands Restoration Network in Patagonia, Arizona. A cultural anthropologist, David has worked on ecological conservation and education for more than 20 years. He has collaborated with Hopi, Zuni, Navajo, and Southern Paiute partners to restore sacred springs and wetlands, with ranchers across Southern Arizona on wildfire mitigation, and continues to train the next generation of practitioners for work in complex adapted systems.

Recorded at the Patagonia Town Park, August 29, 2019

After sharing the experience of growing in small-town Texas and the realization of the chicanx and queer realities of her time and place, Dr. Pérez discusses objectivity, race, gender and the challenges of Academia in the current social and political climate.