Late last month, President Donald Trump's Environmental Protection Agency proposed rescinding the “endangerment finding" — an Obama-era addition to the Federal Clean Air Act of 1963 that recognized the dangers of climate change. Host Nash Jones sits down Camilla Feibelman, director of the local chapter of the Sierra Club, and Ben Shelton, deputy secretary of the state's Energy, Minerals, and Natural Resources Department, to discuss what the EPA's proposal could mean for greenhouse gas regulations in our state. Later, the two discuss the EPA's decision to extend deadlines for states and the oil and gas industry to comply with methane standards set last year by the Biden administration, and how millions of tons of pollutants that would have been capped now won't be.

Podcast Host: Lou DiVizio

Show Host: Nash Jones

Guests:

Ben Shelton, Deputy Secretary, NM Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department

Camilla Feibelman, Director, Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter   

In collaboration with nonprofit news organization Capital and Main, oil and gas reporter Jerry Redfern stopped by our studio to interview Kyle Tisdel, senior attorney with the Western Environmental Law Center. The two examine Trump's tax and spending bill — and how it fits with Trump's executive orders to roll back federal regulations on the oil and gas industry.

Podcast Host: Lou DiVizio

Correspondent: Jerry Redfern

Guest: Kyle Tisdel, Attorney and Climate and Energy Program Director, Western Environmental Law Center 

State Sen. Jim Townsend, a Republican from Artesia, sits down for a conversation with Senior Producer Lou DiVizioabout Trump's massive tax and spending bill and how it will impact New Mexicans. Although he praises the bill, Townsend tells Lou that he wants state leaders to help fill funding gaps left in the wake of Trump’s cuts.

Podcast Host: Lou DiVizio

Guest: NM Sen. Jim Townsend, R-Artesia 

Tina Cordova, the president and co-founder of the Tularosa Basin Downwinders, has advocated for decades for those who were exposed to radiation during and after the Trinity Test —  the first-ever detonation of a nuclear bomb. Host Nash Jones speaks with Cordova about her life's work: pushing for reparations for New Mexico victims, and what the newly revived Radiation Exposure Compensation Act includes.

Podcast Host: Lou DiVizio

NMiF Show Host: Nash Jones

Guest: Tina Cordova, Co-founder, Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium 

Earlier this month, Congress approved President Trump's request to strip away the next two years of funds previously allocated to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. As a result, our local public television station and about 1,500 others — along with the national PBS and NPR networks — will no longer receive federal funding starting in October. This week, we invited two local opinion columnists to continue a debate that has been heard in Washington D.C. for years: Should taxpayer dollars fund public broadcasting? Since our funding is caught up in this debate, we put up several firewalls to avoid a conflict of interest. Trip Jennings, executive editor of New Mexico in Depth, hosts this two-part conversation with Santa Fe New Mexican opinion page editor Inez Russell Gomez and Albuquerque Journal editorial contributor Jeff Tucker.

Podcast Host: Lou DiVizio

Correspondent: Trip Jennings

Producer: Gwyneth Doland

Guests:

Inez Russell Gomez, Opinion Editor, Santa Fe New Mexican

Jeff Tucker, Opinion Contributor, Albuquerque Journal 

Higher Education Secretary Stephanie Rodriguez and two program directors at the department, sit down with NMiF Hose Nash Jones to discuss how several new loan forgiveness programs are meant to help more New Mexicans pursue high-paying, high-skill jobs. The three also discuss new scholarship programs aimed at making higher education more affordable for graduate students and people who never finished high school.

Podcast Host: Lou DiVizio

Show Host: Nash Jones

Guests:

Stephanie Rodriguez, Secretary, New Mexico Higher Education Department

Heather Romero, Director of Financial Aid, New Mexico Higher Education Department

Amber Gallup, Director of Adult Education, New Mexico Higher Education Department

For years, reporters Ed Williams of Searchlight New Mexico and Taylor Velazquez of KUNM News have documented the shortcomings and failures of the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department. In their conversation with host Nash Jones, the pair discuss the new changes made at the department that aim to address its many issues surrounding child placement and housing. Later, Nash asks how the creation of the Office of the Child Advocate might better support children under CYFD care.

Podcast Host: Lou DiVizio

Show Host: Nash Jones

Guests:

Ed Williams, Reporter, Searchlight New Mexico

Taylor Velazquez, Reporter, KUNM News

For More Information:

Ed Williams - Searchlight New Mexico

Taylor Velazquez - KUNM News

Ctrl+P Publishing owner Pat Davis has been on each of our 'State of the Local Media’ specials for the last three years. Since the former Democratic Albuquerque City Councilor last stopped by our studio, his quickly growing local media company has hit a snag. Nash sits down with Davis to discuss the challenges and changes at his local outlets over the last year.

NMiF Show Host: Nash Jones

Guest: Pat Davis, Owner, Ctrl+P Publishing 

We continue our look at the state of local public media as Host Nash Jones sits down with the new general manager of KUNM, Jeff Pope. Nash returns to their former workplace to meet the new boss and hear Pope’s first impressions and vision for the future. We dive into how KUNM can meet the moment while potentially weathering significant funding cuts.

NMiF Show Host: Nash Jones

Guest: Jeff Pope, General Manager, KUNM 

Late last year, Jay Newton-Small stepped in to lead the Albuquerque Journal following the ouster of former editor Patrick Etheridge. Newton-Small has been a journalist for more than two decades, writing for Time Magazine and Bloomberg News. Senior Producer Lou DiVizio asks Newton-Small about her vision for the state's largest newspaper in the years ahead.

Podcast Host: Lou DiVizio

Guest: Jay Newton-Small, Executive Editor, Albuquerque Journal