New Mexico in Focus (A Production of NMPBS)

Santa Fe New Mexican city reporter Carina Julig wrote a deep-dive series about Urban Alchemy's first year running the capital city's homeless shelter. Six months in, Urban Alchemy has spent nearly all of the $1.5 million allocated in its one-year emergency contract. Senior Producer Lou Divizio sat down with Julig to discuss the nonprofit’s financial dealings. Later, Lou asks Julig how the nonprofit's community services stack up to its additional $7.9 million outreach contract. 

Podcast Host: Lou DiVizio

Guest: Carina Julig, city reporter, Santa Fe New Mexican

KUNM's Jeanette DeDios sits down with three state senators who kickstarted an investigation into the state's long history of forced sterilization of Indigenous women and other women of color. Later, Jeanette asks the table how difficult it is for Native women to find a doctor in their community who specializes in reproductive health care. 

Podcast Host: Lou DiVizio

Correspondent: Jeanette DeDios 

Guests: NM Sen. Linda Lopez, D-Albuquerque

NM Sen. Shannon Pinto, D-Tohatchi

NM Sen. Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, D-Albuquerque 

This fall, New Mexico voters will decide whether to finally pay state lawmakers a salary, joining the rest of the nation. Senior Producer Lou DiVizio sat down with Mason Graham, a policy advisor with Common Cause New Mexico, to talk about the choice for voters — and other Common Cause priorities, including protecting voting rights amid federal pressure to restrict access.

Podcast Host: Lou DiVizio

Guest: Mason Graham, Policy Advisor, Common Cause New Mexico 

Today on the podcast, we revisit a conversation from 2023 with Martha Burk — former chair of the National Council of Women's Organizations — about a letter she sent more than two decades ago that rocked the insular, men's-only membership of the Augusta National Golf Club. 

Podcast Host: Lou DiVizio

Executive Producer: Jeff Proctor

Guest: Martha Burk, Author, Host of the Podcast ‘Equal Time with Martha Burk’

Today on the podcast, we’re marking Sunshine Week — last week's annual celebration of the fight for government transparency — with the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government. Executive Producer Jeff Proctor sat down with NMFOG board member Greg Williams to evaluate the state of local government transparency, where the light shines brightly in New Mexico, and what remains in the shadows. 

Podcast Host: Lou DiVizio

Executive Producer: Jeff Proctor

Guest: Greg Williams, Board Member, NM Foundation for Open Government

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham sits down with Host Nash Jones to take stock of her final regular legislative session. Nash asks the governor about the newly established universal child care system created during the session, and how the program can help families. Then, the two discuss the session's "rocket docket," a bundle of bills that sped their way through the early days at the Roundhouse. Later, Lujan Grisham talks to Nash about two signature pieces of legislation that died before reaching her desk: a gun control bill and a bill that would have cemented her climate goals in law.

Podcast Host: Lou DiVizio

NMiF Show Host: Nash Jones

Guest: Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D)

Earlier this year, the state House of Representatives unanimously approved a resolution to create a subcommittee to investigate possible crimes committed at Jeffrey Epstein's former Zorro Ranch in Northern New Mexico. Democratic Rep. Andrea Romero chairs this new group, now known as the "Epstein Truth Commission." Romero recently joined Senior Producer Lou DiVizio to better understand the commission's work, and why she believes New Mexicans deserve to know the truth.

Podcast Host: Lou DiVizio

Guest: NM Rep. Andrea Romero, D-Santa Fe; Epstein Truth Commission Chair 

Last year, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham sent about 70 troops with the New Mexico National Guard to Albuquerque's International District. According to the governor, the guard worked alongside the Albuquerque Police Department to address “immediate quality of life concerns” of people living in the area, while "working towards long-term solutions to the city's most pressing public safety concerns." City Councilor Nichole Rogers represents District 6, where most of the troops were deployed, and recently stopped by our studio to talk about what the National Guard did and didn't get done during their six months in the city. 

Podcast Host: Lou DiVizio

Guest: Nichole Rogers, Albuquerque City Councilor, District 6

Capital and Main reporter Jerry Redfern returns to wrap up his series on oil and gas legislation from this year's session. Jerry sits down with Democratic state Senate President Pro Tem Mimi Stewart after her signature climate bill failed yet again at the Roundhouse.

Podcast Host: Lou DiVizio

Correspondent: Jerry Redfern

Guest: NM Sen. Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque 

Dr. Tameka Gillum co-wrote a study published last year by the American Journal of Public Health that declared the high rate of Black women murdered in America a “public health crisis.” That study examined more than 30,000 homicides between 1999 and 2020 and found a massive disparity in homicide rates between Black and white women. Russell Contreras to discuss her findings and consider how structural racism has made life more dangerous for Black women.

Podcast Host: Lou DiVizio

Correspondent: Russell Contreras 

Guest: Dr. Tameka Gillum, PhD., Associate Professor, University of New Mexico 

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McKinley County DA Resigns