Let’s Talk New Mexico 7/22 8am: Earlier this month, a plaque that marked the burial place of Indigenous children who died at the Albuquerque Indian School went missing . At the same time, Native American boarding schools have been in the national news after forensic technology revealed thousands of previously unknown graves of Native American children throughout the US and Canada. On the next Let’s Talk New Mexico, we’ll be discussing the legacy of these so-called Indian schools by looking into their racist history, as well as showing how New Mexico’s Indigenoustribes have repurposed some of the sites to fulfill positive roles in their communities’ future. And we want to hear from you. Did you or a family member attend one of New Mexico’s Native American boarding schools? What stories, good or bad, would you like to share? And how do you think we should memorialize the children who died at these schools, far from their families and homes? Email us at LetsTalk@KUNM.org, or call in live

Let's Talk New Mexico

Let's Talk About the Legacy of New Mexico's Native American Boarding Schools

Let’s Talk New Mexico 7/8 8am: Have you noticed “help wanted” signs in the windows of your favorite restaurants and businesses? The COVID-19 pandemic has caused chaos in the economy for more than a year, and now there’s a labor shortage. Last week Axios reported 10 million Americans out of work, yet there are 9 million vacant positions waiting to be filled. Employers are frustrated, sometimes offering higher wages and hiring bonuses to get the help they need. Others are opting to close businesses earlier or stay closed on less busy days because they don’t have the staff for normal hours. Some business owners are angry, blaming the government for the pandemic related unemployment insurance bonuses they see as motivation for workers to stay home.

Let's Talk Unemployment And The Labor Shortage

Let’s Talk New Mexico 7/1 8am:Most of our state’s COVID-related restrictions are set to lift on Thursday, July 1st, and many New Mexicans will be celebrating. However, the pandemic is not over yet. 31% of New Mexico's population still hasn't been fully vaccinated, and the WHO recently released a statement urging continued use of masks, even for fully vaccinated folks, in order to protect from the Delta variant.

Let's Talk About Reopening

Let’s Talk New Mexico 6/24 8am: Both Father’s Day and Mother’s Day are now behind us, but what if you didn’t have a great relationship with your parents? What if you don’t have children? Our society continues to assume the idea of a nuclear family with a father, a mother and children is the norm. But New Mexico families take many forms, from grandparents raising grandchildren, to single parents, same-sex parents, and folks whose parents, or children, are no longer a part of their lives. On this week’s Let’s Talk New Mexico, we’re talking about why it’s important to recognize and honor different family structures in our state, both socially and legally. We’ll talk to advocates who are working to change legal definitions in our legislature, folks who support people whose families have rejected them due to factors beyond their control, and therapists who work with children who have suffered one of the hardest losses of all- the death of a parent.

Let's Talk About Family Dynamics

Let’s Talk New Mexico 6/17 8am: Last September, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention instituted a moratorium on residential evictions to keep people without secure incomes from losing their homes during the COVID-19 pandemic. New Mexico followed suit with a similar state-wide protection order . For ten months the moratoriums have protected thousands of New Mexico renters, but at the same time back rents have continued to accrue and landlords have gone without the income they count on. With the national order protecting tenants scheduled to expire on June 30th and no clear endpoint for the state’s moratorium, there is potential for a massive number of evictions if nothing is done. Join us this week as we discuss the national and state residential eviction moratoriums, as well as programs set up to help tenants get caught up on payments.

Let's Talk Evictions and Assistance

Let’s Talk New Mexico 6/3 at 8 am: The Rio Grande is swelling right now, but looks can be deceiving. Climate change is drying out this lifeline in the high desert. The river is a highly managed water system, so flows are supplemented and the impacts of global warming aren't always immediately visible. But climate change is taking its toll, and local managers say those miles-long dry patches we’ve been seeing could grow larger and last longer. The annual flows may drop even further, leaving thirsty cottonwood trees, parched ecosystems and dry farms.

Let’s Talk Climate Change And The Rio Grande

Let’s Talk New Mexico 5/27 8am : Asylum seekers who arrive in the U.S. are often fleeing violence at the hands of police or gangs in their home countries. However, once they arrive in our country, they continue to face the threat of violence, including while in detention. A lawsuit recently filed against a private detention center here in New Mexico claims guards sprayed asylum seekers with a chemical agent to stop a peaceful hunger strike protesting living conditions in the facility. International law says states must protect asylum seekers and refugees, not harm them. On this week’s Let’s Talk New Mexico, we will be talking about this lawsuit against CoreCivic in Torrance County, and what these private detention centers mean for New Mexico.

Let’s Talk Asylum Seeker Detention

Let’s Talk New Mexico 5/20 8am: Life can be tough for kids in New Mexico’s foster care system. In fact, a lawsuit brought against the state in 2018 alleged that “New Mexico’s child welfare practices systematically re-traumatize vulnerable children” by severing them from contact with extended family members and their community, shuffling them from home to home, not providing adequate mental health care and not considering factors like tribal enrollment when placing kids with families. But that all may be changing for the better. Last year, New Mexico’s Children, Youth and Families Department agreed to a legal settlement that by 2023 would radically reform how kids in New Mexico’s foster care system are treated.

Let's Talk About Changing The Foster Care System

Let's Talk New Mexico 5/13 8 am : Some of New Mexico’s immigrant workers are undocumented and often employed in low-paid but essential jobs, such as early childhood education. And, despite the myths to the contrary, they pay taxes! In 2017, undocumented workers paid almost $70 million in New Mexico state taxes and $12 billion to the U.S. in federal taxes, according to the I nstitute on Taxation and Economic Policy . But despite this, they are still not eligible for supports such as food stamps, Medicaid, pandemic stimulus checks, or childcare assistance. On this week’s Let’s Talk New Mexico, we will look at the contributions of immigrant and undocumented childcare workers, and the challenges they face during the pandemic and beyond, as well as the consequences of keeping tax-paying, low-wage, undocumented workers ineligible for basic assistance in New Mexico. We will also discuss how the State's new Early Childhood Education and Care Department plans to support these workers,

Let's Talk Essential (Undocumented) Workers

Let’s Talk New Mexico 5/6 8am: Home prices are rising everywhere, but especially in the West . Mortgage interest rates are low, people are free to work remotely, and relocation to places like New Mexico makes sense for those wanting to escape high costs of living in other areas. But lackluster home and apartment construction in our state over the last decade means that New Mexican cities have little inventory for renters or buyers, and would-be sellers often don’t list their homes because they can’t find a replacement. These pressures are filtering down to the rental market, encouraging rents to go up .

Let's Talk [Un]Affordable Housing

Public schools in New Mexico started fully in-person classes this month for the first time in over a year. Some students chose to stay remote, others returned, and some of those who went back are already remote again due to COVID exposure. On this week’s Let’s Talk New Mexico, we’re hearing from students about how it’s going.

Let’s Talk Youth & COVID: Back To (In-Person) School

Let's Talk New Mexico 4/15 8am : The state of New Mexico, including land currently used by the University of New Mexico, occupies the traditional homelands of many Indigenous peoples. KUNM will soon be using a statement, known as a “land acknowledgement,” on our website along with other documents that recognize and honor that history. On this week’s Let’s Talk New Mexico, we’re taking a look at what land acknowledgement statements are, how they are created (and by whom), and what they mean for the future of relationships between institutions like UNM and the Native American communities whose lands they occupy.

Let's Talk About Acknowledging The History Of The Land

Let's Talk New Mexico 4/08 8am : Last week in a special session of the New Mexico Legislature lawmakers moved to legalize recreational cannabis and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is expected to sign the legislation. The changes allows individuals to grow for personal use or to sell with a micro-business license and they create a structure that will gradually increase taxes over time. A separate bill allows for the expungement of criminal records for some past marijuana offenses. On the next Let’s Talk New Mexico, we’ll look at what the legislation contains, how it structures legalization and the timeline.

Let's Talk The New World Of Legal Cannabis

Let's Talk New Mexico 3/18 8am: March is Women’s History Month, and we are taking a look at how the suffrage movement here in New Mexico continues to inspire activists today On the next Let’s Talk New Mexico, we’re discussing the role women have played in New Mexico's history, and how women today continue to strive to break the glass ceiling.

Let's Talk Women's History Month

Let's Talk New Mexico 3/11 8am: There’s now a third COVID-19 vaccine available in our state and more New Mexicans than ever are getting called in to get the jab. But how will the process be affected by the state's new goal of getting all K-12 educators and early childhood professionals their first dose by the end of March? And what about kids? Should they get vaccinated? On the next Let’s Talk New Mexico, we’ll dive into the newest phase of COVID vaccination with guests from the Department of Health and community health organizations. We'll also talk to disease and vaccine specialists and medical doctors who can answer your questions about COVID-19 and immunization.

Let's Talk More About COVID-19 Vaccines

Weekly public affairs program featuring interviews with policy makers, advocates, elected officials, artists, musicians and other news makers along with live phone calls from listeners.

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Let's Talk New Mexico

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