Megan Kamerick

  Two years after he defeated the so-called “Great White Hope,” legendary boxer Jack Johnson fought another white challenger determined to topple him as heavyweight champion of the world. It took place on July 4, 1912 in Las Vegas, New Mexico, and is the subject of the book “Crazy Fourth: How Jack Johnson Kept His Title and Put Las Vegas New Mexico on the Map,”  just published by University of New Mexico Press.

With thousands of people in the streets for Black Lives Matter demonstrations in recent weeks, there’s been a movement across the country for theaters shuttered by the pandemic to open their lobby areas to support protestors. One space in downtown Albuquerque has answered that call. 

George Floyd was laid to rest in Houston this week, and protests calling for an end to racist police violence are continuing around the country and here in New Mexico. These are usually pretty loud, but one that took place in Albuquerque’s Nob Hill  on Wednesday, June 10 was quite different.

Restaurants in New Mexico can reopen at 50% capacity starting June 1, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham announced this week. Myra Ghattas, the owner of Slate Street Cafe, Slate at the Museum and Sixty-Six Acres in Albuquerque, has spent years in the restaurant industry. Her three restaurants have been closed for seven weeks and Ghattas had to lay off 79 employees, although she’s brought some back to handle takeout orders. She told KUNM’s Megan Kamerick that she welcomes reopening plans, but that reduced capacities for onsite dining are not workable in the long term.

The restaurant industry has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. This week, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham announced they can re-open at 50% capacity on June 1. But New Mexico Restaurant Association Executive Director Carol Wight says as many as 6% of restaurants in the state have likely closed for good, and those that remain open will struggle to make it with only half their seating available. She spoke with KUNM’s Megan Kamerick.

The coronavirus pandemic has upended normal food distribution networks, especially for meat. It has also left ranchers struggling, unable to get their cattle to market as the virus sickens workers in processing plants around the country and slows production. New Mexico ranchers are working on ways around these problems by going directly to consumers, and they’re hoping it will spark long-term change in the industry. 

University Showcase 5/15 8a: The coronavirus pandemic has not only created a public health crisis, but also an economic one. New Mexico has been particularly hard hit because of the plunge in global oil prices and the complete shutdown in travel and tourism. Small businesses, who make up much of the state’s economy, are also being hit hard. We’ll explore what to expect in coming months.

Hospital workers around the U.S. have been speaking up about concerns over working conditions and the lack of personal protective equipment (PPE). Former UNM Hospital nurse Hunter Marshall says he was threatened with discipline after speaking to the media about staff concerns at the hospital. So he decided to resign, he says, and look for another hospital to work in during the pandemic. Your New Mexico Government spoke with a nurse, a union representatives and doctors at UNMH about PPE and workers' rights to speak out.

Let's Talk New Mexico 4/23, 8a: More health care workers in New Mexico are testing positive for COVID-19 as the state approaches an expected peak in cases later this spring. Hospitals are laying off workers as the ban on elective surgeries and other procedures slams their bottom lines. On this week’s call-in show, we’ll hear about how prepared the state’s health care system is for a surge of coronavirus patients. Are workers getting the protective equipment they need? How would hospitals handle potential shortages of intensive care beds and ventilators? To join in the conversation, email letstalks@kunm.org or call in live during the show on Thursday morning.

  University Showcase 4/17, 8a: During this time of the COVID-19 pandemic, people from all over our community are stepping up to help. That’s true as well at the University of New Mexico. On this episode we hear about efforts to create personal protective equipment for medical workers and others.

The Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued guidelines in March that cities should not break up homeless encampments during the COVID-19 pandemic, because that can cause people to disperse and increase the spread of the coronavirus. But some advocates say police and city officials in Albuquerque have been clearing encampments as recently as Friday, April 3.

The COVID-19 pandemic has shuttered museums and galleries, leaving artists without income and audiences without artistic inspiration.  But a nonprofit in Albuquerque is finding ways around the shutdown.

The popcorn machine is silent in the lobby of the Guild Cinema in Albuquerque’s Nob Hill. Owner Keif Henley was supposed to show the movie “Phoenix Oregon” over the weekend. But for now, he’s closed.

Movie theaters around New Mexico have shut down in response to a public health order by the governor to halt the spread of coronavirus. For small, independently owned venues, and the films they show, this could be economically devastating.

“Oh, it's terrible like you'd expect it to be,” Henley says. “You know, we're not really making much revenue.”

University Showcase 3/20, 8a: This year marks the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th amendment, which gave women the right to vote in the United States.

But for women in the Wyoming Territory that right came in 1869. On this episode, we explore the history of women's suffrage in the West and in New Mexico.

  University Showcase 2/21 8a: Alzheimer’s and dementia represent a growing crisis around the world and New Mexico faces many challenges in addressing these illnesses.

A nonpartisan statewide think tank is warning the high rate of seniors living in poverty in New Mexico could grow without significant changes. Think New Mexico is supporting legislation to curtail what policy experts there call a crisis in retirement security that is quietly growing throughout the state. KUNM spoke with Executive Director Fred Nathan about reforms he says are necessary to protect the state’s seniors, now and in the future.

University Showcase, Friday 01/17 8a: First responders undergo enormous stress on their jobs. They run into burning buildings, pull people from mangled cars, respond to mass shootings, help people overdosing on drugs and treat patients in emergency rooms. Many struggle at times with depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and thoughts of suicide.

We are awash in data and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by it or even ignore it, but Andrea Polli’s work strives to make that data visually compelling and even beautiful. 

Women's Focus Sat. 11/23 Noon:  When Peggy Langenwalter, Trish Comer and Jennifer Cox-Horak joined the ranks of 11 million widows in the U.S., they realized the lessons they learned from supporting one another and sharing their stories could help other women, and those who want to support people who have lost partners. So together they wrote “Wonder Widows: Three Grieving Widows Coming Together To Empower Women To Break The Silence of Widowhood.”

University Showcase 11/22 Friday 8a: Professor Harry Van Buren was looking for a new adventure when he took a two-year leave from the Anderson School of Management to teach at American University of Beirut. He got more than he bargained for when massive protests broke out six weeks into his arrival.

Women's Focus, 11/9, Sat 12pm: The third annual South Valley Studio Tour takes place November 10 in Albuquerque's South Valley. It's an opportunity to see  20 artists in their studios and experience the beautiful and often little-known parts of this culturally rich part of Albuquerque.

  Women's Focus 10/19 12p: "Art of the Song" co-founder Vivian Nesbitt is bringing a one-woman musical show "Mother Jones In Heaven" to Albuquerque and Santa Fe. The show was written by activist, organizer and songwriter Si Kahn and includes 12 original songs.

University Showcase 10/18 Fri 8a: New Mexico leads the nation in alcohol-related mortality and around the world alcohol use disorder is a leading cause of preventable death. On this episode, Regents’ Professor Katie Witkiewitz talks about new trends in research and treatment of alcohol use disorder.

University Showcase 9/20, 8a: In 2009, Professor Patricia L. Crown uncovered the first evidence of chocolate consumption in North America in jars from Chaco Culture National Historic Park in Northwest NM. On this episode, we discuss what this discovery reveals about Chaco rituals and civilization, including the extent of trading networks across the Southwest and MesoAmerica.

Women's Focus: 9/14 Sat Noon: A daylong symposium on Sept. 14 at the Albuquerque Museum explores how women have shaped the field of printmaking with an intergenerational roster of printers, curators, artists, and publishers. 

Women's Focus 8/24 Noon: We have all experienced betrayal at some time in our lives. It might have been by a lover, by a friend, in our job or in our family. The new book “Betrayed: A Survivor’s Guide to Lying, Cheating, and Double Dealing” highlights actual stories of betrayal. It offers a roadmap for how to deal with it and, sometimes, how to get even.

University Showcase 8/16 8a:  In August 1619, the first kidnapped Africans arrived on the shores of Virginia, which was then a British Colony. This was the beginning of slavery in this country, but it was also a time when relationships were more nuanced and complex than we have been led to believe.

When Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham sent 50 state police officers to patrol parts of Albuquerque in mid-May, Mayor Tim Keller announced the operation, saying it was intended to fight violent crime. Officials touted the hundreds of arrests state police officers made, but residents in targeted communities said the sudden over-policing was familiar and felt like a siege.