Megan Kamerick

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.