Focus remains on the Roundhouse for this week’s “Conversations Different” as state Rep. Rebecca Dow, R-Truth or Consequences, and freshman state Sen. Nate Paul, R-Alamogordo, join the show to share Republican and rural perspectives for the 60-day legislative session.

Dow and Paul say Republicans share the Democrats’ desire to pass crime legislation, but that the GOP has been calling for action for years with little progress. While the most attention gets paid to crime in the state’s largest cities, Dow and Paul say crime has been rising in rural areas, too. They also note that they don’t want gun control in a public safety package.

Dow and Paul also speak to the struggle of having influence in legislation as a minority party and share ways they can try to make an impact. Dow says the challenges may increase as Democrats have recently voted in more progressive candidates who have replaced more conservative party members.

The lawmakers agree that the state’s rural areas, especially in the south, are often forgotten. As the state enjoys a large revenue surplus, Dow mentions the desire to have a rural capital outlay fund created to offer greater support to rural infrastructure.

Dow also advocates for tax reform, calling for the state to consider eliminating the income tax and reforming the state’s gross receipts tax.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week's episode of "Conversations Different" focuses on the start of New Mexico's legislative session and features separate interviews with Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth. Both discussions revolve largely around public safety and behavioral health priorities.

Lujan Grisham talks about the state's issues with re-offenders and stresses the need for criminal competency reform. She also expresses her frustrations with the struggle of getting police data and her concerns with an escalation in juvenile crime. Lujan Grisham said that many New Mexicans don't feel safe, and shares an anecdote about a time she didn't feel safe when out in public with her grandchildren.

Sen. Wirth, D-Santa Fe, discusses the need to invest in the state's behavioral health infrastructure and shares his thoughts on criminal competency reform. Wirth also expresses optimism regarding an increase in state alcohol taxes, which haven't been revised in over three decades. He also talks about the need to protect the state's waters in response to recent Supreme Court rulings that have rolled back protections.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Randall Balmer is an Episcopal priest, historian, author and the John Phillips Chair in Religion at Dartmouth College. His book Redeemer: The Life of Jimmy Carter examines the 39th president’s political fortunes and how they mirrored the transformation of American religious politics. Balmer joined “Conversations Different” in the days after Carter’s death to talk about Carter’s legacy. He discusses how Carter would not tell a lie, how historians are reassessing Carter’s one-term presidency and accomplishments, and stresses the importance of Carter’s faith. Balmer also examines how Evangelicals who helped elect Carter also helped elect Donald Trump to the presidency, and shares his personal interactions with Carter while writing the book.

Find Redeemer: The Life of Jimmy of Jimmy Carter and his Balmer’s other books on his website www.randallbalmer.com.

This episode is sponsored by Homewise.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The New Mexico Department of Game and Fish has the responsibility of overseeing the management of the state’s wildlife species and their habitats. A diverse coalition of groups across the state are pushing for proposed legislation that would increase funding for the department, rename the department and clarify its mission, and fix the state Game Commission that some feel has been politicized.

Jesse Deubel and Judy Calman join “Conversations Different” to discuss the issues they feel are negatively impacting the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish and share how a reform package that will be considered during the upcoming legislative session can help address these problems.

Deubel, the executive director of the New Mexico Wildlife Federation, talks about the department’s lack of funding and the need to reform the state Game Commission. The department relies on funding from hunting and fishing license fees, which haven’t been raised in 20 years. Deubel said raising fees is the quickest way to address what he calls a funding crisis. Calman, New Mexico policy director for Audubon Southwest, talks about the effort to change the department’s name to the New Mexico Department of Wildlife Conservation, and the need to clearly define the agency’s mission. She said the department’s limited resources are largely focused on game species. The legislation would give the agency authority to do what it needs to do based on science.

Learn more about the reform package at https://www.wildlifefornm.org/.

This episode is sponsored by Homewise.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on “Conversations Different” we share a recent episode from “Voices of Taos,” a podcast produced by our sister paper The Taos News. Podcast producer Laura Martin Baseman sits down for a chat with longtime Santa Fe New Mexican reporter Robert Nott, who became communications director for the New Mexico Department of Health in June. Before leaving journalism, one of Nott’s last big projects was to contribute stories related to The New Mexican’s 175th anniversary. Nott talks about what stood out in his research as he flipped through nearly two centuries of the newspaper’s pages, including the murder of a fortune teller and the lack of stories related to Los Alamos during the Manhattan Project. Nott also shares his memories of former newspaper owner Robert McKinney, reflects on the industry changes he noticed in his time as a journalist and talks about the importance of local newspapers to their communities.

Visit santafenewmexican.com/175 to see The New Mexican’s 175th anniversary webpage filled with front pages from the past, historical photo galleries, commemorative magazines and articles on how the paper covered some of the biggest stories in New Mexico's history.

Subscribe to The Santa Fe New Mexican

Subscribe to The Taos News

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Every year around Christmas time, cultural traditions rise to the forefront as a force in Northern New Mexico’s holiday celebrations. It’s a time where families and communities come together. It's also a time to make and share traditional foods, including tamales, empanaditas and biscochitos. For former Santa Fe Mayor Larry Delgado and his family, this feeling is no different.

Delgado, who grew up and raised his children in Santa Fe, remembers the impact that Christmas traditions have had on his upbringing and later relationships with his family. He joins "Conversations Different" with his daughter Cynthia to discuss the many things they cherish about Northern New Mexico’s festiveness this season and from season’s past.

This episode is sponsored by Homewise.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ed Archie NoiseCat, a well-known Indigenous artist and former Santa Fe resident, was born and nearly died at the Indian residential school at St. Joseph’s Mission near Williams Lake, British Columbia. His son, Julian Brave NoiseCat, is co-director of “Sugarcane,” an award-winning documentary that investigates the abuses, deaths and missing children of the Canadian residential school system. The film made its world debut at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year and is now streaming on Hulu and Disney+.

Julian Brave NoiseCat, who directed the film with investigative journalist Emily Kassie, joins “Conversations Different” to discuss the emotional experience of making the film and the fortuitous beginnings of the project. NoiseCat, a member of the Canim Lake Band Tsq'escen and descendant of the Lil'Wat Nation of Mount Currie, talks about how the death toll of the Indian residential schools is not just something of the past, but is still being experienced today. He also shares how working on the film impacted his relationship with his father, and talks about his family's ties to Santa Fe. He also touches on his role in the push to nominate Deb Halaand as Interior secretary, which led to her becoming the first Native American Cabinet secretary in U.S. history.

Learn more about "Sugarcane" at films.nationalgeographic.com/sugarcane.

This episode is sponsored by Homewise.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The 2024 general election had many voters on edge, especially for those worried about the direction of immigration in this country. What may be next for the controversial issue under a second Trump presidency has drawn vocal opposition from local advocates like Marcela Díaz, who is the executive director of Somos Un Pueblo Unido, a statewide immigrant rights group.

Díaz joins “Conversations Different” to discuss what her organization is doing to prepare for potential immigration policies that President-elect Donald Trump has openly embraced, such as mass deportations of undocumented immigrants. Díaz also discusses the impact that immigrants have on New Mexico’s economy while emphasizing the need to build community coalitions again and educate people of their rights.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.