This week, we get into what has disappeared from our lives—good or bad—during the pandemic. Episode 2 is all about what’s going, going, gone, maybe for good. We learn of attempts to erase people from the Census. We talk to Sen. Martin Heinrich about the erosion of our civil liberties. We reflect on what’s fading from our relationships and mental wellness. We hear from a COVID-19 survivor, so the realities of the virus don’t slip away. We examine the consciousness of community and the loss of a collective future with an international futurist. We reflect on a disappearing chicken and what life was like pre-pandemic. And we try to see and hear a vanishing Rio Grande.
Sen. Martin Heinrich talks about what the Trump administration is calling Operation Legend, a deployment of federal agents to Albuquerque that officials say is meant to combat violent crime. But many people here fear this is another crackdown akin to what we’re seeing on the streets of Portland, as demonstrators stand against racial injustice and deadly police violence.
Environmental journalist Laura Paskus wrote an article that’s a love letter to the Rio Grande, called “Memory of a River” for the Santa Fe Reporter. She reads excerpts on the riverbank throughout the episode.
Tricklock Company’s Executive Director Juli Hendren and collaborator / Revolutions Marketing Director Marya Errin Jones work through Tricklock’s closing after 27 years. And they talk about why we need art—especially in tumultuous times.
Local comedian Sarah Kennedy tells a before-times-y story about a disappearing chicken.
Isaac De Luna from the Center for Civic Policy explains why the push to exclude undocumented immigrants from population counts as the country’s voting districts are redrawn is a racist move from federal government.
Dr. Gerald Chavez, a psychologist, shares his observations of our relationships with one another and why our patience might be disintegrating. He also unpacks the shared mental health challenges any of us could be facing, and encourages us to do a “checkup from the neck up.”
And futurist Puruesh Chaudhary, founder and CEO of nonprofit Agahi in Islamabad, Pakistan, explores media distrust and the loss of a future.
Next week: The Feds Are Here
No More Normal is a new show brought to you by the same crew behind YNMG. Hear the show on KUNM’s airwaves Sundays at 11 a.m., or find it wherever you get your podcasts.
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No More Normal is brought to you by Your New Mexico Government, a collaboration between KUNM, New Mexico PBS, and the Santa Fe Reporter. Funding for our coverage comes from the New Mexico Local News Fund, the Kellogg Foundation and KUNM listeners like you, with support for public media provided by the Thornburg Foundation.
