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• The Reporter's Notebook Podcast, Ep. 70: The astronaut and the governor

  This week, we’re joined by Las Cruces native Jamila Gilbert, who joined Virgin Galactic in 2019 where she has been an integral part of the company, leading internal communications. On Thursday, May 25, she was aboard the Unity 25 suborbital space flight. Jamila a­ttended New Mexico State University, studying linguistics, museum conservation, anthropology, and studio art. As a Latina woman of Purépechan-Mexican roots, a visual artist, and a communications professional who speaks four languages, Jamila doesn’t come from a technical or engineering background. Now, the 34-year-old is the third Virgin Galactic woman to fly to space, joining the first 100 women astronauts in history. She is also among only 16 Hispanic astronauts. Later, we’re joined by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to talk about what the successful Virgin Galactic launch and the apparently imminent commercial space flights could mean for the state’s future.

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• The Reporter's Notebook Podcast, Ep. 69: Replacing Legislative Finance Committee Director

  On this week's episode, we’re joined by Rep. Nathan Small, a Democrat from Las Cruces who serves as chair of the House Appropriations and Finance Committee. He also serves as vice chair for the Legislative Finance Committee. David Abbey, the director of the budget and accountability office for the New Mexico Legislature, announced in March he would be retiring from the agency he led for 25 years — through a historic recession, a collapse in the oil economy, the COVID-19 pandemic and a new and unprecedented financial windfall. Abbey will leave the agency known as the Legislative Finance Committee this summer. He guided the office through the tenure of four governors, earning recognition for ensuring state government solvency in the aftermath of the 2007-2009 Great Recession and many more challenges. New Mexico is one of about five states where the Legislature prepares its own budget plan, independent of the executive branch. Now, the search for Abbey’s replacement begins. We talk to Rep. Small about what that will look like, what the LFC will look for in its new leader and why the role is so important.

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• The Reporter's Notebook Podcast, Ep. 68: Aaron Paz & NASA

  On this week's episode of The Reporter's Notebook Podcast, we’re joined by Las Cruces native Aaron Paz, who works for NASA. Aaron is a NASA senior engineer and Carbothermal Reduction Demonstration project manager at Johnson Space Center in Houston. As NASA works toward sending astronauts to the Moon again through Artemis missions, one of the space agency’s primary goals is to establish a long-term presence on the lunar surface. Resources like oxygen are crucial building blocks for making that vision a reality. In addition to using oxygen for breathing, it can also be used as a propellant for transportation, helping lunar visitors stay longer and venture farther. During a recent test, scientists at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston successfully extracted oxygen from simulated lunar soil. Lunar soil refers to the fine-grained material covering the Moon’s surface. This was the first time that this extraction has been done in a vacuum environment, paving the way for astronauts to one day extract and use resources in a lunar environment, called in-situ resource utilization. And, I’m not going to lie, I don’t fully understand all of this — the ramifications, what it could mean for future space travel and living someplace that is not the earth — maybe even in our lifetimes. But that’s why I’m grateful to have Aaron joining us this week.

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• The Reporter's Notebook Podcast, Ep. 67: Michael Patrick Kaczmarek

  This week, we’re joined by Las Cruces native Michael Patrick Kaczmarek, one of the producers of The Pope’s Exorcist, which was released April 14 in the U.S. and is in theaters now. To date, the film has grossed more than $60 million internationally. The film stars Academy Award-winner Russell Crowe. Inspired by the actual files of Father Gabriele Amorth, Chief Exorcist of the Vatican, The Pope’s Exorcist follows Amorth as he investigates a young boy’s terrifying possession and ends up uncovering a centuries-old conspiracy the Vatican has desperately tried to keep hidden. Known by some as the Dean of Exorcists, to others as the Vatican’s Exorcist, Father Amorth was to thousands of people a light in the darkness. A real man who conducted thousands of exorcisms for the Church, Father Amorth was a frontline crusader in the battle against evil who chronicled his exploits in two memoirs that go far beyond the spooky anecdotes to explore the threats to humanity from demons. Amorth was appointed chief exorcist of the Diocese of Rome in 1986 and remained there until 2016, when he died at age 91. In those three decades, Amorth claimed to have conducted over 60,000 exorcisms. Now, the exploits of Father Amorth come to the screen for the first time in The Pope’s Exorcist. Michael attended Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic School and Oñate High School, where he played football for four years and graduated in 1999. He went on to attend the University of New Mexico and Cal State, Los Angeles, where he earned a B.A. in Communications with an emphasis in Film, Radio and Television in 2003. We’ll talk to Michael about how he became involved in the project, how he got started, how he got to where he is and who helped him along the way. We’ll also talk about what may be next for the young producer.

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• The Reporter's Notebook Podcast, Ep. 66: Abrianna Morales & SAYSN

  This week’s podcast discusses sexual assault. If you or someone you know experiences sexual violence, you can find local support via La Piñon's 24-Hour Crisis Hotline at 575-526-3437 or go to www.lapinon.org. This week, we’re joined by Abrianna Morales. When she was 15, Abrianna was sexually assaulted by someone she knew and trusted. That experience — navigating the legal system, the feeling of isolation, and lack of resources and support — prompted her to create the Sexual Assault Youth Survivors’ Network, a community of survivors, supporters, and advocates “dedicated to building a world without sexual violence where justice is restorative and healing is possible.” As of early 2022, more than 300,000 people from around the world had visited the organization’s website. After high school, she went on to attend the University of New Mexico. She is currently a senior majoring in Psychology and Criminology with a minor in Math and will graduate in two weeks. In 2022, she was selected to be a Truman Scholar, one of 58 college students throughout the country who aspire to be leaders in public service. After graduation, she plans to take a gap year to work on developing the SAYSN and some collaborative projects with the National Organization for Victim Assistance, including a U.S. Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women grant to provide training and technical assistance to college campuses invested in preventing sexual assault, domestic violence, and stalking. Last week, during National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, Abrianna was featured in a video on the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs’ website. We’ll talk to Abrianna about SAYSN, her experience as an advocate, how COVID-19 impacted her life in surprising ways, her future plans and more.

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