Stuart Kelter interviews psychologist Ross Greene, the originator of the Collaborative and Proactive Solutions model and the non-profit Lives in the Balance.org. He is the author of several books about how teachers and administrators can help children with challenging behavior. The Explosive Child: A New Approach for Understanding and Parenting Easily Frustrated, Chronically Inflexible Children, first published in 1998 and now in its sixth edition, introduced parents to an alternative to disciplining their child with rewards and punishments. Parents learn instead to engage their child in together solving the problems that lead to frustration and melt-downs. Lost at School: Why Our Kids with Behavioral Challenges are Falling Through the Cracks and How We Can Help Them, published in 2008, extended the model for the school setting. Ross’s most recent book, The Kids Who Aren’t Okay: The Urgent Case for Reimagining Support, Belonging, and Hope in School, published just last month, provides a persuasive case for school personnel to transition to the Collaborative and Proactive Solutions model in their own school. Ross was on the faculty of Harvard Medical School for 20 years and is currently an adjunct professor at Virginia Teach and also in Sydney, Australia.
 Mike and Brian welcome Kelly Koerper, local director of Bridle Up Hope, to discuss how the equine-based program is helping girls and women build confidence, resilience, and self-awareness through hands-on experiences with horses. Koerper explains how the curriculum blends horsemanship with principles from The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, creating powerful opportunities for personal growth. She shares how horses mirror human emotions, helping participants manage anxiety, process grief, and develop stronger communication and life skills. Through inspiring stories from the Las Cruces program, the conversation highlights the unique bond between humans and horses - and how that connection can lead to meaningful, lasting change.
Liz Bennett of Las Cruces for Palestine joined by phone to discuss Shutdown Drone Warfare Week of Action, a coalition effort bringing together groups including Veterans for Peace to protest the military's drone programs at Holloman. Bennett described the ethical concerns around drone warfare, including its role in the conflict in Gaza, the growing integration of AI into weapons systems, and the effort to encourage service members to consult their conscience when given unlawful orders. The conversation also touched on the week's upcoming events in Alamogordo, including a community gathering, a march, and a screening of a documentary by journalist Abby Martin on the environmental impact of the military industrial complex. More information is available at shutdowndronewarfare.org.
Ashley Echavarria, CEO of the Las Cruces Boys & Girls Club, joined Walt Rubel and Jamie Bronstein to discuss the upcoming groundbreaking for the organization's new facility at the former Video Twin movie theater at 1005 El Paseo Road. The club, which has operated out of a building dating to the early 1900s and can currently serve only about 115 children a day, will move into a 30,000-square-foot space that includes a gymnasium, a teen wing, a performing arts center, a culinary arts kitchen, a STEM lab, and outdoor play space. Echavarria noted that Project Jupiter contributed $1.5 million toward the project, which is now estimated at $10 to $12 million with about $8.3 million raised to date. She also discussed plans to eventually license the new facility for universal child care so families can attend at no cost, and previewed the organization's annual Lou and Mary Henson Community Breakfast on May 14th, featuring NFL Hall of Famer Terrell Owens as keynote speaker.
Early childhood education professionals Valeria Holloway and MJ Lord joined Walt Rubel and Jamie Bronstein to discuss New Mexico's new universal child care legislation and what it means in practice for providers and families. Holloway, who has run a home daycare for 24 years, and Lord, a teaching assistant at a preschool in Albuquerque, explained that the program covers children from birth to age 12 at licensed home daycares and centers, with new funding tied to a minimum wage floor of $18 per hour for child care workers. Both guests emphasized that workforce shortages and waitlists remain a significant challenge, particularly in rural communities, and that the funding flowing in July will take time to translate into new capacity. The conversation also touched on the developmental benefits of early group care, the state's star rating system for providers, and the particular rewards of working with children who have special needs or developmental delays.
Walt Rubel and Jamie Bronstein opened the show with several local and national topics. On the local front, they discussed new reporting revealing that Project Jupiter's water usage projections have grown dramatically, from roughly 80,000 gallons annually to 325 million gallons per year for cooling its gas generators, along with concerns about 14 million tons of annual air emissions from planned smokestacks. Walt noted that El Paso Electric is seeking a 73% rate increase, with a public meeting scheduled that afternoon at Branigan Library. Mary Martinez White called in to highlighted a new exhibit at the Albuquerque National Hispanic Cultural Center on New Mexico's nuclear history, connecting it to ongoing concerns about the state becoming a destination for environmentally risky projects. The segment closed with discussion of the announced ceasefire in Iran, which both hosts viewed as a costly and humiliating end to an unnecessary conflict, with significant uncertainty about whether it would hold.
Greg Smith talks with Sonya Fe, a painter and Las Cruces resident about the hard-won lessons of a career spent making art with a message. Fe traces her practice from East LA roots and an Art Center College of Design degree through decades of gallery relationships gone wrong and offers pointed advice for artists navigating a business that often sees them as easy marks: don't work for exposure, get buyers' names, demand down payments on commissions, and do your research before signing with anyone. The conversation also turns to Fe's practice as using "beauty as a lure" to engage viewers with difficult social truths, particularly regarding the vulnerability and treatment of women and children.
Teddy Roosevelt once advised that we should “speak softly and carry a big stick.”
Donald Trump, like all modern presidents, carries the biggest stick in the world. And it has performed marvelously, including the daring rescue of a downed airman inside Iran last weekend. The skill and bravery of both the airman, who hid for days in a mountain crevice until his rescuers arrived, and those who risked their lives to save him, should serve as an inspiration for all of us and a reason to celebrate.  Lisa Lucca talks with author and screenwriter Amy Ferris, who returns to the show to share her new book, Amy in Retrograde: Desperately Seeking Rewiring.
Jon Hunner, retired NMSU history professor and author of "Inventing Los Alamos" and "J.Robert Oppenheimer, the Cold War, and the Atomic West" shares some thoughts and observations about his experience as a historian, history in general, US history, and a particular focus on the upcoming 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. He tells some thought provoking stories about himself and his father (US Air Force) as related to the atomic history of New Mexico.
The conversation includes a delightful exploration of what we call history, how we think about it, and how we understand it today. Jon Hunner cites and recommends an exercise he's employing - making a personal Declaration of Independence: "I declare my independence from ....." that we can tailor to our own individual lives. He brings a host of interesting thoughts. |
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