Uncategorized – KGNU News: Recent Episodes

View Details

The Colorado River provides water to more than 40 million people. The Basin includes 30 federally recognized Indian tribes and seven states (Colorado, Wyoming, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada). Tribal nations in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming have been left out of key agreements involving the Colorado River for well over a century now. In April, the Upper Colorado River Commission – that’s an agency at the nexus of many Colorado River discussions in the Upper Basin – voted to back a new proposed agreement that would make regular meetings with tribes be mandatory for the first time in the group’s 76-year history.

Mira Barney is a Diné (Navajo) woman working at the National Wildlife Federation. She is also pursuing a graduate certificate in Environmental Justice at CU Boulder, and works as Program Assistance with Indigenous Women’s Leadership Network. She talked to individuals from one of the two federally-recognized tribes in the state of Colorado: Southern Ute Indian Tribe.

Listen:

• play_arrowUntitledJackie Sedley Transcript:

Jackie Sedley: You’re listening to The Morning Magazine on listener-supported KGNU. I’m Jackie Sedley. The Colorado River provides water to over 40 million people. The basin includes 30 federally recognized Indian tribes and 7 states, including Colorado, California, and Utah. Tribal nations in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming have been left out of key agreements involving the Colorado River for well over a century now. In April, the Upper Colorado River Commission, That’s an agency at the nexus of many Colorado River discussions in the Upper Basin, voted to back a new proposed agreement that would make regular meetings with tribes be mandatory for the first time in the group’s 76 year history. This led to a Memorandum of Understanding, also known as an MOU, between six Upper Basin tribes and the Upper Colorado River Commission. Mira Barney is a Navajo woman working at the National Wildlife Federation. She is also pursuing a graduate certificate in environmental justice at CU Boulder, and works as program assistant with Indigenous Women’s Leadership Network. She talked to individuals from the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, one of the two federally recognized tribes in the state of Colorado.

Mira Barney: When Lisa Yellow Eagle grew up on the Navajo Reservation, she did not have access to running water.

Lisa Yellow Eagle: And so our family had to haul water, and you really learn the value of every drop of water that is used for your household, um, and for your animals.

Barney: Yellow Eagle is the Tribal Water Attorney for the Southern Ute Indian Tribe. She understands firsthand how important access to water is.

Yellow Eagle: You know, it’s, I know that everyone says it, but I think we all know that water is life. It’s necessary for not only humans, but for all fish, plants, animals, Mother Earth herself.

Barney: Yellow Eagle highlights what every Coloradan can take into consideration when approaching discussions around established senior water rights of states and tribes in the Colorado River Basin.

Yellow Eagle: One, tribes are sovereign nations. Therefore should not be treated like any other water user. Two, Federal Indian reserve water rights cannot be lost, abandoned, or forfeited like a state water right can. And then three, tribal water rights are usually, like in a settlement, are negotiated for present. and future water rights. So this means that many tribes are not using their full quantification of water right now because they negotiated for that future water use for their future generations of tribal members. That future water allows time to grow into their water use as their tribe is growing as well.

Barney: Only 22 of the 30 tribes in the Colorado River Basin have recognized water rights, with the Southern Ute Indian Tribe being one of them. There are still 12 tribes in the basin that have unresolved water rights claims. That’s why recent conversations between tribes and the Upper Colorado River Commission, also known as the UCRC, are such a big deal.

Yellow Eagle: I think it’s been a really good experience to share information with the UCRC between the Upper Basin Tribes and have the UCRC share information with us. It’s, um, it’s also been a lot of hard work to build up that trust from the, from the beginning. Um, when we started these meetings, I think there was, um, Some mistrust because there have been many failed, um, attempts just with tribes in general and trying to, trying to work through, um, relationships. So this has been a really amazing opportunity and credit all of the tribal leadership and the commissioners for the four states on working on this and, and making this happen.

Barney: These meetings led to a Memorandum of Understanding, also known as an MOU, between six Upper Basin tribes and the Upper Colorado River Commission. This is historic as there has never been an MOU between Upper Basin Tribal Sovereign Nations and the states before. The six Upper Basin Tribes held a signing ceremony on April 22nd to all sign together. Celine Hawkins is the Colorado River Tribal Partnerships Program Director at the Nature Conservancy. She’s noticed a lot of new developments in the legislative space with Colorado tribes in the past few years.

Celine Hawkins: And I will also note that we have seen Colorado do new things of the legislative space with Colorado tribes. And one really exciting thing that happened last year is when the legislature convened the drought task force, tribal nations participated in the state legislative process and they asked for a separate tribal sub task force to be appointed and to be appointed jointly between the Colorado Department of Natural Resources and the tribal nations to focus on issues. That was part of the state legislative process. There was a tribal sub task force that I was appointed to that focused on tribal matters, and that allowed us to make sure that tribal information requests got back to the state legislature.

Barney: This shift towards authentic and formalized collaboration makes Hawkins feel optimistic about the conversations between the state of Colorado and the tribes, especially as we approach the discussions around the 2026 interim guidelines.

Hawkins: We are hearing that we can’t get to a sustainable, durable Colorado River without thinking about the role of tribal water. So I am hopeful that in this round of negotiations, We can make progress on really understanding the role of tribal water and particularly undeveloped tribal water and the role that that’s playing in propping up the system and creating environmental flows and make sure that we’re creating more equitable programs where we’re looking at who we compensate for what in the basin. And we’re building solutions that are really going to work.

Barney: Colorado tribes are also optimistic of the changes being made and looking towards future discussions that allow tribes a seat at the table, such as discussions around the 2026 interim guidelines. Lorelei Cloud is the Vice Chairman of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe.

Lorelei Cloud: I would hope that tribes are right alongside the state commissioners voting on different aspects of the, the negotiations and that we do have a large say in what happens. You know, 10 out of 30 tribes have allocations of the river between 25 and 30%. That’s major. That’s more than any municipality. And so we have to be included in those conversations. When we’re negotiating the water, because we’ve been left out for over 100 years. Now it’s 102 years to this year in 2024. And so changing that that dynamic and making sure that we’re included. It has got to be a priority as we go forward. And so. I would hope that in after 2026. It’s normalized for tribes to be at those conversations. It’s normalized for us to be to be invited to conferences and to speak anywhere, you know, on water and that they know that we’re a valued part of the river system.

Barney: Giving tribes a seat at the table allows for a formalized role of communication and just collaboration. This diversity of perspectives allows for a more holistic discussion about our relationship to water within the Colorado River Basin as we interact with competing needs for water during a drought.

Cloud: This world has been created so that men, the patriarch, is the dominant. Force in, in just about everything. And now it’s been changing to be more matriarchal. You people were matriarchal by nature and it’s coming from a matriarchal system where we value women. We just don’t value water. ’cause we know water is sacred, but we also know, and we believe women are sacred and we value our women. And so elevating our other women into these different roles have been I think, uh, a challenge because you have to. Not just deal with your own people to get them to help them, but also the outside world, which doesn’t see us that way. And they always see us as being the dependent upon the government. And that’s not what we are. That’s not who we are.

Barney: Cloud highlights valuing shared connections and relationships to water for every recipient of Colorado River water.

Cloud: We prayed for the water. We prayed for the water that we didn’t have. We prayed for the water that we do have. And it’s still real today. That’s that concept is still today. We’re praying for the water that we do have and for the water that we don’t have. And hopefully the water that is going to be coming in the form of rain or snow, whatever that is, you know, there’s always that spiritual connection. And when you grew up in a Ute home, we always did all of our traditions and cultural activities. And so prayer was a big part of our daily activity and so was water. And so those two are always connected. And so when I think about praying, I always think about the water and that has to be, that’s ingrained in who you are as a body, not just your body is made up of water, but your soul as well too, because it’s connected.

Barney: For KGNU, I’m Mira Barney.

Sedley: Once again, that was Mira Barney speaking with members of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe about recent moves toward collaboration and water justice between tribes and state and federal governments.

The post Nearly half of Colorado River tribes have unresolved water rights claims. New agreements could change that appeared first on KGNU Community Radio.

View Details

1. Ekko Astral – Pink Balloons
   • Record Label: Topshelf Records
   • Release Date: April 17, 2024
   • YouTube Link: Echo Astral – “UwU type beat”
2. Bruno Berle – No Reino Dos Afetos 2
   • Record Label: Far Out Recordings
   • Release Date: April 5, 2024
   • YouTube Link: Bruno Berle – “Tirolirole”
3. Alice Russell – I Am
   • Record Label: Tru Thoughts
   • Release Date: April 5, 2024
   • YouTube Link: Alice Russell – “I Am”
4. The Iliad and the Odyssey and the Ghoulies – Anxiety at the Penalty Kick
   • Record Label: Count Your Lucky Stars
   • Release Date: April 25, 2024
   • YouTube Link: The Iliad and the Odyssey and the Ghoulies – “April 25”
5. Project Gemini – Colors and Light
   • Record Label: Mr. Bongo
   • Release Date: April 5, 2024
   • YouTube Link: Project Gemini – “Colors and Light”

6. *Sonhos Tomam Conta – Corpos de Água*

   • Record Label: Longinus Recordings
   • Release Date: March 29, 2024

   • YouTube Link: sonhos tomam conta – corpos de água (full album)Compilation: Congo Funk

   • Record Label: Analog Africa

   • Release Date: April 5, 2024
   • YouTube Link: Congo Funk! The Making of the Poster (Promo Video)

The post April Monthly Music Roundup: Ekko Astral, Bruno Berle, Project Gemini and Congo Funk! appeared first on KGNU Community Radio.

View Details

The University of Colorado’s Kempe Center is a nationwide authority on the child welfare system. Founded in the 1970s, the center is famous for developing what many know as the ‘see something, say something’ reporting system, otherwise known as CARE (Child Abuse Reponse Evaluation network) which mandates social workers, teachers, and medical professionals to report any signs of child abuse or neglect to child protective services.

A new report from ProPublica looks into a lesser-known but widely used protocol in Colorado developed by a woman named Diane Baird. Baird worked at the Kempe Center for decades and is one of Colorado’s most commonly used family court expert witnesses.

At the Kempe Center, Baird created and trained others on what she called the Kempe Protocol to evaluate custody in child welfare cases.

When ProPublica looked into the protocol, they found it routinely recommends removing often low-income, non-white children from their birth families, commonly granting permanent custody to middle-income, white foster parents.

KGNU’s Alexis Kenyon spoke with ProPublica investigative reporter Eli Hager about his report.

• play_arrowUntitledAlexis Kenyon Interview Transcript:

Alexis Kenyon: I’m curious. How did you start looking at this story? Where did you start noticing that something was going on here?

Eli Hager: Well, basically, there was such a pattern across Colorado. About two years ago, I started hearing from families, both birth families and foster families, from their attorneys, various officials, case workers, and experts across Colorado. As I reported more, the same type of case was happening over and over again.

Families who wanted to adopt were often hiring the same lawyer. They were intervening in the case, which is a technical term, but it means that they get to interject themselves, declare themselves full parties to the child’s case, which had previously just been a case for the birth family, and start making arguments and calling witnesses and cross-examining witnesses to assert that they were too attached to the child for the child to go home to the birth family.

It was eerily familiar from one case to the next, always the same lawyer and often the same expert, Diane Baird. She would make eerily similar arguments from case to case about how the children were attached to their foster parents but weren’t attached to their birth families.

It was eerily familiar from one case to the next, always the same lawyer and often the same expert, Diane Baird. She would make eerily similar arguments from case to case about how the children were attached to their foster parents but weren’t attached to their birth families.

And in some instances, I found that she even copied and pasted from her own previous reports. That’s how consistent she is in this view.

Alexis Kenyon: Yeah. In your article, you have a quote where she admits like, “Yeah, I copied reports.” I mean, what do you think she was missing? Why did she think that was fine? And why is it not fine?

Eli Hager: Well, a couple of things. I mean, she says that the same attachment science applies to all children. So, no matter what, if a child’s under the age of three, they really shouldn’t have that attachment with their foster parents “ruptured.” That’s her belief.

That raises another question, though, which is why she conducts these evaluations. She comes into these cases saying that she’s going to evaluate the children’s relationships, and she calls it the “Kempe Protocol,” which sounds very scientific. And yet the evaluation almost always yields the same conclusion: that the child should stay with the foster parents, who are often middle class, and the child should not go to the birth family, who are often lower-income and non-white.

So, the net result is you have a lot of often white and middle-class families ending up with permanent custody of children through the usage of this methodology rather than those children’s usually lower-income and often non-white birth families.

Alexis Kenyon: I mean, what does the research say about this, separating kids from their birth families who may be low-income and less able to provide a stable or resource-filled life versus granting custody to foster parents who may be more middle-class and able to provide a more stable childhood?

Eli Hager: Well, yeah, I mean, social science researchers are studying these things all the time. Obviously, the effect of growing up in poverty can be severe, but so can the effect of being separated from your parents and your loved ones; both can be traumatic experiences.

Obviously, the effect of growing up in poverty can be severe, but so can the effect of being separated from your parents and your loved ones; both can be traumatic experiences.

The question is how do we evaluate and make those decisions? What ProPublica found is that there is this evaluator, Diane Baird, who’s helping to make those decisions in a way that is not based on science and that is tilted toward one side, namely the foster parents’ side, in almost every case.

Whatever your overall views are on how active the child welfare system should be in removing kids from families, certainly, once they’ve been removed into foster care, all efforts should be made to rehabilitate their parents or, second best, place them with biological family members like a grandmother. That’s what the federal law says is required, and that’s what the social science research says is better for kids in the long term.

But I think one thing that a lot of people don’t understand is that well over 80 percent of cases in the child welfare system nationwide do not involve abuse. They involve something called neglect, which is deeply correlated with poverty.

So housing issues, food issues, certainly drug use issues, but there’s no evidence that lower-income people abuse drugs significantly more than people with money. Yet they have their kids removed for that reason far more often, and I think that’s one thing that people don’t understand.

I think even if circumstances at home aren’t perfect, a lot of kids when they get older, talk about having wished that they would have grown up with their birth families. The Colorado Sun did an investigation about how many adoptions fail in Colorado, in part because kids want to be with their birth families and are wondering about their identity, and are having mental health and behavior problems as they get older.

And I guess more largely, the question is, do we want to respond to families who are living in poverty by redistributing their children to other families to better-off families like foster families and adoptive families, or do we want to respond to the poverty itself and try to have systemic solutions to these things? I think that’s the larger question that the child welfare system raises.

And I guess more largely, the question is, do we want to respond to families who are living in poverty by redistributing their children to other families to better-off families like foster families and adoptive families, or do we want to respond to the poverty itself and try to have systemic solutions to these things? I think that’s the larger question that the child welfare system raises.

Alexis Kenyon: So I know that you brought your reporting and your investigation, specifically into the way that Diane Baird is using what she calls the Kempe Protocol, to the Kempe Center. Did they provide any explanation about how this protocol was developed? Or, what was their response?

Eli Hager: So, it’s a little bit muddy right now because Diane Baird, and her colleagues who developed this protocol and this methodology, did so at the Kempe Center. They used the methodology in cases that they worked on on behalf of the Kempe Center. And then now, in her continuing private practice, she has continued to use the protocol or methodology similar to it, but the Kempe Center, in its response, was evasive and said that there’s not technically any such thing as the Kempe Protocol.

It’s not copyrighted by them. It’s not in their formal listings of the services that they provide. So I think that’s where public defenders who represent low-income birth families argue that Kempe should do something like publicly disavowing all of this. If they’re saying that it doesn’t exist, then why not disavow using it in name? But the director of the center declined to do that and said that it should be left up to individual judges on an individual case, to determine whether or not the Kempe Protocol or methodologies like it should be used.

The director did ask Diane Baird to stop using the Kempe name, but she did so privately; she didn’t make a public statement about it, but it’s held strong and not publicly disavowed this particular protocol, which seems to fly in the face of its other attempts at introspection.

In some communities, especially Black communities, two in three Black kids will see their parents investigated for some form of child maltreatment.It’s like an ever-present thing in some communities and I don’t think everybody quite realizes that. And I think it’s worth more attention for that reason.

Alexis Kenyon: Were you able to talk to any judges with the evidence you found? Did you get any of their reactions? I wonder if any judges felt like they already knew this or this was, you know, big news to them.

Eli Hager: I did talk to some judges, none on the record, though, so I can’t really speak to those interviews. I do know that, in certain cases, because Colorado has a county-run system, judges might not be aware of what’s happening elsewhere in the state.

Also, especially in rural areas, a judge might have only a handful of child welfare cases on their docket, and the judge might also be handling criminal justice cases, and so on. They might not be as familiar with these sorts of issues like the latest and what the social science research shows or what the experts are saying. So, when somebody like Diane Baird appears in their courtroom with this long experience and this Kempe Center credential, it means a lot to judges.

So we’re hoping that our reporting shows that she has made similar arguments in case after case and that she has admitted that she is incorrect. We’re hoping that that will reach people like judges who make these decisions and inform their understanding of things that maybe, just in their one county, they hadn’t been exposed to before.

Alexis Kenyon: Eli, before I let you go, I mean, what are your big takeaways from reporting this story?

Eli Hager: One thing that I’ve said a lot when asked questions like this is that I think there’s been this growing awareness of how the criminal justice system affects a lot of people and people of color over the last 10 years. There’s been a lot more attention paid to how police and prisons operate and so on. And, you know, that’s been a healthy debate. I mean, there are good points made on both sides of that debate, but I just don’t think that’s happened as much with the child welfare system.

But the child welfare system is arguably just as massive as the criminal justice system. There are 3.5 million kids every year that see their families investigated by these CPS agencies. In some communities, especially Black communities, two in three Black kids will see their parents investigated for some form of child maltreatment. It’s like an ever-present thing in some communities and I don’t think everybody quite realizes that. And I think it’s worth more attention for that reason.

The post ProPublica investigation into Colorado’s family court system finds more glaring income and racial disparities appeared first on KGNU Community Radio.

View Details

Control Group Productions will premiere their latest play, “Cheyenne”, at the People’s Building in Aurora April 26th through May 5th. “Cheyenne” a family drama about a group of Latino artists, and what it means to survive and thrive in the art industry and keep your identity. KGNU’s Veronica Straight-Lingo spoke with Playwright Cipriano Ortega about the show.

• play_arrowControl Group Productions Presents “Cheyenne” April 26 – May 5Veronica Straight-Lingo The post Control Group Productions Presents “Cheyenne” April 26 – May 5 appeared first on KGNU Community Radio.

View Details

Listen:

• play_arrowCan it work as 30 min? Let's seeJackie Sedley It’s scary living in a world that expects so much of you all the time, especially for those born in female bodies.

Over 10,000 people die from an eating disorder in the United States every year. This statistic can be explored and explained through so many different lenses – looking at media, advertising, the rise of social media, society’s unrealistic expectations particularly on those born female, stigma against bodies that don’t fit the ideal, the fact that many recovery spaces don’t make room for those in bigger bodies, people of color, queer people, and those from other marginalized groups.

The bottom line: None of this will change if we don’t talk about eating disorders. When I was deep in the throes of my disorder, the guilt and shame that comes with the diagnosis made it nearly impossible to talk about it with anyone. Plus, it’s easier to give in to unhealthy behaviors if nobody knows to look out for them. But in the years since I started my recovery, at 19, I am much more willing to discuss my experiences. I think it’s important that I do.

I wanted to do this series for many reasons. I want to educate listeners about eating disorders as a diagnosis, and work to debunk some myths around what “qualifies” as an eating disorder. I’ll bring experts on to talk about fad diets, intersectionality when it comes to eating disorders, treatment methods, and more with the intention to destigmatize this topic.

I also hope people listen with an open mind. You don’t have to look a certain way, act a certain way, or think a certain way in order to address your relationship with food and body. You don’t need a diagnosis from a professional to decide you’d like to feel better in your own skin.

This episode will focus on the rates of eating disorder diagnosis in the United States, the stigmas and stereotypes that act as huge roadblocks to people getting help, and ways to navigate a world that sets us up to hyperfixate on food and our bodies.

I sat down with two professionals in the world of eating disorder recovery: Stephanie Albers, a clinical assessment program manager at Project HEAL, and Terra Towne, a licensed clinical psychologist at the UC San Diego Eating Disorders Center for Treatment and Research and the program manager of their Intensive Family Treatment Program.

The episode referenced Project HEAL’s 2023 assessment of 395 individuals with eating disorders. Here’s what they found:

• The highest rates of diagnosis were for atypical anorexia, at 33%.
• The second-highest category after atypical anorexia was binge eating disorder at 17%, followed by anorexia nervosa also at 17%.
• 40% of assesses were BIPOC.
• 50% identified as part of the LGBTQ+ community.
• 18% identified as being trans, non-binary, or intersex.
• 64% of assesses were 24 years or older.
• 36% identified as having a disability or being neurodivergent.
• This stayed true when broken down by male-identifying, female-identifying, and non-binary identifying.

I gave the timeline of my own eating disorder recovery in episode 1 of this series. You can listen to that here.

Resources:

Project HEAL

Eating Disorder Hotlines

National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD)

Families Empowered and Supporting Treatment of Eating Disorders

UC San Diego Eating Disorders Center for Treatment and Research

There are many types of eating disorders. The most commonly diagnosed are:

• Anorexia nervosa
• Binge-eating disorder
• Bulimia nervosa
• Orthorexia
• Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID)

Transcript:

Jackie Sedley: You’re tuned in to listener-supported KGNU, this is A Public Affair, I’m Jackie Sedley, bringing you episode two of my limited series, Nourished. Every 52 minutes, someone in the United States dies from an eating disorder. That adds up to over 10,000 deaths each year. This statistic can be explored and explained through so many different lenses, looking at media, advertising, the rise of social media, society’s unrealistic expectations, particularly on those assigned female at birth, stigma against bodies that don’t fit the ideal, the fact that many recovery spaces don’t make room for those in bigger bodies, for people of color, for queer people, and those from other marginalized groups.

We can look at all of this, but the bottom line is that none of it will change if we don’t talk about eating disorders. I was diagnosed at age 17 with anorexia, and I talk about it openly now, including on our airwaves. You can hear my timeline in episode one of this series on KGNU. org.

It’s scary living in a world that expects so much of you all the time, especially for those assigned female at birth. I wanted to do this series for many reasons. I want to educate listeners about eating disorders as a diagnosis and work to debunk some myths around what qualifies as an eating disorder.

I’ll bring different experts on to talk about fad diets, intersectionality when it comes to eating disorders, treatment methods, and more, with the intention to de stigmatize and open up the conversation around the topic. I also hope people listen with an open mind. You don’t have to look a certain way, act a certain way, or think a certain way in order to address your relationship with food and body.

You don’t need a diagnosis from a professional to decide you’d like to feel better in your own skin. I gave a broad definition of eating disorders in episode one, but just to reiterate, an eating disorder is any of a range of mental disorders categorized by a preoccupation with food that negatively impacts your physical and psychological health and hinders your ability to fully engage in day-to-day life.

I think it’s really important to keep reminding listeners throughout the series that eating disorders are mental illnesses, not physical ones. They manifest in physical symptoms and behaviors, but can always be attributed to something going on mentally, or biologically, socially, or culturally. There’s always more to the story.

One thing that I didn’t touch on too much in episode one, that I will today, is the challenge of talking about eating disorders. I’ve learned that this topic can bring out some pretty intense sides of people. That’s because, I think, everyone is touched by disordered eating and negative body image in some way.

I’ve yet to meet someone that I can confidently say has never once had a negative thought, feeling, or relationship with food or their own body. If you’re listening and you really, truly believe you’re one of the few that’s been entirely unaffected, congratulations. I bet you can still learn a thing or two from the information I’m about to share.

For this second episode, I sat down with two professionals in the world of eating disorder recovery. They’re Stephanie Albers and Terra Towne. Albers is a clinical assessment program manager at Project Heal, one of the nation’s leading non profits in trying to eliminate barriers to healing relationships with food and body

whether that be through access to care or access to treatment. Tara Town is a licensed clinical psychologist at the UC San Diego Eating Disorder Center and the program manager of their Intensive Family Treatment Program.

You’ll hear from Albers first. Albers and town sound kind of similar, but I’ll keep clarifying who is who. Project HEAL, which Albers is a part of, did an assessment of 395 individuals last year and a lot of the points she brings up are based on those assessments.

You can find the data from that assessment on our website under the link to this episode.

Sedley: Eating disorders are not immune to stigmatization that you often see enshrouding mental illnesses. Media most often depict the quote unquote typical eating disorder patient as skinny, white, affluent, and female identifying. This is the swag stereotype that I’ve talked about in the previous episode.

Anorexia seems to be the most widely acknowledged eating disorder historically, both by society and by the medical industry. Project HEAL’s assessments debunk these stereotypes to a degree, simply by finding that the highest percentage of assesses were those with atypical anorexia.

Other nationwide assessments, like from the National Institute of Mental Health, point to binge eating disorder as the most commonly diagnosed. So, with those statistics in mind, can you provide any context to this prominent stereotype of anorexia? Specifically, why we categorize anorexia as a mental illness that affects skinny, white, affluent individuals who were assigned female at birth?

Stephanie Albers: That’s a good question. I think. When eating disorders were first appearing in the medical literature, those were the first folks that were being identified as having eating disorders, anorexia was in the DSM, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual. First, I think traditionally that may have been the folks who have had access to care and therefore were able to be seen by professionals, had close surrounding community that noticed these types of behaviors in them and saw them as problematic.

Sedley: Terra, turning to you, there’s so many barriers to diagnosis based on factors like body size and socioeconomic status, race and ethnicity and sexuality even. Through your research, how have you seen these biases toward those that fit the swag mold impact individuals access to diagnosis and treatment firsthand if they do have an eating disorder?

Terra Towne: It’s a huge misconception and myth that eating disorders only affect people who fall into that category.

And just in general, that you can determine that someone has a needing disorder just by looking at them or what they might weigh. This has had a huge negative impact on access to care and identification and diagnosis. To speak on the anorexia front, only percent of people in treatment are considered medically underweight.

Now there is a diagnostic criterion for anorexia nervosa, stating that someone has to fall into that medically underweight category to meet criteria for the diagnosis. There’s a subtype of anorexia called atypical anorexia, which is used to diagnose folks who have lost a significant amount of weight, display all the cognitive and physical symptoms of anorexia, but don’t fall into that subjective category of being medically underweight. And because that the first line of detection is often in primary care, it’s often missed. Not to put any doctors down, but they just don’t have the specialized training and eating disorders. And so what we find is those folks who have atypical anorexia, their diagnosis is missed altogether.

And, at worst, their weight loss in their disorder is even praised because they may now fall in or closer to a medically quote unquote “healthy weight” or BMI. So that’s extremely problematic because atypical anorexia in no way is a subclinical disorder.

So we know that the rates of medical medical instabilities are the same as those with typical anorexia and the psychological symptoms that we see in those with atypical anorexia are actually elevated when compared to those with typical anorexia.

On the B.E.D. (binge eating disorder) front, this is really interesting. You know, when you look at it and you see that most folks who are diagnosed with BED fall into the medically overweight or obese categories, you have to think that there’s some type of weight stigma that prevented these folks from being diagnosed and treated much earlier on.

Sedley: So, so what do we do with all that? Because anorexia does have the highest recorded death rate of all mental illnesses, and by no means should that be overlooked. But if we’re thinking about the skew that certain data may have, based on under diagnoses or mis-diagnoses, how do we improve access to diagnosis and treatment for folks with all types of eating disorders? If those that get the most attention from doctors and concerned loved ones are those that fit into the SWAG stereotype and are diagnosed with typical anorexia.

Towne: This is a problem. I think that the field has tackled and simultaneously Not made, I think the changes that we need to for like decades.

So as far as like, how do we address this treatment gap? How do we get people identified and in treatment before it’s, it’s really not optimal? I think we need just better education at the level of the healthcare providers. I think eating disorder specialists really need to be consulting with physicians, since they are that first line of identification and they’re often the provider that unfortunately folks with eating disorders are having a negative experience with because they’re coming in either not wanting to share symptoms right, or sharing symptoms, but being kind of underestimated because of the size of their body or their weight.

And then I also think there just needs to be more community-wide discussions about mental health and eating disorders specifically. I think since COVID, I’ve definitely seen a shift in schools talking openly about mental health and, parents being more open to teens going to therapy, more preventative care, but I still think there’s a specific stigma around eating disorders, and somehow, and I’ve seen it in even the most educated, mental health-conscious parents is that there’s something about an eating disorder that really trips them up and feels difficult to talk about and feels like it’s a different mental illness than say, depression or anxiety.

And I think that has to do with just these misconceptions that exist about eating disorders, right? Not just who it affects, like we’ve been discussing, but also why it comes about.

Something that’s really important in the field is increasing early access to treatment for all and not getting stuck in this model of care where people need to get sick to get treatment. I think just getting the word out about the range of different eating disorder symptoms that exist and how these are treatable illnesses and issues, just like other mental health problems that teens and everyone can encounter, is going to be really, really important to making sure that everyone has the opportunity to be diagnosed and to get help.

Sedley: Hi there, Jackie Sedley here. If you’re just now tuning into KGNU, we’ve been listening to the first half of a conversation between myself, Stephanie Albers and Terra Towne. Albers is a clinical assessment program manager at Project Heal, and Towne is a licensed clinical psychologist at the UC San Diego Eating Disorder Center.

This is episode two of my limited series, Nourished, unpacking our biases against bodies and behaviors around food. We’ll jump back into that conversation now.

Sedley: Stephanie, what kind of barriers have you been made aware of through your work, or through personal experience, to just being told by a medical professional that you have an eating disorder?

Albers: I think there’s a lot of different barriers. One, you almost have to know yourself that something is wrong to be able to articulate to someone that you’d like to be screened for this, unless you’re appearing as underweight you may not ever get asked about what you eat or your activity level, unless it’s in

the context of being told you should probably lose weight. Healthcare professionals also have a stereotype of what they think a person with an eating disorder looks like.

And so you may be at your primary care doctor and it may never come to their attention to additionally refer you to be screened or should get diagnosed for an eating disorder.

And, I think if we don’t see ourselves represented in advertisements for eating disorder treatment centers, or, eating disorder care, eating disorder awareness, it’s less likely that we’re going to think that that could possibly be us. And so that eliminates that piece and potentially a health care provider may not notice it either.

Sedley: Terra, so you said people don’t need to get sick to get treatment. That’s something that you focus on a lot in your research. Can you say more about that? What does that mean to get sick? And why is it important to provide support before that level is reached? Or even if it never is reached.

Towne: Yeah, absolutely. So I think a symptom of eating disorders – and when I say eating disorders, I guess I’m talking specifically about anorexia and bulimia in this case – is that folks feel like they don’t really have an eating disorder. They may not feel like they’re deserving of getting help when in reality, they might be struggling very much with their eating disorder. So not only do we need to look at models of prevention when folks start to have feelings of dissatisfaction with their body or start to feel like they maybe need to start watching what they’re eating. But also, just letting people know that an eating disorder isn’t determined by a weight on the scale or the way that someone looks. An eating disorder is really about a mental struggle. And so if you’re someone who has anxiety around food, or is even thinking about it more than you used to, or feel like you’re spending a lot of time focusing on your weight and shape, or how your clothes fit, or how often you’re going to the gym, you deserve to talk to somebody about it.

You deserve the help that is out there and hopefully, that’s a better outcome than waiting until those symptoms are escalating , and you’re in a place where it’s even harder to make a full recovery.

Sedley: Stephanie, turning to you, how do you see an increase in online activity, especially among the younger generation, affecting rates of eating disorders or disordered eating behaviors?

Albers: I think there is a lot of normalization of diet culture and dieting within social media that a young person immediately can access.

And so someone who is going to a social media account without the intention to avoid those sort of things is going to be bombarded with them. And so I think sometimes if you haven’t had a lot of social media literacy, I think you don’t necessarily understand that, that stuff is not realistic, that that’s not feasible.

And there is also just the prevalence of like altered images and AI and beauty ideals that are not only unattainable for most of us, but the person portraying it may not even have attained that.

And so, there’s a lot of just, I think, pressure, intentional pressure, and then some stuff that’s not quite as intentional to look and appear and behave a certain way that impacts all of us, really.

Sedley: I know, Terra, that you’re also the program manager of UC San Diego’s Intensive Family Treatment Program. And so I wanted to ask, do you see a lot of patients with eating disorders that come from homes or friend groups that participate in these kinds of disordered eating or negative self talk patterns? And if so, what kind of effect can that have on the manifestation and development of an eating disorder in somebody?

Towne: So, you know, we live in a world that is massively impacted by what we call diet culture, or this phenomenon of your body, being a state of work, and it actually being like an admirable endeavor to try to work on yourself, with the goal of getting smaller.

It’s not just patients that are affected by it but it’s all of us who live in that environment. So certainly we have patients who are coming in and, their family, maybe holds some of the same beliefs that they’re eating disorder does or their friends that are dining alongside them.

It’s their coaches, their grandparents who are sending the same messaging and maybe even giving praise for some of the disorder behaviors that are being observed and that’s a big challenge for the patient because it’s a normalization of symptoms. But I do just want to make it very clear that there’s nothing in the research that indicates that parents are the cause of eating disorders.

We know that there’s a strong biological basis to these disorders. And so usually when they manifest, it’s like this combination of having this unique biology and also being in an environment where that kind of comes on.

But they can be an support person by learning more about diet culture, being more mindful of their own language, and different triggers that can ultimately serve to maintain their child’s eating disorder.

Sedley: I really appreciate that perspective. It wasn’t until I was diagnosed with my own eating disorder that I found out that there is a genetic component that family members of mine have been diagnosed with eating disorders. And so I’m very aware that that component there is very strong. I also know that the more I’ve gone through my recovery, the more I look around me and realize that a lot of people speak in ways that they don’t realize can be harmful. Maybe even from my perspective, I would go so far to say their quality of life would be improved and the quality of lives of others around them would be improved if they didn’t talk that way, or looked inside themselves and did the work and didn’t think that way. But you also can’t force somebody to change the way that they live their life, right? So, that gets tricky.

Terra, do you have any guidance or advice for folks that are living within those circles of people that maybe talk negatively about their food or body, but they also know they don’t really have a right to tell that person that they have a full blown eating disorder and that they should enter treatment because that just may not be the case or they may not be ready to hear that, somewhere in that gray area.

Towne: It’s a really tough thing, especially for those folks who are in early recovery, and they may have been in like a treatment bubble where everyone’s on the same page and is really supportive and mindful of their language around food and body, and then they’re returning to a college campus or a home where there’s a lot of talk about what someone’s eating and what people look like and things like that. So, I would always encourage patients or people in recovery to be their own advocate in those situations, whether that looks like being very confident in responding to comments like that with, “well, I don’t think of food or my body that way, or even “when I hear you say that, it makes me feel anxious about myself or like I should be doing something differently.” I also think it can be really helpful when support people are also involved in just learning about how diet culture has a negative impact on everybody. When you bring community into it, I think it can be this really beautiful dismantling of even a microcosm of the full, sort of spectrum of diet culture. It’s a really beautiful thing.

Sedley: So, Stephanie, if an individual is noticing their disordered eating patterns, but they don’t necessarily have a diagnosis in place, they’re aware there’s something going on, that they’re struggling to change, and they know their quality of life is affected as a result, what kind of guidance through Project Heal or in your personal lived experience do you provide to folks who maybe aren’t ready to take the step to move toward treatment or just simply can’t afford it?

Albers: With Project HEAL and our clinical assessment program, we do assess individuals 12 and older.

We really kind of walk folks through a series of questions about their eating behaviors, their psychosocial history and any other relevant history that might relate to their overall well being in their relationship with food.

We’re beginning to launch our Body Reborn Community Care Program. It’ll provide virtual intersectional community for those who struggle with disordered eating and have faced systemic barriers due to race those that originate for people of color. So it lasts about eight weeks and we engage in education and live discussion around systemic oppression, trauma, and their effects on our relationship with food and our body.

That can be a great place to start and you We’ll find yourself in a group and you will hear folks mention things that you’re like, oh, I thought I was the only one that thought about it this way. I think sometimes, if you’re in the throes of an eating disorder , it can be hard to navigate all the options yourself. And so, talking to others that you trust can be a good way to start as well. Simply ask them, “you know, I think I’m just not sure about this. Have you noticed anything different about me?” You know, “this is what I’m experiencing. Can you help me find help?”

Sedley: Based on my personal experience in recovery and and maybe people that are in recovery are the main ones that can relate to this. Once you start to unpack your lived experience, all of the diet culture, and the myths, and the negative self talk around the world. You can’t really stop hearing it and seeing it.

Albers: Yes.

Sedley: And, and so you start to see it in the people around you.

And the veil lifts and you realize that you really can’t think of many people in your life that haven’t been at least minutely impacted, even if it hasn’t translated to behaviors.

And so I think of the folks in my life who I wouldn’t necessarily say from my perspective have full blown eating disorders, but they have disordered eating. They can still go hand in hand, right? Very quickly. It’s a slippery slope. For those individuals that have disordered eating patterns, if you try to talk to them, often there’s resistance. So instead of trying to unpack all of that for listeners, the question I pose to you, Stephanie, as someone who is in recovery, is what are some of the most beautiful parts of your recovery for you? What do you feel like you have in your life that you simply wouldn’t have if that preoccupation with food was still there?

Albers: I can remember when I was in the throes of my eating disorder and, I had goals and interests, but they all seemed so far out of reach because I just couldn’t get out from underneath myself.

Things I wanted to accomplish, things I wanted to do were just so incredibly hard because I was undernourished. I just wasn’t physically at an optimum. And I think sometimes we think, oh, if I, lose weight or eat healthy or have a certain food or exercise regimen, all of a sudden I’ll have all this more energy.

And honestly, nothing has given me more energy than continuing to be well fed and eating regularly and nourishing myself regularly. And it’s just amazing I can read a book without losing concentration and I can, and do that.

I can carry on conversations with folks that matter to me without drifting off or getting tired. So many things that when I was in the throes of my eating disorder, I just did not have the energy for and just could not enjoy because so much of my brain space and my, My physical well being was wrapped up in the eating disorder.

I just couldn’t see, couldn’t see a way out of it. And just to realize other goals and interests that I have that don’t involve food or weight or even fitness. Like, I, I don’t spend days and hours thinking about holiday meals before I have them. And there’s just so much peace and so much room in my life for whatever wants to come into it. I think that’s probably the biggest, biggest piece of it. There was just no room for anything else in my life before.

And it’s just amazing. What has come my way since then. When you’re malnourished, you’re underfed or not regularly fed, your brain. It’s not operating on, on full power. And so I think that can really impact what it is that you see. It’s not like a hallucination, but it’s just your reality testing is not quite there. Like, it’s just not fully, fully sunk in.

I think for most people, it’s, it’s hard to realize that how you look is probably the least interesting thing about you. Like, there’s, there’s so much more to you and your person and, and how you are.

Sedley: And with just a couple of minutes left here, I wanted to ask you, Terra, if you had any resources that you wanted to highlight for listeners that are struggling, or that have loved ones that are struggling.

Towne: So for folks who are supporting those with eating disorders, whether it be parents, partners, siblings, I would definitely recommend that they check out Families Empowered and Supporting Treatment of Eating Disorders. It’s really just a wealth of information that can be helpful to anyone who’s supporting a loved one with an eating disorder. I mean, I just kind of want to end on a message of hope. There’s a lot of work to be done in the field of eating disorders, both in terms of identification for all, access to care, and improving treatments, but there’s a lot of hope here.

No matter how long somebody has been struggling, there’s really always hope for recovery. There’s been studies done that show that most people do recover from eating disorders after a period of time.

So for anybody struggling, I would just like to send a message of hope and that persistence and hope over the long term is, I think, really a huge key in getting better.

Sedley: That was me, Jackie Sedley, speaking with Stephanie Albers of Project HEAL and Terra Towne of the UC San Diego Eating Disorder Center. I tried to find statistics relating to relapse and recovery for people with all different kinds of eating disorders, but the research varied. The point I really want to hone in on though, once again, is that we cannot hope for more recovery and less relapse if we don’t keep talking about eating disorders and breaking down those stigmas.

Eating disorders are not about personal vanity. They’re not a lifestyle choice. They impact individuals of all backgrounds and identities. And throughout this series, I’ll continue to uplift the voices of those from different backgrounds and identities, from those different communities, in the hopes that we can continue to expand this conversation and reach more people who can relate to this topic.

And those that can’t, you can listen too. I’m sure you can learn a thing or two. That’s it for episode two of my limited series, Nourished. More episodes will come out later this month, so stay tuned in to KGNU.

I’m Jackie Sedley. Take care.

The post Unpacking the “phenomenon of your body being a state of work”: Nourished, Episode 2 appeared first on KGNU Community Radio.

View Details

The Colorado GOP Assembly happened over the weekend. That’s where state Republicans select representatives for the Republican National Committee, which helps choose the nominee for president. There, they also worked to set their platform for the upcoming election season, and advanced candidates to the primary ballot for the University of Colorado regent at large. A Colorado Sun politics reporter was escorted out of that state GOP assembly on Saturday by a sheriff’s deputy, after being told that party Chairman Dave Williams thinks her current reporting is “very unfair.”

Her name is Sandra Fish, and she’s been covering politics since 1982. She joined KGNU’s Jackie Sedley on the Morning Magazine to share the details of her experience over the weekend.

You can watch the video of her being ousted here.

Listen:

• play_arrowSandra fishJackie Sedley Transcript:

Jackie Sedley:  You’re listening to The Morning Magazine. I’m Jackie Sedley. The Colorado GOP assembly happened over the weekend. That’s where state Republicans select representatives for the Republican National Committee, which helps choose the nominee for president. There, they also worked to set their platform for the upcoming election season, and advanced candidates to the primary ballot for the University of Colorado regent at large.

A Colorado Sun politics reporter was escorted out of that state GOP assembly on Saturday by a sheriff’s deputy after being told that party chairman Dave Williams thinks her current reporting is “very unfair.” Her name is Sandra Fish and she’s been covering politics since 1982. She’s here with us this morning to share the details of her experience over the weekend. Good morning, Sandra.

Sandra Fish: Good morning, Jackie. I’m kind of old.

Sedley: Not a bad thing. So let’s just start at the beginning. You were all set to go to the Colorado GOP Assembly at the State Fairgrounds in Pueblo, and then you received a text around 3:45 a. m. Saturday morning. Is that right?

Fish: Yes, I did. And it’s worth noting that I did attend the 3rd Congressional District and the 4th Congressional District nominating assemblies on Friday, which were really the big news coming out of this, but I had asked about credentials and I got this text at 3:45 a. m. saying that, um, you know, I wasn’t going to be let in. But I thought, “Hey, I’m going to try to go anyway.” I’ve been going to these for a long time. And, you know, this is a group of about three or four thousand Republicans making decisions on behalf of all 900,000 registered Republicans in the state. And so I went and they, you know, I went in the door, they gave me a press credential, um, and I was like hanging out talking to people that I know and people that I don’t, and new friends and you know, then they, after I’d been there a little more than an hour, and they realized I was there and got rid of me.

Sedley: And what was the interaction like between you and those that told you you had to leave?

You know, the security staff at the event center was kind of apologetic and just like, “You’ve got to go.” Finally Eric Grossman, um, who was the event coordinator came over and talked to me, but refused to answer any of my questions about, what is it that’s unfair? Um, he seemed kind of angry and, and, and the, the deputy, they were totally professional. I mean, it, it was fine. You know, I get that I have written stories about the Colorado GOP’s finances in the past year. They’re not good – first time since at least one in at least 20 years that they haven’t employed full-time staff. I’ve written about the chairman using party resources to promote his candidacy for the Fifth congressional district. And I expect that’s what he is angry about, but I I would like specifics because has he called and corrected anything about those stories? Nope.

Sedley: So when they said that Colorado Republican Party Chairman Dave Williams finds your current reporting “very unfair,” it sounds like you maybe had an idea right off the bat what they might have been referring to. Have you heard feedback like this before from other Republicans or other folks that maybe aren’t appreciative of your reporting?

Fish: You know, there are, there are people who don’t want to be covered in what they perceive as a negative light. I mean, at the end of, in February, I went up to Representative Elizabeth Epps in the Capitol to ask her why she had been participating only remotely in House floor sessions. I mean, she was clearly in the Capitol that day, right after the House floor session that she’d participated in remotely. And she refused to talk to me. She just sort of looked at me and I asked her a question several times. And there’s a recording of that.

I mean, I get that people don’t want that kind of reporting, but I got to say, journalism is here to give people the information they need to be free and self-governing, and we are reporting on behalf of the public and our democracy, and that’s why I felt I needed to be there, to hear what was being said there, and to let others know.

Sedley: So, did this feel personal, or to you, does it represent a larger dynamic between politicians and the free press?

Fish: I, I think it, it does represent a larger dynamic in, in that this is happening around the country, that some people are trying to exclude certain members of the press. I mean, it is kind of personal because it was just me. Um, I mean, Heidi Beedle from the Times Recorder, bought a guest pass and they, they, they I don’t, they probably should have seen that she was live-Tweeting from there, but, you know, they didn’t kick her out. So, uh, but it is a larger dynamic that’s been coming on for a while.

Like, I’ve seen in the last eight years or so, certain politicians refusing to participate in public debates sponsored by, say, the League of Women Voters. Um, and it’s concerning because if you’re going to be responsible to the public, you need to respond to the public.

Sedley: And in the last 20 seconds or so, has William said anything else about your ousting since it gained traction in the media?

Fish: Um, he has called me a fake journalist. I’m not.

Sedley: Sandra Fish, data journalist and politics reporter for the Colorado Sun. Sandra, thank you so much for sharing your story with us this morning. We appreciate it.

Fish: Thanks, Jackie.

The post “He called me a fake journalist. I’m not”: Colorado Sun reporter responds to being ousted from state GOP Assembly appeared first on KGNU Community Radio.

View Details

Denver residents have rallied to support a growing population of new immigrants, providing shelter, clothing, and hope to those seeking a new start.

On this edition of A Public Affair, KGNU’s Alexis Kenyon spoke with Cindy Miller, a Broomfield resident and mother who has been hosting groups of new immigrants at her home for more than a year; Heidi Henkel, a Broomfield City Council person and executive director of the Broomfield Resettlement Task Force; Tracy Di Lorenzo, an advocate for the migrant newcomer and traditionally unhoused communities; and Amy Beck, a member of Together Denver, working with the new immigrant population and encampments. The group discussed their experiences and efforts in supporting the influx of new immigrants in the Denver metro area, grassroots mobilization efforts, and the need for broader support from surrounding communities and the federal government. Listen: play_arrow*APublicAffair_2024-03-27Alexis Kenyon From left: Coraline, Cindy Miller, Amy Beck, Tracy Di Lorenzo. Photo by Alexis Kenyon/KGNUIf you are interested in getting involved, email Amy Beck at amy@togetherdenver.org.If you have work or household goods to donate for migrant newcomers who have recently found housing, email tracy@houseofglowdenver.com You can also email Cindy Miller at denvercindy@gmail.com.The city of Denver offers resources and support for new immigrants. Visit their website for more information. We have also compiled a list of resources for new immigrants at the bottom of this page.If you have a resource we should add to this page or a story you want us to cover relating new immigrants in Colorado, please email alexis@kgnu.org.The post Hundreds of women across the Front Range are working to support new immigrants appeared first on KGNU Community Radio.

View Details

Close to 40,000 new immigrants have arrived in the Denver metro area in the last 16 months. Many of them are fleeing Venezuela, where the once oil-dependent economy has collapsed since 2014 under the authoritarian leadership of President Nicolas Maduro. Since then, approximately 8 million Venezuelans have left the country—about a quarter of the entire population.

The vast majority, about 82%, of Venezuelans have fled to other Latin American and Caribbean countries, but in recent years, many of those economies have also deteriorated. For the roughly 10 percent who make it through the Darien Gap—a journey hundreds of miles north to the US Southern border, they face a whole new set of sometimes life-threatening obstacles.

KGNU’s Alexis Kenyon spoke with Zachary New, an immigration attorney at Joseph and Hall in Aurora. New says that the US has tried to organize and make this border crossing more orderly. Still, because the efforts have been rolled out so haphazardly, more often than not, there is no good way to enter the US if you are a Latin American immigrant.

• play_arrow03_27_24immigrationattorney Alexis Kenyon INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT:Zachary New: So, let’s start with you’ve reached the United States border. Now, you’re faced with this kind of quagmire.

You have to use this app, CBP1. There are 1,500 appointments for the entirety of the southern border, and you need to get one to lawfully present yourself to Customs and Border Protection and request asylum. So, you have about a 1 in 5 chance of getting an appointment daily.

And in the meantime, they’re stuck on the other side of the United States border, in Mexico, where they very well may not have status and could be deported back to Venezuela, where they fear actual death and, you know, a lot of horrible things that could happen to them.

Assuming you could get this appointment though, you go up to a Customs and Border Protection officer. You say, “I would like to request asylum.” You have to show that you have a well-founded fear, meaning that it’s objectively reasonable and subjectively true that you’re afraid of returning to Venezuela because you will be persecuted on behalf of your race, your religion, your nationality, your political opinions, or your membership in particular social groups.

If you don’t fit into one of those, you don’t qualify for asylum, and you’ll be turned around and essentially deported right there. If you’re let’s say, coming because you’re poor and you want a better life for yourself and your family. Well, that’s not an asylum claim, and you would be turned around right then and there.

Alexis Kenyon: So this Customs and Border Protection officer decides whether you qualify for asylum or?

Zachary New: They determine if you have a potential claim for asylum. At that point, though, the first real issue comes in: we have so many cases in our immigration court system that it could be years before you actually go in front of a judge.

In the meantime, you’re in the United States and don’t have work authorization for at least the first six months. So that’s where this first kind of hurdle comes in.

But assuming everything moves forward smoothly, you get your work authorization after six months of waiting around. At that point, you’re in the immigration court system.

You will go and present yourself in front of an immigration judge you get scheduled for what’s essentially a trial. There are no government-appointed private attorneys. So, it’s either they pay for a private attorney themselves, they find somebody willing to do it for free, or they are presenting their asylum claim in front of a judge against a government lawyer, presenting witnesses, putting testimony on, you know, evidence, all the things that you would normally expect in kind of a trial situation, except there’s no jury there.

Alexis Kenyon: So I want to talk about this waiting period when people are in Mexico trying to get an appointment because I think it’s really difficult to understand how dangerous and terrifying that period of time can be. A few weeks ago, I spoke with a woman who told me her story. I want to play that clip for you.

She spoke to me in Spanish through a translator, Elena Klaver.

Gleidys: When I got to Juarez, there was a group who beat up all the men and boys in our group to rob them. And because of my hair and my daughter’s hair, I had to cut my hair, they wanted to rape us. We were the only women that were there, the other guys, the guys that were beaten up, they defended us and while they were beating them up, they yelled run, crossover. And so I ran. I ran, and I crossed over at gate 36. And when I crossed over, an immigration agent put his weapon in my face like he was going to shoot me. I was paralyzed, and my daughter crossed the river. When I crossed over, my arms and my legs were cut entirely by the barbed wire, and my daughter was also. See, I have a lot of scars. God was with us at all times. There were so many times when we almost died.

Zachary New: Yeah, and that’s not an uncommon story by any means. Part of the reason we see folks cross the border without waiting for that CBP1 appointment is the risk that women and young girls face as they wait in camps. They’re unsafe as they wait at the southern border for the CBP1 app to function correctly and give them their appointment.

So, we hear stories of people being thrown off the border wall to distract CBP while others sneak into the U.S. And this is something that isn’t understood enough about why they don’t just wait in line. It’s ’cause the line is very dangerous. And so sometimes it’s better to cross the river, present yourself, and go through the legal process here in the United States, even if it isn’t exactly the way that U.S. citizens would love for them to do. ‘Cause the alternative is horrible things happening to them.

Alexis Kenyon: Yeah. So what happens for people like the women I interviewed who don’t come into the U.S. legally? What can you do?

Zachary New: I mean, there are a number of nonprofits right now doing an immense amount of pro bono work and workshops to try to help people in this situation. I will say there’s no cost to apply for asylum, so asylum application is free. Um, that initial work permit application after that first asylum application has been made is also free.

Alexis Kenyon: I want to jump in here to clarify because I think it’s a little murky. Coming into the U.S. illegally hurts a new immigrant’s chance of being granted asylum. However, new immigrants can and should still apply for asylum even if they came here illegally, as soon as they can, because the day you file, you begin to count down the days until you can then apply for a work permit. In the meantime, it may be years before your asylum application even gets in front of a judge. So just filing the application though starts that asylum clock where you have to wait six months until you can legally work.

Zachary New: Yeah. So, I mean, so there’s really the big cost is that six months. You know, how do you survive for six months if you don’t know somebody in the United States to help you out. You don’t have family, not able to work, don’t have anywhere to live, you don’t have friends, and that’s where a lot of these NGOs and other entities really are coming into play and stepping up.

The city of Denver is also doing a very good job of that. They received an anonymous donation to create programs such as these asylum workshops and temporary protected status workshops to help people apply for various forms of relief.

Alexis Kenyon: For listeners who are interested, we have links BELOW to many of these workshops on our website. There’s also information about a temporary protected status visa, which can be an alternative to someone who doesn’t qualify for asylum. And there are a lot of other resources from Denver specifically and nonprofits.

But at the end of the day, Zach, I mean, many new immigrants find themselves without any real legal path forward. Can you tell me about what happens to these people?

Zachary New: Yeah. So, I mean, let’s start with the fact that we have 11 million people in the United States who are undocumented entirely. They don’t have any status whatsoever. So it’s not like this is an uncommon situation where they’re frankly just stuck in the United States with no status. Um, Denver, strangely, is a hotbed of human trafficking because we’re at the crossroads of I-25 and I-70. So, there are a lot of horrible things that happen to people who are living in these shadow economies who don’t have the full protections of the laws. We very often hear stories of individuals who are just horribly abused by employers.

Um, a very, very common one would be wage theft. I won’t pay you the amount that I am required to pay you or that I promised to pay you. And what are you to do about it, essentially?

It’s very common in the agricultural industry. So, um, somebody sponsoring an agricultural worker does have to provide housing, but I’ve seen situations where somebody has been given a trailer where they have to share the dog food with the dog. They have too little drinking water to sustain themselves for their working period. There are really just truly horrendous stories out there of people who are, I mean, not treated like humans.

Zachary New: I mean, we have programs available to help victims of crimes and labor-based abuses, to assist individuals in coming forward in these situations, but not everybody knows about these things. And so, people are afraid of this person’s going to report me to ICE, and because of that, I have to do whatever they say, whether that’s living in a trailer and eating dog food or worse.

There are truly some horrible stories out there. I think it’s the exception rather than the rule, but it is um. You know, a major issue. It’s something that people in Denver should be aware of. I mean, you can see it in rest stops and truck stops. They have little signs, uh,

Alexis Kenyon: What do you mean?

Zachary New: If you ever go to a rest stop. In the bathrooms, they will have numbers that you can call if you’re a victim of human trafficking. That just kind of does happen. Certainly, not everybody who is a newly arrived migrant is a subject of human trafficking. But, there are, I think, a lot of people who have gone through experiences that would terrify the senses of people who are currently in the United States. You know, that is unimaginable that they’ve gone through as they, you know, walk through the entirety of Central America and sometimes even into the United States, going through, you know, unimaginable experiences.

Alexis Kenyon: Hmm. I mean, a lot of the reasons why the immigration system in the US is so difficult to successfully work through is, I think, a lot because we have these narratives about immigration that are really negative. I mean, like the popular narratives that we hear over and over again, new immigrants take jobs away from people, or when we get new immigrants, crime goes up. Immigration, you know, drains our already strained social resources. I mean, what are your thoughts when you hear these arguments is there any truth to these stories that we hear over and over about immigration?

Zachary New: I always like to start these kinds of conversations with facts. I mean, the stats are, are unbelievably clear. Immigrants commit less crime than native-born Americans. Immigrants are job creators and not job takers. 1 in 10 Coloradans is an immigrant. 1 In 4 Coloradans lives with an immigrant. An immigrant owns 1 in 6 businesses in the Denver metro area. And if we look at just recent stats and the concern that folks are taking jobs away, we will see that we have historically low unemployment rates in the United States and in Colorado. I mean, in Colorado, we have about 3 percent unemployment. So, these workers are needed who come to the United States, who come to Denver, and then they cannot work. They don’t have anywhere to live. And it’s kind of a what are you going to do type of thing. That’s where we see these camps of people on the streets in the middle of winter, which is, it’s horrendous.

Um, I guess to the arguments that we should be locking down the border and closing down the border, which is the result of having some sort of open border. I think that the very easy way to think about this is that, so I mean, even in North Korea, people cross the demilitarized zone to South Korea. People cross the Iron Curtain. The Berlin Wall, there’s no real way that we could lock down our border such that people are not going to be able to cross. What’s going to happen instead is that we’re going to open up new paths for smugglers or cartels to open up holes in the border in some way.

So yeah, the bottom line here is that there is no. There’s no realistic way to shut down the border. There’s no realistic way to I mean, we’re not going to have watchtowers every 50 feet across the entirety of our southern border. That’s just not feasible. And even if it were, people would still cross because that’s just human nature to get away from horrible difficult situations with your family in danger and come to safety.

Alexis Kenyon: I think this narrative about tightening borders, though, is, you know, kind of this belief that you know, the U.S. only has so many resources to go around. And they’re kind of, you know, doing the math, counting new people as people who use resources. And so that would result in less for everyone else. I mean, how do you see it?

Zachary New: Yeah, it’s not a zero-sum game in the end. One plus one doesn’t have to equal two. I mean, one plus one can equal three.

You have to think about who the people are who are coming to the United States, who are walking halfway across the continent. These are people who are go-getters, willing to take risks. I mean, I am not somebody who has traveled halfway across the world to try to better myself and my family. I think it’s much better to humanize the people who are coming here, what they’re giving up, and what they’re risking.

And if we look at where the origins of asylum law came from, it was the Holocaust. We had a lot of people in the 1940s who were coming by boat to the United States but couldn’t land. They weren’t able to actually get any immigration status or any status in the United States, and so they were turned around and sent right back to Nazi Germany. And I mean, they were subject to the Holocaust.

So after that happened, the international community came together and said, we can’t have this happen again. And they created various refugee protocols. The United States signed on to this. And there’s your origin for asylum law. And we don’t want to turn people back to conditions where their lives are in danger.

Resources for Venezuelan Immigrants in DenverAsylum Application: Form I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal*: Essential for individuals seeking asylum in the U.S. due to persecution in their home country. Download and submit this form to USCIS.Download Form I-589

Temporary Protected Status (TPS): Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status: Venezuelans may be eligible for TPS due to unsafe conditions in their country. This form is the first step in applying for TPS.Download Form I-821 * Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization*: If you wish to work in the U.S., this form is required alongside your TPS application.Download Form I-765

Additional Resources: USCIS Temporary Protected Status Page: For the latest information on TPS, including eligibility and documentation requirements.Visit USCIS TPS * USCIS Asylum Page: Detailed information on the asylum process and eligibility.Visit USCIS Asylum * Fee Waiver Request (Form I-912)*: For those who cannot afford the application fees, a fee waiver may be requested.Download Form I-912 1. National Immigration Law Center 2. Catholic Charities – Family Immigration Services 3. Executive Office for Immigration Review 4. American Immigration Lawyers Association 5. Colorado Refugee Services Program 6. Lutheran Family Services Rocky Mountains 7. Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network (RMIAN) 8. Schunk Law Firm 9. Center for Health Progress 10. Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition 11. Office of Immigrant & Refugee Affairs – City and County of Denver

The post Colorado needs immigrants despite systems to keep them out appeared first on KGNU Community Radio.

View Details

• play_arrowshortAlexis Kenyon  The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, or CDPHE, issued a long overdue Suncor permit this month.

The permit limits the number of PFAS or forever chemicals that Suncor— a one-hundred-year-old oil refinery in the heart of Denver— can leak into nearby Sand Creek.

PFAS or forever chemicals can last hundreds or even thousands of years in the environment. According to the EPA, microscopic amounts of PFAS in drinking water can cause a host of health problems, including birth defects, thyroid dysfunction, infertility, liver damage, and kidney and testicular cancer.

The new permit marks the first time Colorado has put any limits on the amount

of PFAS that Suncor can dump into Colorado’s water system.In addition to PFAS, the permit sets tighter limits for other toxic chemicals that Suncor discharges like benzene, selenium and arsenic. In recent years, Suncor has had to shut down its plant because it violated the permitted levels of benzene it pumps into Sand Creek five times. At one point it pumped 80% more Benzene into Sand Creek than legally allowed.

KGNU’s Alexis Kenyon spoke with Ian Coghill, an attorney at Earthjustice. He says that while he and other advocates are glad the state has put limits on the close to 50 billion dollar oil refinery, the permit does not go far enough.

The post Suncor scores another three years to leak unlimited amounts of forever chemicals into a major Colorado water system appeared first on KGNU Community Radio.

View Details

Listen:

• play_arrowRedfearn!Jackie Sedley The Boulder Police Department has been in a period of transition since early January, when the City announced that then-Police Chief Maris Herold was stepping down to take a position with the Department of Justice’s Law Enforcement Knowledge Lab. Since then, Stephen Redfearn has been acting as Interim Chief. Redfearn was employed at the Boulder Police Department in 2021 as Deputy Chief of Operations.

Redfearn has made headlines for his involvement with the murder of 23-year-old Elijah McClain, who died in 2019 following a violent encounter with Aurora police. They were responding to a 911 call about a “sketchy” person in the area. McClain did not commit any crime.

Boulder Deputy Chief Stephen Redfearn was one of many witnesses in the trials. He worked at the Aurora Police Department for 22 years, and was a captain there at the time of McClain’s death. During his testimony for the investigation into McClain’s death, he said he changed call logs for the dispatch call from “suspicious person” to “assault on an officer,” based on information given to him from officers. He said he was properly following Critical Incident Protocol.

Redfearn’s involvement in the murder of McClain, as well as other aspects of his time both at the Aurora Police Department and at the Boulder Police Department thus far, have drawn criticism from community leaders and residents of Boulder. NAACP’s Boulder County Branch called for his resignation late last year, to no avail. NAACP Boulder also asked the Police Oversight Panel to look into Redfearn’s background based on his behavior and testimony related to McClain’s murder. To KGNU’s knowledge, that never transpired.

KGNU’s Jackie Sedley sat down with Redfearn, as well as the City of Boulder’s Director of Communication and Engagement Sarah Huntley. They discussed his goals as Interim Chief, his desire to become permanent Chief once the hiring process kicks into gear, his perspective on his past at the Aurora Police Department, and more.

The post “I stand by the decisions I made that night”: Boulder’s Interim Police Chief speaks on his career after the death of Elijah McClain appeared first on KGNU Community Radio.

View Details

This month marks the fifth anniversary of an infamous incident involving the Boulder Police. On March 1, 2019, 26-year-old Black Naropa University student Zayd Atkinson was picking up trash outside his home in Boulder when he was approached by a Boulder police officer, John Smyly, who suspected him of trespassing.

After telling the officer that he lived in the building and giving the officer his school ID, Smyly pursued Atkinson. As Atkinson continued to pick up trash, Smyly began to threaten Atkinson. He told Atkinson to sit down and that he could be arrested. Smyly pointed his stun gun and then his firearm at Atkinson.

As Zayd insisted that he lived at the building and was not trespassing, Smyly called a Code 2 for police backup, indicating a risk of serious injury to a person or damage to property. He reported that Atkinson was holding a “blunt object”, referring to the tool that Atkinson was using to pick up trash.

Within less than 10 minutes, nine white officers surrounded Atkinson as he stood at the doorway to his apartment building.

Subject Officer Body Camera Video March 1, 2019, from City of Boulder on Vimeo.

After bodycam footage of the incident went viral, people nationwide criticized Boulder Police for racial profiling and excessive police response. The confrontation became a part of the larger conversation about police conduct and racial injustice in America, especially in the context of the George Floyd protests and the broader Black Lives Matter movement.

Boulder police concluded that Smyly had violated two department policies but found no evidence to support a claim of racial profiling. Smyly resigned before the disciplinary process ended, and as part of a settlement with the city, he remained under city employment until February while exhausting accrued holiday, sick, and administrative leave.

In Boulder, the incident led to calls for a new model of police oversight, resulting in the creation of a new position and an 11-member civilian panel to oversee complaints against officers. The city of Boulder and Atkinson settled any civil claims involving the incident, with both parties expressing a desire to focus on healing for both the community and Atkinson.

Five years later, controversy over how to police the Police Oversight Panel continues to slow its progress. The city is facing a lawsuit from a former member who was pushed to resign after claims that she was too “anti-police.”

Meanwhile, Zayd Atkinson joined KGNU’s Sam Fuqua to reflect on his life in the 5 years since Smyly approached him.

• play_arrowZadeAtkinson_interviewAlexis Kenyon To start, can you talk about the impact this incident five years ago had on your life then and how it still impacts you today?Zayd Atkinson: Absolutely. It was tragic and earth-shattering, a wake-up call to me. I took a bit of a downward spiral and lost a lot due to my lack of self-control and the trauma I was facing at the time. I wasn’t really able to process what was happening in the world, in our communities, and with me.

I felt like I put myself aside for many years to serve the community, our environment, and people and living entities. I was, and still am, quite obsessive about service and the idea of serving the people and the planet. Although I was taking decent care of myself, I wasn’t giving myself enough time, and in reality, I didn’t have the time.

I had a savior mentality, save the world, and I still have similar mentalities, but now I’m attempting to apply myself now that I’m in a better place. Not that there wasn’t any application then. But like I said, I didn’t really have a lot of time for myself, and now I’m just hoping to find a suitable job in both of my careers in yoga and environmental studies.

This year is really all about me and my growth and my creativity and just giving it all to serve the planet and its inhabitants in whatever ways that I have skills to do so.

So, in 2019, that really sounds like it pushed you intensely into activism and sometimes that can maybe lead to burnout.Zayd Atkinson: Yeah, absolutely. And it wasn’t like I wasn’t already engaged in work. But to have that amount of pressure, which I felt I had, to take responsibility for what I had been involved with, I think it just shifted my direction and my energy in a way that I wasn’t really paying attention to myself and yeah, you reach points where you hit walls where you just don’t have the energy to go over.

So, just remembering my practice and going back to what I learned as a yogi and just making sure that I take care of myself has been really the most important thing, especially since graduation in ’22.

Well, I’m glad you’re back on track, and yoga can help. Well, I want to ask you, after the incident in 2019 and again after the 2020 Minneapolis police murder of George Floyd, the Boulder City Council, the police chief said they were committed to reform. From your perspective, did they follow through on that commitment?Zayd Atkinson: Right. So, I mean, everybody has a different idea of what reform means to them and what they want to see with the idea of reform. I’ve seen some changes in their department regarding officer selection. I’ve also seen some changes in the ways that police are responding to the community in some respects.

Yet I’ve also seen and experienced similar, unchanging elements regarding behaviors with the nature of police culture, you know, to lack discernment when engaging with the public most notably with, you know, when their humanities are put aside for the pure purpose of policing, criminalizing human bodies. But again, this is all really what our ideas are regarding reform and also what was proposed by the city of Boulder regarding police reform.

I read a bit of Boulder’s reimagined police plan and, you know, which I believe is Police Chief Harold’s and, you know, the city’s attempt to reduce, quote, “crime before it happens,” which, you know, some find to be a scary quote in general especially when regarding privacy and what it means to be living in a society where neighbors and residents are monitoring each other through policing programs.

So, you know, and I believe this method is called problem-solving policing and some of what I’ve read is really good stuff. You know, I mean, they talk about building trust with community members who’ve been affected by bad policing, developing de-escalation techniques, creating phone apps, collecting data diversity talk.

You know, it’s also quite expensive to implement. So, did the City Council follow through? I mean, I would hope that they would make an attempt and I believe that this plan looks like something like that.

But, you know, we will see if the City Council delivers what is needed for our community and country regarding police reform and if the plan that they do deliver is a plan that we need in this community, then I’m sure that we’ll figure that out sooner than hopefully sooner.

The post Five years later, we hear from Zayd Atkinson, the Naropa student who sparked creation of Boulder Police Oversight Panel appeared first on KGNU Community Radio.

View Details

The team behind a proposal to build a new tennis complex in Boulder’s Gunbarrel neighborhood have suspended their application for the facility. That happened last week.

The plan for the tennis facility would have developed a twenty acre site into a complex of twenty-six tennis courts, a clubhouse, and swimming pool.

Early in February, we reported on the status of tennis courts in Boulder. Specifically, we spoke about the impending loss of 27 tennis courts in the area over the next two years, and heard from both those trying to make space for more courts in the county and those who staunchly oppose repurposing land in this way.

Two of the courts facing shutdown are home to Boulder’s most utilized tennis programs. One is the Rocky Mountain Tennis Center behind the Millenium Hotel. The other is CU Boulder’s tennis team which currently operates out of the school’s CU south campus.

Kendall Chitambar is a director at the Rocky Mountain Tennis Center, as well as a leader of the proposal to build the Gunbarrel tennis complex. KGNU’s Jackie Sedley spoke with Chitambar about the latest suspension.

Listen here: play_arrowGunbarrel tennisJackie Sedley Transcript:*

Kendall: Good morning Jackie. Thanks so much for having me.

Jackie: So I wanna start by asking for some clarification on why you suspended the application for this gun barrel tennis complex.

Kendall: So, the Tennis Center of the Rockies was really designed to be a continuation of what, what is being lost. And the goal was to find, you know, land that was affordable in the area, that was able to be developed by land use code as we interpreted it, and that’s what we believe we found between Gunbarrel and Niwot in the county off 79th Street. And unfortunately, there are concerns that have been voiced to us from county staff. We’re at the first level of the application process and because of those concerns, without wanting to rush through the process and really, really understand the concerns and work through them, we just decided to put everything on pause for now.

Jackie: I wanted to touch briefly on opposition to the proposed tennis complex. The opposition cites a need for land preservation and the close proximity to a burrowing owl habitat as two main reasons for their campaign to shut your efforts down. Do you or others working to build this tennis complex have responses to that right now?

Kendall: No, I don’t think so. I think that we want to, we want to really, learn and understand all the details, all the specifics. You know, the main thing for me is to really make sure that the information that’s out there is, is accurate and we’re hoping to take the time to tell the story properly. I think that we’ve been reacting to a narrative that maybe has been put out there incorrectly and our, our goal is to take the time to really, you know, understand all those concerns and to handle them one by one.

Jackie: So what happens now that the application is tabled? Obviously the application going on hold doesn’t mean that the next tennis season is on hold.

Kendall: Yeah, we’re all left scrambling to find a home. The sad part about it is that all of us in local tennis are doing really, really well at Rocky Mountain Tennis Center. The project that I’ve put my entire life into over the last 20 years is having one of its best seasons with, you know, so many kids that are coming to play, so many adults. You can’t get a court in our bubble at Rocky Mountain Tennis Center. All the communities, the different demographics that use this facility are being left homeless, you know, for their, for their, you know, a huge part of their lives, which is the sport that they love.

Whether it’s our seniors who have been with us for decades, active adults, children who want to play, kids with a dream. Our wheelchair tennis program is doing amazing right now. Our, our two best players just won one of the biggest tournaments in the world. Sabina Saos is now six or seven in the world. She just got second place in singles. She won the doubles at the Cajun classic, which is kind of the fifth grand slam in tennis. The CU women’s team is having the best season ever. They posted on Instagram recently that they, they swept all of February. They won every match that they played in February. They’re currently, I think top 60 in the country right now. Rob Galloway, currently 41 in the world, on the ATP doubles tour, won his first ATP tour event at Delray Beach. Lives in the area, trains in the area, you know. I just started teaching his wife, Rachel, and all our kids are doing so, so well. We have Sandra who wants to go play at the Air Force Academy. She’s training every day. All our kids, you know, so many of our kids are going to be going without a home.

Jackie: So in this last minute here. Is there, is there a timeline for when you may pursue this application again or, or try to look around the community to find a space that is supportive of this sport?

Kendall: We hope to, to get back up very soon. We just feel like we need time to really understand the concerns from the county and to make sure that we address those concerns and are able to answer them in a good way. We really want to work with the community. That’s our main goal. We want to work with the county. We want to work with,the neighborhood, with the community. And we hope to get off the table and become active again, hopefully in the near future.

Jackie: Kendall Chitambar, one of the leaders of the proposal to build the Gun Barrel Tennis Complex plans, which are currently on hold. Thank you so much for joining us this morning.

Kendall: Thank you so much for having me, Jackie.

The post Hear why planners are putting a pause on a new Gunbarrel tennis complex appeared first on KGNU Community Radio.

View Details

Photo Courtesy of Jackie Sedley. Cities like Denver and Boulder have been offering financial incentives to get residents out of their cars and onto eBikes. Now the state of Colorado has jumped on board, to take the eBike rebate program statewide. […]

View Details

Photo Credit: Kevin Erwin, Unsplash The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, originally came about via executive order by then-president Barack Obama in 2012. DACA’s future now hinges upon a pending ruling from a federal judge in Texas […]

View Details

Caring for Denver was created from a Denver Ballot initiative to help direct funding toward addressing mental health and substance misuse needs in Denver. With this enduring investment, Caring for Denver works with Community organizations and partners to help build […]

View Details

All Photos Courtesy of Jackie Sedley. On today’s “A Public Affair,” a conversation with the Partridges, a family irrevocably wronged by the criminal justice system. Please note that the interview you are about to hear contains has mild-to-moderate descriptions of […]

View Details

(Photo and story by Zack Thompson) Listen to this story: (Download Audio) Social media is one of those things that is hard to escape, especially for younger generations. According to the Common Sense Census, teens spend on average more than […]

View Details

Photo courtesy of Caldera Productions of the filming for “Who She Is,” which will be screened Thursday, August, 24 at 7:15 PM at Chautauqua Auditorium. The event includes a panel discussion with co-directors, Jordan Dressler, Sophie Barksdale, and one of […]

View Details

(Photo courtesy of Heather Mount on Unsplash) Elected officials, university leaders and community organizers were at CU Boulder’s Renée Crown Wellness Institute to discuss gun violence prevention measures, including the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. Attending the invitation-only event were U.S. […]

View Details

For the first time, John Lehndorff welcomed his Boulder Weekly food-writing cohort, Colin Wrenn, to Radio Nibbles. They talked about how they cover food and dining in Boulder and the best things they’ve eaten lately including Indian BBQ, Vietnamese fine dining, and […]

View Details

Photo via Flickr A century ago Folsom Field opened its gates for the first time. Take a trip through its long history of expansion and renovation with Jimmie Searfoss on this week’s episode of Sports Talk. Listen: Download Audio

View Details

Boulder City Council member Rachel Friend was one of 6 city council members who voted in favor of Ordinance 8585, to increase city occupancy limits for dwelling units across Boulder For the first time in decades, Boulder City Council has […]

View Details

Pedaling Minds first started in 2014 as Mike Friedman’s part-time passion project and was converted to a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization in 2017. To date, over 1,500 children have learned how to ride a bike and have improved bicycling skills and […]

View Details

Longmont Latinx Voices (LLV) was formed in 2019 to FUNdraise for undeserved Latinx youth in Longmont and Saint Vrain valley school district. Their Mission is to Provide scholarships through cultural community fundraisers to increase educational and extracurricular opportunities for Latinx […]

View Details

Immersive is the style du jour, from Denver’s psychedelic Meow Wolf or beguiling Van Gogh exhibit, to the “liquid sky” music shows at Boulder’s Fiske Planetarium. Even the Barbie movie and the reopened Casa Bonita restaurant are being billed with […]

View Details

Images courtesy of Hanna Rose Shell and Pau Martin. On this week’s A Public Affair, KGNU and Report for America’s Jackie Sedley dives seam-first into the world of textiles. Sedley is joined in the studio by two textile aficionados: Pau […]

View Details

Photo courtesy of Feed the Children. Next Thursday Feed the Children, Boulder Voices for Children, and several CO natural products brands are partnering to provide 400 local kids and their families with backpacks containing school supplies, food, and hygiene products. […]

View Details

Rise Against Suicide helps youth at risk of suicide by removing the financial and social barriers to treatment, enabling them to find hope and healing Rise Against Suicide is a nonprofit based in Lafayette, Colorado whos mission is to help […]

View Details

On today’s A Public Affair, News Director Shannon Young takes us to the Sun Valley Neighborhood of Denver, near the intersection of West 8th Street and Federal Boulevard. There she meets with Lucha Martinez de Luna, Director of the Chicano/Chicana/Chicanx […]

View Details

Earlier this month, the College Board sent out Advanced Placement scores to hundreds of thousands of students across the country. These scores reflected on their academic performances back in May, and determine whether or not the sleepless nights of […]

View Details

Women’s Wilderness is a 501c3 nonprofit organization founded in 1998 in Boulder, Colorado. They were one of the first and still one of the only gender-informed organizations providing direct outdoor experiences in the world. Women’s Wilderness takes a gender-expansive and […]

View Details

Perry’s shoe repair shop in Nederland. Photo by Sam Fuqua. Shoes are a big source of waste. Not when we’re wearing them, but before and after they come and go from our feet. As part of our ongoing Zero Waste […]

View Details

This Summer of 2023, Media Gardens collaborated with Denver Public School’s Career and College Success Launch Program to teach interns to produce essential music and news content for KGNU Community Radio. One of the primary tasks for the interns was […]

View Details

During the Spring Semester, Boulder High School’s AVID program collaborated with KGNU Media Gardens to produce a podcast series with the graduating señors class of 2023. These students took this opportunity to learn how to produce high quality audio pieces […]

View Details

This Spring semester of 2023, Media Gardens collaborated with Angevine Middle School’s Dreamers cohort in Lafayette, CO. These 6th grade students learned to produce short podcasts on topics that are meaningful to them. This bilingual podcast series includes a wide […]

View Details

One of the few wild mustang herds that have been rewilded to graze fire-prone Northern California. Photo by Michelle Gough The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is sterilizing hundreds of wild horses in Colorado’s Piceance Basin. The area has become […]

View Details

Photo by Azucena Flores. Mobile home parks house more than 100,000 people in Colorado and mobile homeowner rights have been shifting within the last few years. Recent amendments to the Mobile Home Park Act, or MHPA provide new protections for […]

View Details

The Colorado Dragon Boat Festival, a staple summer event in the Denver community, will return to Sloan’s Lake Park on July 22 and 23, 2023. The park will be filled with dragon boat races, great food, an Asian marketplace, endless […]

View Details

Boulder has swapped out whackers and herbicide for goats as a form of weed control at Harlow Platts Community Park. The herd of goats were available for a Meet and Bleat event this past Saturday, and residents were able to […]

View Details

Rita Mae Brown (right) seated next to unidentified woman before the Lavender Menace Action, New York Public Library Digital Collections June was Pride Month! This edition of From the Archives to the Air begins with voices from the Denver […]

View Details

Image courtesy of Melissa Sevigny. Photo by Kevin Schindler. Science journalist Melissa Sevigny’s retraces the journey of Elzada Clover and Lois Jotter as they survey the full plant ecology of the treacherous Colorado River. The full story is captured in […]

View Details

Photo by Alexis Kenyon. A special guest stopped by KGNU’s Bike to Work Day breakfast station! Listen:

View Details

Listen: Download Audio New Police Video on Jor’Dell Richardson Killing Aurora police have released five new videos of the police killing of fourteen-year-old Jor’Dell Richardson that occurred on June 1. The videos, made public yesterday, show events from several different […]

View Details

At the heart of Cosmos is a vision of writers, artists, and collaborators working together to build the future we collectively desire. The members of Cosmos are poets and philosophers, scientists and mystics, activists and ecologists, visual artists and musicians—people […]

View Details

Listen: Download Audio Colorado Employment Holds Steady The unemployment rate in Colorado held at 2.8 percent from April to May. The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment says the number of people without jobs during that period was about 90,000, […]

View Details

Step Denver’s vision is to help men find freedom from addiction. Their goal is to help men in a state of desperation end their cycle of addiction, take back control of their lives, and transition to a safe and sober […]

View Details

D.H. Peligro, Jello Biafra.RIP IT UP, ISSUE 73, 1 AUGUST 1983, PAGE 16 This fourth and final episode of From The Archives to the Air features two interviews. We hear from Jello Biafra, a native of Boulder (“Born, raised, […]

View Details

Out Boulder County is working independently and in collaboration to facilitate connection, advocacy, education, research and programs and ensure LGBTQ+ people and communities thrive in Boulder County and beyond. They envision a world where LGBTQ+ people and communities thrive in […]

View Details

Denver-area photojournalist David Showalter’s new book, Living River, documents the people and ecosystems that thrive along and sustain the Colorado River. Photo of Colorado River by David Showalter The Colorado River supplies water to over 40 million people in the […]

View Details

Photo by Alexis Kenyon On this week’s “Naturally,” herbalist talks about the plethora of common flowers that you didn’t know you could eat/use to make tea/floral essence water. Listen: Download Audio

View Details

(Download Audio) Election Day In Denver Today is municipal runoff election day in Denver as voters decide between mayoral candidates Mike Johnston and Kelly Brough, and some districts elect their city council representatives. Ballots are due in secure drop boxes, […]

View Details

KGNU’s studio was perfumed with saffron this a.m. when chef Dakota Soifer arrived with warm breakfast paella in hand to join John Lehndorff for Radio Nibbles. They discussed the recent first paella in space, upcoming farm dinners, dining on The […]

View Details

Lisa Armao is a retired Montessori teacher and after a 30-year career teaching, she created a nonprofit called the Early Childhood Service Corps. It’s a program that recruits older adults to work in preschools across Colorado. Since its inception and […]

View Details

Listen: Download Audio Denver Schools Safety Plan Second Draft The second draft of the new Denver Schools Safety Plan leaves open the question of whether Denver Schools will have armed police officers on campuses in the 2023-24 school year. That […]

View Details

Image created by Alexis Kenyon via Dall-E This month, with wildfire smoke blanketing the Front Range, Denver and surrounding areas have had some of the worst air quality in the world. And while the air has cleared, even on good […]

View Details

This month the lower basin states on the Colorado River announced an agreement to cut their use of the river’s water by about 13% over the next three years. The deal avoids federal intervention for now and offers a short-term […]

View Details

Award-winning African ecologist Paula Kahumbu, author of SECRETS OF THE ELEPHANTS, is one of the world’s preeminent advocates for elephant conservation and the fight against illegal poaching of elephants for the ivory trade. Her gorgeous co-authored National Geographic coffee table […]

View Details

Before and after Photos courtesy of John Lehndorff of the Voodoo Donuts building at 3210 Arapahoe Ave On today’s Radio Nibbles Food News Update, John Lehndorff weighs in on a quintessential Boulder code-violation moment, when the much-anticipated Voodoo Doughnut, 3210 Arapahoe […]

View Details

Saturday, May 20 is World Bird Migratory Day. Environment for the Americas is a nonprofit that works to conserve bird populations through education and community outreach, will facilitate over 700 World Bird Migratory Day events across the Western Hemisphere. Boulder’s […]

View Details

NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness.https://www.nami.org/Home Interview by Steve Miller

View Details

Peter Underhill, longtime owner of Dot’s Diner passed away earlier this month from a rare and aggressive form of cancer at age 59. (image Courtesy photo/Megan Yalkut) On today’s Radio Nibbles host and Boulder Weekly food columnist, John Lehndorff tells […]

View Details

Alpine natural rind cheese, via Loveland-based Colorado Farmhouse Cheese Instagram. Spring was in the air and taste buds for the May edition of Kitchen Table Talk, KGNU’s monthly hour-long food show. Co-hosts John Lehndorff and chef Dan Asher of River […]

View Details

In the aftermath of the Marshall Fire, an outpouring of donations flooded to victims who lost everything to the largest wildfire in Colorado history. The Community Foundation, a Boulder nonprofit, took up the reigns for collecting these donations which amounted […]

View Details

Ekar Farm serves as a focal point for Denver’s Jewish community to come together around issues of food security, environmentalism, and urban farming. Each year, Ekar commits to growing 20,000 pounds of produce for food access partners including Jewish Family […]

View Details

Image created by Alexis Kenyon with help from Dall-E 3 years into the pandemic, school attendance rates are still at record lows across the country. In Colorado, according to the Department of Education, 1 in 3 students are chronically absent […]

View Details

The always fun Lisa Scottoline is back with her 37th novel, LOYALTY, a historical novel about the beginnings of the Mafia on the island of Sicily in the 1800’s. Readers will be transported to the dramatic and ruggedly beautiful island […]

View Details

Resource Central is an award-winning nonprofit in Boulder, Colorado determined to make conservation so simple that you don’t even realize you’re doing it. Established in 1976, their innovative programs have helped more than 700,000 people save water, conserve energy, and […]

View Details

Colorado has seen a 72%, decline in the western bumble bee, according to a recent study from the National Academy of Sciences. Advocacy groups have been lobbying lawmakers for years to increase legal protections for bees and other animals that […]

View Details

Photo via Jimmie Searfoss Twitter It’s hard to overstate the amount of hype generated by former NFL champion Deion Sanders’ new role as CU Boulder’s head football coach. Tickets to the team’s Black and Gold scrimmage game sold out weeks […]

View Details

Project V.E.T.S. is a Boulder, Colorado based 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to improving the health and welfare of animals around the world. They achieve this goal by collecting Veterinary Equipment, Technology and Supplies (V.E.T.S.) from veterinary hospitals, veterinary colleges, human hospitals, […]

View Details

In Colorado, when we look up at the rocky mountains, it’s difficult to imagine how much those snowy white peaks mean to the rest of the world. But for more than a hundred years, millions of people have relied on […]

View Details

How much should you really tip when you dine out? What’s fair to you and the server? Radio Nibbles host John Lehndorff talked with writer Kate Jonuska about her recent Boulder Weekly feature on the highly contentious issue of tipping and […]

View Details

What happens when baby birds aren’t successful in their initial attempts to fly? They may end up with Donna Nespoli, a bird rehabilitation expert and founder of Colorado Native Bird Care and Conservation. KGNU’s Benita Lee spoke with her about […]

View Details

Dandelions, despite being extremely difficult to get rid of, are great for the soil and they’re one of the first foods for the bees in the springtime. Along with being 100% edible for human consumption, gardeners can use dandelions in […]

View Details

Steven Simon, author of seven books, is currently a fellow at MIT (Mass. Inst. Tech) after spending nearly 40 years specializing in the Middle East in a variety of high-level jobs both in and out of government. In his newest […]

View Details

The Colorado Senate yesterday passed a bill that calls for standards for compost labels and prohibits marketing look-alike compostable products. This comes after the Federal Trade Commission announced last week that they are cracking down on so-called greenwashing practices. KGNU’s […]

View Details

Image Courtesy Of Sustainable Resilient Longmont This year Longmont will host its 9th Annual Sustainable Resilient Longmont Earth Day Event. There will be upcycled arts and crafts, food trucks, dozens of educational booths, and even goats at Timberline School in […]

View Details

At the “I Have A Dream” Foundation, They provide individualized social, emotional, and academic support to young people from under-resourced communities from 1st grade all the way through college, along with guaranteed tuition support. The I have a dream foundation […]

View Details

On the April 20 edition of Radio Nibbles host, John Lehndorff recalled the first Earth Day in 1970 and talked with guest Dana Faulk Query, co-owner of the Big Red F Restaurant Group (Jax, Centro, The Post, etc) about connecting restaurants […]

View Details

Photo via Kriste People’s Instagram Black folks have always had a special connection to the land and outdoor spaces. However, due to racial terror, economic status, and/or access, many Black people have avoided engaging in outdoor recreational activities. Thoroughly cognizant […]

View Details

On Radio Nibbles, host John John Lehndorff talked with Ashwin Ramdas of DeliverZero, a growing local service designed to package food at restaurants and supermarkets in reusable, returnable containers. Ramdas described how easy it is for cafes and markets to […]

View Details

At Thursday’s Boulder City Council meeting, city staff announced the location of a new day shelter for those experiencing homelessness. The announcement comes after months of debate and a spike in unhoused families and individuals in Boulder. Shay Castle of […]

View Details

Photo By Jeffrey Beall via Flicker On this week’s Sports Talk, the mascot for the Colorado Rockies, a purple dinosaur known as Dinger, was tackled during a game at Coors Field on Monday. Who did it? We still don’t know. […]

View Details

WOW! was founded in Louisville in 1996 by Lisa and Dario Atallah, community members who understood the importance of play in children’s learning. With support from the City of Lafayette, we relocated in 2004 to the old Lafayette fire station. […]

View Details

With the Spring comes tax season, if you haven’t already completed your paperwork you may find a few surprises this year as pandemic expansions to certain tax credits have expired and TABOR (Tax Payer Bill of Rights) checks have the […]

View Details

Image courtesy of the University of Colorado, Boulder The 75th edition of the Conference on World Affairs opens tomorrow on the CU Boulder campus. The conference is an annual gathering of academics, experts, policymakers, and community members. Hannah Wood, interim […]

View Details

Inspired by a 25-year-old article about evacuated British children revisiting their U.S. foster homes as adults, Laura Spence-Ash tells her own well researched story, BEYOND THAT, THE SEA. It follows the lives of two families over three decades. Their lives […]

View Details

Photo by Shay Daly of CSU Stadium Mile High is no longer the home of the Colorado State High School Football Championship game. Canvas Stadium will now host what is the biggest High School football game of the year. KGNU’s […]

View Details

Image by Stephen R. Jones of Townsendia Hookeria also known as the Easter Daisy with bee On April’s Nature Almanac, Colorado native Easter Daisies bloom among the 60 million-year-old shale rock formations of Boulder’s Six Mile Fold. Steve Jones and […]

View Details

Blue Sky Bridge was established to provide a safe and supportive environment for abuse victims where a neutral, professionally-led forensic interview provides case information for all participating law enforcement, judicial and social service agencies. https://blueskybridge.org Interview by Stacie Johnson

View Details

On the first anniversary of Kitchen Table Talk, KGNU’s monthly hour-long food program. John Lehndorff (Radio Nibbles) and chef Dan Asher (River & Woods, Ash’Kara) welcomed Mark Guttridge from Ollin Farms and Seleyn DeYarus, founder of the Regenerative Rising organization. […]

View Details

Image From Colorado AG Phil Weiser’s Instagram Over 1,200 Democratic Party faithful were in Denver over the weekend to elect new party officers and to honor former Colorado Democratic leaders. The gathering occurred under the umbrella of the 6th annual […]

View Details

Coffee Pie Pairing painting by Tom Hussey Who wants to have pie and coffee with KGNU next Saturday? Specifically, apple pie, cherry pie, Key lime pie, spinach artichoke pie and pork green chile pie paired with five freshly brewed Ozo […]

View Details

Boulder, Colorado may not be the first city that comes to mind when thinking about world-class flamenco artists, but a couple of well-connected artists hope to change that. Husband and wife Antonio and Andrea Gomez are the directors of the […]

View Details

The Rocky Flats Stewardship Council will hold a public meeting this morning over Zoom as part of its ongoing work to oversee the former nuclear weapons site between Boulder and Golden. The meeting starts at 8:30 and a link to […]

View Details

Image by Inha Leex Hale via Creative Commons Between the nearly 190,000 canceled US flights, widespread failure to issue refunds, technical meltdowns, historic delays, and sketchy third-party booking agencies, 2022 was not a good year for airlines. Consumers issued so […]

View Details

Fancy Tiger Crafts is a revolutionary shop in Denver, Colorado that specializes in craft supplies and classes for the modern crafter. Our vision is to inspire people to reach their crafting potential through modern and sustainable supplies and quality instruction. […]

View Details

Image by Alexis Kenyon Via Dall-E On today’s A Public Affair, we gather Boulder’s waste experts and get answers to all your burning trash, recycling, and composting questions. Plus, what you should know about big changes in composting guidelines that […]

View Details

Headlines for March 28, 2023 Listen: Download Audio Colorado Lawmakers On Brink Of Passing Two More Gun Safety Measures Colorado lawmakers are on the brink of passing two major pieces of gun safety legislation, with two more edging closer. A bill […]

View Details

Studio Arts Boulder’s mission is to cultivate the artist in each of us by inviting creative collaboration in the study, practice, and advancement of the studio arts. Studio Arts Boulder started in the mid-1950s when master potter Betty Woodman convinced […]

View Details

A student shot two school administrators at East High School in Denver Wednesday morning. Speaking at a press conference, Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas said the shooting happened just before 10 AM during a security screening of a student. “As […]

View Details

Boulder restaurants report increasing incidents of diners being rude and obnoxious and acting privileged toward waiters and staff. On today’s Radio Nibbles, John Lehndorff talked with Jessica Mordacq, food, and drink writer at Boulder Reporting Lab, who recently interviewed local chefs […]

View Details

Listen: Download Audio Wounded Denver High School Staffer Released From Hospital The search for a 17-year-old suspect in a shooting at Denver’s East High School ended in Park County last night, near the town of Bailey, with the discovery of […]

View Details

Craft coffee and artisan pies were top of mind (and taste buds) on today’s Supersized Radio Nibbles as part of KGNU’s Spring Membership Drive. John Lehndorff welcomed Rebekah Hoffman of Ozo CCopy to a new draft offee and John Hinman […]

View Details

Morning Magazine Headlines – March 22, 2023 Listen: Download Audio Fair Elections Fund Now Over Seven Million In Taxpayer Money Denver’s local elections are fast approaching, but the city’s fair election fund is dwindling. The fund matched over 19 thousand […]

View Details

Morning Magazine Headlines – March 21, 2023 Listen: Download Audio Gun Safety Measures/Testimony Gun safety activists say they have done their part to strengthen laws in Colorado, and that now it’s time for lawmakers to get a series of measures […]

View Details

Former Associated Press Mexico City Bureau Chief Katherine Corcoran‘s IN THE MOUTH OF THE WOLF A Murder, A Cover-up, and The True Cost of Silencing the Press reports some of the facts why 85 Mexican journalists have been killed in […]

View Details

The Former Representative Pat Schroeder, the pioneering advocate for women’s rights and family rights, died in Florida last night. She was 82 years old. Schroeder served Colorado in the U.S. House of Representatives for 24 years and is being remembered […]

View Details

Image by Alexis Kenyon via DALL•E 2 On this month’s Black Talk, host Michele Simpson speaks with Dr. Jazmyne Peters, an embedded therapist for the University of Colorado, Boulder’s (UCB) College of Arts and Sciences. We will ask her to […]

View Details

Since the height of the pandemic, some ideologically right-wing groups have honed in on school boards and running campaigns to remove books from library shelves. One of those groups, “Mom’s For Liberty,” recently set up shop in Boulder County. Claire […]

View Details

The Boulder chapter of the Odd Fellows will host the world’s shortest St. Patrick’s Day Parade at 16th and Pearl Street in Boulder at around noon on Sunday. The event won’t last more than an hour but will feature dancing, […]

View Details

The city of Boulder has until the end of this week to respond to a district county judge’s decision to move forward with a complaint filed by the ACLU in May. The ACLU lawsuit alleges that the city’s camping ban […]

View Details

In co-author Marc Schultz’s THE GOOD LIFE what makes for a happy life, a fulfilling life? A good life? The simple but surprising answer is: relationships. The stronger our relationships, the more likely we are to live happy, satisfying, and […]

View Details

My Sister Liv is one of Boulder International Film Festival’s “Youth Program” films about a family struggling to cope in the aftermath of suicide. It plays on Saturday at 12:15 at Boulder High School. Tickets are free to youth under […]

View Details

For elementary school educator Jill Dreves, nature has always been the best teacher, inspiring a lifelong connection to nature and community through creative exploration of the outdoors. Today, Wild Bear engages thousands of people each year through its interim nature […]

View Details

Mad Agriculture is inspired by the Mad Farmer poems of Wendell Berry, which call us to rework society and agriculture with love, community and lots of radicalism. In Wendell’s words, ‘I am done with apologies. If contrariness is my inheritance […]

View Details

Jennifer Herrera’s debut thriller and first in a series is THE HUNTER. After reckless behavior costs NYPD detective Leigh O’Donnell her job and her marriage, she returns with her four-year-old daughter to her beautiful hometown of Copper Falls, Ohio in […]

View Details

Bohemian waxwings eating berries. Photo by Chris Petrizzo Bohemian Waxwings are wandering the front range in high numbers this winter, due to an “incursion” that led them to leave their homes in Canada and Alaska. Scott Severs and Ruth Carol […]

View Details

On the Feb. 2 Kitchen Table Talk, co-hosts John Lehndorff and Boulder chef Dan Asher (Ask’Kara and River & Woods) welcomed chef Edwin Zoe (Zoe Ma Ma, Dragonfly Noodle) and chef Eric Skokan (Bramble & Hare, Black Cat Farm) to […]

View Details

On this week’s Sports Talk, Jimmie celebrates the national Women In Sports Day that took place this week. Among the leaders is Shannan Lane, the first female to coach a male high school basketball team in the state. Listen: Download […]

View Details

Image by Alexis Kenyon via DALL-E About 150 Broomfield residents are joining together to create Broomfield’s first Solar Co-op. The members of this Co-op will vote next week to choose a collective-wide installer. KGNU’s Alexis Kenyon spoke with Tanner Simeon-Cox– […]

View Details

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Mile High Blaze (@milehighblaze) The Mile High Blaze of the WFA has been winning since its inception in 2013. On this episode with Jimmie Searfoss, we dive into […]

View Details

Colorado Environmental Film Festival The Colorado Environmental Film Festival (CEFF) is an exciting, inspiring, and energizing event that includes world-class environmental films with representatives from local and national organizations. CEFF screens feature length and short films by foreign, local and […]

View Details

On Radio Nibbles, host John Lehndorff welcomed author Gil Asakawa who has just published “Tabemasho! Let’s Eat! The Tasty History of Japanese Food in America.” They discussed the rise of ramen in Colorado, Pelican Pete’s memories and the best thing Gil has […]

View Details

About 50 to 70 Boulder community members gathered at the Boulder Chamber of Commerce yesterday morning to discuss another group of about 50 to 70 Boulder residents. The individuals not in the room but at the center of the discussion […]

View Details

Truce Media Collective is a member-owned movie and TV studio, committed to building the Film and TV production industry in Colorado. They are a Limited Cooperative Association (LCA) with an apprentice to ownership development track. They practice ‘fair-trade filmmaking’ – […]

View Details

Colorado has been the scene of several notorious mass shootings. But suicides are by far the leading cause of gun deaths here. In 2021, Colorado voters approved the creation of a new office within the state’s Department of Public Health […]

View Details

The nation’s best tastes are in Boulder County The Good Food Awards are the Oscars of American food and drink. On Radio Nibbles, Jimmie Searfoss and John Lehndorff discuss the national finalists for the 3rd annual awards in our own […]

View Details

This week on Sports Talk, KGNU’s Jimmie Searfoss reviews the career of one of the best lacrosse coaches of all time Bill Tierney. His accolades while at the University of Denver and Princeton have made him a legend in the […]

View Details

This year four out of five Americans are eligible for Affordable Care Act health coverage for $10 or less a month thanks to increased subsidies in this year’s Inflation Reduction act. About 11 million people have already signed up for […]

View Details

The Right Use of Power Institute (RUPI) is a global force, guiding people to utilize their power with awareness, wisdom, compassion and skill. Right Use of Power™ is a dynamic way to explore issues of ethics and power, both personal […]

View Details

As the end of the year approaches, we take a look back at some of our favorite youth-produced and reported stories. Featuring: Mobile Home Residents Fight Rent Cap Provision by Luis Licon Fairview Senior Shares Thoughts on Registering and Motivating […]

View Details

Dr. Kristie Soares is interviewed by Karen Raforth about the role of play, emotion, power, media, and sustainability in activism. Dr. Soares is an Assistant Professor of Women and Gender Studies and co-Director of the LGBTQ Certificate Program at CU […]

View Details

The Mission of Community Table: A community in which people have access to food and resources to foster self-sufficiency. Community Table strives to improve the quality of life for hungry families and children in our community. It is through unwavering […]

View Details

MASA Seed Foundation strives to build a bio-regional seed bank, Distribute organic seeds and facilitate educationally-driven Volunteer Programs in agriculture, horticulture and permaculture MASA Seed Project’s founder, Richard Pecoraro, helped facilitate the launching of the nations first 100% organic non-hybrid […]

View Details

Recovery Café Longmont supports adults as they rebuild their lives and break the cycle of addiction, or overcome a recent crisis or trauma. We strive to stand in the gap between crisis and stability by fostering community-building and life-empowerment. https://recoverycafelongmont.org/

View Details

Read and listen to this week’s Episode of Sport’s Talk With Jimmie Below:  Download Here

View Details

Growing Up Boulder’s vision is to lead a global movement in child-friendly cities, resulting in more equitable and sustainable communities for all. Growing Up Boulder’s mission is to offer young people opportunities to participate, deliberate, and influence local issues that […]

View Details

More than 500 Boulderites tubed down Boulder Creek this morning for the 14th annual Tube To Work Day. Some dressed in business suits, others in hotdog costumes, gathered at Eben G. Fine Park with tubes under their arms just after […]

View Details

Prior appropriation is the water law in the West that determines how water is divided among users. The problem is most of Colorado’s water goes to agriculture and what’s left is becoming hard to find. Stephanie Maltarich of KBUT reports. […]

View Details

Colorado Open Space Alliance is a statewide organization of publicly funded local and regional open space programs, working cooperatively to share information, create public awareness and foster partnerships needed to protect and preserve the special places of Colorado.

View Details

Boulder is one of many cities across the US experiencing a lifeguard shortage. While this may seem minor to those with access to private pools, for low-income families and families of color, it means more children and adults will never […]

View Details

As Coloradans hit the trails this summer, the fear of ticks may loom in the back of many of their minds. Ticks are blood-sucking pests that are notorious for carrying Lyme disease and a lot of myths about what they […]

View Details

Feminist Data Set is a multi-year project that interrogates every step of the AI process that includes data collection, data labeling, data training, selecting an algorithm to use, the algorithmic model, and then designing how the model is then placed […]

View Details

In 90-degree heat, hundreds of protesters came out Saturday morning to support Denver’s student-organized March For Our Lives Rally. One speaker, Rhiannon Danborn, a 16-year-old high school student from Arvada West High, shared what it was like growing up in […]

View Details

VUELA’s mission is to mobilize and engage parents by offering education, resources, and support that strengthen their sense of self-worth, and promote a healthy change in their families and communities. VUELA’s primary objective is to engage the Latino community through […]

View Details

UpRoot is playing a seminal role in the development of a regional food-systems coalition along the Western Slope. UpRoot increases the nutritional security by harvesting and redistributing surplus, nutrient-dense foods while supporting the resilience of farmers. Find out more about […]

View Details

Wildlands Restoration Volunteers organizes thousands of volunteers each year to complete more than 150 conservation projects throughout Colorado. Volunteer events range in length from a few hours to multi-day campouts and are located in beautiful natural areas from the plains […]

View Details

In 1997 TEENS, Inc. was granted its 501(c)(3) status and formally took over youth services from the Town of Nederland. With a dedicated board of directors and committed group of teens, TEENS, Inc. raised one million dollars and on January […]

View Details

Divided We Fall: Unity Without Tragedy. New Voice Strategies proved on camera that despite divisions that are exploited and amplified on social media and cable news, by pundits and politicians, Americans are hungry for connection and unity. They want the […]

View Details

This past weekend, as the NCAR fire raged within Boulder city limits, many felt the horrors of the Marshall fire rush back to them. KGNU’s Alexis Kenyon spoke with Robert Williams, a therapist at Mental Health Partners in Broomfield about […]

View Details

RamStrength™ supports local cancer survivors by providing financial assistance for basic needs, scholarships, programs and services. RamStrength helps cancer survivors that have demonstrated a financial need by providing assistance with rent payments, car payments and unforeseen auto repairs, monthly bills […]

View Details

Today is Cesar Chavez Day – which commemorates the life and work of the agriculture worker organizer for whom the holiday is named. It’s also time to reflect on labor protections yet to be won. Last legislative session, Colorado lawmakers […]

View Details

OUR Center has provided critical services such as food, housing, and utilities to help families achieve self-reliance since 1986, and works closely with many other agencies in the community to assist those in need, especially those in emergency situations. OUR […]

View Details

The Denver Center for the Performing Arts Kilstrom Theatre has premiered a new dramatic dark comedy, called In the Upper Room. Based on the real family history of playwright and novelist Beaufield Berry, In the Upper room explores the lives […]

View Details

The US has more gun deaths in one month than any other high in-income country has for almost an entire year. In 2020, gun violence skyrocketed in the US, killing more than 45,000 people. KGNU’s Alexis Kenyon spoke with Dr. […]

View Details

The You Can Play Project works to ensure the safety and inclusion for all who participate in sports, including LGBTQ+ athletes, coaches and fans. We achieve this by creating a community of allies that is able to foster a true […]

View Details

Listen: Boulder Police put out a shelter-in-place order Tuesday for the University Hill neighborhood after police learned of a suspect that forced an evacuation of the area’s elementary school. Boulder Police Chief Maris Herold said in a press conference Tuesday afternoon […]

View Details

Environment for the Americas connects diverse people to birds and nature and inspires the next generation of conservationists by connecting people to nature and to the protection of birds and their habitats. They work to change the face of conservation […]

View Details

View Details

Reports of aggressive airline passengers disrupting flights have peppered the news in the past year. In September, flight crews asked Congress for more help to deal with what they call “egregious” passenger behavior. A recent study found 40 percent of […]

View Details

Boulder’s City Council held its first meeting of the year last night, amid the aftermath of a major local disaster. The agenda was heavy in both subject matter and quantity of ground covered. Boulder Beat’s Shay Castle joined News Director […]

View Details

Host Elise Matatall speaks with Carissa Chen, co-founder of the Alana Faith Chen Foundation. The Alana Faith Chen Foundation came out of the devastating loss of Carissa’s younger sister, Alana, a 24-year-old Colorado woman who died by suicide following years […]

View Details

More than 2 million people have visited 9 Health fairs in the past 41 years around Colorado. A recent survey done by 9Health 365 showed that more than 50% of those surveyed said they avoided or postponed preventive care during the pandemic. […]

View Details

Host Elise Matatall shares some history and highlights hosts’ favorite moments from the last year. This is our Spring Forward Fund Drive episode! Music credits: Wes Watkins-My New Shoes, Stoney Bertz- Deep Down

View Details

COVID-19 has been devastating for everybody, but even more so for the Latinx community. Colorado Public Health data shows that while non-Hispanic whites in the 70+ age group in Colorado have been vaccinated at a higher rate than their representation […]

View Details

The Colorado Pet Pantry pet food bank is the largest organization of its kind in the US, distributing pet food at 63 monthly pet food banks in 19 Colorado counties and assisting 90 animal rescues with food and supplies. The […]

View Details

Revenue from oil and gas in Utah hasn’t recovered since plummeting earlier this year. That means government grants and loans that rely on energy royalties have less in their coffers … just when communities need it most. Justin Higginbottom investigates […]

View Details

“Nearly 70% of people appearing before the immigration judge do so without a lawyer.” — Sarah Plastino, Senior Attorney with Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network (RMAIN) Thousands of immigrants in Colorado are at risk of detention or deportation and […]

View Details

The Arts District on Santa Fe was created in 2003 as a way to preserve Latino Heritage and cement itself as a diverse collective of artists, studios, theaters, and businesses. They host a variety of cultural events that bring together […]

View Details

The Navajo Nation has been especially hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the Navajo Nation Department of Health, the infection rate is more than 3.4% a much higher infection rate than in other communities. As of September 3, 504 […]

View Details

Dr. Maria Michael joins us to share some insight into the emotional and mental health struggles children in the Navajo Nation are facing due to the loss of loved ones to COVID-19 and historic health inequities. Dr. Michael, a Lakota […]

View Details

Local health officials expect a surge in coronavirus cases in the coming weeks and briefed Boulder City Council members last night. According to KGNU’s Roz Brown, the Council also heard a report on possible economic fallout to the city. Listen […]

View Details

In this movie review segment, KGNU’s Veronica Straight-Lingo speaks with Boulder Weekly Film Correspondent Michael J. Casey about films. In this episode, Michael Casey talks about new digital collaborations between Kino Marquee and arthouse theaters like The Boedecker at The Dairy Arts […]

View Details

La Cocina is a nonprofit organization that provides mental health and health equity services for the Latinx Spanish-speaking population of Northern Colorado. It was founded three years ago at Colorado State University in Fort Collins. The idea for this service was […]

View Details

Michael Kilman and I am an anthropologist, filmmaker, artist, writer, and musician. He lectures in anthropology at the University of Colorado in Denver and is the author of a series of science fiction novels set thousands of years in the […]