Amy Goodman, Author Sam Quinones, Gun Violence Series, Comfort Dogs in New Mexico

This week, New Mexico in Focus features a rebroadcast of some recent key interviews, a special segment from the PBS NewsHour, and some first-hand accounts from individuals who have had close encounters with guns and gun violence.

New Mexico in Focus producer Sarah Gustavus sat down earlier this year with journalist and Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman when she was in New Mexico to discuss the issues and people profiled in her new book, Democracy Now!: Twenty Years Covering the Movements Changing America. They talked about the 2016 elections and the value of independent media.

Correspondent Megan Kamerick visits with journalist Sam Quinones, author of Dreamland: The True Tale of America’s Opiate Epidemic. He was in our studio in the spring to talk about the rise of heroin and opiate addiction across the United States and its impact on communities throughout New Mexico.

In the spring semester, New Mexico in Focus worked with students from the New Mexico News Port, a student-run lab in the Department of Communications and Journalism at UNM, on a series of interviews with people about gun violence. This week, our program features excerpts from those interviews.

Also featured this week is a report from the PBS News Hour. Comfort dogs are taking on a new role in the courtroom by providing support to kids who are called on to testify about difficult subjects. The dogs receive training in New Mexico, and special correspondent Kathleen McCleary brings us an inside view of how the dogs work.

Guests:
Amy Goodman, journalist, author and host of Democracy Now!
Sam Quinones, journalist, author of “Dreamland: The True Tale of America’s Opiate Epidemic”

Correspondents:
Gwyneth Doland
Megan Kamerick
Kathleen McCleary, Special Correspondent for the PBS NewsHour
New Mexico News Port Students

Host:
Gene Grant

The Producer of NEW MEXICO IN FOCUS is Sarah Gustavus. Associate Producer is Kathy Wimmer. Funding for this program was provided in part by the McCune Foundation Communications Fund, Santa Fe Community Foundation.

Episode 952 airs July 1, 2016 at 7:00pm on Ch.5.1