Karla Saenz, a Venezuelan asylum seeker, alleges neglect and transphobia, but also found fortitude and solidarity.
Southwest
Posted inIssues
‛Nada ni nadie robará mi identidad’
Una solicitante de asilo venezolana transgénero relata sus 44 días en uno de los centros de detención más mortíferos del país.
Posted inArticles
Pueblo leaders, New Mexico lawmakers speak out to protect Chaco Canyon
Officials call push to remove an oil and gas buffer around the culturally critical monument ‘an absolute gut punch.’
Posted inArticles
The clock is ticking for New Mexico to cut Rio Grande water use
For now, the state is counting on voluntary cuts among vegetable and pecan farmers. But that might not be enough.
Posted inArticles
Bears Ears cuts also end first-of-its-kind tribal land commission
A presidential proclamation slashed the monument by 90% despite a promise to involve tribes.
Posted inJuly 2026: Lost in the Weeds
The Chinese immigrants trafficked on New Mexico’s weed farms
Migrant workers were trapped in the Southwest’s illicit cannabis boom and treated as criminals — until investigators began chasing their bosses.
Posted inJuly 2026: Lost in the Weeds
Canelo Hills ladies’-tresses grow only in the Southwest’s vanishing ciénegas. Can they be rooted there again?
Scientists restore an endangered orchid to Arizona’s desert wetland.
Posted inMay 2026: Pinecone Cowboys
The Southwest’s superbloom was a beautiful nightmare
A writer experienced everything in spring: supernatural plants, chronic illness and a multi-generational curse called climate change.
Posted inArticles
How New Mexico is ‘building a forest’ by solving a seedling shortage
A Q&A with the New Mexico Reforestation Center director about what it takes to replant a burn scar post-wildfire.
Posted inArticles
The Colorado River rift abides
States’ stalemate persists as Lake Powell races toward de facto deadpool.
Posted inArticles
Skimo is hot, in hot times
The newest Olympic winter sport arrives just as snow droughts are becoming more likely.
Posted inArticles
The AI Age perpetuates fossil fuel burning
Ancient energy sources power the future.
Posted inJanuary 2026: Deep Time in the West
The Grand Canyon and Meteor Crater have a surprising link
Mysterious driftwood high in Grand Canyon caves hints at the legacy of Arizona’s huge impact crater.
Posted inFebruary 2026: The Recording Artists
Mexican wolves are rebounding, but are they ready for delisting?
A new bill from Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar looks to remove endangered species protections.
Posted inArticles
After Trump cuts, seeds sit in the warehouse
Western groups lose federal grants for urgent restoration and conservation projects.
Posted inArticles
Why Colorado River negotiations are so difficult
Basin states have had 2 years to figure out how to share the shrinking river. Will they get there before the feds step in?
Posted inNovember 2025: Precious Metalheads
Aspen ‘eyes’ keep us accountable to the natural world
In times of crisis, their gaze is a summon from nature to take action.
Posted inOctober 2025: Limits to Growth
The dried-out subdivisions of Phoenix
A groundwater crisis halted the construction of thousands of homes and pitted affordability against environmental concerns.
Posted inArticles
Resistance to data centers rises on the border
In Doña Ana County, New Mexico, residents have long struggled to access clean water. Now, developers plan to spend $165 billion on a massive data center complex.
Posted inArticles
In rural New Mexico, kids paint a sonic portrait of their ghost town
Madrid was once a booming coal town. At radio camp, its youngest inhabitants had big questions about its past — and present.