Season 4 Episode 7: The Beginning of the Land Enchanted

A couple of lifetimes ago, before masks, endless Zoom meetings and takeout only, we had big plans for the fourth season of Reported, the Santa Fe Reporter’s podcast.

Each week, we were going to explore a piece of state history through the lens of a New Mexico governor.

But like nearly all other things good and decent that existed before 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic drove a stake through the heart of our grand idea. So, we scrapped the season on the governors.

We did, however, manage to produce two episodes from that blown up season and we think this is a perfect time to dust off these two nearly lost pieces and let you give them a listen. After all, they’re all about state government and the philosophies that drive it.

In case you didn’t know, our current state government has just embarked on the 55th Legislature amid unprecedented circumstances: no galleries, no busy hallways, threats of violence and more.

Katherine Lewin, the host and producer of Reported, interviews SFCC Professor Steve Martinez, who walks us through the origins of some of New Mexico’s mainstays—our state constitution, the beginnings of the Legislature and, of course, the feud with Texas—as well as the bright and dark spots of this time period before we became a state—slavery, voter suppression, American exceptionalism and the ongoing genocide of Native people.

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Theme Music: Lone Piñon