30 Minutes

Tecoma stans angustata is in the Bignonia family Bignoniaceae and there are a bunch of species of Tecoma starting here in the borderlands with ours and heading south into the Americas where there’s maybe a dozen more, not to mention many cultivars. All with flowers that range from yellow to orange or red or even colors in between. Pretty tempting, huh? The genus Tecoma comes from the Nahuatl word tecomaxochitl…what a marvelous mouthful…and it’s a common name for a number of plants with...

Born in 1930, Ken Felts knew he liked boys starting at age 12. But he didn’t come out as gay until he was 90 years old. Hear about his lost love of a lifetime, his reaction to his daughter coming out while he was still closeted, and how his life has changed since he shared his secret. (We ran into a little bit of trouble with Ken’s audio, but I promise this episode is still worth a listen!) Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts. Get the Local...

We continue with part 2 of a 2 part series with Cam Juárez. He joined the National Park Service in…

We continue with part 2 of a 2 part series with Cam Juárez. He joined the National Park Service in January 2016, serving as the Community Engagement and Outreach Coordinator and Public Information Officer for Saguaro National Park where he serves on the park’s leadership team. Cam uses creativity and storytelling to engage nontraditional park attendees. He described how he first was introduced to Yosemite and how that planted a seed for his current career. He works to make the park more inclusive specifically for Latinos and representative of our local demographics for visitors and employees. He reminds us that not only do the parks preserve wild spaces but they also maintain and tell the stories of people, places, and events of the U.S. civil rights movement. He discusses labor leaders César Chávez, Richard Chávez, and Dolores Huerta. Cam was born to migrant farmworker parents in Yuma, Arizona. His mother Adela helped to put 7 of her 9 children through college, with 5 of them earning advanced degrees from universities all over the country. Cam has a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Arizona in Mexican American Studies; as well as a Master’s degree in Urban Planning –pursuing both degrees while working full-time. Cam is a community and education advocate, serving as both a founding member of the Arizona César E. Chávez Holiday Coalition and a Tucson Unified Governing Board member (2012- 2016). Part 2 of a 2 part series. Recorded and produced by Amanda Shauger.

Cam Juárez joined the National Park Service in January 2016, serving as the Community Engagement and Outreach Coordinator and Public…

Cam Juárez joined the National Park Service in January 2016, serving as the Community Engagement and Outreach Coordinator and Public Information Officer for Saguaro National Park where he serves on the park’s leadership team. Cam uses creativity and storytelling to engage nontraditional park attendees. He described how he first was introduced to Yosemite and how that planted a seed for his current career. He works to make the park more inclusive specifically for Latinos and representative of our local demographics for visitors and employees. He reminds us that not only do the parks preserve wild spaces but they also maintain and tell the stories of people, places, and events of the U.S. civil rights movement. He discusses labor leaders César Chávez, Richard Chávez, and Dolores Huerta. Cam was born to migrant farmworker parents in Yuma, Arizona. His mother Adela helped to put 7 of her 9 children through college, with 5 of them earning advanced degrees from universities all over the country. Cam has a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Arizona in Mexican American Studies; as well as a Master’s degree in Urban Planning –pursuing both degrees while working full-time. Cam is a community and education advocate, serving as both a founding member of the Arizona César E. Chávez Holiday Coalition and a Tucson Unified Governing Board member (2012- 2016). Part 1 of a 2 part series. Recorded and produced by Amanda Shauger.

Dorien never had much of a maternal instinct. She thought kids were a nuisance, and that the worry that comes with loving someone so much was too terrifying to take on. Just think of the potential heartbreak! As she got older, she realized that life involves powerful love and world-pausing heartbreak either way, and she started to rethink her ideas about kids. Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts. Get the Local Kindergartner EP!

Héctor Tobar and Lynn Wiese Sneyd talked about the 13th Annual Tucson Festival of Books. Last year’s festival was canceled…

Héctor Tobar and Lynn Wiese Sneyd talked about the 13th Annual Tucson Festival of Books. Last year’s festival was canceled due to the pandemic, but the festival has been reimagined virtually. Héctor Tobar discussed his latest novel “The Last Great Road Bum.” He will be in discussion with festival favorite Luis Alberto Urrea and moderator Ernesto Portillo, Jr. on Sunday, March 7 at 1 pm. Information on how you can sign up for sessions is at the bottom of this post. Héctor Tobar is a Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and novelist. He is the author of the New York Times best-seller “Deep Down Dark,” as well as “The Barbarian Nurseries,” “Translation Nation” and “The Tattooed Soldier.” Tobar is also a contributing writer for the New York Times opinion pages and an associate professor at the University of California, Irvine. He has written for The New Yorker, the Los Angeles Times, and other publications. His short fiction has appeared in Best American Short Stories, L.A. Noir, ZYZZYVA, and Slate. The son of Guatemalan immigrants, he is a native of Los Angeles, where he lives with his family. His new novel is “The Last Great Road Bum.” Lynn Wiese Sneyd is the literary consultant for the Tucson Festival of Books and the owner of LWS Literary Services, an agency focusing on editing and publicity for authors. She has written numerous books including the award-winning memoirs “The Horse Lover” and “Cowboy Up,” both co-authored with Alan Day. Last June, the writing team launched The Cowboy Up Podcast, which airs on Apple and Spotify. Recorded and produced by Amanda Shauger Pre-Register for your favorite festival sessions now! Festival Staff / February 26, 2021 Festival events will be available to view on March 6 beginning at 9:00 am. Most festival events will be taking place live (click here for a schedule) and will allow you to chat with your fellow audience members and ask the author/authors questions! Pre-registering won’t allow you to access festival sessions early, but it will make it faster to get in on event day. Want to learn how? Click here for a short video created by our friends at the Arizona Daily Star. Not interested in watching a video? Here are step-by-step instructions: How to sign up for this weekend’s festival presentations and the Friday Night Event. There are two ways to watch Tucson Festival of Boo

Henry Barajas is a Latinx author from Tucson. He spoke about his pathway as a storyteller. He is best known…

Henry Barajas is a Latinx author from Tucson. He spoke about his pathway as a storyteller. He is best known for his graphic memoir about his great-grandfather titled La Voz De M.A.Y.O. Tata Rambo. It is based on the oral history of Ramon Jaurigue, an orphan and WWII veteran who co-founded the Mexican, American, Yaqui, and Others (M.A.Y.O.) organization, which successfully lobbied the Tucson City Council to improve living and working conditions for members of the Pascua Yaqui tribe—paving the way to their federal recognition. Meanwhile, Ramon’s home life suffered as his focus was pulled from his family to the wider community, and from domesticity to the adrenaline of the campaign. Henry Barajas has been writing, lettering, editing, and publishing comics for ten years. Recently, he scripted and lettered a short story for Image Comics’ Where We Live Benefit Anthology—100% of the proceeds were donated to Route 91 Strong, a non-profit organization. He was a deejay for KXCI, the online editor of the Tucson Weekly, former Arizona Daily Star writer/news assistant, and was nominated for the Shel Dorf Blogger of the Year award for his work at The Beat. Currently, he’s the Operations Director for Top Cow Productions in Los Angeles, CA. He is about to launch the first part of a 4 part Latinx fantasy series called Helm Greycastle on April 28. Barajas took combined his passion for fantasy novels and books and created an alternate universe where the Aztec Empire defeated the Spanish Conquistadors. Recorded and produced by Amanda Shauger.

Annie Sykes spoke about local Black organizations and events. She is a member of the Tucson Black Film Club and…

Annie Sykes spoke about local Black organizations and events. She is a member of the Tucson Black Film Club and she spoke about their Tucson Black Film Festival in the time of COVID-19. Ms. Sykes is the Vice President of the NAACP Tucson and she is a member of the Black Women’s Task Force. People interested in the film festival are invited to watch the films at home and join the discussion via zoom. Ms. Sykes spoke about the animated short Hair Love and tied it into the Black Women’s Task Force’s efforts to initiate a CROWN act in the city of Tucson. CROWN is an acronym for Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair. The CROWN Act was created in 2019 by Dove and the CROWN Coalition to ensure protection against discrimination based on race-based hairstyles by extending statutory protection to hair texture and protective styles such as braids, locs, twists, and knots in the workplace and public schools. The Tucson City Council is going to have a study session for implementation in Tucson. The Tucson Black Film Club presents the 2021 TUCSON BLACK FILM FESTIVAL First: Watch the videos on your own. Akeelah and the Bee is included in HBO and Amazon Prime subscriptions; costs $3.99 on YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu, etc. Sounder screens free of charge at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMD5Pg-IrTk&feature=emb_logo. Hair Love is also free on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNw8V_Fkw28. Second: Join the Tucson Black Film Club for a synopsis of the films and an online discussion at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89660902504 on Saturday, February 20, 2021 from 1:00 – 3:00pm. Akeelah and the Bee, 2006 Laurence Fishburne, Angela Bassett, and Keke Palmer dazzle in this inspiring story of a young girl’s talent, determination, and achievement. The winner of an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture, this film will make you cheer and is perfect for Black History Month. There will be special participation in the Akeelah and the Bee discussion with the NAACP Tucson. Sounder, 1972 The late Cicely Tyson as well as Paul Winfield star in this box-office hit that earned numerous Academy Award nominations as well as awards from several international and national film societies. It’s about love, survival, and hard choices. The animated short Hair Love rounds out this mini-festival. Sponsors include St. Mark’s Presbyterian Church and Africana Studies at the University of Arizona. Recorded and produced by Amanda Shauger.

Today on 30 Minutes we spoke with immigration attorney and community leader Margo Cowan about her work as the Project…

Today on 30 Minutes we spoke with immigration attorney and community leader Margo Cowan about her work as the Project Coordinator for Keep Tucson Together, a grassroots, pro-bono project that is working directly with community members to stop deportations and the separation of families in Southern Arizona. She gave an overview of how their work has shifted from the Obama administration to the Trump administration to the beginning of the Biden administration. Keep Tucson Together is a project of No More Deaths that works side by side with community members applying for status or facing deportation and that trains participants to help each other through the immigration court process. KTT also works with the national movement to give sanctuary to those facing removal, and to stop the raids and deportations. KTT’s legal team helps people who are eligible for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) to file their documents. KTT maintains a bond fund to get people out of immigration detention. KTT helps people become United States citizenship. Margo Cowan has been an advocate for migrant justice for more than 30 years and has been involved with the Migrant Trail since its first journey in 2004. Before becoming an attorney, she was a farmworker organizer mentored by Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta. Margo’s efforts in the areas of border and immigration policy, as well as the development and representation of undocumented persons and refugees, has spanned decades. She is a Defense Attorney for the Pima County Public Defender, was the lead counsel for the Sanctuary movement, where churches and synagogues offered sanctuary to the undocumented facing deportation and co-founded the organization No More Deaths, which seeks to reduce the number of deaths in the Arizona Desert. Recorded and produced by Amanda Shauger.

After two kids and more than ten years of marriage, Jenni and Sarah were lying in bed one night when Sarah shared she was a woman born in a man’s body: “I’m transgender.” “That’s okay,” said Jenni. “Because I think I’m gay.” Follow Jenni and Sarah on Instagram at @jenniberr and @chandlersarahb. Listen on Spotify. Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts! Get the Local Kindergartner EP!

My guest today is Amalia Mora, Ph.D. She is the Manager of Innovation and Engagement for the University of Arizona…

My guest today is Amalia Mora, Ph.D. She is the Manager of Innovation and Engagement for the University of Arizona Consortium on Gender-Based Violence and faculty for the newly launched GBV masters certificate in conjunction with the Human Rights Practice Program. The University of Arizona Consortium on Gender-Based Violence is a research and resource center that seeks to model and inspire a radical shift in the way we think about and address gender-based violence. Amalia Mora spoke about the inception of the program, its areas of focus and research, and campus and community partnerships. Amalia C. Mora is an ethnomusicologist whose research focuses on how gender-based violence is implicated in various kinds of popular narratives and how these narratives are negotiated “on the ground.” Her specific areas of research and expertise include gender violence in relation to performance, tourism and cultural production, race, and nationalism; the music and dance of India and Latin America; musicodance traditions and healing; sex work and the political economy of intimacy; and mixed race body politics. She moved to Tucson in 2016 after receiving her doctorate from UCLA, which explored the relationship between sexual violence, racialized narratives on dancers and their bodies, and women who perform for tourists in Goa, India. Prior to joining the Consortium team, she contributed to the Tucson Museum of Art folklife collection as a researcher and writer and had the honor of serving as Folklorist in Residence for the Southwest Folklife Alliance as well as a Visiting Folklorist for the Tucson Meet Yourself annual festival. Amalia’s role with the Consortium consists of managing the center’s Innovation Fund and academic and student engagement portfolio, including its annual Speakers Series as well as student-focused academic and creative initiatives. She is also an affiliated faculty member in the Human Rights Practice Program who has taught a course on the Me Too movement in India and the US and is a dedicated mentor who loves to help create career pathways for students. Amalia is also a performing artist who has received training in music, dance, theater, and creative writing from institutions and professionals including the Colburn Music Academy, UCLA, Kyra Humphrey (Los Angeles Master Chorale), Khori Dastoor (Los Angeles Opera, Opera San Jose), and Liz Lira (25-time world champion dancer). Her writing on the intersection of performance, race, and gender violence has appeared in a wide variety of publications. Amalia loves living in Tucson, where her abuela’s family migrated en route to California from Sonora many years ago. Mission Our mission is to bring together interdisciplinary, cutting-edge interventions on gender-based violence in order to foster synergy between research, pedagogy, outreach, service, and student engagement both on and off-campus. We serve as a research and resource center for UA faculty, students, and staff through: Research We strive to generate and circulate innova

My guest today is from The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) which is a coalition of non-governmental organizations…

My guest today is from The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) which is a coalition of non-governmental organizations promoting adherence to and implementation of the United Nations nuclear weapon ban treaty. Alicia Sanders-Zakre is the Policy and Research Coordinator at the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons. She directs and coordinates research on the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons, and general nuclear weapons policy. The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) enters into force on January 22, 2021. The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) is a coalition of non-governmental organizations in one hundred countries promoting adherence to and implementation of the United Nations nuclear weapon ban treaty. This landmark global agreement was adopted in New York on July 7, 2017. After the 50th country ratified the treaty in October 2020, then the date for the treaty to go into effect became January 22, 2021. They were awarded the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize for their “work to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons” and “ground-breaking efforts to achieve a treaty-based prohibition of such weapons”. Sanders-Zakre discussed the historic treaty and its process. She also discussed the universities that are involved in nuclear weapons research, including the University of Arizona. More information is about the treaty is available at ICANW.org. I learned about ICAN and Sanders-Zakre from local anti-nuclear stalwarts Jack and Felice Cohen-Joppa. The Nuclear Resister networks the anti-nuclear and anti-war resistance movement while acting as a clearinghouse for information about contemporary nonviolent resistance to war and the nuclear threat. Our emphasis is on support for the women and men jailed for these actions. This blog is the online companion to the quarterly Nuclear Resister newsletter, a more comprehensive chronicle. More information about their organization and newsletter and local efforts is available on their website nukeresister.org. Recorded and produced by Amanda Shauger.