Chilies Around the World
Stephanie Walker, Ph.D., New Mexico State University
June 9, 2019 (Sun) 3:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Albuquerque Museum
2000 Mountain Rd NW, Albuquerque, NM 87104
New Mexicans love chilies, but do we know everything about them? Chile peppers, members of the genus Capsicum, are native to the New World. After discovery of the crop by European explorers, chile peppers spread around the globe, were embraced by many disparate populations and incorporated into local cuisines. Different regions preferred different heat profiles and flavors, and specific preferences led to selection of unique varieties that contribute to the incredible diversity we see in chile peppers today. Stephanie Walker will explore the unique varieties of chile peppers grown in New Mexico and around the world. +More Info
US Approach to Nuclear Weapons in the Trump Administration: Is the World Safer or More Dangerous?
Jill Hruby, former President, Sandia National Labs
June 21, 2019 (Fri) 3:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Albuquerque Journal Auditorium
7777 Jefferson NE
It is customary for a new US president to issue a Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) within the first 18 months after taking office. President Trump followed this tradition with the release of his administration’s NPR in February 2018. This talk will focus on what is the same and what is different about this new nuclear policy and how it may stabilize or destabilize the behavior of other nuclear nation states. Finally, this talk will briefly address how Trump’s nuclear policy effects New Mexico. +More Info
Politics and Paranoia: India from Gandhi to Modi
Dr. Aroop Mangalik
July 19, 2019 (Fri) 3:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Albuquerque Journal Auditorium
7777 Jefferson Blvd. NE
India is unique, not only for its diverse cultures, but also for its turbulent politics, which Aroop Mangalik will explore in this lecture. After independence from Britain in 1947 and traumatic turmoil as the subcontinent was separated into Muslim Pakistan and secular India, the country settled into imperfect democracy under the India National Congress Party. Although 80 per cent of Indians remained locked in poverty, the middle class bloomed. But India’s Hindu majority, particularly those who had prospered, began to feel uneasy about the growing power of the Muslim minority. By 2014 a charismatic politician, Narendra Modi, fanned that unease into outright paranoia and became Prime Minister. All dissent was suppressed. Even the constitution, which explicitly declared that India was a secular state, is under attack. How did India’s leadership evolve to this state and what’s next? +More Info
