Episodes

This week on IndyMatters, host Joey Lovato chats with our Washington D.C. reporter Humberto Sanchez about the federal response to the novel coronavirus. They talk about the bills and measures that are being introduced, the measures that are being taken and the overall tone in the capital. After that, reporter and producer Jacob Solis talks with reporter Shannon Miller about how a bill working its way through Congress could change how we understand the issue of missing and murdered indigenous wo...

For weeks, the number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus have ticked up across the United States. That included confirmed cases in a ring of states around Nevada, including Oregon, California, Arizona and Utah. On Thursday, Nevada joined that list, confirming the first so-called “presumptive positive” test case, a Las Vegas man in his 50s. By that night, there was a second case in Reno. On Sunday, local health officials confirmed another two cases — one in Washoe County and another in...

This week on IndyMatters, reporter Jackie Valley talks with Drew Cohen, the co-owner of Writers Block, an independent bookstore in Las Vegas. They chat about literary trends and what people are reading at the start of 2020. After that intern, Shannon Miller talks with Ramon Savoy the former publisher/editor and reporter of the Las Vegas Sentinel-Voice, a newspaper serving the black communities in Las Vegas from 1982 to 2014. At the end of the show, editor Jon Ralston and host Joey Lovato chat ab...

This week on IndyMatters, reporter and producer Jacob Solis and Editor Jon Ralston give us a postmortem on the Nevada caucus. What went right, what went wrong and the future of the caucus here in the silver state. After that Jon sits down with Dr. Marc Harrison, the president and CEO of Intermountain Healthcare, a nonprofit healthcare system that serves the western United States. At the end of the episode, Jon answers some trivia questions that Jacob struggled with last week.

On Saturday, it finally happened: Nevada’s presidential caucus came and went, and it largely skirted past the vote-counting nightmare of the Iowa caucuses earlier this month. But it wasn’t all smooth sailing, either — and with announcements, this week from Gov. Steve Sisolak and former Sen. Harry Reid that may spell doom for future caucuses, Nevada's 2020 effort will likely form a coda to the 12-year-long, first-in-the-west caucus era. As the national media turns its attention to South Carolin...

This week on IndyMatters, reporter Megan Messerly and producer Jacob Solis sit down to talk about the upcoming caucus, which will be held on Feb. 22. Later, host Joey Lovato and reporter Daniel Rothberg talk about how caucus math and delegate allocation works in the rural counties in Nevada. At the end of the show, Joey tests Jacob with presidential candidate trivia.

For the first time in the short-lived history of the state’s presidential caucus, the 2020 election has given Nevada Democrats the opportunity to cast their votes early. But it’s a process that comes with more than a few questions attached, especially in the wake of an Iowa caucus that turned disastrous in part because of the implementation of new technology. With that early voting process now well underway, The Nevada Independent wanted to know what the voters waiting in the long lines were thi...

This week on IndyMatters, reporters Jacob Solis and Megan Messerly sit down to talk about Megan’s trip to New Hampshire for the Democratic presidential primary. After that, host Joey Lovato and intern Jazmin Orozco-Rodriguez sit down with Kathy Sisolak to talk about her new arts initiative at the Governor’s Mansion in Carson City as well as her time as the first lady. At the end of the episode, host Joey Lovato and reporter Jacob Solis talk about the Oscars this year.

This week on IndyMatters, reporters Jacob Solis and Megan Messerly sit down to talk about Megan’s trip to Iowa for the Democratic presidential caucuses, and the hangups that delayed the release of results for days. After that, host Joey Lovato calls up our Washington D.C. correspondent Humberto Sanchez to get the lowdown on all of the events going on in the nation’s capital, from President Donald Trump’s impeachment acquittal to the State of the Union address. At the end of the episode, Joey and...

In this week’s episode of IndyMatters, Editors Jon Ralston and Elizabeth Thompson sit down to talk about the presidential race in Nevada — from where candidates stand to what they think will happen. They also give a preview of some upcoming Indy events. After that, reporter Jacob Solis debriefs intern Shannon Miller about the Point-in-Time Count that happened in Las Vegas and Reno. Shannon followed groups of volunteers who counted the number of homeless people in major metro areas as a requireme...

In this week’s episode of IndyMatters, host Joey Lovato sits down with intern Jazmin Orozco-Rodriguez to talk about her story on the opening of the Stewart Indian School Museum in Carson City. Later Assistant Editor Michelle Rindels talks with Indytern Tabitha Mueller about automatic voter registration in the state. At the end of the show, Joey chats with reporters Riley Snyder and Michelle Rindels about the Oscar nominated film Little Women.

In this week’s episode of IndyMatters, Reno Women's March organizer Jackie Shelton is interviewed by Tabitha Mueller and photographer David Calvert to talk about the march and its goals after three years. Later, Michelle Rindels sits down with Tabitha and fellow intern Jazmin Orozco-Rodriguez to talk about last week’s ‘No War with Iran’ protest in Reno. At the end of the episode, producer Joey Lovato and Megan Messerly chat about the movie Cats!

In this week’s episode of IndyMatters, we have Democratic candidate for president and Senator Cory Booker on the podcast. Lead 2020 reporter Megan Messerly sits down with him to talk about diversity in the race, how the Democratic party chooses who qualifies for a debate, sex work in the state, national healthcare, and more. After that host Joey Lovato and reporter Michelle Rindels sit down with intern Mark Hernandez to talk about his upcoming story on the state’s ethics commission. At the end o...

In this week’s episode of IndyMatters, we have some responses from the governor from a wide-ranging interview we did with him this week. Then reporter Daniel Rothberg sits down with UNR Assistant Professor of Media Law Patrick File to talk about a Nevada Supreme Court case concerning shield laws for journalists. Later, host Joey Lovato and reporter Jackie Valley talk about their trip through rural Nevada in October, where they reported on a variety of things going on in rural education. At the e...

On this week’s episode of IndyMatters, reporter Riley Snyder sits down with the director of the Governor’s Office of Energy David Bobzien and the director of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Brad Crowell to discuss an executive order that was signed by Governor Steve Sisolak that will build off of an executive order earlier this year aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This new order looks to coordinate state agencies in an attempt to further the state’s fight against...

On this week’s episode of IndyMatters, reporter Megan Messerly sits down with 2020 presidential hopeful Kamala Harris to talk about her campaign so far, health care and issues particular to Nevada. Later on, host Joey Lovato sits down with reporter Michelle Rindels to first talk about her new series, The Cannabis Files, which focuses on, you guessed it, cannabis! Later still, the two chat about some new books that Michelle read recently on our IndyReads segment.

On this week’s episode of IndyMatters, reporter Jacob Solis sits down with intern Shannon Miller to talk about their reporting on a vote last week at the Las Vegas City Council which made sleeping on the street a misdemeanor offense. Later on, we have an interview from KUNR reporter Paul Boger who sat down with Truckee Meadows Community College political science professor Fred Lokken to talk about the upcoming 2020 election and the associated trends. At the end of the episode, Jacob Solis return...

We have a special edition of IndyMatters this week on top of our normal episode with presidential hopeful Tom Steyer and two stories from our partners at KUNR on Nevada STD rates. This special episode is audio from an event we had in Reno with Washoe County School District where editor Jon Ralston sat down and talked with School Board of Trustees President Katy Simon Holland and interim Superintendent Kristen McNeil on issues the WCSD is facing, from the termination of former Superintendent Trac...

On this week’s episode of IndyMatters lead 2020 reporter Megan Messerly sits down with presidential hopeful Tom Steyer to talk about his approach to the campaign trail, his plan for healthcare reform, his time in rural Nevada and more. Later on, we have a story from our partners at KUNR including one by Anh Gray on STDs, how prevalent they are in the state, and a new dating app that is specifically for people with STDs. At the end of the show, host Joey Lovato talks with reporter Riley Snyder ab...

On IndyMatters this week, reporter Jacob Solis talks with 2020 presidential hopeful Andrew Yang about his positions on nuclear waste, new forms of energy, automation and of course his idea for a “freedom dividend” as well as a host of other topics. Later Joey sits down with author Dr. Karen Gedney about her book “30 Years Behind Bars” on her time being a doctor in the Nevada prison system and what she learned during her time there. At the end of the episode, Joey quizzes our lead 2020 reporter M...

On IndyMatters this week, reporter Megan Messerly sits down with 2020 presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg to chat about his campaign so far in Nevada, his stance on what he calls, “Medicare for all who want it”, and what kind of voters he has been attracting. Later on, host Joey Lovato talks with intern Mark Hernandez about his story on a special veteran’s court in Reno after its first year, and still later editor Jon Ralston tells Joey about two new movies he saw last week.

On this special episode of IndyMatters, editor Jon Ralston sits down with Gene Karpinski, head of the League of Conservation Voters, and Andy Maggi, head of the Nevada Conservation League, to chat about climate change and how the 2020 candidates are approaching the subject. They also talk about what the issue means to Nevada and which 2020 candidates are focusing on it the most.

On IndyMatters this week, editor Jon Ralston sits down with reporter Megan Messerly to talk about The Indy’s new endorsement tracker and how the 2020 candidates are doing in the Silver State. After that host, Joey Lovato sits down with reporter Jacob Solis to talk about his story on automation and what it means for the future job landscape of Nevada. Later in the show, all four sit down to talk about Megan’s new favorite video game and Jon tells us about his early gaming days.

On IndyMatters this week, reporter Jackie Valley sits down with state superintendent Jhone Ebert to discuss her listening tour through various schools to learn about the students there. Jackie also asks her how her first six months on the job are going and what challenges she has faced. Then Joey sits down with Indy intern Mark Hernandez and KUNR reporter Paul Boger for a debrief on an event at UNR where Charlie Kirk - the founder of Turning Point USA, a conservative student group - spoke, and w...