Dear Desert Dispatch Subscribers,
For months now, you've opened your inboxes to find thoughtful, beautifully crafted narratives in the Desert Dispatch — stories that capture the essence of West Texas through the eyes of our community members and guests. These weekly dispatches have become a cherished part of our connection with you, and we know how much you value these personal glimpses into life in our corner of the world.
Today, we're writing to let you know about a change to our newsletter schedule. Beginning next week, Desert Dispatch will shift to a bi-weekly format, arriving in your inbox every other week instead of weekly.
Like many public media organizations across the country, Marfa Public Radio is navigating significant challenges to our funding landscape. These pressures require us to make thoughtful adjustments to ensure we can continue serving our community with the quality journalism and programming you depend on. By moving the Desert Dispatch to every other week, we can maintain the high editorial standards and community-sourced photography of West Texas you've come to expect while allocating resources to address these critical operational needs.
But we want to keep in touch, so we'll be sending you something new: a Marfa Public Radio station newsletter featuring important local news stories, upcoming programming highlights, and community announcements. This will help us stay connected with you more frequently while keeping you informed about the stories and events that matter most to our region.
Desert Dispatch isn't going anywhere — it's simply evolving alongside our station's needs. The same compelling voices, the same attention to the unique character of West Texas, the same beautiful storytelling will continue, just on a different rhythm.
We're grateful for your continued support and understanding as we adapt to meet these challenges. Your engagement with our content, whether through the Desert Dispatch or our daily programming, remains essential to our mission of serving Far West Texas.
Thank you for being part of the Marfa Public Radio community.
Warmly,
Anne Marozas
Endnotes
- The Caló word of the week is grifo. In modern Spanish it means a tap or faucet. But in Caló it means someone who’s either sick with the gripa (flu) or deeply under the influence of drugs. The general idea is that flu and drugs lead to the same presentation. The drugs that may be causing someone to be grifo are called grifa, and there’s no distinction between any particular drug, that is, they’re all grifa. And when someone takes them and acts crazy, it’s said they’re engrifado or beyond being merely grifo.
- The Judd Foundation has settled a lawsuit that accused reality TV star Kim Kardashian of promoting fake versions of the late minimalist artist’s well-known tables and chairs. Kardashian “will now have authentic Donald Judd tables and chairs,” the foundation said. And, with the settlement of this lawsuit, the Dispatch has come full circle! OG readers may recall that the first Dispatch ever sent was about this case. Read Travis's reporting on the close of the case here.
- Four to 5 inches long, with gray flanks, black-capped heads and black stripes above their eyes, mountain chickadees are year-round high-country residents. Their call is so distinctive — a literal chickadee-dee-dee song — that it’s the source of the bird's name across multiple languages. Scientists have been listening closely to these songbirds in our region. What they’ve heard reveals the surprising cultural variety of the creature world. Listen to the story (and the birds) here.
- In Marfa, a collection of former military buildings that the late minimalist artist Donald Judd began acquiring in the 1970s has been added to the National Register of Historic Places. The new historic district includes 15 buildings and structures in and around Marfa that Judd acquired and utilized for his art and architecture practices over a period of decades. It also incorporates the artist's popular large-scale outdoor works housed at the Chinati Foundation, which was originally the Fort D.A. Russell military base from 1911 to 1946. Travis Bubenik has that story here.
- Last night's Marfa Mystery Hour was a family affair. Marfa musician Erin Schneider was joined in the studio by her dad, John Schneider of KPFK radio in Los Angeles. The show features a discussion of the American composer, music theorist, and creator of unique musical instruments Harry Partch, followed by a playlist of Erin's musical inspirations. Ahead of father's day, enjoy this show on our mixcloud.
- Ballroom Marfa and the Chulita Vinyl Club invites the public to this year's DJ Camp finale in Marfa on Friday, June 13th at Planet Marfa from 5:30-6:30pm. The DJ Camp, part of the annual Summer Shake Up Program, teaches students from 4th-9th grade about music genres, DJ Collectives, and turntable techniques. The performance will showcase what the students have been learning about how to select and play vinyl records.
