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JOEY CHEN’S STORY ABOUT THE DOWNWINDERS FAMILIES WHO SAY THE FIRST U.S. NUCLEAR TEST IN SOUTHERN NEW MEXICO BROUGHT GENERATIONS OF HEALTH PROBLEMS. SO, JOEY, NICE TO SEE YOU. CAN YOU START WITH THE STATUS OF THE EFFORTS TO GET COMPENSATION FOR THESE FAMILIES? YEAH. SOLEDAD ACTUALLY, THE DOWNWINDERS SCORED A PRETTY BIG VICTORY VERY RECENTLY. ALTHOUGH THERE ARE LIMITATIONS TO IT IN THE PRESIDENT’S BUDGET BILL, THERE’S ACTUALLY A PROVISION TO EXPAND THE RADIATION EXPOSURE COMPENSATION ACT, AND IT ALLOWS FOLKS LIKE MISS LUCY AND MEMBERS OF HER FAMILY TO BE ABLE TO APPLY UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS FOR $100,000 IN COMPENSATION FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. BUT UNDERSTAND THIS EXPANSION DOES NOT COVER WIDE SWATHS OF THE COUNTRY WHERE PEOPLE WERE ALSO EXPOSED. I WOULD ALSO POINT OUT THAT THERE ARE STILL PEOPLE WHO OBJECT TO THE EXPANSION. THE CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE ESTIMATES THAT IT’S GOING TO ADD ABOUT $8 BILLION IN COSTS TO THE FEDERAL BUDGET OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS, AND WHAT THEY’RE REALLY CONCERNED ABOUT IS SOMETHING LIKE COMPENSATION CREEP, THAT IT MIGHT BE EXPANDED EVEN FURTHER. JOEY, YOU’RE IN A PRETTY ISOLATED DESERT REGION, AND I KNOW THE FOLKS THERE HAVE A LOT OF CONFLICTED EMOTIONS ABOUT THEIR ROLE IN HISTORY. YEAH. YOU KNOW, THESE ARE FOLKS THAT WEAR THEIR PATRIOTISM ON THEIR SLEEVES. HONESTLY, SO MANY PEOPLE IN THESE COMMUNITIES HAD FAMILY MEMBERS WHO WENT TO WORK AT WHITE SANDS OR ENTERED THE MILITARY AND SERVICE THEMSELVES. THEY HAD GREAT PRIDE IN THAT. YOU KNOW, THEY SAW IT AS A MATTER OF PRIDE THAT THEIR COMMUNITY WAS ABLE TO GIVE BIRTH, AS IT WERE, TO THE BOMB, WHICH IS CREDITED WITH ENDING THE WAR, ENDING WORLD WAR TWO. THE IRONY FOR THEM, OF COURSE, IS THAT WITH ALL THEIR PATRIOTISM, THEY WERE ALSO THE PEOPLE WHO SUFFERED THE MOST DIRECTLY FROM THE TESTS. AND FOR 80 YEARS NOW HAVE BEEN TRYING TO GET THE GOVERNMENT TO RECOGNIZE THAT SACRIFICE AND AS WELL TO COMPENSATE THEM FOR IT. SO YOU’VE WORKED ON THIS SHOW FOR A DECADE, AND THEN, OF COURSE, YOU AND I KNOW EACH OTHER FOR WAY MORE MANY YEARS BEFORE THAT. AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT HAS ALWAYS IMPRESSED ME IS THAT YOU ALWAYS MANAGE TO DO THESE REALLY UNIQUE STORIES ON COMMUNITIES THAT OFTEN FLY UNDER THE RADAR. SO I’D LOVE TO UNDERSTAND SORT OF HOW YOU THINK ABOUT DOING THAT. SO I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT, YOU KNOW, AND I APPRECIATE THIS PROGRAM SO MUCH AS BEING A PLATFORM TO BE ABLE TO TO COVER THESE STORIES AND, AND SHED LIGHT ON COMMUNITIES AND HISTORIES THAT PERHAPS HAVE BEEN OVERLOOKED OR FORGOTTEN ABOUT. STORIES LIKE THE STORIES OF THE DOWNWINDERS OR THE FIRST CLIMATE REFUGEES OF THIS COUNTRY. YOU KNOW, THEY WERE ACTUALLY ASIAN MIGRANTS LIVING ON THE LOUISIANA GULF COAST. WHO KNEW THAT THAT WAS THE CASE? THESE ARE ALL PEOPLE AND ALL COMMUNITIES THAT DESERVE TO BE RECOGNIZED. AND THERE’S SO MANY MORE STORIES WE COULD TELL, BUT WE SO APPRECIATE SOLEDAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE ABLE TO SPEAK TO THE MATTER OF FACT AUDIENCE. AND FOR THIS PLATFORM ITSELF REALLY HAS BEEN GREAT. WELL, JUST FROM THAT LIST, IT’S BEEN AN INCREDIBLE RIDE. THANK YOU. JOEY, THANKS FOR EVERYTHING. YOU ARE A PHENOMENAL, PHENOMENAL REPORTER AND JOURNALIST.