Deb Haaland is a politician, and proud of it

August 10, 2026

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5 min read

Deb Haaland is a politician, and proud of it

When Deb Haaland was in seventh grade, the dress code at her junior high banned jeans and midriff tops. So she and her friends wore them anyway, just to get under the principal's skin. That rebellious streak never really left. In her new memoir A Voice Like Mine, Haaland writes about a career that defies the usual political mold: no Ivy League degree, no high-powered connections. She's a recovering alcoholic who graduated college at 34, had a baby four days later, and went to law school as a single mom. A member of the Pueblo of Laguna tribe, she ran her own business and managed a casino before entering Congress. Now she's running for governor of New Mexico.

What it means to love politics

Haaland is aware that saying "I love politics" sounds almost radical these days. But she means it — for reasons she thinks are different from most people's. "I feel more like an organizer," she told Science Friday. She spent years in New Mexico helping register voters and reaching underrepresented communities before ever running for office herself. That organizing background shapes how she sees the job: she wants more grassroots people to feel like government isn't out of reach.

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What you'll learn

1 (01:09) **Introducing Deb Haaland** - The host frames the episode: Haaland’s path from Congress to Secretary of the Interior, her unusual background (no Ivy League, recovering alcoholic, single-mom law student), and her current run for governor of New Mexico.
2 (02:15) **“I love politics” - Redefining the Politician Label** - Haaland embraces the label “politician” but prefers “organizer,” grounding her work in grassroots community engagement rather than elite insider status.
3 (03:05) **The Rebellious Streak That Drives Her** - Haaland describes her youthful defiance (ditching class, violating dress codes) and connects it to her current drive to challenge norms in politics.
4 (04:45) **What the Interior Department Actually Does** - Haaland breaks down the scope of the Department of the Interior: 70,000 staff, $18 billion budget, managing public lands, national parks, USGS science, and tribal trust responsibilities.
5 (07:10) **Balancing Competing Interests on Public Lands** - Haaland explains her “balance” approach to managing public lands, pushing back against the historical dominance of oil and gas.
6 (09:01) **What Actually Works on Climate: Lawsuits and Science** - Haaland asserts that both lawsuits and science are essential tools for climate action, with lawsuits enforcing accountability when laws are broken.
7 (10:43) **A Lawyer’s Respect for the Law** - Haaland, a law-trained former lawyer, defends the role of lawyers in holding power accountable, especially when administrations try to “reinterpret the law” to their own ends.

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Show Notes

Former Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, a member of the Laguna Pueblo tribe, was the first Native person to hold a cabinet position. Now she’s running to be governor of New Mexico.

Haaland joins Host Flora Lichtman to talk about her new memoir, “A Voice Like Mine,” her time at the Interior Department, and why she thinks lawsuits are a good thing when it comes to the environment.

Read an excerpt from “A Voice Like Mine.”

Guest:

Deb Haaland served as Secretary of the Interior under President Biden. She is a member of Laguna Pueblo tribe and lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com.

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