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Last week an article by aspiring radio journalist and professor Chenjerai Kumanyika, brought the question of diversity in public radio to light and using the hashtag #PubRadioVoice, journalists, activists and community members weighed in and offered ways to increase diversity on the airwaves.
For the last 20 years Making Contact has worked hard to build a more diverse public radio community and provide a platform for some of our most vital but unheard communities. We’re glad the subject of diversity on public media is gaining more attention and wanted to offer a small selection of recent programs that we feel highlight some examples of how public media can be more inclusive and diverse in it’s sound, subject matter and focus.
Check out some of our shows below and drop us a message if you have ideas on stories we should be focusing on in the future.
We’re always looking for new producers and fresh on air talent. If you’re a radio journalist or community activist check here for ways to get involved with Making Contact.
And if you’re an activist looking for ways to get involved in public radio, check out our 10 week Community Storytelling Fellowship.
What do our voices say about us? On this edition we explore voice and identity. We’ll hear from someone who nearly lost their voice, the challenges that come with ordering a pizza with a speech generating device, and and how voice contributes to trans women’s sense of safety and of self.
Making Contact partnered with the 2014 National Poetry Slam in Oakland, CA to produce this special open mic highlighting the power of thoughtful, truth telling, community focused poetry.
You’ve heard of Hip Hop, what about Krip Hop?
You’ve heard of Hip-Hop, but what about Krip-Hop? That’s the name for the international movement of disabled artists, poets, musicians, and MCs. On this edition of Making Contact, we hear the story of Krip Hop from hate mail to worldwide phenomenon.
Healthy Messages: Pop Culture and Reproductive Justice
One in three women will have an abortion in her lifetime, yet in pop culture accurate portrayals of real people’s stories are rare. In this special interview, two reproductive justice advocates listen and discuss two songs: Nick Cannon’s ‘Can I Live?’ and Nicki Minaj’s ‘Autobiography’, and ask: what messages are pop songs sending about reproductive health issues?
Dr. Shakti Butler on “Cracking the Codes”
How do we talk about race and racism in this country?Not as deeply as we should, according to filmmaker and educator Dr. Shakti Butler. On this edition, we hear excerpts from Dr. Butler’s film “Cracking the Codes”, and speak with her about using the medium of film to start conversations around the thorny issues of racial inequity.
Words Vs Bars: How Prison Poets Escape
Locked up for month, years, or decades, poetry is form of self-expression that’s become vital to the incarcerated. In Prison, Poetry can keep you sane, and help you move towards a better future. To mark National Poetry Month, we bring you a special production by the Prison Poetry Workshop. We go from California’s San Quentin prison, to a group of Alabama prison poets. And we’ll meet a legendary prison poet of the 1960’s who helped spark a literary movement.
Deadly Divide: Migrant Deaths on the Border
Over 6,000 migrant deaths were recorded on the U.S. side of the border with Mexico between 1998 and 2013. The true number of deaths is likely higher, and thousands of families never hear from their loved ones again.
This documentary travels to the desert ranch lands of Brooks County and the border town of Reynosa, Tamaulipas to introduce us to the human cost of “prevention through deterrence,” a border enforcement strategy introduced during the Clinton administration.
Oakland Reacts to Ferguson Vote
Protests, marches and mourning erupted across the country as news broke that a grand jury had decided to not indict police officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Micahel Brown on August 9th. Making Contact’s George Lavender and Jasmin Lopez collected photos and videos from Oakland, CA as the verdict was released and emotional protesters took to the streets. All photo and recording by Jasmin Lopez.
Thwarting Democracy: The Battle for Voting Rights
Since the 2013 Supreme Court ruling on the Voting Rights Act, many states have pushed changes to voter laws that raise disturbing connections to the past. On this week’s show, we’ll hear about hard fought battles for voting rights and the implications of new laws.
A Dream Remembered: Martin Luther King and the Grassroots Civil Rights Movement
On the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on August 28th 1963, Martin Luther King Jr delivered one of the most famous speeches of all time. But it nearly didn’t happen. Gary Younge, author of “The Speech” talks about Martin Luther King Junior’s “Dream” and the story behind it.
My Body My Message: Women’s Bodies as Tools of Self Empowerment
How can a woman determine how she is perceived by the world, and even by herself? On this edition, we hear stories of women who are using their bodies for political protest, and as tools of self-empowerment…forcing everyone to reevaluate their perspectives on the female form.
Nonviolent Path of Caesar Chavez
Cesar Chavez has made it to the big screen. Millions of people are now learning about the legendary farmworker organizer. But where did Chavez get his organizing philosophies? Paul Ingles and Carol Boss of Peacetalks radio take us down ‘The Non-Violent path of Cesar Chavez’, through conversations with Chavez’ colleague and friend Delores Huerta, and Jose Antonio Orozco, author of the book, Cesar Chavez and the Common Sense of Nonviolence