Concussions: Your Brain or the Game?
They say a smart athlete will use their head. But what if using your head cost you everything? That’s a question being asked in locker rooms the world over. Whether it’s boxing, hockey, or soccer, it seems that head injuries are finally being taken seriously. In the United States, lawsuits brought by players, as well as a body of scientific evidence, has lead to growing awareness about the impact American football has on...
Pesticides on the Playground
Is your children’s schoolyard routinely sprayed with pesticides? How safe your children are might depend on where you live. Today we hear about how and why one pesticide has been banned for household use, but affects the health of farmworkers and their children. Children’s health is especially fragile–so why aren’t we protecting them? Featuring: Kim Harley, UC Berkeley Center for Environmental...
The Ten A.A.C. Commandments
So as I come to a close of my Storytelling Fellowship with Making Contact I am thankful for the great experience I had with the program staff on making my radio piece. As part of my fellowship I was able to record my first rap song with an A.A.C. twist on it. It is over a familiar Biggie beat. Here it is: If you like my song be sure to tune in to listen to my radio segment about the public’s perception of people who use A.A.C....
All the Presidents’ Bankers
Nomi Prins, journalist and a former managing director of Goldman Sachs, discusses her book All the Presidents’ Bankers, the hidden alliances that drive American power. Prins retraces the relationship between American financiers and presidents stretching more than a century. From family friends, trusted confidants to the present day; how the relationship has deteriorated and presidents have lost control of the economy. Special...
Show Transcript-Chlorpyrifos: Banned for Most Americans
The pesticide chlorpyrifos was banned for household use over a dozen years ago, but it is still widely applied in agriculture. We’ll explore the health risks for children, especially in farmworking communities, in this report. Li Miao Lovett produced this report with a grant from the Fund for Investigative Journalism, in collaboration with Making Contact’s Andrew Stelzer. Click here to listen to the show Show...
Chlorpyrifos: Banned for Most Americans, Farmworkers & Their Children Left Behind
The pesticide chlorpyrifos was banned for household use over a dozen years ago, but it is still widely applied in agriculture. We’ll explore the health risks for children, especially in farmworking communities, in this report. Featuring: Kim Harley, University of California, Berkeley professor and associate director of the Center for Environmental Research & Children’s Health Isabel Arrollo, El Quinto...
Ya Basta: How Zapatismo has influenced the US
The Zapatistas are a group in the southern state of Chiapas, Mexico working to bring democracy to their country and their local communities. 20 years after their founding, the group’s influences has spread far beyond Mexico’s border through music and art. On this edition of Making Contact producer Alejandro Rosas explores how Zapatismo has influenced those in the U.S. –including himself. Special thanks to Claire Schoen and the...
Call for Radio Pitches: Fossil Fuels, Squatters, Minimum Wage, Women’s Bodies and Voting
We’re looking for pitches from freelancers on several themes. If you feel you have a story that fits or a new idea, please let us know! We’re also always interested in pitches on any of our regular beats: prisons, poverty, climate change, reproductive health, and the environment. Divestment from Fossil Fuels We’re looking for stories about students putting pressure on colleges and universities to cut financial ties with...
Scorched Earth: The Legacy of Agent Orange
Combat, chemicals, and corporations; a special program in honor of Agent Orange Day. We’ll look at the multigenerational legacy of Agent Orange — a toxic defoliant used by the United States military in the jungles of Vietnam.
Come raise your voice at Making Contact’s National Poetry Slam Social Justice Open Mic
Have a poem about prison reform, gentrification LGBTQ rights, women’s right to choose or other crucial social justice issues? We want to hear it! Making Contact has partnered with the National Poetry Slam to produce this special open mic highlighting the power of thoughtful, truth telling, community focused poetry. We’re producing a radio show on the social justice power of writing that will be heard on over 140 stations around...
