Flemmie Kittrell and the Preschool Experiment from Lost Women of Science
Dr. Flemmie Kittrell was a Black home economist whose research in the field of early childhood education shaped the way we think about child development today. She became the first Black woman to earn a Ph.D. in nutrition and contributed immensely to programs like Head Start – even though her name is often left out of the history. We’ll hear more about her life and work in a story from the podcast “Lost Women of...
Buried History: The Woman Who Created the Home Pregnancy Test
This episode was originally published in 2014, and this episode is a republishing of the Feb 28, 2024 Encore, titled “The Feminist Birth of the Home Pregnancy Test.” In 1965 Margaret Crane was a young designer creating packaging for a pharmaceutical company. Looking at the rows of pregnancy tests she thought, “Well, women could do that at home!” and so she made it a reality for potentially pregnant people to be able to...
Written in the Stars?: The Longtermist Movement
This episode was originally published Apr 5, 2023 as “Ninety Seconds to Midnight.” A new philosophy steeped in the ideas of Artificial Intelligence, space colonization, and the long-term survival of the human species is gaining ground among the wealthy. However, there are reasons to question its goals and its ethics. Longtermists believe that not only could we colonize space and create simulated humans in giant servers...
City Lines: Oakland’s History of Development and Disruption (Encore)
This episode was originally published on Jun 14, 2023 as A History of Development and Disruption: Hella Town. This week on Making Contact, we bring you a story of urban planning and how race has shaped American cities. In his book, Hella Town: Oakland’s History of Development and Disruption, Mitchell Schwarzer explores the origins and the lasting impacts of transportation improvements, systemic racism, and regional competition...
Exposed Part 2: the Human Radiation Experiments at Hunter’s Point from SF Public Press
The military exposed thousands of servicemen to radioactivity when it called them to participate in nuclear weapons tests, including Operation Teapot in 1955. One was Eldridge Jones, who later deployed to exercises in the Bay Area to try to clean up radioactive substances, directed by the Naval Radiological Defense Laboratory. Source: National Nuclear Security Administration’s Nevada office. In Episode 2 of “Exposed” from our friends...
Exposed Part One: The Human Radiation Experiments at Hunter’s Point from SF Public Press
Today we present the first half of a two-part radio documentary from our friends at SF Public Press, “Exposed,” opening a window into the little-known history of the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard. The sprawling abandoned naval base, in San Francisco’s southeast waterfront Bayview neighborhood, is currently the site of the city’s largest real estate development project. The base played a key role in the Cold War nuclear era, when it...
