The Problematic History of Gender Testing at the Olympics
The attacks on Imane Khelif’s gender at this year’s 2024 Paris Olympics is not new. In fact, the focus on women’s appearance and gender expression goes back to the founding of the Olympics, the minute women entered elite sports. We talk to Rose Eveleth, host and producer of the podcast Tested about the history of sex testing in the Olympics and why it existed in the first place, why there’s no easy way to...
East Orosi’s Long Struggle for Water Part 2: The Role of Community Utility Districts
In Part 1 of our series on water in the Central Valley of California we visited a town called East Orosi, which has been fighting for clean water for over 20 years. This week we turn our attention to their sewage system, which is also falling apart. Why has it been so difficult for East Orosi to get clean drinking water and fix its sewage problems? To answer that question we take a look at the entities that run things like sewage and...
East Orosi’s Struggle for Clean Drinking Water
East Orosi hasn’t had safe drinking water in over 20 years. The water is full of nitrates, runoff from industrial agriculture, which is harmful to human health. The community has taken action to find a solution, from lobbying at the state capital to working with neighboring towns. And they may finally have one. New California laws, passed in the last five years, have opened up funding to build water infrastructure in small...
Survival for All: Securing Vaccines for the Global South
At the beginning of the pandemic, we reported on the extreme inequality of the vaccine rollout to low income countries. Their access was hindered because of a Western patent system which was imposed globally through the WTO. At the time, activists tried to pass the TRIPS (Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) Waiver, which would have suspended all patents related to COVID. This would have allowed...
The Origins of Zionism
In this episode with a brief report from Gaza-based journalist Rami Almeghari, we talk to Rashid Khalidi about his book “The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine” to learn about the early history of the Zionist movement and his argument that it was, from the start, a settler-colonial endeavor. Featuring: Rami Almeghari – Palestinian reporter from Gaza Rashid Khalidi – Historian and Edward Said Professor of...
7 Shows to Listen to this Women’s History Month
We’re knee deep in Women’s History Month and at Making Contact we’re celebrating the best way we know how: highlighting the stories of women making change and fighting for a better future for ourselves and all those around us along the way. Check out these stories from Making Contact featuring the often untold stories impacting women everyday: 1.Don’t Let Them See You Bleed: PERIOD From period stigma to the unfair tax on...
