Ivan Rodriguez is fighting the toxic effects of environmental racism in Southeast LA
Southeast Los Angeles is my home, it is also one of the most heavily industrialized areas in Los Angeles, a community about six and a half miles southeast of Downtown Los Angeles. My Making Contact story is about my experience of institutional environmental racism and the hidden effects it has on my community. The greatest challenge to the area is the large number of toxic polluters, superfund sites, brownfields and freeways. This so...
Walking in Two Worlds
In this radio adaptation of the documentary film, Walking in Two Worlds, we bring you to Alaska’s Tongass Forest, where the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act turned tribes into corporations and sparked a lengthy logging frenzy. We meet a Tlingit brother and sister, who are trying to heal both the forest and their native community. Special thanks to Specialty Studios. Featuring: Wanda Culp & Bob Loescher, Tlinget brother...
BP Five Years Later: Deepwater Horizon and the Cost of Oil
Five years after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, not everyone is “back to normal”. On this edition, we follow BP’s trail from the Bayous of Louisiana to the fine art galleries of London. Featuring: Antonia Juhasz, investigative Journalist Monique Verdin & Beau Verdin, Houma tribe members David Gauthe, community organizer Thomas DarDar, United Houma Nation Chief Mark Miller, Southern Utah University History...
Heat of the Moment: Sea Level Rise
Climate change is here affecting weather conditions and sea levels. In India it’s also having a more surprising influence on the country’s tigers. On this edition of Making Contact, reporter Daniel Grossman takes us to India in Heat of the Moment: Sea Level Rise. Heat of the Moment was originally produced for the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting and WBUR. Featuring: Pranabes Sanyal, former park director for the...
The Controversial Nicaragua Canal
Officially opening in 1914, the Panama Canal connected the Atlantic and Pacific creating a short-cut for ships. It was the biggest infrastructure project of its time. But originally the United States wanted to build the canal in Nicaragua. The plans shifted largely after French engineer Philippe-Jean Bunau-Varilla convinced U.S. lawmakers otherwise. Well now the Nicaragua canal plans are back on the table. Nicaragua plans to build a...
Coffee: Trouble Brewing? (see list for free coffee below)
It’s the second most-traded commodity in the world after oil but how much do you think about your cup of coffee? From coffee farmers in Colombia to the trash produced by your single-cup coffee machine, Making Contact and Green Grid Radio team up to count the costs of your morning cup o’joe. Featuring: Jairo Martinez, Mariana Cruz, Suzana Angarita, coffee farmers Jeff Goldman, former executive director Fairtrade Resource Network Jeff...
