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Race to an Emergency-examining 911 responses Pt. 1

When you call 911, who answers the phone? How do they decide who to send to the scene, and how fast will they get there? We bring you a 2-part special—The Race to An Emergency, produced by KALW radio in San Francisco.

We follow the path of a 911 call, and along the way, encounter decades of mistrust that fuel a lack of confidence in the system.

Special thanks to KALW Radio.

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Deadly Divide: Migrant Death on the Border

Congratulations to Jasmin, George, Bradnon, Mitra and team for this show’s Excellence in Journalism Award from Society of Professional Journalists NorCal,  for Feature Storytelling (radio/audio) 2015 !  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...

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Oakland Reacts to #Ferguson in photos and audio
Nov25

Oakland Reacts to #Ferguson in photos and audio

Yesterday evening was a time of protests, marches and mourning 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....

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Migrant deaths, border crossings and immigration. An advanced listening session and community discussion this Sunday.
Nov20

Migrant deaths, border crossings and immigration. An advanced listening session and community discussion this Sunday.

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. Bill Clinton’s presidency marked a major shift along the two thousand mile US-Mexico border. The border enforcement strategy know as “prevention through deterrence” was implemented, and those who...

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Restorative Justice: Reconciling Face to Face

Victims and perpetrators sitting down face to face…it can help heal their wounds, and our society. Incarcerating our way out of crime clearly hasn’t worked, and it’s costing us billions. Meanwhile, school suspensions are reaching record highs. Now, Institutions across US are finally starting to consider problem solving methods other than punishment.  Restorative justice is gaining ground–in the schools, and behind bars....

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Islamic state, Kurdistan, and the new U.S. war in Iraq

More than a decade after the start of the second Gulf War, the United States has embarked on a bombing campaign targeting Islamic State forces inside Iraq and Syria. It’s the third U.S. military action inside Iraq in as many decades. But the reasons for the new war keep shifting, from protecting ethnic and religious minorities, to preventing terrorist attacks on the U.S. As independent producer Reese Erlich reports from Northern...

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