Korea: The Ghosts of the Gwangju Uprising (ENCORE)
On May 18, 1980, the people of Gwangju, South Korea came together for reunification and an end to an era of martial law imposed by U.S.-backed military dictators. Over the course of ten days, they staged mass protests, battled riot police and soldiers, and were met with brutal repression. Together, they successfully drove the military out Gwangju and governed the city together. Their actions changed the course of Korean history. On...
Specters of Attica: Reflections from Inside a Michigan Prison Strike
On September 9, 2016, prisoners across the U.S. went on strike. In Michigan’s low security Kinross prison, workers assigned to kitchen duties refused to report to their shifts. Hundreds gathered to protest in the prison yard. The strike spread like a prairie fire. Nationally, 24,000 prisoners participated, making it the largest prisoner labor strike in U.S. history. In this episode of Making Contact, four men who were imprisoned...
Daze of Justice
Via our adaptation of Michael Siv’s documentary, we hear the intimate story of trailblazing Cambodian-American women who break decades of silence, abandoning the security of their American homes on a journey back into Cambodia’s killing fields, only this time not as victims but as witnesses determined to resurrect the memory of their loved ones before the UN Special Tribunal prosecuting the Khmer Rouge. Only Daze of...
The Nakba, the Naksa, and the Future of Palestine
In 1948 Zionist militias expelled over 700,000 Palestinians from their villages and towns. The event, and the ongoing destruction and occupation of Palestine are referred to as the Nakba, “The Catastrophe.” How did the events of 1948 shape Palestine and its diaspora? And now, 70 years later, how are Palestinians fighting to return home? As news spreads of recent violence against Palestinian demonstrators calling for their right to...
A Dream Remembered?: Martin Luther King Jr and the Grassroots Civil Rights Movement (ENCORE)
Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated 50 years ago, and is widely remembered for his speech, ‘I Have a Dream.’ Journalist Gary Younge analyzes the King’s speech, delivered on the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, highlighting the day’s tensions, and the importance of remembering the entirety of King’s message and evolution as a critical activist. Special thanks to the New School for recording. Like this program? Please show...
The Seekers, Pt. 1: Freedom from Violence
The Seekers, is the first in a two-part documentary series that examines the experiences of Central American migrants seeking asylum in the US. El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala are among the most dangerous countries in the world for women. Each year, thousands of women flee from these Northern Triangle Countries to escape the brutality that stem from drugs and gangs. Now, many Central American migrants are being returned to their...