Native Power: Language, Land, and Water NoDAPL
Special thanks to the Christensen Fund for supporting Making Contact’s indigenous storytelling fellows. The actions at Standing Rock against the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota continue. On the night of November 20, 2016, militarized police forces used tear gas, water cannons and rubber bullets, hospitalizing a dozen water protectors and injuring 160 others. While mainstream media coverage is sorely lacking and...
Thwarting Democracy, the Battle for Voting Rights
Since the 2013 Supreme Court ruling on the Voting Rights Act, many states have pushed changes to voter laws that raise disturbing connections to the past. Before the anniversary of the Voting Rights Act on August 6th, we revisit the hard fought battles for voting rights and the implications of new laws. Featuring: Reverend Tyrone Edwards, civil rights historian in Plaquemines Parish Louisiana Tyrone Brooks, Georgia State...
Invisible Workers, Laboring in the Shadows
* This program won the award for Explanatory Journalism in radio/audio from the Society of Professional Journalists, Norther California Chapter in Nov. 2016. Congrats to all ! Please add your congratulations here. Millions of people around the world work in jobs that aren’t formally recognized or afforded legal protections typical of wage earning jobs. They’re often not even thought of as legitimate work. On this edition...
Coffee: Trouble Brewing?
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...
Choosing Justice Over Fear
Penny Rosenwasser is an activist and author of “Hope Into Practice: Jewish Women Choosing Justice Despite our Fears.” On this edition of Making Contact she reflects on her personal journey to embrace her identity as a Jewish woman while fighting for human rights for all. Listen to stories, history and poetry that explore internalized anti-Semitism and racism, victimization and privilege, and Jewish politics around Israel and...
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 generations later, how are Palestinians fighting to return home? On this edition of Making Contact we reflect on the Nakba, the Naksa, and the future of...
