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Afrofuturism: Imagination and Humanity, Ytasha Womack
Afrofuturism According to Ytasha Womack, use of the imagination for self-development and social change is one of the greatest tenets of Afrofuturism. This show features Womack’s presentation at the 2017 Sonic Acts Festival, Afrofuturism: Imagination and Humanity. She explores resilience encouraged through the championing of the imagination, tensions that arise from embracing hope, the separation of humanity from itself through the creation of the technology called race, and the power of storytelling. Womack is author of the award winning...
read moreSpare the Kids, Dr. Stacey Patton
Dr. Stacey Patton We speak with author Dr. Stacey Patton about her book, Spare the Kids: Why Whupping Won’t Save Black America. The book examines the unique cultural and historical specificity of corporal punishment in Black communities. Given the prevalence and acceptance of spanking in American culture, the discussions will be useful to a wide and diverse audience. Dr. Stacey Patton is an adoptee, child abuse survivor, and former foster youth turned award-winning author, journalist and child advocate. Her reporting on issues of child...
read moreThe Future of Abolition: Marc Lamont Hill, Michelle Alexander and Vonya Quarles
The Future of Abolition “Prison Abolition” had been a widely discussed idea for centuries, and was adopted –even by centrists– in the 1970’s. During the last 40 years and a staggering boom in imprisonment – prison abolition seemed like a fringe idea. “Get rid of prisons?!” Only radical activists thought that was possible. But in the last decade the tide has been turning. We’ve had the work of Michelle Alexander and her book the New Jim Crow. We’ve seen people released from prison become advocates and lawyers, and change the...
read moreThe Far Right and Antifa (Encore)
Greek Raps Anti-Fascism In this episode of Making Contact, we explore the past and present of the far right and anti-fascism. We begin with a story from Athens on the murder and investigation of Greek rapper, Pavlos Fyssas. In the second half of the show, historian and author of Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook, Mark Bray, describes anti-fascist responses to Hitler and Mussolini in the 1920’s and 30’s. Image Credit: seven_resist on Flickr Image Caption: Pavlos Fyssas, antifascist Rapper and left activist was killed by fascists in Piräus...
read moreAbortion Beyond Clinics Pt. 1: Call Jane
Stop Making Decisions Over My Body In a special 2 part program by Making Contact we explore new safe at-home abortion options and the growing movement for “self-managed abortions.” Amidst changes to the Supreme Court of the United States, and after decades of restrictions to abortion access across the country, people continue to find ways to make this vital procedure safer, more affordable, and more accessible. Advances in medicine and discoveries made by women themselves have changed the kind of options available outside of...
read more70 Million: Undocumented Immigrants are Tethered to ICE & Private Companies
70 Million See Transcript Below A handful of companies are making millions off of ankle monitors strapped to undocumented immigrants in ICE custody. The makers pitch the monitors as an alternative to being jailed, but are they simply another form of bondage? Reporter Ryan Katz looks at what life is life while wearing one of these monitors. He untangles the complicated web of ICE, immigration bail agent companies, and the attorneys fighting them. 70 Million is made possible by a grant from the Safety and Justice Challenge at the John D. and...
read moreUprooting Racism: How White People Can Work for Racial Justice
Paul Kivel on Racial Justice On this edition of Making Contact, we speak with author Paul Kivel about his book, Uprooting Racism: How White People Can Work for Racial Justice. This book offers a framework for understanding institutional racism. It provides practical suggestions, tools, examples, and advice on how white people can intervene in interpersonal and organizational situations to work as allies for racial justice. Completely revised and updated, this expanded third edition directly engages the reader through questions, exercises, and...
read moreFallen Heroes of 2018
RIP Rest In Power There were thousands of organizers, activists and local social justice leaders around the world who died in 2018. People who may not have made the headlines, but did crucial work in their local communities. As we do every December, we bring you some of the voices and stories of our Fallen Heroes. Special thanks to Discover Nikkei. Like this program? Please show us the love. Click here and support our non-profit journalism. Thanks! Featuring: Dorothy Cotton, civil rights pioneer Aiko Herzig-Yoshinaga, researcher and Japanese...
read moreIn the Shadow of the Volcano: Guatemala’s Unequal Disaster
Fuego Volcano-Guatemala The Central American region and especially, the country of Guatemala, is vulnerable to numerous natural disasters – earthquakes, hurricanes, landslides, droughts and … volcanoes. Thousands of Guatemalans are still recovering from the effects of the eruption of a volcano called Fuego – Spanish for “fire” – which took place in the summer of 2018. In this report, Maria Martin, our special correspondent living in Guatemala, looks back at the disaster. Some people are calling it the...
read moreMichael Eric Dyson on Trump Truth and Race
Michael Eric Dyson America’s unwillingness to assess the ugly truth about systemic inequality has created a perpetual sinkhole of denial. A reality that existed long before Trump’s presidency. It’s AMERICA’s Legacy. On this edition, we hear from Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, professor of Sociology at Georgetown University, one of the nation’s most prominent public intellectuals, a frequent contributor to the New York Times, and an editor of The New Republic. Dr. Dyson recently penned, “What Truth Sounds Like: RFK, James Baldwin, and Our Unfinished...
read more70 Million – Reform Activists and a New DA Find Common Ground
70 Million Activists in Houston were galvanized by events in Ferguson in 2014 following the death of Michael Brown. First, they took to the streets in protest. Then they started organizing. Not long after, they found a kindred spirit in the most unlikely person: a candidate for the DA office. 70 Million reporter, Ruxandra Guidi, chronicles how activists and reformers are succeeding in cutting the jail population, diverting drug arrests, and increasing accountability for local police. { TRANSCRIPT BELOW } 70 Million is made...
read moreI Am Because I Am: The Expansion of Gender Identity
Transgender, Intersex and Non-Binary Identity I Am Because I Am, explores the expansion of gender identity and presumed roles in our society. A look beyond the socially constructed ideas of what is male, female, masculine or feminine. Especially considering Trump’s administration attempts to redefine gender to be solely based on a person’s genitalia at birth. Thus potentially threatening Transgender, Intersex and Non-Binary Identity. In this show we’ll ask the questions, what does it mean when individuals challenge specific societal...
read moreThe Response: Uneven Burns
Undocumented Amidst Fire Disasters On this episode, we look at the 2017 Tubbs Fire in California, and how it impacted the undocumented community. In the face of ICE raids, labor violations, a housing crisis, and wildfires, the broader community is standing in solidarity with those who are forced into the shadows. California’s drought has led to an unprecedented number of wildfires that burn hotter, faster, and ever more acreage. Governor Jerry Brown says, “Since civilization emerged 10,000 years ago, we haven’t had this kind...
read moreClimate Uprising: Indigenous Women at the Global Climate Action Summit
Indigenous Women Speak Their Truth On The Climate Crisis The climate emergency on Earth has become critical. So when California Governor Jerry Brown called for a Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco, Sept, 12-14 2018, people took to the streets to let the governor and attendees at the summit know they don’t want inadequate or false climate solutions, including cap and trade. Women, including frontline and Indigenous women activists, also made their views known in a powerful way at the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network...
read moreThe Response: Restoring Power in Puerto Rico
Defend Puerto Rico This week, we shine a spotlight on Puerto Rico— an island that’s struggled through political storms under colonizing forces, and storms that were quite literal and just as devastating. In September of 2017, Hurricane Maria ravaged Puerto Rico causing thousands of deaths and knocking out power for nearly a year. Many consider it to be the worst natural disaster in U.S. history. Further, the devastation worsened a debt crisis that has crippled public services for years. So residents of already-abandoned...
read moreThe X Factor in the Midterms
Midterms Matter! Are people in U.S. awakened to the importance of the rapidly approaching midterm election? With both Democrats and Republicans vying for control of the House and Senate, the majority party will have the advantage to pass their legislative agendas – producing outcomes that could hugely impact Trump’s presidency and the direction of the nation. On this episode of Making Contact, we speak with Dr. James Lance Taylor about the how the midterm elections actually work, and its significance in shaping our political...
read moreFossil Refusal: Local Models Not Global Markets
Despite the difficult picture painted by the news, there is hope for our planet. On this episode of Making Contact, we look at the ways people have already been organizing and what sort of new energy solutions exist for the future. We hear about two grassroots fights against the fossil fuel industry – one in Tacoma, Washington, where residents are fighting a natural gas facility called LNG, the other in Rodeo, California where people are fighting the expansion of a Phillip’s 66 refinery which is vying to accept tar sands oil. We...
read moreUnofficial Channels: Dialogue for Middle East Peace
Unofficial Channels: Dialogue for Middle East Peace Here’s a show from our archives 1998 –still apt today. Displaced from their land after the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, Palestinian people have been struggling for autonomy. Some are calling for an independent state. Disputes over land and resource allocations, and periodic flare-ups of violence, however, have complicated negotiations involving Palestinians and Israelis. Meanwhile, the Israeli government continues to develop new housing tracts on disputed territory. Over the past few...
read moreYour Home, Your Right… or My Business?
California’s fight over rent control. Access to affordable housing is an ongoing concern throughout the country. This week, Making Contact looks at California’s fight over rent control. The stage is set for a political battle between two polar world views. Is housing a human right, or is real estate property an investment commodity? And where on that continuum is California’s common ground? A statewide initiative, if approved, would allow local governments to create their own rent control laws. In this episode, we go to one of California...
read moreReproductive Justice from El Salvador to the U.S.
Got Abortion Rights? Hear from a woman who went to prison under El Salvador’s current abortion laws— some of the strictest in the world. And, one reproductive justice organization considers the future of reproductive health access under the US Supreme Court. Like this program? Please show us the love. Click here and support our non-profit journalism. Thanks! TRANSCRIPT for US-based segment is below. Photo Credit: Getty Images * Special Thanks to the Mary Wohlford Foundation for supporting our...
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