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Fallen Heroes of 2014
Hundreds of social justice advocates and organizers passed away in 2014, leaving their work behind as their legacy, but often also leaving an irreplaceable hole in their movements. In this week’s edition of Making Contact you’ll hear about the life and work of social justice leaders, many who spent their entire lives fighting for racial and economic justice, and though they’ve passed away they inspire us to do our work today. Black Liberation activists like Chokwe Lumumba, Darby Tillis freed from wrongful conviction and...
read moreDivest! Pulling the plug on Fossil Fuels
Fossil fuels are a trillion dollar industry but environmentalists say they have a plan to pull the plug on the industry: divestment. The campaign to get institutions to end their investments in oil, gas, and coal companies has won supporters around the US and abroad. But is the strategy working? We hear from students in Boulder, Colorado who have been campaigning since 2012 and we hear about the close relationship between the oil industry and professional soccer. Featuring Jay Carmona, Community Divestment Campaign Manager for 350.org Ben...
read moreDeadly Divide: Moving photos show the human cost of border enforcement
https://focmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/deadly_divide_MP4_Small.m4v.mp4 Deadly Divide is a multimedia collaboration between Radio Producer Jasmin Lopez and Photographer Brandon Thibodeaux, with music by Diana Gameros, exploring the human cost of “prevention through deterrence,” a border enforcement strategy introduced during the Clinton administration. Click the box above to view the photo documentary. Click here to listen to the radio show. Artist Statement from photographer Brandon Thibodeaux It is easy to see how scaling...
read moreDeadly 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 documentary travels to the desert ranch lands of Brooks County and the border town of Reynosa, Tamaulipas to introduce...
read moreMaking Contact’s 20th Anniversary
Every week since January of 1995, Making Contact has been bringing you voices and perspectives from the grassroots…analysis of the larger structures driving our global economies…and solutions being created by people all over the world. On this special 20th program’s creation by volunteers, and how this little radio show became part of a new generation of media outlets that continues to both counter the mainstream, and transform our conception of who and what is considered newsworthy. Featuring: Dr. Julianne Malveaux, President...
read moreOakland 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. . . Kenneth Williams in Oakland talks about his reaction to the announcement. . Protesters in Oakland,...
read moreMigrant 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 developed this new policy were well aware that the effect would be to force border crossers into more remote and...
read moreWomen Rising 26: A Ride on the People’s Climate Train
In September of 2014, Women Rising radio rode the People’s Climate train coast to coast, with over 200 activists heading to New York City to join the largest climate change march in history. Featuring: Valerie Love, Center for Biological Diversity, No Tar Sands Campaigner Penny Opal Plant, Indigenous climate activist Lauren Wood, Utah’s Peaceful Uprising co-founder Teresa Jimenez, Urban Tithe organizer Shannon Biggs, Global Exchange Community Rights program director Rosalind Harris, Global Climate Justice Alliance Michael Brune, Sierra...
read moreRestorative 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. Featuring: Paul Jacobsen, Rosa Parks elementary school principal Mekaylah Porter, Marilyn, Rosa Parks elementary...
read moreIslamic 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 Iraq, this latest conflict, and the future of the region is tightly connected to the oil industry and...
read moreThese historical photos capture the fight for voting rights in the US.
As voters around the country head to the poles today we’re looking at the historical fight it took us to get here. Click the player below to listen to our show on the history of the Voting Rights Act while you scroll through the pictures. 1946 The District of Columbia delegation of the National Association of Colored Women joins delegates from across the country to picket the White House July 30 in response to the murders of four African Americans in Monroe, Georgia by a white mob days before. Courtesy of the D.C. Public Library...
read moreChanging Everything: Naomi Klein on Capitalism and Climate Change
Liked what you heard? We will send you her BOOK when you sign up as a NEW supporter. In her new book: “This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate”, Naomi Klein argues that while it’s too late to stop climate change, we can save our civilization. But it’s going to take radical steps that will transform the way humans interact with the world. Business as usual is no longer an option. On this edition, Naomi Klein speaks about her new book, and points out signs of hope as the global movement to counter climate change matures....
read moreCall for Pitches: Guns, Coffee, Long-term Care & Deepwater Horizon
We’re looking for pitches from freelancers on several themes. If you feel you have a story that fits or a new idea, please let us know! We’re also always interested in pitches on any of our regular beats: prisons, poverty, corporations’ undue influence, reproductive health, climate change and the environment. Currently we’re seeking pitches on these themes: Guns We’re looking for stories that bring new perspectives on guns and gun violence. These could be personal stories, for example, you could focus...
read moreThwarting Democracy, the Battle for Voting Rights
It’s election season! But 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. On this week’s show, we’ll hear about 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 Representative Clifford Kuhn, Professor of History at Georgia State University JT Johnson, civil rights organizer Allen Secher, rabbi...
read moreMy Farewell to My Storytelling Fellowship
It is time to say goodbye to my Story Telling Fellowship with Making Contact. I had amazing time producing the radio segment on changing the public’s perception of people who use Augmentative Alternative Communication (A.A.C.) with the Making Contact staff, most notably George Lavender and Kwan Booth. They both assisted me greatly in producing and marketing my radio segment and I owe them gratitude for the segment’s success. I am excited to share this radio segment with everyone and give more insight on the A.A.C. community. For the...
read moreBlowing the Whistle, Paying the Price
Heroes to many, traitors to some. The internet has put whistleblowers in the public eye, and the government’s crosshairs. With increased access to classified information, and the ability to spread it, the world’s biggest institutions are running scared and cracking down. On this week’s show, we hear about the whistleblowers we don’t see on the nightly news. They’re not named Manning or Snowden, they’re ordinary people who report wrongdoing at their place of employment, and pay the consequences. Kerry Klein...
read moreVoice Recognition
What do our voices say about us? On this edition we explore voice and identity. We’ll hear from someone who nearly lost their voice, the challenges that come with ordering a pizza with a speech generating device, and and how voice contributes to trans women’s sense of safety and of self. Featuring: Mya Byrne, singer-songwriter Kathe Perez, creator of EVA app Samuel Sennott, assistant professor of special education at Portland University Bob Segalman, author “Against the Current, My Life with Cerebral Palsy” April Bryant,...
read moreThe Power of Poetry
Making Contact partnered with the 2014 National Poetry Slam in Oakland, CA to produce this special open mic highlighting the power of thoughtful, truth telling, community focused poetry. Featuring Poets: Chris Cuadrado Lindsay Stone Jared Paul Caitlin Clark Queen T More information: http://nps2014.poetryslam.com Thanks to Dahled Jeffries, Maureen Benson and the staff of the National Poetry Slam. Listen to the full 2 hour open mic Photos from the...
read moreReflection by Aqueila M. Lewis
“Reflection” was written on April 29, 2014 during National Poetry Month. I love fairy tales and nursery rhymes. I was actually thinking of Snow White and the relationship she had with her wicked step mother. I also remember vividly seeing how the step mother’s only friend seemed to be her mirror. I switched it around and imagined what I saw when I looked into the mirror. And those images just came forth so I wrote about them: Aqueila M. Lewis is one of Making Contact’s 2014 Community Storytelling Fellows....
read moreHealthy Messages: Reproductive Health and Pop Culture
Want more programs like this? Click to donate here. One in three women will have an abortion in her lifetime, yet in pop culture accurate portrayals of real people s stories are rare. In this show we hear about representations of abortion and reproductive decision-making in popular culture, and why those stories really matter. Segment 1: In this special interview, two reproductive justice advocates listen and discuss two songs: Nick Cannon’s ‘Can I Live?’ and Nicki Minaj’s ‘Autobiography’, and ask: what messages are pop songs sending about...
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