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Being a plus-size woman and model
I am a plus-size model and have been modeling since 2010. The words plus-size and full-figured are interchangeable – both mean a person of fuller size, with curves, that wears clothing size 12 and up. After volunteering as assistant for a designer in a fashion show, I wanted to make a change in my life and improve my self-esteem. Since then I have modeled in magazines, various events, runway shows, gained the title as Ms. Oakland Plus America, and have learned how to love and honor my body and my whole self. Even though I am more...
read moreShh! Life in a State of Surveillance
Who’s watching you? Nowadays it seems everyone wants to get their hands on our personal data. From the FBI to the welfare department, to some of the country’s biggest retailers. On this edition, we take a closer look at the world of surveillance. Featuring Hasan Elahi, artist and Associate Professor at the University of Maryland Charles Duhigg, New York Times journalist and author of “The Power of Habit” Jodie Berger, public benefits lawyer John Gilliom, Professor of Political Science at Ohio University Kaaryn Gustafson, welfare...
read moreNot My War: The Military Deserters’ Dilemma
You make our radio programs possible! Please make a generous donation today. More than 150,000 people sign up for the US military every year. Their reasons for joining vary widely, from those hoping for financial help through college, to others looking to follow in the footsteps of parents or grandparents. In recent years getting into the military has gotten harder, with criminal records and low academic scores proving the biggest barriers. As hard as getting into the military might be, getting out may be harder still. On this edition...
read moreConcussions: Your Brain or the Game?
They say a smart athlete will use their head. But what if using your head cost you everything? That’s a question being asked in locker rooms the world over. Whether it’s boxing, hockey, or soccer, it seems that head injuries are finally being taken seriously. In the United States, lawsuits brought by players, as well as a body of scientific evidence, has lead to growing awareness about the impact American football has on players’ brains. And now a similar debate has kicked off across the Atlantic among players and fans of...
read morePesticides on the Playground
Is your children’s schoolyard routinely sprayed with pesticides? How safe your children are might depend on where you live. Today we hear about how and why one pesticide has been banned for household use, but affects the health of farmworkers and their children. Children’s health is especially fragile–so why aren’t we protecting them? Featuring: Kim Harley, UC Berkeley Center for Environmental Research and Children’s Health, associate director Isabel Arrollo, El Quinto Sol de America organizer...
read moreThe Ten A.A.C. Commandments
So as I come to a close of my Storytelling Fellowship with Making Contact I am thankful for the great experience I had with the program staff on making my radio piece. As part of my fellowship I was able to record my first rap song with an A.A.C. twist on it. It is over a familiar Biggie beat. Here it is: If you like my song be sure to tune in to listen to my radio segment about the public’s perception of people who use A.A.C. airing on Making Contact next month. It will be a great show for everyone to listen to.
read moreAll the Presidents’ Bankers
Nomi Prins, journalist and a former managing director of Goldman Sachs, discusses her book All the Presidents’ Bankers, the hidden alliances that drive American power. Prins retraces the relationship between American financiers and presidents stretching more than a century. From family friends, trusted confidants to the present day; how the relationship has deteriorated and presidents have lost control of the economy. Special thanks to Pirate TV for the original recording from June 17, 2014. Featuring: Nomi Prins , journalist and...
read moreShow Transcript-Chlorpyrifos: Banned for Most Americans
The pesticide chlorpyrifos was banned for household use over a dozen years ago, but it is still widely applied in agriculture. We’ll explore the health risks for children, especially in farmworking communities, in this report. Li Miao Lovett produced this report with a grant from the Fund for Investigative Journalism, in collaboration with Making Contact’s Andrew Stelzer. Click here to listen to the show Show Transcript: Li Lovett(reporter): In a research lab in Salinas, California, 13-year-old Brian Jimenez-Gomez is...
read moreChlorpyrifos: Banned for Most Americans, Farmworkers & Their Children Left Behind
The pesticide chlorpyrifos was banned for household use over a dozen years ago, but it is still widely applied in agriculture. We’ll explore the health risks for children, especially in farmworking communities, in this report. Featuring: Kim Harley, University of California, Berkeley professor and associate director of the Center for Environmental Research & Children’s Health Isabel Arrollo, El Quinto Sol de America organizer Jennifer Sass, Natural Resources Defense Council senior scientist Tracey Brieger,...
read moreYa Basta: How Zapatismo has influenced the US
The Zapatistas are a group in the southern state of Chiapas, Mexico working to bring democracy to their country and their local communities. 20 years after their founding, the group’s influences has spread far beyond Mexico’s border through music and art. On this edition of Making Contact producer Alejandro Rosas explores how Zapatismo has influenced those in the U.S. –including himself. Special thanks to Claire Schoen and the University of California Berkeley, School of Journalism. Featuring: Hector Flores, Las Cafeteras member...
read moreCall for Radio Pitches: Fossil Fuels, Squatters, Minimum Wage, Women’s Bodies and Voting
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, climate change, reproductive health, and the environment. Divestment from Fossil Fuels We’re looking for stories about students putting pressure on colleges and universities to cut financial ties with the oil and gas industry; as well as other government bodies and private organizations making similar...
read moreScorched Earth: The Legacy of Agent Orange
Combat, chemicals, and corporations; a special program in honor of Agent Orange Day. We’ll look at the multigenerational legacy of Agent Orange — a toxic defoliant used by the United States military in the jungles of Vietnam.
read moreCome raise your voice at Making Contact’s National Poetry Slam Social Justice Open Mic
Have a poem about prison reform, gentrification LGBTQ rights, women’s right to choose or other crucial social justice issues? We want to hear it! Making Contact has partnered with the National Poetry Slam to produce this special open mic highlighting the power of thoughtful, truth telling, community focused poetry. We’re producing a radio show on the social justice power of writing that will be heard on over 140 stations around the country. We’ll be recording this event and interviewing selected poets to be featured on the show...
read moreMy Krip-Hop Performance: Insights of a Spoken Word Artist Who Use A.A.C.
Two weeks ago I had the privilege to perform in the Krip-Hop Nation Bay Area Mini-Tour that honored Bay Area musical pioneer, Joe Capers. Joe Capers was a talented musical producer from Oakland who was blind and worked with the likes of MC Hammer and En Vogue when they were starting out in their careers. Leroy Moore, also a co-founder of Sins Invalid, organized this Mini-Tour together bringing together artists with disabilities from all around the world to perform. I was delighted to perform alongside emcees like Binkiwoi from Germany and...
read moreThe politics of speaking with an automated A.A.C. voice
As a person who has used an A.A.C. device for most of my life I have become used to speaking with a computerized, automated voice. So when I encounter people in public, they barely hear my natural voice since I cannot speak words eligibly due to my cerebral palsy. People then identify my voice with the voice of the A.A.C. device, which poses a few political and philosophical questions. For example, is my voice tied to A.A.C. technology and do others define my voice or do I do? My view of my A.A.C. devices are that they are tools that assist...
read moreA Talk with Samuel Sennott, Co-creator of Proloquo2go
A couple of weeks ago I had a pleasure and opportunity to interview Samuel Sennott, the co-creator of one of the first Augmentative Alternative Communication (A.A.C.) apps, Proloquo2Go. Mr. Sennott, an assistant professor at Portland State University, expounds upon in our interview how he entered the A.A.C. field, the story behind developing Proloquo2Go, and what he thinks the future of A.A.C. technology will be. Please view our Google Hangout On-Air video below:
read moreEmbracing the Elements: Curanderismo
Natural healing can take many forms. These days, the Latin American “curandera” is re-emerging in the US, after generations of going underground. On this edition, producer Erica Hellerstein takes us on a journey to identity through an ancient medicinal practice. Featuring: Lauren Villa, UC Berkeley Graduate Student Atava Swiecicki Garcia Healer Sandra Pacheco, Healer and Professor of Chicana Latina Indigenous Studies at the California Institute of Integral Studies Patricia Torres, owner of Mystical Collections Anna, Psychotherapist and...
read moreCheck out Lateef McLeod’s poem: “I am alright.”
This video illustrates how I communicate proficiently and effectively with an A.A.C. device. In the content of the poem “I am Alright” I also clearly define what I am capable of. This capacity that people who use A.A.C. have to lead full and productive lives is one of the main themes of my Making Contact radio segment in September. Here is a video of me reciting a poem on my iPad:
read moreAnnouncing Making Contact’s Community Storytelling fellows!
In keeping with our mission of covering important issues and helping community media makers tell their stories, Making Contact is pleased to announce it’s 1st class of Community Storytelling Fellows! Our inaugural class of fellows is Lateef McLeod, Aqueila M. Lewis and Rochelle Robinson. Lateef will began working with us now. Aquila will join us September and Rochelle will begin her project in January of 2015. Over the course of the next year, each fellow will work with the Making Contact team in our studio in downtown Oakland. This paid, 10...
read moreWomen Rising #25 Activists Against Global Armaments and War
We profile women fighting the expansion of global militarism and violence. Korean sister Stella Soh campaigns to save an UNESCO world heritage site from a planned military base. US activist Kathy Kelly founded Voices for Creative Nonviolence. And Brazilian Miriam Nobre works with the World March of Women. Featuring: Sister Stella Soh, Catholic Nun and activist with Save Jeju Island Kathy Kelly, Voices for Creative Nonviolence co-coordinator Miriam Nobre, Coordinator Of The International Secretariat Of The World March Of Women More...
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