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Why focus on the normally under represented community of A.A.C. in the media?
As I prepare for my show for Making Contact on the public view of people who use A.A.C., I would like to comment on why covering the under represented A.A.C. community in the media is so important. People who use A.A.C., especially those who have both speech disabilities and mobility disabilities, are very marginalized in our society and thus do not get profiled in our media too much except when we are seen as victims or as doing something exceptional in spite of our disability. That is why the media should cover our community more, so the...
read moreWhat is Augmentative Alternative Communication?
Since I have a severe speech disability because of my cerebral palsy I cannot communicate effectively using my own oral voice and as result use an Augmentative Alternative Communication or A.A.C. device to communicate. An A.A.C. technology aid is any device, either electronic or non-electronic that is used to transmit or receive messages for those who cannot do so vocally. There are two types of A.A.C., low-tech and high-tech. For low-tech A.A.C. it is any communication aid that does not need batteries, electricity, or electronics to operate....
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 moreAll Around Cowboy: Inside the world of queer rodeo
Rodeo is a part of life for many Americans. But if you’re an LGBTQ rodeo fan participating in the sport you love can mean hiding part of who you are to fit in. But a tight knit group of queer cowboys has found a way to live the country and Western lifestyle in their own way. You don’t often hear the words “gay” and “rodeo” together. On this edition Producer Vanessa Rancaño brings us one bull rider’s story. Featuring: Jason Strand, bull rider Stud Monkey & David Grub, rodeo competitors Clint Coil, rodeo judge and Stud Monkey’s partner...
read moreSongs in the Key of Choice: Pop Music and Reproductive Justice
This story is part of a joint reporting project on reproductive rights in pop culture that includes Bitch Media, Feministing, and Making Contact. This work is part of a Media Consortium collaboration made possible in part by a grant from the Voqal Fund. {Special 11 min. piece, not whole radio program} 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 special interview, two reproductive justice advocates listen and discuss two songs: Nick...
read moreG.M.No!! Genetically Modified Democracy
This week’s program is part of What the Fork, a collaboration between Making Contact, Center for Media and Democracy/The Progressive Magazine, ALEC-Exposed and Food Democracy Now. Click here to go to the full project site. More than 60 countries either ban or require labeling on GMO foods; the US is not one of them. As GMO regulation moves to a local level, frustrated consumers and farmers are pushing for state or county regulations, but the seed and pesticide companies are fighting back. Today, we bring you a special episode...
read moreRad Dads!!!
Fathers…and mothers…on fatherhood and how it’s changing. Traditional ideas about what a dad is supposed to be are slowly disappearing, but what will take their place?
read moreGOALLLL! The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Side of the Beautiful Game
As Brazil prepares to host the 2014 soccer World Cup many are questioning the economic, environmental, and social cost of this sporting mega-event. From soccer ball manufacturing in Pakistan, to forced evictions in Brazil to make way for World Cup infrastructure, who wins, when the World Cup comes to town? On this edition of Making Contact, we take a closer look at the good, the bad, and the ugly side of the “beautiful game.” Featuring: Dave Zirin, author “Brazil’s Dance With the Devil: The World Cup, the Olympics, and the Fight for...
read moreSeeking Shelter: Building Housing and Community for LGBTQ Elders
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender seniors are much more likely than their straight counterparts to be alone and isolated as they age. Housing and support for these elders is a growing need–and the issue is not confined to the United States. On this edition, we’ll visit Jakarta Indonesia, and Los Angeles, California, to hear stories of building housing and community for LGBTQ seniors.
read moreBehind the Kitchen Door: Restaurant Workers’ Fight for Justice
Americans eat out more than any other people. But the workers who put food on our restaurant tables are struggling to feed themselves and their families. On this edition, Saru Jayaraman, co-director of the Restaurant Opportunities Centers United and author of “Behind the Kitchen Door” makes the case for bringing justice to our restaurants, and how ordinary diners can help.
read moreReclaiming the Commons
From pedestrian plazas to pop-up-parklets…cities are looking to create spaces for people to gather, interact and create. But are some people being left out of this new urban renaissance? This week: from Detroit, to Montreal, to Istanbul, people are reclaiming the commons. How do we create public spaces that are embracing and inclusive? Featuring: Susan Silberberg, MIT lecturer in Urban Design and Planning in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning, Founder and Managing Director of CivicMoxie, LLC...
read moreOur Bodies, Our Stories: Reproductive Health Behind Bars
Pregnant women in America’s prisons are being shackled to their beds; others are being sterilized. Correctional institutions claim the policies are for safety’s sake, but thousands of incarcerated people are fighting for control of their own reproductive health.
read moreWords vs. Bars: How Prison Poets Escape
Locked up for month, years, or decades, poetry is form of self-expression that’s become vital to the incarcerated. In Prison, Poetry can keep you sane, and help you move towards a better future. To mark National Poetry Month, we bring you a special production by the Prison Poetry Workshop. We go from California’s San Quentin prison, to a group of Alabama prison poets. And we’ll meet a legendary prison poet of the 1960’s who helped spark a literary movement. Featuring: Andrew Gazzeny, San Quentin prisoner poet Etheridge Knight, formerly...
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 moreThe Non-Violent Path of Cesar Chavez
Cesar Chavez has made it to the big screen. Millions of people are now learning about the legendary farmworker organizer. But where did Chavez get his organizing philosophies? This week, Paul Ingles and Carol Boss of Peacetalks radio take us down ‘The Non-Violent path of Cesar Chavez’, through conversations with Chavez’ colleague and friend Delores Huerta, and Jose Antonio Orozco, author of the book, Cesar Chavez and the Common Sense of Nonviolence. Featuring: Cesar Chavez, United Farm Workers co-founder Delores Huerta, United Farm...
read moreSounding the Alarm: Noise Pollution
Noise pollution is a growing problem. Effecting everything from the lives of people living under airplane flight paths, to marine life. On this edition, we’ll hear from people struggling to be heard over the din of our noisy modern life and ask, is there anywhere left in the world you can get some peace and quiet? Featuring Les Blomberg, Noise Pollution Clearing House executive director Bernie Krause, Wild Sanctuary founder Gordon Hempton, One Square Inch of Silence founder Professor John Hildebrand, Scripps Institute of Oceanography Miyoko...
read moreStuck in the Bluff
Needle exchange programs began springing up in the 1980’s during the AIDS crisis. Countless lives have been saved by providing IV drug users with clean needles. But even now, with hundreds of programs across the US and throughout the world, some states still view distributing needles as illegal. This week, WABE reporter Jim Burress takes us to ‘The Bluff’, a neighborhood in Atlanta where a needle exchange program—breaking the law every day– has become a vital part of a struggling community. See the entire story package...
read moreEncore presentation: Into Eternity
The nation of Finland is building an underground cave, to hold thousands of tones of nuclear waste, for at least 100 thousand years. We hear excerpts of the film, “Into Eternity”, which explores the logistical and philosophical quandries around the construction of something that if it works, might very well outlast the entire human race.
read moreMotherhood by Choice not Chance
Before it was legal in the United States, some doctors would risk arrest to provide women with access to safe abortions. When that wasn’t possible, some sought abortions from unsafe providers, often with deadly consequences. The Supreme Court legalized abortion in 1973, and the numbers of people dying after having an abortion dropped, but are we now seeing a return to the past? On this edition, what can the time before abortion was legal tell us about the dangers of restricting access to abortion today? We’ll hear a special radio adaption of...
read moreWomen Rising #24—Activist Women of Greenpeace
We profile women of Greenpeace, the legendary eco-activist organization. Hettie Geenan is first mate on the Greenpeace ship, Rainbow Warrior. Leila Deen leads the campaign against fracking. And Laila Williams connects Greenpeace with indigenous communities, women’s groups and people of color. Happy International Women’s Day March 8th! Featuring: Leila Deen, Greepeace Senior Campaigner Hettie Geenen, First Mate on the Rainbow Warrior Laila Wiiams, Ruckus Society program associate Host: Sandina Robbins Contributing Producer and...
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