Latest Episodes
We are proud to offer over 500 radio programs free of charge. We offer our program to radio stations and online listeners free of charge, so that these voices and stories of social justice can reach the broadest audience possible.
We depend on support from individuals like you to be able to produce our programs. If you listen regularly and like what you hear, please consider making a donation. Thank you!
Making it Our Business: Co-ops on the Rise
The global economic situation is causing more people to consider worker owned businesses. We go from Chicago, where workers are trying to take over the factory to save their jobs, to the Basque country in Spain, where an entire region has formed a massive co-operative society.
read moreBuying Power: Corporate Money in Politics
The Tea Party has come a long way, but who’s really behind it? On this edition: how some of America’s largest corporations are using grassroots movements to influence law makers. We hear excerpts from Taki Oldham’s documentary “The Billionaires’ Tea Party” and learn more about the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).
read moreDrones: A New Death From Above – Medea exclusive
Highlights from an interview with Medea Benjamin. Interview conducted by Making Contact’s Lisa Rudman and Salima Hamirani– June 20, 2012, Hear the full show, “Drones: A New Death from Above.”
read moreDrones: A New Death From Above
We bring you voices from Pakistan of families destroyed by drone strikes. And, we hear from Medea Benjamin and other activists working to build a global movement against this controversial military technology, which accelerated after 9/11.
read moreBeing Black and Green: African-Americans & the Environment ENCORE
African-Americans are helping to lead the environmental movement. We take you to a resettlement community in North Carolina, sustainable farms in Wisconsin and a local bike ride in California, where local black leaders are changing the color of environmentalism.
read moreReturning Fire: Interventions in Video Game Culture
Interactive, realistic, pro-war video games have become part of American culture. But protestors and artists are finding ways to turn the virtual world into a place where the military hero narrative can be questioned. On this edition, we hear excerpts from the movie Returning Fire: Interventions in Video Game Culture, written and directed by Roger Stahl.
read moreUndue Influence: the power of Police and Prison Guards’ Unions
Police officers and prison guards hold tremendous political sway. Their advocacy for better pay, more power, and more jobs has been a major factor in the expansion of the prison industrial complex. Now that system is changing. Can law enforcement unions change as well?
read moreLessons of Nagasaki
The US dropped the world’s first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan on August 6, 1945. Three days later, Nagasaki also fell victim. On this edition, we commemorate the anniversary of the bombings with excerpts from two documentaries, Hiroshima Countdown and Nagasaki Journey
read moreThe Struggle for Libya’s Future
Reese Erlich brings us a special report from Libya on the chaos that remains in the wake of the overthrow of hated dictator Muammar Gaddafi. While the west proclaimed a great victory for so-called “humanitarian military intervention,” armed militias once allied with the US and NATO now attack government offices and engage in extortion rackets.
read moreThe Olympic Games: Who wins?
The Olympic Games have grown into a multibillion dollar industry. But with that growth comes concerns about the negative effects of the event on the people and places where the Games take place. We ask who wins, and who loses, when the Olympics come to town? We take you to Vancouver, London, and Denver — the only city to ever turn down the Olympics.
read moreBan the Box! The Campaign for Post-Prison Employment ENCORE
It’s not even the crime that counts sometimes. It’s that little box on an application that asks you to reveal if you have a criminal history. Checking that box can mean the difference between failure and success. We look at the nationwide movement to ‘ban-the-box’, and make criminal histories less of a stigma.
read moreAngela Davis and Tim Wise: Capitalism, Privatization and Hope
Anti-racist author Tim Wise examines how society is being divided and conquered on the basis of race and class. But legendary activist Angela Davis says we must not give up hope. On this edition, Davis and Wise discuss privatization, the economy, and other critical issues of our times.
read morePrison Crisis: Local Solution?
The United States imprisons more people than any other country. In California a new policy called ‘realignment’ aims to reduce the number of people in state prison. Could the incarceration nation finally be slowing down?
read morePopulation Control or Population Justice?
Shrinking the world’s population is one way to curb global warming, according to some environmentalists. To make that happen, women need more control of their own fertility. But those perspectives are controversial. Can a movement for ‘population justice’ save our planet while respecting women’s rights?
read moreArundhati Roy: Jungles of Resistance
Renowned Indian author Arundhati Roy takes us deep into the revolutionary-filled jungles of India, as she reads excerpts from her new book ‘Walking with the Comrades’.
read moreObama 2012: The Lesser Evil?
Barack Obama’s first term has been a disappointment for many, and leaves open the question for those with a progressive agenda—is voting for Obama in 2012 the best route to take? We hear excerpts of a panel discussion titled “The 2012 Elections: Lesser Evil or Left Alternative?”
read moreSeeking Justice and Police Accountability in Jamaica ENCORE
On the second anniversary of the 2010 uprisings, this special documentary looks at police violence in Jamaica. In May 2010 a government crackdown left 73 people dead and a city in chaos. Their families continue to fight for justice and accountability, despite Jamaica’s long record of police violence and government corruption.
read morePoisoned Water, Fossil Fuels
The endless search for fossil fuels is polluting our waterways, and our water supplies. The fight to protect clean drinking water is motivating Americans to take action. But with regulatory agencies in the pocket of industrial polluters, will it be enough and will it be too late?
read moreFarming Underwater: Steve Mello’s Story
Farmer Steve Mello has put down roots in “The Delta” in central California. But climate change is threatening the levees which protect Delta farms. Can we defend our farms from the impacts coming with climate change?
read moreMexico’s Drug War: The Politics of Violence
On this edition, political science professor David Shirk sheds light on the history and politics of the war on drugs in Mexico. And, an emerging movement in Mexico points to how both Mexicans and Americans can play a role in creating change.
read more