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The Sound of Change: Hip Hop in Cuba
We hear about hip-hop and change in Cuban society, and what people on the ground are saying about new phases in the Cuban revolution.
read moreWhose Water? The Struggle for Public Ownership of Freshwater
We go to Michigan, where from the city of Detroit, to the farmlands and countryside, citizens are battling to gain greater control over the bounty of the great lakes.
read moreMarching for Change: Street Bands in the U.S.
We look at how political marching bands are stirring up public spaces; from the streets, to supermarkets to your Facebook feed.
read moreThe Life and Death of the Infernal Noise Brigade
While there are now dozens of street bands around the country and abroad, one from Seattle is known to have been an inspiration. The Infernal Noise Brigade debuted at the Seattle WTO protests in 1999.
read moreStreet Bands Bring Protest to the Internet through Flash Mobs
Some marching bands are getting more creative about making a political spectacle, by becoming the protest themselves, and using the internet to make their message viral. Making Contact’s Pauline Bartolone knows all about it. Her roommates are in a band called the Brass Liberation Orchestra in San Francisco.
read moreMarching to the Beat of their Own Drums
Marching bands from North Carolina to Portland, Oregon are bringing humor, politics, and a unique sound to the streets – many of them with a message of social justice. Once a year, many of these street bands travel to Massachusettes for the Honk Festival. Sarah Danson has more about the festival, and the historical and political traditions that fuel their music.
read moreChile’s 9/11 [Encore]
![Chile’s 9/11 [Encore]](https://i0.wp.com/focmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/raiz2.jpg?resize=184%2C146&ssl=1)
On September 11th, 1973, a US-backed military junta toppled Chilean president Salvador Allende. We bring you a story about a group of Chilean exiles in the US who transform their experience of terror into artistic expression.
read moreWorking Beyond Unions [Labor Day Special Encore]
![Working Beyond Unions [Labor Day Special Encore]](https://i0.wp.com/focmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/2410show.jpg?resize=184%2C184&ssl=1)
It’s been decades since the U.S. has had a powerful labor movement and recent efforts to revive it have mostly fallen flat. But there is hope for a new labor movement that goes beyond the unions.
read moreDue to Economic Concerns, Gulf Coast Residents Still Support Big Oil
Many of those most closely affected by the devastation of the gulf spill are, in fact, not calling for any change at all.
read moreBeyond BP: A Future Without Oil
We go to the gulf coast to hear why, despite the dangerous and deadly consequences, locals aren’t ready to turn their backs on the oil industry. What does that mean for the rest of us, as we pursue a future free of fossil fuels?
read moreTurning Farm Workers into Farm Owners
It’s ironic that the workers caring for and picking our food, have the least say about how the farms themselves are run. But a non-profit organization in Central California is working to change that, with a dynamic program that turns farm workers into farm operators and owners.
read moreA Waste-Free Dairy of the Future?
With increased focus on cattle waste methane emissions as a factor in climate change, the dairy industry is facing intense scrutiny. Making Contact’s Rita Daniels takes us to one sustainable California dairy farm where solutions are being found… and where waste makes all things possible.
read moreDry Farming–a Technique for a Water Scarce Future
The availability of water is a growing issue in California. And a handful of farmers are finding new ways to make every last drop count. “Making Contact” correspondent Joaquin Palomino visited the nearby Central Coast growing region.
read moreSmall Farms, Big Future
We go to California, America’s leading producer of fruits, vegetables, and dairy, to see some examples of how the nation’s agricultural industry is slowly but surely moving away from factory farms.
read moreHow We Survive: Getting Creative About Jobs
We look at how the unemployed are getting creative about making ends meet, from starting their own businesses to work-sharing.
read moreCompanies Choose Shared-Work Program Over Layoffs
Instead of laying a few people off during a downturn in business, companies can choose to decrease the hours of all of their employees, and government provided, partial unemployment benefits can help make up for the rest. In Connecticut, more than 500 companies have gone the work-share route. Correspondant Melinda Tuhus has more.
read moreBay Area Non-Profits Help Create Jobs by Supporting Micro-Enterprise
Despite Obama’s words of support of small business, experts say some aren’t relying on government, but more and more on community groups and micro-lenders. That’s what Making Contact correspondent Li Lovett found, talking to micro-entrepreneurs in the San Francisco Bay Area.
read moreThe Crisis in Public Education – An Hour-Long Special
On this special one-hour edition of Making Contact, we’ll hear who bears the burden of budget cuts to education, and the driving forces behind them.
read moreNo ‘Fracking’ Way: The Perils of Natural Gas Drilling
We’ll hear excerpts from the movie “Gasland,” and from locals from people who are trying to prevent the toxic fallout from ‘fracking’ before it starts.
read moreIn Absence of Federal Regulation,
Locals Challenge Fracking
Reporter Rachel Zurer has more on citizen initiatives to stop the negative impacts of hydraulic fractures — ideally, before they even start.
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