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Beyond Recognition: The Ohlone (Encore)
Making Contact · Beyond Recognition: The Ohlone (Encore) Beyond Recognition: The Ohlone Our radio adaptation and update of the film Beyond Recognition by Underexposed films: “After decades struggling to protect her ancestors’ burial places, a Native woman from a non-federally recognized Ohlone tribe and her allies occupy a sacred site to prevent its desecration. They then vow to follow a new path- to establish the first women-led urban Indigenous land trust.” Thanks to the Christensen Fund for supporting Making...
read more70 Million: Where Juvenile Detention Looks More Like Hanging Out
Making Contact · 70 Million: Where Juvenile Detention Looks More Like Hanging Out There’s a place in rural St. Johns, Arizona, where teens who have encounters with officers of the law can play pool, make music, and get mentored instead of going to jail. It’s called The Loft, and it’s the brainchild of a judge who wanted to save the county hundreds of millions of dollars and divert young people towards the support many were not getting at home. Image Caption: Paul Hancock, Hannah Wilkinson and Victor Chavez stand in front of basketball...
read moreCalls for pitches: Puerto Rico & Energy, and Seawalls
PUERTO RICO AND ENERGY Making Contact is looking for a local freelancer living in Puerto Rico (also open to diasporic Puerto Ricans who want to produce a story!) who is proficient in radio for a piece about the power grid in Puerto Rico and the fight for community owned energy. We would love to talk about the purchase of the power grid by Luma Energy and what this means for local communities fighting for microgrids and other adaptable and renewable energy sources, especially as the effects of climate change worsen. We especially want to...
read moreA History of Traditional Root Healing
Making Contact · A History of Traditional Root Healing In some parts of the world, traditional herbal remedies are the norm. When we think of natural remedies we tend to think of older generations living in remote areas, in far away countries, with little access to modern healthcare. We rarely think about the ancient medicinal plants that might exist in our very own cities. On today’s episode we look at plant and herb medicines through the lens of Michele Elizabeth Lee the author of Working The Roots: Over 400 Years of...
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Whew! What an unbelievable year: global pandemic, uprisings for racial justice, climate emergency. Through it all we have worked hard to bring you the stories of communities committed to change. This year we explored the impact of COVID in prisons, of attacks on journalists in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, of community organizers leading the way in responding to climate change, of the voices of communities of color on election night. For more than 25 years, we’ve made it our mission to produce social justice journalism — journalism that...
read moreRe:Work Radio. Trafficked, the Journey of Lester Ramos (ENCORE)
Making Contact · Re:Work Radio: Trafficked, the Journey of Lester Ramos Like this program? Please support our work. Click here and support our non-profit journalism. Thanks! Labor Trafficking: One of the most common forms of trafficking is labor trafficking: compelling people to work through fraud, force, or coercion. The International Labor Organization estimates 20.1 million people are trapped in forced labor globally, in industries including agriculture, construction, domestic work, and manufacturing. Who does this happen to? And...
read moreU.S. Anti-Torture History After 9/11
Making Contact · U.S. Anti-Torture History After 9/11 In today’s program, we turn our attention to the history of torture in the U.S. since the 9/11 attacks. Sociology professor Lisa Hajjar traces the post-9/11 history of torture through the victories and defeats, and to the ways in which torture and the fight against it have altered the legal terrain on torture, not only in the United States, but potentially on a global scale. Image Caption: “Equal Justice Under Law” & Black Hood & Orange Jumpsuit, Outside The...
read more70 Million: How Black Women Are Rightfully “Taking Seats at the Table”
Making Contact · 70 Million: How Black Women Are Rightfully “Taking Seats at the Table” Nearly one in two Black women in the US have a loved one who has been impacted by our prison system. Many become de facto civilian experts as a result. Some rise to lead as catalysts for change. And now, scores of Black women are joining the ranks—as officers of the court, police, and judges—to manage and advance a system that has had such an outsized impact on their lives. On today’s episode we look at the many ways Black women are leading...
read moreBut Next Time Part 2: From the Ashes
Making Contact · But Next Time Part 2: From the Ashes As fires ravaged California’s world-famous wine country in 2017, a community radio station, emergency dispatcher, and tenant organizers helped the most vulnerable in their community survive and recover. Continue delving into community-rooted responses to disaster in California, from the fires to the pandemic. You’ll hear about how people banded together to build mutual aid networks, translate emergency messages in Spanish and indigenous languages, and disseminate crucial...
read moreBut Next Time Part 1: Toward the Fire
Making Contact · But Next Time Part 1: Toward the Fire As fires ravaged California’s world-famous wine country in 2017, a community radio station, emergency dispatcher, and tenant organizers helped the most vulnerable in their community survive and recover. Community organizers and hosts of the podcasts But Next Time Chrishelle Palay and Rose Arrieta bring us the first of four stories of hard-won lessons learned from people on the frontlines of California’s wildfires and Texas’ storms as they work to answer the question, how can...
read moreA More Perfect Union: Latinos, Minority Majorities, and Redistricting
Making Contact · A More Perfect Union: Latinos, Minority Majorities, and Redistricting How will major demographic shifts affect redistricting in 2021? According to the U.S. Census, Asian American & Pacific Islander and Latino populations grew significantly in some parts of country, while the white population decreased for the first time. Whites are still the largest racial group in the country. Nationally, Latinos grew to over 18% of the total population, and are now the second largest ethnic group in the U.S. In California, the...
read moreA transition for Making Contact
From the Board of Making Contact — Today we are writing to formally share the news that Making Contact’s Executive Director Sonya Green is stepping down from her position at the end of September. Since June 2020, Sonya has been an incredible leader during incredibly difficult times. She has forged new partnerships, exceeded our annual fundraising goals, and worked to strengthen and professionalize our internal operations. She has been at the forefront of our push to do more coverage of racial justice, and she has always worked to...
read moreFarewell and Thank You!
Written by: Sonya Green Saying Goodbye Is Never Easy, But It’s Time September 30, 2021 marks my last official day at Making Contact. Fifteen months ago I accepted and started this position in a pandemic. And as I leave it, we are still in a pandemic. I led Making Contact through an intense, historic year when COVID-19 and uprisings for racial justice and equity added even more weight to my role as a leader. I am grateful for the opportunity. I am appreciative of the staff, board of directors, the former Executive Director, funders, and...
read moreBlack Women In History
Making Contact · Black Women In History Ever since the first Africans were brought to North America on cargo ships, Black women have helped build America. While Black women have played a critical role in the development of the nation, their stories have been mostly overlooked. In the new book, A Black Women’s History of the United States, historians Daina Ramey Berry PhD and Kali Nicole Gross honor the many significant contributions of Black women who have worked tirelessly to build this country and fight for social justice in the face...
read moreIt’s Magic: Birth Justice and Black Maternal Health
Making Contact · It’s Magic: Birth Justice and Black Maternal Health Black women are three times as likely as White women to die from pregnancy-related complications. Yet according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, two-thirds of pregnancy-related deaths are preventable when people seek treatment after recognizing the warning signs. Care from doulas and midwives has also been shown to greatly improve women’s health and well-being during pregnancy and childbirth. Through the work and birth stories of midwife, Allegra...
read moreSeptember 11th 20 Years Later: Surveillance, Policing, and Torture
Making Contact · September 11th 20 Years Later: Surveillance, Policing, and Torture September 11th, 2021 marks the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the United States. In today’s program, we turn our attention not to the tragedy of 9/11 itself, but to 9/11 as an inflection point in U.S. culture and policy in two areas: domestic surveillance in the form of fusion centers, and the government and public regard of the use of torture in the War on Terror. The Dept of Homeland Security created secretive spy centers across the U.S. in...
read moreLife During COVID
Making Contact · Life During COVID The COVID 19 pandemic has transformed all of our lives in some way. But some are feeling the impacts more than others. Take healthcare workers, for example: As the United States surpasses 38 million COVID-19 cases and 637,000 deaths as of August 28th, 2021, many healthcare workers continue to be overloaded by caring for COVID-19 patients. Globally, COVID-19 has presented unique challenges, leading to increased mental health issues among healthcare workers. Others are feeling the impacts while struggling to...
read moreFrontline East LA: The Chicano Moratorium 50 Years Later (Encore)
Making Contact · Frontline East LA: The Chicano Moratorium 50 Years Later (Encore) Fifty-one years ago, 30,000 mostly Chicanos peacefully protested the disproportionate number of Latinos dying on the frontlines in Vietnam. They came from across the country to also protest substandard education, racism, police violence, and other issues negatively affecting Latinos. What started out as a peaceful march ended with an attack by riot-clad police, 400 arrests, and the deaths of four people, one of whom was Los Angeles Times journalist Rubén...
read moreThe Response: The Fight for Justice after the Grenfell Tower Fire
Making Contact · The Response: The Fight for Justice after the Grenfell Tower Fire On June 14, 2017, a fire started in a 24-story public housing apartment in West London called Grenfell Tower. The fire raged all night and reduced the building to a shell. Seventy-two people lost their lives, making the Grenfell Tower fire the United Kingdom’s deadliest disaster since World War II. In this episode, we examine the events that led up to the Grenfell Tower fire and learn how the community has responded through the voices of survivors, their...
read more70 Million: A Special Court Keeping Native Americans out of Jail
Making Contact · 70 Million: A Special Court Keeping Native Americans out of Jail Kirsten made her way out of jail and addiction with the help of a special court on the Penobscot Nation reservation in Maine. There, culture and justice work together to bypass traditional punitive measures for more restorative ones. Reporter Lisa Bartfai visits the Healing to Wellness Court to see how it all works. Image Caption: Courtroom chairs set up in a circle for a Healing to Wellness session. Photo by Greta Rybus. Like this program? Please...
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