Giving Bayard Rustin His Flowers (Encore)
Today, we continue celebrating Black history and heritage with a special encore episode honoring an often forgotten civil rights leader. We take a look at the life and legacy of Bayard Rustin, a central figure in the and organizer of the 1963 March on Washington. Rustin was a trusted advisor to labor leader A. Phillip Randolph and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Rustin’s methodology for challenging racial inequality and imperialism...
The Rest of the Story: Indigenous Resistance
In this episode, we revisit two stories concerning indigenous rights we’ve covered in the past. In the first half, Rebecca Nagle joins us to discuss the Supreme Court decision to uphold the Indian Child Welfare Act and why the legitimacy of the law is so important to tribal sovereignty. We also talk about the right’s legal strategy in the last few decades and what that means for decisions at the Supreme Court. In the...
September 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...
A Thin Black Line: Press Freedom, Repression, and Surveillance
Making Contact · A Thin Black Line: Press Freedom, Repression, and Surveillance Journalists have been violently targeted by police and arrested alongside demonstrators at Black Lives Matter protests across the country. In this episode we’ll look at the struggle for press freedoms during a time of repression and surveillance. Image Caption: “A U.S. Park Service Police Officer takes video of spectators observing an incident...
Ghosts of the Korean War: Stop THAAD (Encore)
On this encore addition of Making Contact, we head to Soseongri, a small village nestled in the mountains of Seongju County. There, grandmas and grandpas in the 70s, 80s, and 90s have gone from quietly farming to organizing daily protests and blockades to stop THAAD. THAAD is part of a missile defense system that gives the U.S. the ability to carry out a nuclear first strike. The region has historically been Korea’s...
Ghosts of the Korean War: Stop THAAD
On this edition of Making Contact, Part 2 of our Korea series by producer Marie Choi, we head to Soseongri, a small village nestled in the mountains of Seongju County. There, grandmas and grandpas in their 70s, 80s, and 90s have gone from quietly farming to organizing daily protests and blockades to stop THAAD. THAAD is part of a missile defense system that gives the U.S. the ability to carry out a nuclear first strike. The region has...
Liberation Theology: A March to Freedom
Liberation Theology: A March to Freedom explores the conceptual framework of “liberation theology” — a branch of Theology developed by Catholics and Christians looking to examine the church’s role in society, to address the socio-political and economic realities of the oppressed. We will examine why Liberation Theology, with its focus on political activism and resistance, is resonating with communities hungry for...
#BlackLivesMatter: Alicia Garza on the Origins of a Movement
Black Lives Matter. This simple phrase has become the motto of a growing movement calling for true justice and equalty for black people. Alicia Garza, co-founder of Black Lives Matter, first typed out those three words back in 2013. In March of 2015, Alicia Garza visited the University of Southern Maine to tell the story of how Black Lives Matter came to be, and express her hopes for where it’s headed. We hear her speech. Featuring:...
