Making Contact

As the fossil fuel industry works to turn the Pacific Northwest into a fossil fuel hub, a Thin Green Line stands in its way. Producer Barbara Bernstein's latest project, "Holding the Thin Green Line," explores how local communities are fighting the fossil fuel industry's push for massive fracked gas projects in Washington and Oregon. In part 1, we heard about plans to build the world's largest met...

What happens when a health insurance PublicRelations executive confronts the consequences of his spin? Dive into one man's odyssey from health insurance spin doctor to activist truth teller.

This show examines the feminist movement through the lens of period activism. We will look at aspects of women's health and social justice that are often overlooked - From period stigma to the unfair tax on feminine hygiene products and the fight to regulate and disclose ingredients in tampons and maxi pads.

Megafarms and oil & gas producers are some of the worst polluters in California's Central Valley. We'll hear how Valley residents are pushing back. But first, we go to Pine Ridge, South Dakota, where six Native American tribes are harnessing wind power to bring economic development to their members. And, author Naomi Klein talks about her latest book, On Fire.

Our radio adaptation of the film  Symbols of Resistance : A Tribute to the Martyrs of the Chicano Movement, offers a reflection on the untold stories of the Chicano Movement with a focus on Colorado and Northern New Mexico. Produced by Freedom Archives, the film delves into issues of cultural identity, student activism; land rights and social justice, in the face of police oppression.  

Our radio adaptation of the film  Symbols of Resistance : A Tribute to the Martyrs of the Chicano Movement, offers a reflection on the untold stories of the Chicano Movement with a focus on Colorado and Northern New Mexico. Produced by Freedom Archives, the film delves into issues of cultural identity, student activism; land rights and social justice, in the face of police oppression.

Tamiki Banks' life was turned upside down when her husband was arrested, leaving her the sole breadwinner and caregiver to their twins. More than two years later, she's still struggling, and he's still in custody, even though he hasn't been convicted of any crime. From Atlanta, Pamela Kirkland reports on the heavy burden women of color like Tamiki bear when a loved one is jailed.

Our radio adaptation 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. 

Women Rising Radio chronicles the rise of three different movements to advocate for immigrant rights in the USA, and to support immigrants and refugees over the border in Mexico. These movements are spearheaded by women. Dr. Satsuki Ina co-founded Tsuru for Solidarity; Serena Adlerstein co-created Never Again Action; and Devi Machete co-created the Hecate Society, helping migrants stuck at the Mex...

Despite the recent increase in mass shootings, the majority of gun injuries and deaths are in fact a result of suicides, homicides, and domestic violence. This documentary tells the story of one woman's DV experience, and how some Californians are working to prevent deadly shootings.

Special for Climate Week: Barbara Bernstein's story of communities in the Pacific Northwest of the United States who are fighting mammoth fracked gas projects that would turn this green region into a fracked-gas export hub. 

As the cost of insulin continues to skyrocket patients are dying from trying to ration their medication. It's an extreme example, but not unusual - the cost of insulin mirrors the broader health crisis in the United States. Medicine is too expensive and inaccessible. Today, we look at ways to combat health costs associated with diabetes. First, we visit a group of community scientists called the O...

Courtesy of the Decarcerated Podcast, host Marlon Peterson hosts a live conversation with Common Justice founder Danielle Sered.  Sered's New Book, Until We Reckon: Violence, Mass Incarceration, and a Road to Repair explores the difficult transformations we need to make — both as individuals and as a society — before we can displace and replace the prison industrial complex.   The interview took p...

Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools is an examination of the experiences of black girls across the country whose intricate lives are misunderstood, highly judged "by teachers, administrators, and the justice system "and degraded by the very institutions charged with helping them flourish. In her new book, Morris shows how, despite obstacles, stigmas, stereotypes, and despair, bl...

On this edition of  Making   Contact  we present, The Struggle Inside: The Murder of  George   Jackson , a program about the modern anti-prison movement. This year marks the 40th anniversary of Black August, first originated in the California prisons to honor fallen Freedom Fighters,  George  and Jonathan  Jackson , Khatari Gaulden, James McClain, and William Christmas.

Some call it "Paradise", but  Hawaii  isn't just a tourist getaway. Look beyond the resorts, and you'll find a history of opposition to US occupation. From sacred sites, to indigenous language, Hawaiians are fighting hard to protect their traditions, and their future. On this edition we hear excerpts from the 2012 film by Catherine Bauknight " Hawaii : A Voice for  Sovereignty ," which explores th...

The US dropped the world's first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan on August 6, 1945. Three days later, the small fishing city of Nagasaki also fell victim. On this edition, we hear the voices of the most deadly attacks the world had ever seen.  We commemorate the anniversary of the bombings with excerpts from two documentaries: "Hiroshima Countdown" and "Nagasaki Journey."

In this episode, we explore new safe at-home abortion options and the growing movement for "self-managed abortions." Amidst changes to the Supreme Court of the United States, and after decades of restrictions to abortion access across the country, people continue to find ways to make this vital procedure safer, more affordable, and more accessible. Advances in medicine and discoveries made by wome...

According to Ytasha Womack, use of the imagination for self-development and social change is one of the greatest tenets of Afrofuturism. This show features Womack's presentation at the 2017 Sonic Acts Festival,  Afrofuturism: Imagination and Humanity.

A handful of companies are making millions off of ankle monitors strapped to undocumented immigrants in  ICE custody. The makers pitch the monitors as an alternative to being jailed, but are they simply another form of bondage? Reporter Ryan Katz looks at what life is life while wearing one of these monitors. He untangles the complicated web of ICE, immigration bail agent companies, and the attorn...

Lewis Wallace was a reporter at Marketplace. You may have heard his voice on the Marketplace Morning Report with David Brancaccio. That was until he publicly questioned the role of objectivity in a Medium post. This line of questioning ultimately got him fired from Marketplace. Dive into one journalist's reckoning with truth .

Wartime. Disaster. Trauma. Charges of mutiny for 50 Black sailors in a Jim Crow courtroom. Discrimination and a battle for civil rights. Listen to this World War II story via oral histories from five of the Black sailors who survived the Port Chicago explosion, court-marshal and imprisonment.

We go back to the night in June 1969 at the New York City Stonewall Inn that sparked the LGBT rights movement. On today's show we'll hear about the day that galvanized a generation and the continued fight for LGBT civil rights. The first Pride parades took place in June 1970 marking the 1st anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising. Michael Schirker and David Isay bring us an oral history Remembering...

Juneteenth, also known as Juneteenth Independence Day or Freedom Day, is the oldest known celebration commemorating the end of slavery in the United States.  In this show, we'll explore the history of Juneteenth and we'll expand our conversation of Juneteenth to include a case for reparations. The topic of reparations for African Americans has recently resurfaced with Democratic presidential candi...

June 2019 marks ten years since then President of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya, was ousted in a military coup. In this program, Dr. Dana Frank, author of the Long Honduran Night, examines the long term impact of the coup in Honduras, and the evolution of resistance movements in its aftermath.