Making Contact

You’ve heard of Hip-Hop, but what about  Krip -Hop? That’s the  name for the international movement of disabled artists, poets, musicians, and MCs. On this edition of Making Contact, we hear the story of Krip Hop from hate mail to worldwide phenomenon.

The female body as medium, and as message. How can a woman determine how she is perceived by the world, and even by herself? On this edition, we hear stories of women who are using their bodies for political protest, and as tools of  self-empowerment…f orcing everyone to reevaluate their perspectives on the female form.   Featuring: Neda Topaloski &  Xenia Chernyshova , Femen members Galia Ackerma...

On the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on August 28th 1963, Martin Luther King Jr delivered one of the most famous speeches of all time. But it nearly didn't happen. On this special edition of Making Contact for MLK Day, Gary Younge, author of “The Speech” talks about Martin Luther King Junior's “Dream” and the story behind it. Featuring: Gary Younge, author of “The Speech: Martin Luther King Jr's D...

What are the roots of the historic mistrust between people of color, especially African Americans, and the police? And how does 911 really work? Is slow response time just perception, or reality? During the 2nd half of our 2-part special— The Race to An Emergency , we follow the path of a 911 call, and along the way, encounter decades of mistrust that fuel a lack of confidence in the system.

When you call 911, who answers the phone? How do they decide who to send to the scene, and how fast will they get there? We bring you a 2-part special—The Race to An Emergency, produced by KALW radio in San Francisco. We follow the path of a 911 call, and along the way, encounter decades of mistrust that fuel a lack of confidence in the system. Special thanks to KALW Radio. Featuring: Lesley Phill...

In today’s news cycle it’s challenging keeping up with the latest developments around the world. In 2014 we saw pro-democracy protests spanning 75 days in Hong Kong to the Black Lives Matter movement in the U.S. Often we just get the stories when they first break, then once the height of a conflict diminishes or really when another issue surfaces to the top of the news cycle, that’s it. After that...

Fallen Heroes of 2014 Hundreds of social justice advocates and organizers passed away in 2014, leaving their work behind as their legacy, but often also leaving an irreplaceable hole in their movements. On today’s edition of Making Contact we honor and revisit the lives of just a few of those fallen heroes who passed away this year.   Featuring Chokwe Lumumba , former mayor of Jackson MS Morgan Po...

Fossil fuels are a trillion dollar industry but environmentalists say they have a plan to pull the plug on the industry: divestment. The campaign to get institutions to end their investments in oil, gas, and coal companies has won supporters around the US and abroad. But is the strategy working? We hear from students in Boulder, Colorado who have been campaigning since 2012 and we hear about the c...

Over 6,000 migrant deaths were recorded on the U.S. side of the border with Mexico between 1998 and 2013. The true number of deaths is likely higher, and thousands of families never hear from their loved ones again. This documentary travels to the desert ranch lands of Brooks County and the border town of Reynosa, Tamaulipas to introduce us to the human cost of “prevention through deterrence,” a b...

Every week since January of 1995, Making Contact has been bringing you voices and perspectives from the grassroots…analysis of the larger structures driving our global economies…and solutions being created by people all over the world. On this special 20 th  program’s creation by volunteers, and how this little radio show became part of a new generation of media outlets that continues to both coun...

In September of 2014, Women Rising radio rode the People’s Climate train coast to coast, with over 200 activists heading to New York City to join the largest climate change march in history. Featuring: Valerie Love,  Center for Biological Diversity, No Tar Sands Campaigner Penny Opal Plant,  Indigenous climate activist Lauren Wood,  Utah’s Peaceful Uprising co-founder Teresa Jimenez,  Urban Tithe...

Victims and perpetrators sitting down face to face…it can help heal their wounds, and our society. Incarcerating our way out of crime clearly hasn’t worked, and it’s costing us billions. Meanwhile, school suspensions are reaching record highs. Now, Institutions across US are finally starting to consider problem solving methods other than punishment.  Restorative justice is gaining ground–in the sc...

More than a decade after the start of the second Gulf War, the United States has embarked on a bombing campaign targeting Islamic State forces inside Iraq and Syria. It’s the third U.S. military action inside Iraq in as many decades. But the reasons for the new war keep shifting, from protecting ethnic and religious minorities, to preventing terrorist attacks on the U.S. As independent producer Re...

In her new book: “This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate”, Naomi Klein argues that while it’s too late to stop climate change, we can save our civilization. But it’s going to take radical steps that will transform the way humans interact with the world. Business as usual is no longer an option. On this edition, Naomi Klein speaks about her new book, and points out signs of hope as the...

It’s election season! But since the 2013 Supreme Court ruling on the Voting Rights Act, many states have pushed changes to voter laws that raise disturbing connections to the past. On this week’s show, we’ll hear about hard fought battles for voting rights and the implications of new laws. Featuring: Reverend Tyrone Edwards,  civil rights historian in Plaquemines Parish Louisiana Tyrone Brooks , G...

Heroes to many, traitors to some. The internet has put whistleblowers in the public eye, and the government’s crosshairs. With increased access to classified information, and the ability to spread it, the world’s biggest institutions are running scared and cracking down. On this week’s show, we hear about the whistleblowers we don’t see on the nightly news. They’re not named Manning or Snowden, th...

What do our voices say about us? On this edition we explore voice and identity. We’ll hear from someone who nearly lost their voice as well as the challenges that come with ordering a pizza with a speech generating device. Featuring: Mya Byrne,  singer-songwriter Kathe Perez , creator of EVA app Samuel Sennott , assistant professor of special education at Portland University Bob Segalman , author...

Making Contact partnered with the 2014 National Poetry Slam to produce this special open mic highlighting the power of thoughtful, truth telling, community focused poetry. [one_half] Featuring Poets: Chris Cuadrado Lindsay Stone Jared Paul Caitlin Clark Queen T More information, photos and the full 3 hour open mic at: Making Contact    

One in three women will have an abortion in her lifetime, yet in pop culture accurate portrayals of real people s stories are rare. In this show we hear about representations of abortion and reproductive decision-making in popular culture, and why those stories really matter.

Who's watching you? Nowadays it seems everyone wants to get their hands on our personal data. From the FBI to the welfare department, to some of the country's biggest retailers. On this edition, we take a closer look at the world of surveillance. Featuring Hasan Elahi , artist and Associate Professor at the University of Maryland Charles Duhigg , New York Times journalist and author of “The Power...

More than 150,000 people sign up for the US military every year. Their reasons for joining vary widely, from those hoping for financial help through college, to others looking to follow in the footsteps of parents or grandparents. In recent years getting into the military has gotten harder, with criminal records and low academic scores proving the biggest barriers. As hard as getting into the mili...

They say a smart athlete will use their head. But what if using your head cost you everything? That’s a question being asked in locker rooms the world over. Whether it’s boxing, hockey, or soccer, it seems that head injuries are finally being taken seriously. In the United States, lawsuits brought by players, as well as a body of scientific evidence, has lead to growing awareness about the impact...

Is your children’s schoolyard routinely sprayed with pesticides? How safe your children are might depend on where you live. Today we hear about how and why one pesticide has been banned for household use, but affects the health of farmworkers and their children. Children’s health is especially fragile–so why aren’t we protecting them? Featuring:    Kim Harley , Center for Environmental Research in...

Nomi Prins, journalist and a former managing director of Goldman Sachs, discusses her book  All the Presidents’ Bankers, the hidden alliances that drive American power.   Prins retraces the relationship between American financiers and presidents stretching more than a century. From family friends, trusted confidants to the present day; how the relationship has deteriorated and presidents have lost...

The Zapatistas are a group in the southern state of Chiapas, Mexico working to bring democracy to their country and their local communities. 20 years after their founding, the group’s influences has spread far beyond Mexico’s border through music and art. On this edition of Making Contact producer Alejandro Rosas explores how Zapatismo has influenced those in the U.S. –including himself. Special t...