Making Contact

September marks the 5 year anniversary of Occupy. We go to Zuccotti Park, and Oakland to talk to individuals that were part of Occupy Wall Street and Occupy Oakland to gain insight and reflection on the movement that swept the nation. Featuring: Samara Ward, Occupy Oakland participant Joyous DeAsis, Young Oakland organizer, Occupy Oakland participant Marisa Holmes, Filmmaker, Occupy Wall Street fa...

The US military didn't shrink much under President Obama, and our perpetual state of war has barely waned since 9-11. Author Rosa Brooks says the consequences of this 'new normal' reach deep into our society; far beyond the body count of those killed overseas. On this edition, Rosa Brooks speaks about her new book,  How Everything Became War and the Military Became Everything. Special thanks to Po...

September 11, 2001 ushered in an era marked by the unending War on Terror, dragnet government surveillance programs, and escalating attacks on people perceived to be Muslim. Just last month, Khalid Jabara, a 37-year old Lebanese American man was shot and killed on his front porch in Tulsa Oklahoma by a neighbor who had harassed his family for years, calling them 'dirty Arabs' and 'Mooslems'. This...

Millions of people around the world work in jobs that aren't formally recognized or afforded legal protections typical of wage earning jobs. They're often not even thought of as legitimate work. On this edition of Making Contact, we're going to meet people making work where there is no work for them. From recyclers, to border couriers, to waste pickers, we're exploring the informal labor sector an...

It's the second most-traded commodity in the world after oil but how much do you think about your cup of coffee? From coffee farmers in Colombia to the trash produced by your single-cup coffee machine, Making Contact and Green Grid Radio team up to count the costs of your morning cup o'joe . Featuring: Jairo Martinez , Mariana Cruz , Suzana Angarita , coffee farmers Jeff Goldman, former executive...

The alternatives to prison are few and far between.  And after serving time, the options for getting back on your feet are even worse.  Finding food, a job and a place to live with a criminal record can become an almost impossible task.  On this edition, Women building their own support network after being released from prison. We'll hear "A New Way of Life and the New Underground Railroad" a docu...

Women Rising radio profiles food sovereignty activists from India, Mexico, and Native American communities. If you are interested in GMOs, TTP, seed saving, herbal medicine, food, trade & activism –then tune in! Featuring: Vandana Shiva , founder of Navdanya Adelita San Vicente Tello , founder of Semillas de Vida Sage La Pena , Native American, ethno- botanist and food sovereignty activist Kanyon...

In the midst of police shooting community members and gunmen shooting police, and as the republican and democratic conventions wrap up, we look back at the history of secret surveillance and disruption of organizations dissenting and struggling against all odds. COINTELPRO, the secret FBI project to infiltrate and disrupt domestic organizations thought to be "subversive," targeted many African-Ame...

In the midst of police shooting community members and gunmen shooting police, and as the republican and democratic conventions wrap up, we look back at the history of secret surveillance and disruption of organizations dissenting and struggling against all odds. COINTELPRO, the secret FBI project to infiltrate and disrupt domestic organizations thought to be "subversive," targeted many African-Ame...

Ross McKenzie was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, but after 15 years on Lithium, he wasn't getting any better. He decided to take matters into his own hands, get off the drug, and find out why so many people are being told they have mental illnesses. This week on Making Contact, we bring you an abridged version of the film Bipolarized; Rethinking Mental Illness, chronicling McKenzie's journey. Fe...

Fredy Villanueva was playing dice in a park in Montreal North when police officers arrived. In less than a minute, the 18-year-old was fatally shot by police. Eight years later, what happened in those sixty seconds remains unclear. The documentary play Fredy tries to untangle what happened before and after the shooting, as it asks questions about racial profiling, systemic discrimination, and the...

In cities across the country, black women – many of whom have been on the front lines of the Movement for Black Lives – are lifting up the names of their sisters killed by police. This March, Manolia Charlotin, a multimedia journalist with the The Media Consortium, and Cat Brooks, artist and organizer with Oakland's Anti Police-Terror Project sat down at a community event in San Francisco to talk...

Existing in two worlds can complicate your identity and complete it–whether it's understanding your medicine man grandfather, to deepening the concept of love through a different tongue, these storytellers takes us around the world from Colombia to Papua New Guinea, seeking definition and connections with presumably different cultures. Featuring: Francis Rojas Jeremiah Barber William Guillermo Ort...

Who is Charles Koch–really? Who are the members of "the Network"?—a semi-secret group assembled by the Koch brothers? How are the superrich's priorities transforming American society? Journalist Jane Mayer spent several years searching for some of those answers, and her new book is titled Dark Money, the Hidden History of the Billionaires. Mayer is interviewed by Atlantic magazine editor-in-chief...

Parenting has never been easy.  Merging your politics with your parenting decisions can be even more challenging.  On this edition, fathers…and mothers…on fatherhood and how it's changing. Traditional ideas about what a dad is supposed to be are slowly disappearing, but what will take their place? Featuring: Tomas Moniz, Rad Dad creator Airial Clark, Sex Positive Parent blogger Janine Macbeth, Oh...

Penny Rosenwasser is an activist and author of "Hope Into Practice: Jewish Women Choosing Justice  Despite our Fears."  On this edition of Making Contact she reflects on her personal journey to embrace her identity as a Jewish woman while fighting for human rights for all. Listen to stories, history and poetry that explore internalized anti-Semitism and racism, victimization and privilege, and Jew...

In 1948, Zionist militias expelled over 700,000 Palestinians from their villages and towns.  The event, and the ongoing destruction and occupation of Palestine are referred to as the Nakba – the catastrophe.  How did the events of 1948 shape Palestine and its diaspora?   And generations later, how are Palestinians fighting to return home? On this edition of Making Contact we reflect on the Nakba,...

The root causes of migration vary widely. Some people migrate and return to their homes depending on the season. While others migrate and never return. Often, people are forced to leave or flee their homes indefinitely because of poverty, extreme environmental events, armed conflict, social strife, political turmoil, and economic hardships. On this edition of Making Contact, we hear stories from C...

We often hear from the upper middle class, educated youth of Iran complaining about the dictatorship. But what about the majority of youth, the working class young people who live in South Tehran and similar neighborhoods? Reese Erlich explores how young people compare President Rouhani's government with the populist rule of Ahmadinejad. We'll also hear about how they are responding to conservativ...

In 1973 the Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade established the legal right to abortion in the United States. Since then, state legislative and executive bodies have battled to restrict access to abortions. Federal law banned the use of federal funds for most abortions in 1977, and public funding for abortion remains a contested issue. One recent study in Texas found that more than 200,000 women perfor...

Among the effects of climate change are more extreme weather events, such as Typhoon Haiyan, Superstorm Sandy, and a severe drought stretching across much of the Western United States. On this edition of Making Contact we'll take a deeper look at the social and psychological impacts of climate change, and the weight of inaction. Featuring: Niki Stanley and Derice Klass , Far Rockaway residents Zar...

Hollywood has had a long history of whitewashing and stereotyping different groups –from brownface to blackface and yellowface. For Arabs and Muslims, persistent clichés throughout Hollywood's history range from desert scenes with camels and palm trees, and characters cast as barbaric villains, belly dancers, or terrorists among others. On this edition of Making Contact we'll meet people confronti...

Immigration comes up in every U.S. presidential election cycle. It’s been that way pretty much since the dawning of the country. In keeping with that national tradition, immigrants throughout history have also been the target of racist rhetoric and efforts to exclude them from voting and political influence. And the 2016 elections have proven no different. This edition of Making Contact is Part I...

The vast majority of care recipients are exclusively receiving unpaid care from a family member, friend, or neighbor. The rest receive a combination of family care and paid assistance, or exclusively paid formal care. Whether you’re a paid home care provider, or rely on personal assistance to meet your daily needs, or a family member caring for a loved one, the nature of the working relationship d...

It’s something many of us take for granted: access to clean drinking water. But for many Americans it’s not something they can rely on.  From chemical spills in  West Virginia to ecoli in the water on the Texas-Mexico border, to contamination from farming in California. On this edition, we hear what happens when there’s not a drop to drink. Featuring: Angela Walker, Charleston resident Neena Satij...