Making Contact

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...

The official Day to Commemorate Agent Orange victims is August 10 th  and marks the start of the US military’s decade of massive chemical warfare in Vietnam in 1961. Combat, chemicals, and corporations.  We’ll look at the legacy of Agent Orange,  a toxic defoliant. Featuring: Ngo Thanh Nhan , co-coordinator Vietnam Agent Orange Relief and Responsibility Campaign;  Fred Wilcox  scholar and author: ...

Nationally, American prisons release more than 650,000 people into society every year. That’s equivalent to the entire population of Memphis or Boston.  On this edition, producer Aaron Mendelson followed ex-prisoner Kevin Tindall on his journey out of prison. Special thanks to Claire Schoen  and the University of California Berkeley, School of Journalism. Featuring:    Gordon Brown , ex-prisoner M...

On  last week’s show  we brought you to Idaho and Montana, where hundreds of trucks were routed to haul gigantic mining equipment to the Tar Sands oil fields of Alberta Canada, but an alliance of citizens and community groups was able to block the transport through environmentally sensitive land. This week we continue the saga of the megaloads heading to the Tar Sands through the Pacific Northwest...

The Canadian Tar Sands is the largest industrial project on earth. And the potential environmental consequences have brought together citizens from across borders, to fight its rippling effects. This is the first of a two part special, on the growing resistance to the tarsands, produces by Barbara Bernstein. Featuring: Kevin Lewis,  Idaho Rivers United conservation director Linwood Laughy , writer...

Natural healing can take many forms.  These days, the Latin American “curandera” is re-emerging in the US, after generations of going underground. On this edition, producer Erica Hellerstein takes us on a journey to identity through an ancient medicinal practice. Featuring:    Lauren Villa,  UC Berkeley Graduate Student Atava Swiecicki Garcia  Healer Sandra Pacheco,  Healer and Professor of Chican...

We profile women fighting the expansion of global militarism and violence. Korean sister Stella Soh campaigns to save an UNESCO world heritage site from a planned military base. US activist Kathy Kelly founded Voices for Creative Nonviolence. And Brazilian Miriam Nobre works with the World March of Women. Featuring:    Sister Stella Soh , Catholic Nun and activist with Save Jeju Island Kathy Kelly...

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...

Rodeo is a part of life for many Americans. But if you’re an LGBTQ rodeo fan participating in the sport you love can mean hiding part of who you are to fit in. But a tight knit group of queer cowboys has found a way to live the country and Western lifestyle in their own way.  You don’t often hear the words “gay” and “rodeo” together. On this edition Producer Vanessa Rancaño brings us one bull ride...

More than 60 countries either ban or require labeling on GMO foods; the US is not one of them. As GMO regulation moves to a local level, frustrated consumers and farmers are pushing for state or county regulations, but the seed and pesticide companies are fighting back. Today, we bring you a special episode investigating corporate control of our democracy and our dinner plates. This program is par...

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, ...

Description:   As Brazil prepares to host the 2014 soccer World Cup many are questioning the economic, environmental, and social cost of this sporting mega-event. From soccer ball manufacturing in Pakistan, to forced evictions in Brazil to make way for World Cup infrastructure, who wins, when the World Cup comes to town? On this edition of Making Contact, we take a closer look at the good, the bad...

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender seniors are much more likely than their straight counterparts to be alone and isolated as they age. Housing and support for these elders is a growing need--and the issue is not confined to the United States. On this edition, we’ll visit Jakarta Indonesia, and Los Angeles, California, to hear stories of building housing and community for LGBTQ seniors. Featuri...

Americans eat out more than any other people. But the workers who put food on our restaurant tables are struggling to feed themselves and their families. On this edition, Saru Jayaraman, co-director of the Restaurant Opportunities Centers United and author of “Behind the Kitchen Door” makes the case for bringing justice to restaurants and how ordinary diners can help. Featuring: Saru Jayaraman , c...

From pedestrian plazas to pop-up-parklets…cities are looking to create spaces for people to gather, interact and create.  But are some people being left out of this new urban renaissance? This week:  from Detroit, to Montreal, to Istanbul, people are reclaiming the commons.   How do we create public spaces that are embracing and inclusive? Featuring: Susan Silberberg , MIT lecturer in Urban Design...