Episodes

  • Because of the fall of Roe v. Wade, we're hearing a lot more about adoption as an alternative for women who find themselves with an unwanted pregnancy. And even before, media portrayals of adoption have always painted it as an easy ethical conclusion to a difficult circumstance. But the real, lived experiences of birth parents who give up their children for adoption have never been part of the conversation. Do birth parents really see adoption as an alternative to abortion? Are they happy with their decision to relinquish their children? It turns out that for the most part, they're not.

    We talk to Samantha Gonzalez, a birth mother, and Gretchen Sisson, author of the book "Relinquished: The Politics of Adoption and the Privilege of American Motherhood."

    Making Contact Team:

    Episode Host: Salima Hamirani Producers: Anita Johnson, Salima Hamirani, Amy Gastelum, and Lucy Kang Executive Director: Jina Chung Editor: Adwoa Gyimah-Brempong Engineer: Jeff Emtman Digital Marketing Manager: Lissa Deonarain

    Music credits:

    Axletree - The Silent Grove Axletree - Goldfinch- Flight to the North Blear Moon - Learning from Kids Doctor Turtle - Leap Second Hinterheim - Prior Restraint

    Learn More:

    Reproductive Justice in Adoption Considering Adoption Planned Parenthood Relinquished Book Page Gretchen Sisson

    Making Contact is an award-winning, nationally syndicated radio show and podcast featuring narrative storytelling and thought-provoking interviews. We cover the most urgent issues of our time and the people on the ground building a more just world.

  • We're in the homestretch to Election Day 2024, and you know what that means: 24/7 coverage of the political horse race through tv, radio and social media. But voters are also getting exposed to false information. In today's show, we'll dig into election mis- and disinformation and why so much of it is targeting immigrants this year.

    Amber Boydstun, professor and co-chair of the political science department at University of California, Davis

    Jaime Longoria, manager of research and training for the Disinfo Defense League

    Shiu-Ming Cheer, deputy director of immigrant and racial justice at the California Immigrant Policy Center

    Making Contact Team:

    Episode Host: Lucy Kang Producers: Anita Johnson, Salima Hamirani, Amy Gastelum, and Lucy Kang Executive Director: Jina Chung Editor: Adwoa Gyimah-Brempong Engineer: Jeff Emtman Digital Marketing Manager: Lissa Deonarain

    Music credits:

    "Road to Sunset" by Sergii Pavkin from Pixabay "Clear Ideas (This Comedy Funny) by AlexGrohl from Pixabay "Drums" by Andrew Faid from Pixabay "Radio.wav" sound effect by davidou from Pixabay

    Learn More:

    Making Contact: www.focmedia.org Disinfo Defense League: https://www.disinfodefenseleague.org California Immigrant Policy Center: https://caimmigrant.org/

    Making Contact is a 29-minute weekly program committed to investigative journalism and in-depth critical analysis that goes beyond the breaking news. On the web at www.focmedia.org.

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  • On the eve of a Presidential election being decided by a handful of swing states, we sat down with two women in Indiana to talk about what it takes to make progress in a place that is largely neglected by the national Democratic Party Machine. Dayna Colbert, Executive Director of the Hoosier Democratic Party, talks about their growing foothold, led by women. And, political podcaster Dana Black talks about how to maintain an authentic voice while working alongside the official Democratic Party.

    Featuring:

    Dayna Colbert, Executive Director of Indiana Democratic Party Dana Black, Political podcaster and public speaker

    Making Contact Staff:

    Episode Host: Amy Gastelum Producers: Anita Johnson, Salima Hamirani, Amy Gastelum, and Lucy Kang Executive Director: Jina Chung Editor: Adwoa Gyimah-Brempong Engineer: Jeff Emtman Digital Marketing Manager: Lissa Deonarain

    Music:

    Jahzzar, Flutter HoliznaCC0 - Whatever

    Learn More:

    Indiana Democratic Party Indiana's Own Dana Black Hoosier Women Forward

    Making Contact is an award-winning, nationally syndicated radio show and podcast featuring narrative storytelling and thought-provoking interviews. We cover the most urgent issues of our time and the people on the ground building a more just world.

  • Almost half of Puerto Rico's doctors have fled the island over the past decade, leading to a lack of specialists and treatment and incredibly long wait times. And this isn't just an inconvenience. People are dying from lack of care. Why is Puerto Rico's health care system collapsing, and why are doctors fleeing the island?

    We take a look at its deeply dysfunctional private medical system and why attempts to fix it, and create a universal health care plan on the island, are being hindered by Puerto Rico's status as a US colony. Its massive unpayable debt, held by investors in the US, means that it cannot make its own economic decisions, even when it affects the livelihood of poor Puerto Ricans living there. But there might be a fix, getting rid of Puerto Rico's debt and rethinking its colonial relationship to the US.

    Featuring:

    Carolina (pseudonym for privacy) Coral del Mar Murphy Marcos- journalist. Author of an article on PR's health care crisis. Paola (pseudonym for privacy) Alberto Medina- Boricuas Unidos en la Diáspora

    Making Contact Staff:

    Episode Host: Salima Hamirani Producers: Anita Johnson, Salima Hamirani, Amy Gastelum, and Lucy Kang Executive Director: Jina Chung Editor: Adwoa Gyimah-Brempong Engineer: Jeff Emtman Digital Marketing Manager: Lissa Deonarain

    Music credits:

    Daniel Birch - Indigo Strokes Axletree - Goldfinch- Flight to the North Mindseye - Spores Soft and Furious - So What

    Learn More:

    Boricuas Unidos en la Diaspora The Nation Magazine Puerto Rico’s Unnatural Disaster

    Making Contact is an award-winning, nationally syndicated radio show and podcast featuring narrative storytelling and thought-provoking interviews. We cover the most urgent issues of our time and the people on the ground building a more just world.

  • On this week's episode, we speak with Dr. Jeffrey O.G. Ogbar about his latest book, America's Black Capital: How African Americans Remade Atlanta in the Shadow of the Confederacy. America’s Black Capital chronicles how a center of Black excellence emerged amid virulent expressions of white nationalism, as African Americans pushed back against Confederate ideology to create an extraordinary locus of achievement. We examine the methods in which Black Atlanteans pushed for social, economic, and political upliftment through the development of Black collegiate systems, entrepreneurship, and civic engagement.

    Dr. Jeffrey O. G. Ogbar the author of America's Black Capital: How African Americans Remade Atlanta in the Shadow of the Confederacy.

    **Episode Credits:**

    Host: Anita Johnson Producers: Anita Johnson, Salima Hamirani, Amy Gastelum, and Lucy Kang Executive Director: Jina Chung Editor: Adwoa Gyimah-Brempong Engineer: Jeff Emtman Digital Media Marketing: Lissa Deonarain

    **Music:**

    Andy G. Cohen - Our Young Guts Blue Dot Sessions– Paving Stones




    Learn More:

    Dr. Jeffrey O.G. Ogbar -

    Atlanta Race Massacre -

    Atlanta Race Massacre -

    Hoke Smith -

    Clarke Howell -

    Tom Watson -

    America's Black Capital -

    Making Contact is an award-winning, nationally syndicated radio show and podcast featuring narrative storytelling and thought-provoking interviews. We cover the most urgent issues of our time and the people on the ground building a more just world.

  • It's been one year since October 7th, 2023 and the start of Israel’s brutal assault on Gaza. On today's show, we hear from journalist Rami Almeghari and other Palestinians about their experiences living through the war. Then, we dive into a conversation with Norman Solomon, author of War Made Invisible: How America Hides the Human Toll of its Military Machine, about what mainstream coverage of the war is leaving out.

    Featuring:

    Rami Almeghari, Palestinian journalist in Gaza Norman Solomon, activist and author of War Made Invisible: How America Hides the Human Toll of its Military Machine Tarneem, Ahmad and Hamza Jaber, Palestinian siblings from Gaza

    Special thanks to Mohammed Naeem Imad, for reporting and fact-checking support

    Audio excerpts featuring Tarneem, Ahmad and Hamza Jaber are from the series Great Love: The Gaza Monologues from ASHTAR Theatre Revisited on The Heart podcast, created and hosted by Kaitlin Prest

    Making Contact Staff:

    Episode Host: Lucy Kang Producers: Anita Johnson, Salima Hamirani, Amy Gastelum, and Lucy Kang Executive Director: Jina Chung Editor: Adwoa Gyimah-Brempong Engineer: Jeff Emtman Digital Marketing Manager: Lissa Deonarain

    Music credits:

    "Documentary Piano Ambient" by Bohdan Kuzmin (BoDleasons) via [Pixabay](https://pixabay.com/users/28047609/)


    Learn More:

    The Jaber siblings featured in this episode are fundraising for their living costs and to continue their education in Cairo. You can find their campaign here:

    Journalist Rami Almeghari is currently in Gaza, and he is fundraising to support his family during this time. You can find his campaign here:

    ASHTAR Theatre, which created The Gaza Monologues:

    [Great Love: The Gaza Monologues from ASHTAR Theatre Revisited](https://play.prx.org/listen?ge=prx_25_025f9e65-6631-4120-a9e0-a20b80edc5aa&uf=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.theheartradio.org%2FTheHeartRadio) _on _The Heart_ podcast

    Making Contact is a 29-minute weekly program contextualizing the narratives that shape our culture. On the web at www.focmedia.org.

  • We catch up with journalist and IPV survivor Natalie Pattillo to talk about the folks fighting for justice for criminalized survivors of intimate partner violence. Listen to find out the story behind Oklahoma activists that led the state to adopt a new law based on NY's Domestic Violence Survivor's Justice Act, and how you can get involved. And finally, Standford's Regilla Project just published a groundbreaking study revealing the scope of the IPV to prison pipeline.

    **Natalie Pattillo,** journalist and co-producer of the film And So I Stayed

    **Alexandra Bailey,** Senior Campaign Strategist for The Sentencing Project

    **Amanda Ross**, activist and niece of April Wilkens, the first person to use the Oklahoma Survivors' Act to apply for a retroactive sentence reduction

    **Debbie Mukamal,** Executive Director of Stanford Criminal Justice Center

    **Andrea Cimino,** Director of Research for the Regilla Project

    **Making Contact Staff:**

    Episode Host: Amy Gastelum

    Producers: Anita Johnson, Salima Hamirani, Amy Gastelum, and Lucy Kang

    Executive Director: Jina Chung

    Editor: Adwoa Gyimah-Brempong

    Engineer: [Jeff Emtman](http://www.jeffemtman.com/)

    Digital Marketing Manager: Lissa Deonarain

    **Music Credits:**

    _Podington Bear_

    Tracks: _Arboles, Delphi, Poise _

    From the album _Encouraging_

    Licensed under [CC BY-NC](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/)

    and available online here:



    Learn More:

    **The Sentencing Project **

    **Free April Wilkens **

    **We Stand With Nikki**

    **The Regilla Project **

    **And So I Stayed Film **

    **Survivor's Justice Project**

    **Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice **

  • In this week's show, we take a look at the health, environmental and financial costs of coal that fall to people living nearby. With the help of our partner podcast Crosswinds, we meet three impacted communities along a railroad connecting coal mines in West Virginia to ports on the East Coast. And we'll hear how that rail infrastructure was built on the forced labor of incarcerated African Americans.

    Featuring:

    Adrian Wood, multimedia producer with the Repair Lab at the University of Virginia and producer of Crosswinds

    Making Contact Staff:

    Episode Host: Lucy Kang Producers: Anita Johnson, Salima Hamirani, Amy Gastelum, and Lucy Kang Executive Director: Jina Chung Editor: Adwoa Gyimah-Brempong Engineer: Jeff Emtman Digital Marketing Manager: Lissa Deonarain

    Music credits:

    "A Documentary" by AKTASOK (Valentin Iakovlev) via Pixabay

    Credits for Crosswinds Episode 3: "Cost"

    Written, produced mixed and mastered by Adrian Wood Editing by Oluwakemi Aladesuyi of Rough Cut Collective Scoring by Torrin Purkett and Adrian Wood Produced through the Repair Lab at the University of Virginia

    Learn More:

    Making Contact homepage: www.focmedia.org Listen to the entire Crosswinds series: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5ey0DQiOzuvJehEyCjGJYv Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-repair-lab/id1633699454 Coal Dust Kills: www.coaldustkills.com The Repair Lab: repairlab.virginia.edu
  • On today’s Making Contact, our friends from the podcast, Kerning Cultures, bring us “Black Panthers in Algeria.” It’s the story of when Elaine Mokhtefi landed in newly independent Algeria in the early 1960s and quickly found herself at the center of a special period in the country’s history, at a time when Algiers welcomed liberation groups from across the world – earning a reputation as the “Mecca of revolution."

    In this unlikely setting, Elaine moved in the same circles as world famous radicals, ragtag political parties, spies and military leaders. And she became an unlikely sidekick to one of the most iconic liberation groups of our time, just as it was beginning to fall apart.

    Credits - Kerning Cultures:

    This episode was produced by Deena Sabry and Alex Atack, and edited by Dana Ballout. Fact checking by Eman Alsharif, sound design by Mohamad Khreizat, Paul Alouf and Alex Atack. Our team also includes Zeina Dowidar, Nadeen Shaker and Finbar Anderson.

    Making Contact Team:

    Host: Anita Johnson Producers: Anita Johnson, Salima Hamirani, Amy Gastelum, and Lucy Kang Executive Director: Jina Chung Engineer: Jeff Emtman Digital Media Marketing: Lissa Deonrain

    Learn More:

    Algiers: Third World Capital [https://bookshop.org/a/84225/9781788730006] Revolution or Death: The Life of Eldridge Cleaver [https://bookshop.org/a/84225/9781613739112] Kerning Cultures [https://kerningcultures.com/]
  • The attacks on Imane Khelif's gender at this year's 2024 Paris Olympics is not new. In fact, the focus on women's appearance and gender expression goes back to the founding of the Olympics, the minute women entered elite sports.

    We talk to Rose Eveleth, host and producer of the podcast Tested about the history of sex testing in the Olympics and why it existed in the first place, why there's no easy way to classify the natural, biological variation that exists in human beings and why we might want to consider new ways of organizing athletes that is less sexist, racist and more accepting of genders outside of a simple binary.

    Featuring:

    Rose Eveleth, host and producer of the podcast Tested

    Episode Credits:

    Host: Salima Hamirani
    Producers: Anita Johnson, Salima Hamirani, Amy Gastelum, and Lucy Kang
    Executive Director: Jina Chung
    Editor: Adwoa Gyimah-Brempong
    Engineer: Jeff Emtman

    Music:

    Alpha Hydrae - Friends
    Soft and Furious - So What
    Axletree- The Silent Grove
    Blear Moon - Further Discovery
    Crowander - Opening Lines.

    Learn More:

    Tested on NPR
    Tested on CBC

  • The last few years have seen a wave of labor organizing as it becomes more and more clear to workers that what they do is not expendable, but actually the heart of every business. From walkouts to unionization, workers from Starbucks to Amazon to your local coffee shop have come together to build and exercise their power. In this episode we explore the issues that led people to organize their workplaces, the ins and outs and ups and downs of the process, and the backlash.

    On the forefront of the next labor revolution, we visit a coffee shop in Maine called Little Dog whose staff starts a union. Then we talk to Robert Chlala from the UCLA Labor Center about the rise in unionization efforts among service workers and the social and cultural ethos in a post lockdown country that have led to this new wave of the labor movement.

    Featuring:

    Robert Chlala – Assistant Professor, CSU Long Beach & Visiting Researcher at UCLA Labor Center Jessica Czarnecki, Sydney, Sophie, Kira – Workers at Little Dog Cafe

    Making Contact Team:

    Host: Salima Hamirani Reporter: Jules Bradley Executive Director: Jina Chung Staff Producers: Anita Johnson, Lucy Kang, Salima Hamirani, Amy Gastelum Engineer: Jeff Emtman Editor: Adwoa Gyimah-Brempong

    Music:

    “Industrial Zone” by Bio Unit “Stay Quiet” by Monplaisir “Bleu” by Komiku “Leap Second” by Doctor Turtle “Which Side Are You On” by Pete Seeger

    Learn More:

    UCLA Labor Center Little Dog Employees Lawsuit Brunswick coffee shop strike ends with potential change in ownership
  • We need affordable housing now! On today's episode, we look more closely at two stories that underscore the importance of affordable housing.

    First, we'll examine what the recent Supreme Court ruling in Grants Pass v. Johnson means for unhoused people who are living on the streets and how historical disinvestment in affordable and public housing has created our current homelessness wave.

    Then, we'll hear about the fight to legalize and preserve one important type of affordable housing units in New York City – basement apartments – and how the escalating impacts of climate change are making that campaign more urgent than ever.

    Paul Boden, executive director of the Western Regional Advocacy Project Annetta Seecharran, executive director of Chhaya Community Development Corporation

    Making Contact Staff:

    Episode Host: Lucy Kang

    Producers: Anita Johnson, Salima Hamirani, Amy Gastelum, and Lucy Kang

    Executive Director: Jina Chung

    Editor: Adwoa Gyimah-Brempong

    Engineer: Jeff Emtman

    Music credit:

    Pending (Relaxing Acoustic Ballad Nylon Guitar) by William_King via Pixabay

    Credits for "Invisible Homeless" by the Queens Memory Podcast

    Episode produced by Stella Gu in conjunction with Melody Cao, Anna Williams, and Natalie Milbrodt
    Podcast hosted by J. Faye Yuan
    Mixing and editing by Cory Choy
    Music composed by Elias Ravin
    Voiceover work by Xia Liangjie and Chen Xiaojun

    Learn More:

    Making Contact homepage: www.focmedia.org

    Western Regional Advocacy Project: https://wraphome.org/

    Queens Memory Podcast: www.queensmemory.org

    Chhaya CDC: BASE Campaign: https://chhayacdc.org/campaigns/base-campaign/

  • On this week's episode, we speak with Bay Area based comedian Karinda Dobbins about the release of her debut comedy album, Black & Blue. In Black & Blue, Karinda shares personal stories, finding humor in the most ordinary moments of her daily life, including her girlfriend’s arbitrary policy on household pests, the changes hipsters have brought to Oakland, and a Black woman’s unique packing list for hiking.

    Featuring: Karinda Dobbins, standup comedian, writer, and actor

    Episode Credits:

    Host: Anita Johnson Producers: Anita Johnson, Salima Hamirani, Amy Gastelum, and Lucy Kang Executive Director: Jina Chung Engineer: Jeff Emtman Editor: Adwoa Gyimah-Brempong Music Credits: Dee Yan-Key "Hold on"; Audiobinger "The Garden State"

    Learn More:

    Karinda Dobbins - https://karindadobbins.com/
  • In Part 1 of our series on water in the Central Valley of California we visited a town called East Orosi, which has been fighting for clean water for over 20 years. This week we turn our attention to their sewage system, which is also falling apart. Why has it been so difficult for East Orosi to get clean drinking water and fix its sewage problems?

    To answer that question we take a look at the entities that run things like sewage and water in unincorporated towns all across California. They're called Community Utility Districts. Community Utility Districts are often one of the only forms of self governance in unincorporated towns. But they're staffed by volunteers, they're underfunded, and they're trying to share a vital resource, water, which is also slowly disappearing in the San Joaquin Valley.

    We talk about the problems with Community Utility Districts and ways to save them.

    Learn more about the story and find the transcript on radioproject.org.

    Making Contact digs into the story beneath the story—contextualizing the narratives that shape our culture. Featuring narrative storytelling and thought-provoking interviews. We cover the most urgent issues of our time and the people on the ground building a more just world.

    EPISODE FEATURES: This episode features Berta Diaz Ochoa- community member of East Orosi; Janaki Anagha- Director of Advocacy, Community Water Center; Kayla Vander Schuur- Community Development Specialist, Self Help Enterprises; Carlos Sanchez- board member of the East Orosi Community Utilities District; Maricela Mares-Alatorre- Community Solutions Advocate, Community Water Center.

    MAKING CONTACT: This episode is hosted by Salima Hamirani. It is produced by Anita Johnson, Lucy Kang, Salima Hamirani, and Amy Gastelum. Our executive director is Jina Chung.

    MUSIC: This episode includes “Blue” by Komiku; Ocean Tapping by PC III; Friends and Apples by Alpha Hydrae; Gouttes by Hicham Chahidi; Week Twenty-five by Ben von Wildenhaus; No Light Without Darkness by Ketsa; and Thunderstorm by The Custodian of Records.

    Learn More:

    Community Water Center: https://www.communitywatercenter.org/

    Self Help Enterprises: https://www.selfhelpenterprises.org/

  • In the late 1990s, psychologist Dr. Joseph Gone, a professor and member of the Aaniiih Gros Ventre tribe, returned home during his doctoral training to the Fort Belknap Reservation in north central Montana. There, he set aside eurocentric concepts of psychology he was learning in school and instead asked tribal members how mental illness is addressed using traditional Indigenous practices. What he learned changed the trajectory of his career. Listen to find out how he helped bring precolonial cultural and spiritual practices into substance use disorder treatment in contemporary Indigenous settings.

    Learn more about the story and find the transcript on radioproject.org.

    Making Contact digs into the story beneath the story—contextualizing the narratives that shape our culture. Featuring narrative storytelling and thought-provoking interviews. We cover the most urgent issues of our time and the people on the ground building a more just world.

    EPISODE FEATURES: This episode features Dr. Joseph Gone, psychologist and interdisciplinary social scientist at Harvard University and member of the Aaniiih-Gros Ventre tribal Nation of Montana.

    MAKING CONTACT: This episode is hosted by Amy Gastelum. It is produced by Anita Johnson, Lucy Kang, Salima Hamirani, and Amy Gastelum. Our executive director is Jina Chung.

    MUSIC:

    Songs: The Horses are Coming, The Gift, Song of Honor Album: The Return of the Buffalo Horses Artists: Darrell Norman and Ramon Kramer https://www.blackfeetculturecamp.com/d-norman/

    For More Information:

    Dr. Joseph Gone

    American Indian Health and Family Services, Detroit, MI

  • East Orosi hasn't had safe drinking water in over 20 years. The water is full of nitrates, runoff from industrial agriculture, which is harmful to human health. The community has taken action to find a solution, from lobbying at the state capital to working with neighboring towns.

    And they may finally have one. New California laws, passed in the last five years, have opened up funding to build water infrastructure in small towns like East Orosi. But even as laws and funding develop, implementation has been challenging.

    We visit East Orosi and talk to Berta Diaz Ochoa about what it's like living without clean drinking water and the solutions on the horizon. This is part one of a two part series.

    Learn more about the story and find the transcript on radioproject.org.

    Making Contact digs into the story beneath the story—contextualizing the narratives that shape our culture. Featuring narrative storytelling and thought-provoking interviews. We cover the most urgent issues of our time and the people on the ground building a more just world.

    EPISODE FEATURES: This episode features Susana De Anda -Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Community Water Center; Berta Diaz Ochoa -East Orosi community member and organizer; Cristobal Chavez - member of Community Water Center; Janaki Anagha - Director of Advocacy, Community Water Center; Jessi Synder - Director of Community Development, Self Help Enterprises; Andrew Altevogt, Assistant Deputy Director of the State Water Resources Control Board.

    MAKING CONTACT: This episode is hosted by Salima Hamirani. It is produced by Anita Johnson, Lucy Kang, Salima Hamirani, and Amy Gastelum. Our executive director is Jina Chung.

    MUSIC: This episode includes “Blue” by Komiku; Monet's Water Lilies; Dark Rainy Day; Water Drops, Sad Slow Piano Background; Mother Womb piano; Guracha Sonidera Cumbia Loops De Bateria Series II

    Learn More:

    Community Water Center: https://www.communitywatercenter.org/

    Self Help Enterprises: https://www.selfhelpenterprises.org/

    State Water Resources Control Board: https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/

  • Composer, pianist, and vocalist Samora Pinderhughes tells us about The Healing Project. The Healing Project, a fundamentally abolitionist project, explores the structures of systemic racism and the prison industrial complex. This story first aired February 2023.

    Pinderhughes and The Healing Project takes action towards abolition with forms such as musical songs, films, an exhibition, community gatherings, live performances, and a digital library of audio interviews. At the center of the project are the intergenerational voices of people across the country, including folks incarcerated in prisons and detention centers. Their stories, experiences, and ideas serve as the foundation for The Healing Project’s vision for societal transformation.

    Learn more about the story and find the transcript on radioproject.org.

    Making Contact digs into the story beneath the story—contextualizing the narratives that shape our culture. Featuring narrative storytelling and thought-provoking interviews. We cover the most urgent issues of our time and the people on the ground building a more just world.

    EPISODE FEATURES: This episode features Samora Pinderhughes, composer, pianist/vocalist, and interdisciplinary artist.

    MAKING CONTACT: This episode is hosted by Anita Johnson. Segment Editors are Jessica Partnow, Lucy Kang, and Jacinda Abcarian. It is produced by Anita Johnson, Lucy Kang, Salima Hamirani, and Amy Gastelum. Our executive director is Jina Chung.

    MUSIC: This episode includes "Creeping" by Borrtex; "Process" and "Hope" by Samora Pinderhughes.

    Learn More:

    Samora Pinderhughes

    The Healing Project

    Exhibition site

    Tiny Desk Concert filmed live inside the exhibition

    Exhibition films, “Masculinity” & “Hold that Weight”

    Exhibition album

  • 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 depends on mutual respect and dignity. During this week’s anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, we’ll revisit the dynamic and complex relationship of care receiving and giving.

    Learn more about the story and find the transcript on radioproject.org.

    Making Contact digs into the story beneath the story—contextualizing the narratives that shape our culture. Featuring narrative storytelling and thought-provoking interviews. We cover the most urgent issues of our time and the people on the ground building a more just world.

    EPISODE FEATURES: This episode features Camille Christian, home care provider and SEIU member Camille Christian & Brenda Jackson, home care providers & SEIU members; Patty Berne, co-founder and director, Sins Invalid; Jessica Lehman, executive director, San Francisco Senior and Disability Action; Kenzi Robi, president, San Francisco IHSS (In Home Supportive Services) Public Authority Governing Body; Rachel Stewart, queer disabled woman passionate about disability and employment issues; Alana Theriault, disability benefits counselor in Berkeley, California; Ingrid Tischer, director of development, Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund (DREDF); and Alta Mae Stevens, in-home caregiver.

    MAKING CONTACT: This episode is hosted by Laura Flynn & Anita Johnson. It is produced by Anita Johnson, Lucy Kang, Salima Hamirani, and Amy Gastelum, and Contributing Producers, Alice Wong and Stephanie Guyer-Stevens. Our executive director is Jina Chung.

    MUSIC: This episode includes Dexter Britain: The Time To Run (Finale), Gillicuddy: Adventure, Darling, Steve Combs: March, Jason Shaw: Running Waters, Jared C. Balogh: BRICK BY BRICK DAY BY DAY, Jared C. Balogh: INCREMENTS TOWARDS SERENITY, Nheap: Crossings, Cherly KaCherly: The Hungry Garden, Trio Metrik: Vogelperspektive, & Kevin MacLeod: Faster Does It.

    Learn More:

    UCSF: UCSF Study Projects Need for 2.5M More Long-Term Care Workers by 2030

    SEIU: Longterm Care Workers

    Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund

    Disability Visibility Project

    Hand in Hand: The Domestic Employers Network

    National Disability Leadership Alliance

    Senior and Disability Action

    Sins Invalid

    San Francisco In Home Supportive Services Public Authority

    Family Caregiver Alliance

  • Inflammatory diseases are on the rise around the world, and when left unaddressed can turn chronic. Now, doctors are finally starting to pay more attention. But why & when does a beneficial part of our immune system turn against us? Raj Patel & Rupa Marya think it has a lot to do with the world we live in. They talk about climate change, ecological devastation, & the collapse of our planet & what that has to do with inflammation. Their thesis: our bodies are a mirror of a deeper disease in society & the environment. But there’s still hope. They point a way back to health via Deep Medicine, which is the quest to reignite our commitment to the web of life and our place in it.

    Learn more about the story and find the transcript on radioproject.org.

    Making Contact digs into the story beneath the story—contextualizing the narratives that shape our culture. Featuring narrative storytelling and thought-provoking interviews. We cover the most urgent issues of our time and the people on the ground building a more just world.

    EPISODE FEATURES: This episode features Tré Vasquez, Co-director/collective member at Movement Generation Justice & Ecology Project; Raj Patel, author, academic, journalist, activist; & Rupa Marya, author, Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, and a co-founder of the Do No Harm Coalition.

    MAKING CONTACT: This episode is hosted by Salima Hamirani. It is produced by Anita Johnson, Lucy Kang, Salima Hamirani, and Amy Gastelum. Our executive director is Jina Chung.

    MUSIC: This episode includes music “Cenote” & “Lithosphere” from Frequency Decree; “Anto” by Blear Moon, & “Juniper” by Broke For Free.

    Learn More:

    Inflamed: Deep Medicine and the Anatomy of Injustice

    Movement Generation Justice and Ecology Project

  • Kids are coming out as LGBTQ+ younger than ever before, making their identities more politicized than ever before. Hateful political rhetoric and discriminatory laws are likely contributing to the poor mental health documented among LGBTQ+ kids.

    In an effort to combat these struggles, researchers are studying what works to keep kids healthy, happy, and alive. In this episode, we discuss data around what might be working to prevent suicidality among Black trans youth, and we hear about a program helping parents learn how to support their LGBTQ+ kids through their own behavior changes.

    Learn more about the story and find the transcript on radioproject.org.

    Making Contact digs into the story beneath the story—contextualizing the narratives that shape our culture. Featuring narrative storytelling and thought-provoking interviews. We cover the most urgent issues of our time and the people on the ground building a more just world.

    EPISODE FEATURES: This episode features Dr. Myeshia Price, an Associate Professor at Indiana University in the Human Development program within the Department of Counseling & Educational Psychology and Associate Research Scientist with the Kinsey Institute; Flomichelle Battles, Interim Executive Director of Trans Solutions Research and Resource Center; and Dr. Caitlin Ryan, Director of the Family Acceptance Project.

    MAKING CONTACT: This episode is hosted by Amy Gastelum. It is produced by Anita Johnson, Lucy Kang, Salima Hamirani, and Amy Gastelum. Our executive director is Jina Chung.

    MUSIC: This episode includes music from Jason Shaw, including “Bird in Hand,” “River Meditation,” and “Solo Acoustic Guitar.” Available via WFMU Free Music Archive at https://freemusicarchive.org.

    Learn More:

    Gender Nexus

    Gender Expansive Kids and Company

    Trans Solutions

    Protect Our People

    LGBTQ services and support map from Family Acceptance Project and the Innovations Institute

    Family Acceptance Project

    The Kinsey Institute