National Radio Project

Producer Robert Raymond interviews Alex Vitale, author of The End of Policing--a critical examination on the history of the police, and the police’s evolution as a tool for social control that exacerbates race and class divisions.

44 million Americans hold over 1.6 trillion dollars of student debt and the cost of higher education continues to skyrocket. This unpayable debt causes long term financial damage, especially, for students of color and women. What can we do to fix the debt crisis? We look at two solutions: Free schools like Berea College in Kentucky and the possibility of a student debt strike.

Law Professor Kimberlé Crenshaw defined the concept of intersectionality 30 years ago. She developed that framework to understand how identities such as race, gender and class intersect in overlapping systems of oppression and discrimination -- resulting in compounded damage.

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 candidates taking positions on the issue, elevating the discussion to the mainstream.

The movement to uplift Black lives and to defund and dismantle police departments has grown to a point where it cannot be ignored. We’ll hear from activists in Minneapolis, mourners in Houston, and our archives for an interview with the brother of Yuvette Henderson.

Civil rights leader Fannie Lou Hamer, spoke words that are all too relevant today. Today on Making Contact, you’ll hear archival recordings, and excerpts from a powerful new film featuring Fannie Lou Hamer. You’ll hear about the context of her life, and the lives of other sharecroppers in Mississippi.

The biggest tech companies generate enormous wealth and power by harvesting information about people. It’s called surveillance capitalism. This episode features journalist Rana Foroohar, author of Don’t Be Evil: How Big Tech Betrayed Its Founding Principles—and All of Us. 

Covid-19 has transformed jails and prisons into death traps. How are some communities jailing less people in the first place. After someone is arrested, there are multiple court-ordered actions after they make bail. Often, missing any of these--especially court appearances--winds them up in jail. 70 Million's reporter Jenny Casas goes to Palm Beach, Florida, where something as simple as texting has made a significant difference in people’s lives

Gig Workers, driver's for app companies such as Lyft and Uber, are struggling during COVID-19. They're considered essential workers, so they can still work but many of them aren't making enough to cover rent. Many have chosen to stay home, facing economic insecurity. Those who work, however, are continuing to drive without much protection in the way of personal protective equipment, and very little help from the app companies themselves. We take a look at the future of the gig economy and how to protect "essential workers."

Our radio adaptation of the film, Let the Fire Burn. Directed by Jason Osder, examines the controversial, 1985 clash between police in Philadelphia and MOVE, a radical, non-violent group. On May 13, police dropped a bomb on MOVE's home, killing 11 people and destroying 61 homes.

In the midst of our dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s hard to imagine what stories we will ultimately tell our children and grandchildren. This week's episode is about two strong women who survived historic trauma, and the stories they later told their families.

The world as we knew it seemingly turned upside down overnight. With stay at home orders in place, we are no longer rushing to work each day, getting stuck in traffic, hustling to get the kids to school, and scrambling for time to take care of chores. This strange and abrupt stop to “business as usual” has shined a light on the capitalist systems that are now crumbling down, and offers us the chance to pause and ask what’s next?

Most of us have a home to shelter in place during COVID -19. But what about the homeless? We take a look at life on the street before COVID-19, following two women as they undergo several evictions from encampments. And then we talk about the specific challenges the homeless face during COVID-19 and what we can do to fix the housing crisis.

How are witch hunts and Capitalist economies linked? Silvia Federici, wrote the ground breaking book, Caliban and the Witch, in 2004. In the book she argues that the witch hunts of the fifteenth century were a necessary pre-condition for Capitalism to flourish.

Today, witch hunts are still happening, in places like East Timor, India and Cambodia. Federici, who never really left the subject of witch hunts, returns to the topic with her book, Women Witches and Witch Hunts. She looks back to the witch hunts of the middle ages and sees them replaying today, in countries that are newly adopting capitalism as their economic model.

In 1918, humanity faced a deadly global pandemic-- the Spanish Flu. How did those who lived a century before us respond to the crisis, and what we can learn from their response and the aftermath? 

In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, many Americans are worried about their health insurance. The cost of treating the illness, if a patient ends up in the ICU, can run into the tens of thousands of dollars without coverage. Which most people just can’t afford. Today we bring you a piece we produced last year about a related topic -the rising cost of insulin, and the effectiveness of medicare for all. First, we visit a group of community scientists called the Open Insulin Project, an organization trying to create its own insulin outside the lengthy FDA process and whether it's worth the associated risks. And we talk about the benefits of Medicare for All, a policy which would get rid of private insurance and make all medicine and medical care accessible and affordable.

On this edition of Making Contact, acclaimed author Ian Haney López talks about his new book - Merge Left: Fusing Race and Class, Winning Elections, and Saving America.  This book explores the links between current day wealth and race inequality, elections, and how coded racism has evolved in the Trump era.  The book also looks at ways we can proactively build cross-racial solidarity to diminish barriers between us.  Author Ian Haney López holds an endowed chair as the Chief Justice Earl Warren Professor of Public Law at the University of California, Berkeley.

Election protection is increasingly seen as a critical issue in the US. From gerrymandering and voter purges, to precinct closures and problems with voting machine technology, Women Rising Radio explores threats to the US electoral process with two election protection activists.

Our radio adaptation of the film, Who Bombed Judi Bari?, explores Judi Bari’s bold activism to save the Redwood Forest in the face of corporate greed, and the violent measures taken to silence the environmental movement. Produced by Darryl Cherney, Elyse Katz, Sheila Laffey, Bill and Laurie Benenson and directed by Mary Liz Thomson, the film delves into the bombing and her fight against the F.B.I.'s attempted frame-up.

We think of Artificial Intelligence as being the stuff of science fiction movies, set far in the future. But it's already having an impact on our lives. We look at a kind of decision made by artificial intelligence called a risk assessment and how it impacts the poor and people of color and we talk about ways to fight back.

I Am Not Your Negro is a journey into black history that connects the past of the Civil Rights movement to the present of #BlackLivesMatter. It is a film that questions black representation in Hollywood and beyond.

Five years after Michael Brown’s death at the hands of a police officer galvanized criminal justice reform activists in St. Louis, they're gaining serious momentum to shut down the city's notorious Workhouse jail. Reporter Carolina Hidalgo spent time with the Close the Workhouse campaign and Arch City Defenders, their supporters, and detractors.

You'll hear about ongoing food insecurity issues from food scholar Raj Patel, and hopeful solutions from families in the Black Creek community garden in Toronto, Canada.

Meeting family needs in a city of widening wealth gaps is a big lift. Studies show that when parents are engaged in their kids’ education, it has a huge impact. Reporter Lee Romney spent a year following the work of one family liaison at a high-poverty school. 

Spies of Mississippi is a journey into the world of informants, infiltrators, and agent provocateurs in the heart of Dixie. Directed and produced by Dawn Porter and executive produced by LOOKS TV and Martina Haubrich. The film tells the story of a secret spy agency formed by the state of Mississippi to preserve segregation and maintain “the Mississippi way of life,” white supremacy, during the 1950s and ‘60s. 

On today's program, John Carlos Frey, author of Sand and Blood: America's Stealth War on the Mexico Border, explores increased militarization at the border, US deterrent strategy, and the profitable business of fear.    

We look at our favorite shows from 2019. From Artificial Intelligence, to the stigma around women's periods, from guns and restraining orders to the cost of Insulin, these are the stories that inspired us, taught us something or just made us think differently.

Megafarms and oil & gas producers in California’s Central Valley are some of the worst polluters of local air, soil, and water. We’ll hear how Central Valley residents are pushing back. Later, author Naomi Klein talks about her book, On Fire: The Burning Case for a Green New Deal. But first, we go to Pine Ridge, South Dakota, where reporter we learn how six Native American tribes are harnessing wind power to bring economic development to their members. 

"Honorable people can do terrible things" says Andrea Pitzer in her book "One Long Night: A Global History of Concentration Camps." We talk to Andrea Pitzer about her research as she traces the evolution of the camp, from its earliest incarnation in Cuba to its modern day forms in China, Burma and Guantanamo. What is a concentration camp? Why are they so deadly? And most importantly, what do we do to fight them?

In the aftermath of a disaster, information can mean the difference between life and death. After the earthquake hit in Mexico City, it wasn’t just buildings that collapsed, the normal lines of communication that connect the city did as well. It was in this dangerous state of confusion and chaos that a group of friends using WhatsApp to share information ended up creating what later became known as Verificado19s, a spontaneous, grassroots initiative that consisted of a vast network of volunteers that traveled throughout the city to gather and verify information. Special thanks to the podcast "The Response."

Our radio adaptation of the film, The Murder of Fred Hampton, produced by filmmakers Mike Gray and Howard Alk, provides a glimpse into the life of Hampton and the Illinois Black Panther Party. On December 4th, 1969, exactly 50 years ago, Black Panthers Fred Hampton, age 21, and Mark Clark, age 22, were shot to death by Chicago police.

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 methanol refineries in Tacoma and Kalama, Washington. This week we hear part 2, "A View from the Blast Zone,” on the struggle to stop a massive LNG facility that is being built at the Port of Tacoma.

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 Mexican border with the USA.

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 Open Insulin Project, an organization trying to create its own insulin outside the lengthy FDA process and whether it's worth the associated risks. And we talk about the benefits of Medicare for All, a policy which would get rid of private insurance and make all medicine and medical care accessible and affordable.

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 place at The Brooklyn Public Library’s Dweck Center on April 10, 2019.

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, black girls still find ways to breathe remarkable dignity into their lives in classrooms, juvenile facilities, and beyond.  

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 the history of Hawaii - from the beginning of the US occupation up to statehood and the present day.

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 women themselves have changed the kind of options available outside of clinics.

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 attorneys fighting them.

70 Million is made possible by a grant from the Safety and Justice Challenge at the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. The 70 Million podcast is a production of Lantigua Williams & Co.

Photo Credit: 70 Million; Caption: Floricel Liborio Ramos in Northern California.

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 Stonewall: The Birth of a Movement.

Editor at large of the Huffington Posts’ Gay Voices Michelangelo Signorile says while there have been a series of recent wins for the LGBT rights movement, bigotry remains a daily reality for many.

At a  New America NYC forum Signorile spoke with June Thomas, Culture Critic and Editor of Outward, Slate’s LGBTQ Section about what he calls “victory blindness”. It’s a central theme in his new book, “It’s Not Over, Getting to Beyond Tolerance Defeating Homophobia and Winning True Equality.”

Special thanks to Pacifica Radio Archives for “Remembering Stonewall: The Birth of a Movement” produced by David Isay for Pacifica Radio,  New America NYC for “It’s Not Over: Winning True Equality.”

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 candidates taking positions on the issue, elevating the discussion to the mainstream.

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.

I Am Because I Am, explores the expansion of gender identity and presumed roles in our society. A look beyond the socially constructed ideas of what is male, female, masculine or feminine. Especially considering Trump’s administration attempts to redefine gender to be solely based on a person’s genitalia at birth. Thus potentially threatening Transgender, Intersex and Non-Binary Identity.

We think of enhanced interrogation as being a new invention - a kind of torture in use only since 9/11. But Rebecca Gordon disagrees. In this episode she joins us to talk about the United State's long history of using torture domestically and abroad, and its connection to power and race.

In this episode, we honor the life and legacy of civil rights activist Grace Lee Boggs through the lens of the documentary film, AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARY: THE EVOLUTION OF GRACE LEE BOGGS. Produced and directed by Grace Lee. 

People with disabilities or disabled people?  

“Disability: Our Culture Ourselves”— in this episode we discuss disability, culture and identity from the perspective of disability communities themselves.  

In this episode we explore racial disparities in end-of-life care: How mistrust keeps many African Americans away from hospice. And later we examine particular challenges and cultural barriers faced by Asians and Latinos at the end of life. 

We think of Artificial Intelligence as being the stuff of science fiction movies, set far in the future. But it's already having an impact on our lives. We look at a kind of decision made by artificial intelligence called a risk assessment and how it impacts the poor and people of color and we talk about ways to fight back.

Jails in Miami-Dade County double as de facto mental health facilities. But Miami-Dade’s Criminal Mental Health Project has become a national model for negotiating the interplay between mental illness and criminal justice.

President Donald Trump’s tax plan may exacerbate wealth inequity in the US. Chuck Collins, Director of the Program on Inequality at the Institute for Policy Studies addresses the complex history of the wealth gap. Also, producers from the Upstream podcast ask: is it time for Universal Basic Income?

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. We need to let go of idea that objectivity is dying. A more useful framework is that objectivity is a mythology that we're urgently debunking to figure out what can stand in its place. That doesn't lessen our pursuit of truth, it just reveals the complexity that was always there, which is that subjectivity that informs that pursuit.

This line of questioning ultimately got him fired from Marketplace. Dive into one journalist's reckoning with truth.  

Cesar Chavez has made it to the big screen. Millions of people are now learning about the legendary farmworker organizer. But where did Chavez get his organizing philosophies?

This week, Paul Ingles and Carol Boss of Peacetalks radio take us down The Non-Violent path of Cesar Chavez , through conversations with Chavez colleague and friend Dolores Huerta, and Jose Antonio Orozco, author of the book, Cesar Chavez and the Common Sense of Nonviolence.  

Abortion and reproductive rights for women are being fought over across the globe. Women Rising Radio visits with key organizers of the Polish Women’s Strike and the Irish Together for Yes campaign, both successful efforts to give women more control over our bodies, our health and our family planning.  Women Rising Radio also profiles Catholics for Choice and the Latina Institute for Reproductive Health in the USA.

Fresh water is one of our most precious natural resources. This week contributor Maria Doerr looks at what's being done to protect the watersheds of Mexico City-- natural water systems that provide water to one of the largest metropolises in the world.

African American students across the country are much more likely than any other student group to be placed in special education. This week, we hear what is and isn’t working for black students with special needs today.

New Orleans could become the battleground for bail reform. The city has one of the highest per capita incarceration rates in the world. And most people are there because they can’t pay their bail. The current arrangement with the local bail industry gives the impression that judges there could have a financial conflict of interest when setting bail. In this episode, Sonia Paul digs into how an ongoing lawsuit, pretrial consequences of bail, and poverty, bias, and algorithms come into play.

Master filmmaker Raoul Peck envisions the book James Baldwin never finished, Remember This House. The result is a radical, up-to-the-minute examination of race in America, using Baldwin’s original words and flood of rich archival material. I Am Not Your Negro is a journey into black history that connects the past of the Civil Rights movement to the present of #BlackLivesMatter. It is a film that questions black  representation in Hollywood and beyond. And, ultimately, by confronting the deeper connections between the lives and assassination of Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr., Baldwin and Peck have produced a work that challenges the very definition of what America stands for.

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.

We speak with author Dr. Stacey Patton about her book, Spare the Kids: Why Whupping Won't Save Black America. The book examines the unique cultural and historical specificity of corporal punishment in Black communities. Given the prevalence and acceptance of spanking in American culture, the discussions will be useful to a wide and diverse audience.

Michelle Alexander, Mark Lamont Hill and Vonya Quarles discuss the modern prison abolition movement, what's changed in the past ten years, and the rise of the 'open air prison.'

This episode explores the past and present of the far right and anti-fascism. We begin with the murder investigation of anti-fascist rapper, Pavlos Fyssas. In the second half, author Mark Bray describes antifa responses to Hitler and Mussolini.

In a special 2 part program by Making Contact we explore new safe at-home abortion options and the growing movement for "self-managed abortions.”

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? 

On this edition of Making Contact, we speak with author Paul Kivel about his book, Uprooting Racism: How White People Can Work for Racial Justice. This book offers a framework for understanding institutional racism. It provides practical suggestions, tools, examples, and advice on how white people can intervene in interpersonal and organizational situations to work as allies for racial justice.

There were thousands of organizers, activists and local social justice leaders around the world who died in 2018. As we do every December, we bring you some of the voices and stories of our Fallen Heroes.

Thousands of Guatemalans are recovering from the eruption of a volcano called Fuego - Spanish for "fire" - which took place in the summer of 2018. In this report, our correspondent Maria Martin looks back at the disaster - which some people are calling the worst natural disaster to ever strike Guatemala.

America’s unwillingness to assess the ugly truth about systemic inequality has created a perpetual sinkhole of denial. A reality that existed long before Trump’s presidency. It’s AMERICA’s Legacy.

On this edition, we hear from Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, professor of Sociology at Georgetown University. Dr. Dyson recently penned, “What Truth Sounds Like: RFK, James Baldwin, and Our Unfinished Conversation About Race in America.” Today’s conversation with Professor Dyson explores race and truth in the age of Trump.

70 Million reporter, Ruxandra Guidi, chronicles how activists and reformers are succeeding in cutting the jail population, diverting drug arrests, and increasing accountability for local police in Harris County, Texas.

I Am Because I Am, explores the expansion of gender identity and presumed roles in our society. A look beyond the socially constructed ideas of what is male, female, masculine or feminine. Especially considering Trump’s administration attempts to redefine gender to be solely based on a person’s genitalia at birth. Thus potentially threatening Transgender, Intersex and Non-Binary Identity.

On this episode, we look at the 2017 Tubbs Fire in California, and how it impacted the undocumented community. In the face of ICE raids, labor violations, a housing crisis, and wildfires, the broader community is standing in solidarity with those who are forced into the shadows.

California’s drought has led to an unprecedented number of wildfires that burn hotter, faster, and ever more acreage. Governor Jerry Brown says, “Since civilization emerged 10,000 years ago, we haven’t had this kind of heat condition, and it’s going to continue getting worse.”

What does the growing threat of climate-fueled disasters mean for the most vulnerable among us?

Indigenous Women made their voices heard during California Governor Jerry Brown’s Global Climate Action Summit. They rejected Brown’s support for market driven schemes and shared their vision for climate solutions at protests and at a special Women’s Assembly, organized by the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, we'll hear how one community kitchen grew into an island-wide network of mutual aid centers with the aim of restoring power — electric and civic — to the Puerto Rican people.

While some Americans are mentally focused on the 2020 presidential election, all eyes seem to be on the rapidly approaching midterm election.  With both Democrats and Republicans vying for control of the House and Senate, the majority party will have the advantage to pass their legislative agendas – producing outcomes that could hugely impact the future of Trump’s presidency. 

Despite the difficult picture painted by the news, there is hope for our planet. We cover several fights against refineries and market based solutions to global warming. And, we look at one promising solution – the combination of community owned energy and microgrids.

The stage is set for a battle between two worldviews. Is housing a human right, or a commodity? And where on that continuum is California’s common ground? This week, we look at the fight over rent control, and police policies that affect the homeless.

This week, we hear from a woman who went to prison under El Salvador’s current abortion laws— some of the strictest in the world. And, one reproductive justice organization considers the future of reproductive health access under the US Supreme Court.

This week, we explore the remarkable communities that arise in the aftermath of natural disasters; namely, Hurricane Sandy, and its impact on the Rockaway Peninsula.

This month is the ten year anniversary of the stock market crash of 2018. Nomi Prins talks about her new book, “Collusion: How Central Bankers Rigged the World.” And, Julianne Malveaux explains how the crash has continued to devastate people of color, especially black people.

On this encore edition of Making Contact, we present the first in a two-part series on the pressure to transform a region of iconic landscapes and environmental stewardship into a global center for shipping fossil fuels.

Criminal justice reform can be complicated. Formerly incarcerated people and officials in Pima County are teaming up to send fewer people to jail. Meanwhile a federal program at the border is sending people to jail over traffic violations and minor drug offenses. 

#DishonorRoll

Students at several prominent historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), have demanded that school administrators address sexual assault more vigorously. Last year, student protests at Morehouse College, Spelman College, Hampton University, and Howard University focused on inadequacies in the way sexual assault and rape cases are handled.

Darnell Moore the author of No Ashes in the Fire: Coming of Age Black and Free in America.  A story of beauty and hope-and an honest reckoning with family, with place and with what is it means to be free. His talk focuses on his memoir, No Ashes in the Fire.

On this edition of Making Contact we present, The Struggle Inside: The Murder of George Jackson, a program about the modern anti-prison movement.

When one or both parents are incarcerated the family is also incarcerated and are adversely affected in profound ways that exacerbate existing structural inequalities and struggles. Programs for inmates and families like FamilyWorks and the Storybook Program, encourage rebuilding and maintaining relationships despite being separated by prison.

On this edition of Making Contact, we speak with author Paul Kivel about his book, Uprooting Racism: How White People Can Work for Racial Justice. This book offers a framework for understanding institutional racism. It provides practical suggestions, tools, examples, and advice on how white people can intervene in interpersonal and organizational situations to work as allies for racial justice.

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.