Making Contact

This week on Making Contact, we bring you a story from our podcast partners, 70 Million titled Highway Robbery: How a Small-Town Traffic Trap Became A Legal Black Hole. About 20 minutes north of Birmingham, Alabama, on Interstate 22, is the working-class town of Brookside. Its almost 1300 residents make it about the size of a large high school. According to the 2020 census, Brookside's population is mostly White and 21% are Black. On paper, it's a lot like other small towns in this part of Alabama. That is, until 2022, when Brookside became infamous for, of all things, a traffic trap. Like this program? Please show us the love. Click here: http://bit.ly/3LYyl0R and support our non-profit journalism. Thanks! John Archibald, a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist - Sandra Harris - Town Hall Speaker 1 - Ashley - Leah Nelson, research director for the Alabama Appleseed Center for Law and Justice - Bill Dawson, a criminal, and civil rights lawyer from Birmingham - Adam Danneman, the head of the Public Defender's offi

There’s an idea in Mexico that racism doesn’t exist, that all Mexicans are “mestizo” - a homogenous blend of Spanish and indigenous. But cultural worker José Antonio Aguilar says racism is lived by Black and brown Mexicans in many ways.  He founded Racismo MX, an organization which seeks to dismantle racism, after coming to terms with his own racial reality as a “prieto” - a brown man.  We also hear from anthropologist Ismael Rivera and Aztec expert Camilla Townsend as they unravel lies the Spanish colonizers told about ancient Aztecs that still feed racist tropes today. Like this program? Please show us the love. Click here: http://bit.ly/3LYyl0R and support our non-profit journalism. Thanks! Featuring: José Antonio Aguilar - Racismo MX, Founder and Director,  Ismael Rivera - Anthropologist, Historian, Cultural Guide,  Dr. Camilla Townsend, P.h.D. - Rutgers University, Professor    Host: Amy Gastelum Freelance Producer: Anthony Wallace Producers: Anita Johnson, Salima Hamirani, Amy Gastelum, and Lucy Kang Ex

On today's show, we'll revisit the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic by looking at two alternative supply chains for masks during the fallout from the Trump administration's failure to prepare. We'll be speaking with the ProPublica reporter David McSwane about his book Pandemic, Inc.: Chasing the Capitalists and Thieves Who Got Rich While We Got Sick. The book details the shadowy supply chain of brokers looking to profit from the pandemic – to the tune of millions of dollars. We'll also hear from Mai-Linh Hong, co-editor and co-author of The Auntie Sewing Squad Guide to Mask Making, Radical Care, and Racial Justice, about a mutual aid organization that created a different supply chain for homemade masks based on community, care and connection over profit.  Like this program? Please show us the love. Click here: http://bit.ly/3LYyl0R and support our non-profit journalism. Thanks! Featuring: J. David McSwane, award-winning ProPublica investigative reporter and author of Pandemic, Inc.: Chasing the Capitali

In 2019, a well known romance writer began tweeting about other writers in her community and concerns about racism. It led to a huge reckoning within an organization called the Romance Writers of America, which is still unfolding. And although the online debate seemed to be isolated to a specific community of romance writers and their fans, it was really a microcosm of what's been happening all over the US. We learn all about romance novels and how newer writers are changing the norms of the genre, and giving it a political power it's never had before. And, we talk about what it means for organizations to change as they grapple with questions of race, including organizations such as ours, at Making Contact. This is an encore presentation of part two of a two-part series. Like this program? Please show us the love. Click here: http://bit.ly/3LYyl0R and support our non-profit journalism. Thanks! Featuring: Contance Grady Shana McDavis-Conway CJ Broderick Jayashree Kamble Jessica Partnow  Making Contact Team:

In 2019 a well known romance writer began tweeting about other writers in her community and concerns about racism. It led to a huge reckoning within an organization called the Romance Writers of America, which is still unfolding. And although the online debate seemed to be isolated to a specific community of romance writers and their fans, it was really a microcosm of what's been happening all over the US. In this episode we learn all about romance novels and how newer writers are changing the norms of the genre, and giving it a political power it's never had before. And, we talk about what it means for organizations to change as they grapple with questions of race.   Like this program? Please show us the love. Click here: http://bit.ly/3LYyl0R and support our non-profit journalism. Thanks! Featuring Jayashree Kamble; professor of English Literature at La Guardia Community College Reagan Jackson; co-executive director, Young Women Empowered, also a romance reader and fan Contance Grady; Senior Culture Report

Journalist Natalie Pattillo and filmmaker Daniel A. Nelson created the documentary film And So I Stayed to raise awareness about criminalized survival. This is the criminal justice system’s long practice of imprisoning survivors of intimate partner violence when they fight back against their abusers. Pattillo, herself a survivor, followed the stories of Kim Dadou Brown, Tanisha Davis and Nikki Addimando, women imprisoned for killing their abusers in a struggle to survive.  Like this program? Please show us the love. Click here: http://bit.ly/3LYyl0R and support our non-profit journalism. Thanks! Featuring: Natalie Pattillo, journalist and mother Daniel A. Nelson, filmmaker and cinematographer  Making Contact Team: Host: Amy Gastelum Producers: Anita Johnson, Salima Hamirani, Amy Gastelum, and Lucy Kang Executive Director: Jina Chung Interim Senior Producer: Jessica Partnow Engineer: Jeff Emtman  Music Credits: via WFMU free music archive Poddington Bear, Alsace HoliznaCC0, Whatever  Photo by Daniel A. N

Hundreds of bills targeting the trans and queer community have been introduced across state legislatures this year – a new record. Louisiana, like many other states, has seen a slew of anti-LGBTQ+ bills this session. But the state is somewhat of an outlier in the South, and activists have been successful in pushing back against these types of bills in the past. Sophie Ziegler joins today's episode to show us what legislative organizing looks like in the state – and what it can teach us about the fight for trans rights.  Like this program? Please show us the love. Click here: http://bit.ly/3LYyl0R and support our non-profit journalism. Thanks! Featuring: Sophie Ziegler, oral historian and legislative organizer in Louisiana, founder and director of the Solidarity History Initiative Pearl Ricks, reproductive rights organizer and executive director of the Reproductive Justice Action Collective Peyton Rose Michelle, executive director of Louisiana Trans Advocates and co-founder of locALL Benjamin Franklin High Sc

In this week's encore episode we hear from artist Samora Abayomi Pinderhughes about The Healing Project, an abolitionist art exhibition. The work explores the structures of systemic racism, particularly the prison industrial complex in the U.S. and takes multiple forms including music, films, community gatherings, and live performances. A digital library of audio interviews centers the project.  The stories, experiences, and ideas from intergenerational individuals across the country, including folks who are incarcerated form the foundation for The Healing Project’s vision for societal transformation.  Like this program? Please show us the love. Click here: http://bit.ly/3LYyl0R and support our non-profit journalism. Thanks! Featuring: Samora Pinderhughes, Keith Lamar, Sam, Cyril, Michelle, Pitt Panther    Making Contact Staff: Host:  Anita Johnson Segment Editors: Jessica Partnow, Lucy Kang, Jacinda Abcarian Producers: Anita Johnson, Salima Hamirani, Amy Gastelum, and Lucy Kang Executive Director: Jina Chun

The Silicon Valley Bank collapse brings with it memories of the wider 2008 economic crisis. Jeet Heer and John Nichols from The Nation join us to discuss the 2018 bank deregulations that set the stage for this moment and the risky investment strategy at the bank itself. They argue that bailout and FDIC's role in the collapse could set the stage for a dangerous economic future.   Like this program? Please show us the love. Click here: http://bit.ly/3LYyl0R and support our non-profit journalism. Thanks! Featuring: John Nichols, national affairs correspondent for The Nation; Jeet Heer, national affairs correspondent for The Nation Host: Salima Hamirani Producers: Anita Johnson, Salima Hamirani, Amy Gastelum, and Lucy Kang Executive Director: Jina Chung Interim Senior Producer: Jessica Partnow Engineer: Jeff Emtman Music Credits: Blue Dot Sessions - Boston Landing Rocky Marciano - Chamem Me D Dieter van der Westen - Heading for Bamako Frequency Decree - Lithosphere Learn More:  The Nation: Democrats Face a Terr

In the mid 1990s, the Reproductive Justice movement was formed by Black and indigenous women as a response to the limitations of the "reproductive rights" movement. Movement leaders argue, "rarely do we find ourselves fighting for just one aspect of reproductive justice such as abortion rights" - SisterSong. Dr. Alexis Pauline Gumbs, scholar and writer, joined us to talk about her book Revolutionary Mothering: Love on the Frontlines, her experience being a teenager during the formation of the Reproductive Justice Movement and what she's reading now to inform this moment.  Like this program? Please show us the love. Click here: http://bit.ly/3LYyl0R and support our non-profit journalism. Thanks!   Featuring: Dr. Alexis Pauline Gumbs  Making Contact Staff: Producers: Anita Johnson, Salima Hamirani, Amy Gastelum, Lucy Kang Host: Amy Gastelum Executive Director: Jina Chung Interim Senior Producer: Jessica Partnow Engineer: Jeff Emtman Music Credits: Catching Feelings by Audiobinger Image Credit: Alexis Paulin

On this week's Making Contact, we feature an extended interview with Ivey Camille Manybeads Tso, a queer Diné filmmaker and director of the award-winning documentary Powerlands. Powerlands traces how multinational energy corporations extract resources and profits while displacing and harming Indigenous communities around the world. The film follows Indigenous activists in Navajo Nation, Colombia, Mexico and the Philippines who are fighting back against corporations like Peabody Energy, Glencore and BHP.  Like this program? Please show us the love. Click here: http://bit.ly/3LYyl0R and support our non-profit journalism. Thanks! Featuring: Ivey Camille Manybeads Tso, an award-winning queer Diné filmmaker and director of Powerlands  Host: Lucy Kang Producers: Anita Johnson, Salima Hamirani, Amy Gastelum, and Lucy Kang Executive Director: Jina Chung Interim Senior Producer: Jessica Partnow Engineer: Jeff Emtman This episode includes excerpts from the documentary film Powerlands. Music: Documentary by Music_Un

This week on Making Contact, we bring you a story of urban planning and how race has shaped American cities.  In a new book, Hella Town: Oakland's History of Development and Disruption,  Author Mitchell Schwarzer explores the origins and the lasting impacts of transportation improvements, systemic racism, and regional competition on Oakland's built environment. Schwarzer, an architectural and urban historian, pulls from his experience as a city planner, and educator to tell the story of a city divided.  Like this program? Please show us the love. Click here: http://bit.ly/3LYyl0R and support our non-profit journalism. Thanks! Featuring: Mitchell Schwarzer is Professor in the Department of the History of Art and Visual Culture at California College of the Arts. He has written books on architectural theory, visual perception, and the buildings of the San Francisco Bay Area.    Making Contact: Host:  Anita Johnson Producers: Anita Johnson, Salima Hamirani, Amy Gastelum, and Lucy Kang Executive Director: Jina Ch

Haaland v. Brackeen is a lesser-known case in the docket for the Supreme Court, but it could overturn the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). This would create massive implications for the laws that govern Indigenous sovereignty in the United States. We talk with author and activist Rebecca Nagle about the case of "Baby O" and the Librettis and how their story led to this case. We also investigate the money and interests behind the lawsuit. There's a lot at stake, maybe even the very nature of tribal laws, which were enshrined in the Constitution. The overturning of the ICWA is not just another custody battle.   Like this program? Please show us the love. Click here: http://bit.ly/3LYyl0R and support our non-profit journalism. Thanks! Featuring: Rebecca Nagle, Cherokee writer and advocate, reporter at The Nation, host of This Land   Making Contact Team: Host: Salima Hamirani Staff Producers: Anita Johnson, Salima Hamirani, Amy Gastelum, and Lucy Kang Executive Director: Jina Chung Interim Senior Producer: Jes

Federal food programs, like WIC, face big changes coming out of the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health. Meanwhile, a single moms collective in Ohio holds it down for the single pregnant and parenting people in their community. Motherful's resource pantry serves their 325-strong membership out of a garage three times a week.  We talk to members and founders to learn what's it's like to participate, how it all started and where food justice is headed for them now and in their wildest dreams.   Like this program? Please show us the love. Click here: http://bit.ly/3LYyl0R and support our non-profit journalism. Thanks! Featuring: Kay Riley, college student and Mom to baby Wisdom, Motherful Member Rugi Ngaide, Ohio supreme court translator, Mom, Motherful member Lisa Woodrow, Co-Founder and Co-Director of Motherful, Mom Heidi Howes - Co-Founder and Co-Director of Motherful, Mom Rebecca Piazza: Senior Advisor for Delivery, Food and Nutrition Service, Mom  Making Contact Team: Host: Amy Gastelu

Today's episode debuts our partnership with the Queens Memory Podcast, a project archiving stories from the most diverse community in the U.S., Queens, New York. “Little Manila” is a Filipino neighborhood dating back to the 1970s, but it still struggles to find its political footing.  The community's presence is strengthened through grassroots coalitions and community art, like the mural of the greeting "Mabuhay," a word that encompasses feelings of welcome and good wishes and at its most literal "LIVE!"  We also hear from Filipino care workers about their experiences battling COVID 19, and the stereotype Filipina women face of being "natural nurturers"  which doesn't translate into care for them in return.   Like this program? Please show us the love. Click here: http://bit.ly/3LYyl0R and support our non-profit journalism. Thanks! Featuring: Potri Ranka Manis: Nurse, Activist and Artist; Joey Golja: Community Member; Mary Jane de Leon: Community Member; John Bahia: Community Member; Steven Raga: Assemblymemb

This week marks the 75th anniversary of the Nakba, or the "catastrophe" in Arabic. It refers both to the events starting in late 1947, when Zionist militias expelled over 700,000 Palestinians from their homes, and the ongoing destruction and occupation of their lands. Today, Palestinians continue to commemorate the Nakba by reclaiming their history, resisting the occupation, and calling for their right to return. We start today's show with a story about how the desperation of life in Gaza under the Israeli blockade is forcing Palestinians to leave by sea. Then, we'll learn more about the history of the Nakba and the role that foreign powers like Britain and the United States have played.  Like this program? Please show us the love. Click here: http://bit.ly/3LYyl0R and support our non-profit journalism. Thanks! Featuring: Rami Almeghari, Gaza-based journalist and poet; Marie Choi, former Making Contact producer and host; Rabab Abdulhadi, founding director and Senior Scholar of the Arab and Muslim Ethnicities

Grand juries are supposed to safeguard against the government charging people with a crime when it lacks sufficient evidence. But because prosecutors control what happens in grand jury proceedings, they almost always get an indictment. That is, unless the accused is a police officer. This week on Making Contact, we hear a story from our podcast partner 70 Million about a case of police brutality in Dallas that evaporated after going before a grand jury in an edited version of  “Grand Juries, The Black Box of Justice Reform?"  Like this program? Please show us the love. Click here: http://bit.ly/3LYyl0R and support our non-profit journalism. Thanks! Featuring: Parker Nevilles, Jantzen Verastique, Dondi Morse - protestors targeted by police Ric Simmons, Professor, The Ohio State University's Moritz College of Law Roger Rudloff, police officer  Unidentified Police Officer  David Henderson, civil rights attorney   70 Million Team: Episode Reporter: Mark Betancourt  Editor: Monica Lopez and Juleyka Lantigua Hos

The Silicon Valley Bank collapse brings with it memories of the wider 2008 economic crisis. Jeet Heer and John Nichols from The Nation join us to discuss the 2018 bank deregulations that set the stage for this moment and the risky investment strategy at the bank itself. They argue that bailout and FDIC's role in the collapse could set the stage for a dangerous economic future.   Like this program? Please show us the love. Click here: http://bit.ly/3LYyl0R and support our non-profit journalism. Thanks! Featuring: John Nichols, national affairs correspondent for The Nation; Jeet Heer, national affairs correspondent for The Nation Host: Salima Hamirani Producers: Anita Johnson, Salima Hamirani, Amy Gastelum, and Lucy Kang Executive Director: Jina Chung Interim Senior Producer: Jessica Partnow Engineer: Jeff Emtman Music Credits: Blue Dot Sessions - Boston Landing Rocky Marciano - Chamem Me D Dieter van der Westen - Heading for Bamako Frequency Decree - Lithosphere Learn More:  The Nation: Democrats Face a Terr

Abortion access is piecemeal and complex in the US. And while access to abortion volleys among the court system, the organization PlanCPills.org helps people access pills to manage their own abortions, despite confusing, mercurial laws.

On today's show, we'll be looking at the environmental impact of the rail industry and hear from people in two communities currently impacted by rail-related contamination. In February, a Suffolk Northern train carrying toxic chemicals derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, and residents are still recovering from the disaster over two months later. In Houston's Fifth Ward, residents have been living with the dire health effects of creosote used to treat railroad ties decades ago.