“Making Contact” is produced by International Media Project, an independent, non-profit organization founded in 1994, committed to investigative journalism, in-depth critical analysis, the promotion of civic participation and the dissemination of educational material. Its core focus is National Radio Project, the team that creates Making Contact.
Making Contact programs cover: Agriculture/Food – Civil Liberties – Globalization/Global-Political Economy – Education – Environment – Environmental Justice – Gay/Lesbian – Healthcare – Human Rights – Native/Indigenous Peoples – Labor – Latin America – Media – Middle East – Military/War/Peace – Nuclear – Political Activism – Prison/Police – Race – Social Justice – US Foreign Policy – US Domestic Politics – Welfare – Women – Youth … and more.
November 30, 2023 National, News & Public Affairs
HOW OLLAS POPULARES FED BUENOS AIRES THROUGH A PANDEMIC (ENCORE)
The story of how locals in Buenos Aires came together to feed each other through a pandemic with community kitchens (ollas populares), and how innovative architecture can facilitate communal living and modular food preparation.
ListenNovember 16, 2023 National, News & Public Affairs
NOT JUST SPEED TRAPS: ALABAMA COMMUNITY FIGHTS BACK AGAINST FOR-PROFIT POLICING – A 70 MILLION STORY (ENCORE)
Brookside is a small town in Alabama, where the police used a civil war-era state loophole to create a traffic ticketing nightmare for residents"and generate piles of cash for the local government. After years of abuse, the people are fighting back.
Read MoreNovember 9, 2023 National, News & Public Affairs
THE PROMISE AND PERIL OF GEOENGINEERING
In recent years, scientists have begun testing geoengineering technologies to slow down or even stop global warming. But, is geoengineering safe? And is it really the solution we need? We talk to scientists and activists to find out.
Read MoreOctober 26, 2023 National, News & Public Affairs
MODERN PARENTING…THE LATINO WAY
How do you decide what kind of parent you want to be? Our friends at Pulso Podcast Maribel Quezada Smith and Liz Alarcn discuss ways they maintain their children's cultural identity as Latinos while living in the U.S. They also touch on what they have changed from how their immigrant parents raised them. In the second half, Liz sits down with Latinx parenting coach Leslie Priscilla to talk about her work using an antiracist, anticolonial and child-centered lens.
Read MoreOctober 19, 2023 National, News & Public Affairs
WHOSE POINT REYES? INDIGENOUS HISTORY AND PUBLIC LANDS
Dive into the history of Point Reyes National Seashore with us, an area in northern California known for rugged sweeping beaches and tule elk. We'll recount the history of this land and the waves of colonization that violently upended the lives of the Coast Miwok peoples who lived there " and one Indigenous woman's struggle to preserve her family history.
Read MoreOctober 12, 2023 National, News & Public Affairs
:INCLUSION ON PURPOSE
Thought leaders in our nationwide conversation about race and belonging, Ruchika Tulshyan and Ijeoma Oluo discuss Tulshyans book, Inclusion on Purpose: An Intersectional Approach to Creating a Culture of Belonging at Work.
Read MoreOctober 5, 2023 National, News & Public Affairs
THE SHADOW OF NUCLEAR COLONIALISM
On today's show, we hear about the impact of nuclear colonialism and the Manhattan Project on the people and places of New Mexico with Myrriah Gomez, author of Nuclear Nuevo Mexico: Colonialism and the Effects of the Nuclear Industrial Complex on Nuevomexicanos. And then we dig into how nuclear testing during the Cold War led to dangerous and lasting contamination in the Marshall Islands and San Francisco's Bayview Hunters Point neighborhood.
Read MoreSeptember 28, 2023 National, News & Public Affairs
A HISTORY OF TRADITIONAL ROOT HEALING (ENCORE)
In some parts of the world, traditional herbal remedies are the norm. When we think of natural remedies we tend to think of older generations living in remote areas, in far away countries, with little access to modern healthcare. We rarely think about the ancient medicinal plants that might exist in our very own cities. On today's episode we look at plant and herb medicines through the lens of Michele Elizabeth. Lee the author of Working The Roots: Over 400 Years of Traditional African-American Healing.
Read MoreSeptember 21, 2023 National, News & Public Affairs
TOXIC TRACKS (ENCORE)
On today's show, we'll hear an encore of a show from our archives that first aired in April. 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.
Read MoreSeptember 14, 2023 National, News & Public Affairs
TOXIC TRACKS (ENCORE)
On today's show, we'll hear an encore of a show from our archives that first aired in April. 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.
Read More