“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.
April 25, 2024 National, News & Public Affairs
Making Contact: You Can Still Have An Abortion
Access to abortion is increasingly piecemeal and complex in the US. While abortion access volleys within the judicial system, local abortion funds and online resources help people navigate care despite confusing, mercurial laws.
ListenApril 11, 2024 National, News & Public Affairs
AMERICA’S BLACK CAPITAL
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. The book 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.
Read MoreApril 4, 2024 National, News & Public Affairs
THE ORIGINS OF ZIONISM
In the midst of repeated, outsized, and unprecedented attacks on the people of Gaza, we talk to Rashid Khalidi about his book "The Hundred Years' War on Palestine." We focus on the very early history of the zionist movement in Palestine and his argument that it was, from the start, a settler-colonial endeavor.
Read MoreMarch 28, 2024 National, News & Public Affairs
NO, COVID ISNT OVER, AND THE NEED FOR CONTINUED COMMUNITY
March marks four years since the beginnings of the COVID-19 pandemic. Public health failures and government inaction have forced communities to take matters into their own hands. On today's show, we look at two groups steeped in the values of community care: the Auntie Sewing Squad and Pandemic Solidarity for the Long Future.
Read MoreMarch 21, 2024 National, News & Public Affairs
REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE: THE ONGOING STRUGGLE FOR BODILY AUTONOMY (ENCORE)
Today we share excerpts from She's Beautiful When She's Angry, a documentary about the rise of activism around womens rights in the late 1960s, the intersections of race in this movement, and the coalescence of the movement around bodily autonomy. The stories resonate particularly in a moment where control of womens bodies has yet again become a debate.
Read MoreMarch 7, 2024 National, News & Public Affairs
THE ETHICAL DILEMMA OF GEOENGINEERING & GLOBAL WARMING (ENCORE)
In an era where climate change is top of mind for all and our futures hang in the balance, scientists think theyve found a solution: geoengineering. We take a deep dive into whether this answer to global warming actually fulfills its promises - or does more harm than good.
Read MoreFebruary 29, 2024 National, News & Public Affairs
Making Contact: The Feminist Birth of the Home Pregnancy Test
In 1965 Margaret Crane was a young graphic designer with an idea: Why couldn't women do their own pregnancy tests at home? This is the story of how she launched a product to help women know and make choices for their own bodies - and the inevitable backlash.
Read MoreFebruary 22, 2024 National, News & Public Affairs
Making Contact: Jenny Odell on Saving Time
We speak with Jenny Odell, author of "Saving Time: Discovering a Life Beyond the Clock," about how the ways we think about time shapes our lives. A critical look at productivity culture and the idea that time is money, we disentangle our day-to-day concept of time from its capitalistic and colonialist roots.
Read MoreFebruary 15, 2024 National, News & Public Affairs
Making Contact: Continuing to honor Black history and heritage
Today's episode from our archives continues to honor Black history and heritage. We take a look at the life and legacy of Bayard Rustin, a central figure in the struggle for civil rights and freedom. A pacifist, a gay man, and a practitioner of nonviolence, Rustin dedicated his life to racial equality, economic justice and ending warfare.
Read MoreFebruary 8, 2024 National, News & Public Affairs
TULSA’S BLACK HISTORY SATURDAY SCHOOL
When Oklahoma passed a law limiting discussion of race in classrooms, Tulsa activist Kristi Williams rallied the community to create Black History Saturdays. Now, she says entire families are learning who they are by knowing where they come from.
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