Dive into the history of Point Reyes National Seashore in northern California with us. It's one of the most iconic national parks in the region, known for rugged sweeping beaches and the famous tule elk. We'll recount 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. The story of Point Reyes is a story about how the forces of colonialism continue to shape the fate of public l...
Oct 18, 2023•30 min
In this special encore edition of Making Contact we present “Saltwater Soundwalk”: Indigenous Audio Tour of the Seattle Coast. Produced by Jenny Asarnow and Rachel Lam, this rhythmic, watery audio experience, streams of stories that ebb and flow, intermixing English with Coast Salish languages. Indigenous Coast Salish peoples continue to steward this land and preserve its language, despite settler colonialism, industrialization and gentrification. Part story, part sound collage, this piece is sc...
Oct 11, 2023•29 min
In this episode, we revisit two stories we've covered in the past concerning indigenous rights. In the first half, Rebecca Nagle joins us to discuss the Supreme Court decision to uphold the Indian Child Welfare Act and why the legitimacy of the law is so important to tribal sovereignty. We also talk about the right's legal strategy in the last few decades and what that means for decisions at the Supreme Court. In the second half we hear from Chairman of the Amah Mutsun tribal band, Valentin Lope...
Oct 04, 2023•29 min
George Floyd’s murder sparked increased attention toward Black liberation and by extension, racial discrimination generally. Institutions raced to check boxes for workplace diversity, equity and inclusion, but it’s hard to know whether real work has been done. In this episode, two thought leaders around race and belonging, Ruchika Tulshyan and Ijeoma Oluo, discuss the finer points of how to create equity in the workplace. This conversation takes place at Town Hall Seattle and center’s Tulshyan’s...
Sep 27, 2023•29 min
In this bonus clip, Marian Naranjo (Kha Po Owingeh), founder and director of Honor Our Pueblo Existence (HOPE), speaks about the impact and legacy of the nuclear industry and Los Alamos National Laboratory on the Tewa people. The clip is from the 2021 video RadioActive: Nuclear Boom with Petuuch Gilbert and Marian Naranjo , courtesy of the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico....
Sep 20, 2023•4 min
The film Oppenheimer has reignited public interest in the Manhattan Project, the WWII-era secret program to develop the atomic bomb. But the movie leaves out important parts of the story. 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 Gómez, author of Nuclear Nuevo México: Colonialism and the Effects of the Nuclear Industrial Complex on Nuevomexicanos. And then we dig into how nuclear testing during t...
Sep 20, 2023•29 min
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 ...
Sep 13, 2023•29 min
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. Residents like Jami Wallace and community organizations are fighting for relie...
Sep 06, 2023•39 min
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 Alaba...
Aug 30, 2023•29 min
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 Spanis...
Aug 23, 2023•29 min
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 f...
Aug 16, 2023•29 min
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 gen...
Aug 09, 2023•29 min
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 n...
Aug 02, 2023•29 min
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? Plea...
Jul 26, 2023•30 min
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...
Jul 19, 2023•29 min
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 f...
Jul 12, 2023•29 min
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. Tha...
Jul 05, 2023•29 min
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 Re...
Jun 28, 2023•29 min
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 ...
Jun 21, 2023•29 min
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 div...
Jun 14, 2023•29 min
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 trib...
Jun 07, 2023•29 min
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 wi...
May 31, 2023•29 min
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...
May 24, 2023•29 min
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 ...
May 17, 2023•29 min
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 ...
May 10, 2023•29 min
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. Tha...
May 03, 2023•29 min
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.
Apr 26, 2023•29 min
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.
Apr 19, 2023•29 min
On today's show, we'll travel to Seattle to hear indigenous voices and Coast Salish languages, and to reflect on the importance of the Salish Sea and connecting waters, by immersing ourselves in an audio experience called “Saltwater Soundwalk.”
Apr 12, 2023•29 min
A new philosophy steeped in the ideas of Artificial Intelligence, space colonization, and the long-term survival of the human species is gaining ground among the wealthy. However, there are reasons to question its goals and its ethics. Longtermists believe that not only could we colonize space and create simulated humans in giant servers around stars, but that we must. Anything short of a trillion-year multi-planetary existence for our species would be a moral failing. They also believe that all...
Apr 05, 2023•29 min
