Please support our programs

No, COVID Isn’t “Over,” and the Need for Continued Community
Mar27

No, COVID Isn’t “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. First, we’ll hear about the Auntie Sewing Squad, which distributed over 350,000 hand-sewn masks to communities in 2020-2021. Then, we’ll speak with organizers...

Read More
70 Million: Why Policing Our Schools Backfires
Mar08

70 Million: Why Policing Our Schools Backfires

School resource officers are often called upon in middle and high schools to help with routine discipline. But for many children, especially those with disabilities, a law enforcement response to their behavior can lead to the school-to-prison pipeline. This week on Making Contact, we hear a story from our podcast partner 70 Million about the relationship between students with special needs and school resource officers and the changes...

Read More
Geraldine’s Story: How Public Schools Are Failing Black Students with Dyslexia 
Feb18

Geraldine’s Story: How Public Schools Are Failing Black Students with Dyslexia 

Making Contact · Geraldine’s Story: How Public Schools Are Failing Black Students with Dyslexia Black students with dyslexia all too often carry a heavy burden in our public schools. This documentary centers around a grandmother who fought for years to get her grandkids — particularly her grandson — properly assessed for dyslexia. Like too many African American boys, Geraldine Robinson’s grandson had been erroneously labeled...

Read More
Disability: Our Culture Ourselves
May15

Disability: Our Culture Ourselves

Disability 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.   Seattle based activist Dorian Taylor talks about the specific challenges disabled people face while accessing public transportation and Professor Sara Acevedo discusses the powerful ways that common language and...

Read More
Caring Relationships: Negotiating Meaning and Maintaining Dignity ENCORE
Jan31

Caring Relationships: Negotiating Meaning and Maintaining Dignity ENCORE

In this disturbing era of Trump, we revisit our encore show on disability rights. During his campaign in November 2016, Trump mocked NY Times reporter Serge Kovaleski, who had chronic joint disease that limits his arm movements. On this edition of Making Contact, we’ll explore the dynamic and complex relationship of care receiving, giving, and disability rights. The vast majority of care recipients are exclusively receiving unpaid...

Read More