Jerusalem Calling from Kerning Cultures
The Palestine Broadcasting Service started airing in 1936, from a brand new transmitter tower in Ramallah. It was a British station in three languages, aimed at promoting the message of the mandate government throughout the region. But over the following decades, as Palestine saw political upheavals, bloody conflicts and power shifts, the radio station found itself in the middle of it all, and became a unique capsule of the...
Escaping The Narcissism of The American Dream
Next, a conversation with Tiffanie Drayton, author of the new book Black American Refugee: Escaping the Narcissism of The American Dream. Black American Refugee examines in-depth the intersection of Drayton’s personal experiences, the broader culture and the toll of American racism and global white supremacy on Blacks in the US. Image Credit: © Marcus Duncan 2021 Image Caption: Tiffanie Drayton_Photo Like this program?...
The Pseudo-Science of Whiteness: Biology as a Social Weapon ENCORE
This week, filmmaker Stephanie Welch explores the role that racist, unscientific propaganda has played in promoting white supremacy in the U.S. She traces the history of the Pioneer Fund, the primary funding source for research that claims to demonstrate that people of color are genetically and intellectually inferior. The Fund used such research to lobby for eugenic policies like forced sterilization and the restrictive 1924...
Angelic Troublemaker: Bayard Rustin (ENCORE)
On today’s program we honor Bayard Rustin, one of the most central figures in the African American struggle for Civil Rights and Freedom. Rustin was a pacifist, homosexual and practitioner of nonviolence who dedicated his life to racial equality, economic justice and ending warfare. Known as the lead organizer of the 1963 March on Washington and trusted advisor to labor leader A. Phillip Randolph and Dr. Martin Luther...
re:Work – Redemption
In today’s political climate, immigration is often discussed within the context of who “deserves” to be here versus who does not. Many politicians have strayed away from addressing immigration as a humanitarian issue altogether. Stereotyping of immigrants isn’t new — it’s a part of a much longer history of criminalizing immigrants and refugees in the United States. This episode explores the experiences of a Cambodian...
Operation Boulder from Kerning Cultures
Since 9/11, US governmental agencies have poured millions of dollars into spying on Arabs, Muslims and Arab Americans. Their surveillance has changed countless lives as ordinary citizens all over the country were interrogated, arrested or had their homes raided. But this didn’t start in 2001. Invasive – and even illegal – surveillance programs against Arabs and Arab Americans have a long history in the US, going all...
Unequal Justice: the Criminalization of Black Youth
Nearly two thirds of all children in the U.S. juvenile justice system are kids of color. That’s according to a recent report by the Children’s Defense Fund. In this episode of Making Contact, we’ll hear from Dr. Kris Henning on the disparities faced by Black youth in the juvenile justice system. Dr. Henning is the Blume Professor of Law and Director of the Juvenile Justice Clinic and Initiative at Georgetown University Law Center. And...
70 Million: When a State Treats Drug Addiction Like a Health Issue, Not a Crime
A year ago, Oregon became the first state to decriminalize drug possession. The goal is to reverse some of the negative impacts of the War on Drugs by approaching drug use from a health-centered basis. Reporter Cecilia Brown visits an addiction and recovery center in Portland that’s gearing up for what they hope will be an influx of people seeking treatment. Image Credit: Miracles Club Like this program? Please click here and...
Capital City: Gentrification and the Real Estate State
The cost of living in a city has skyrocketed. While wages have flatlined for most working-class people, rents have reached new highs, leaving most people struggling. And this, despite the economic costs of the pandemic. A one-bedroom apartment in San Francisco is over $3,200 a month. But it’s not just in the US. The rising cost of living is affected the entire world. But why does the cost of housing continue to spiral upward?...
Generation Putin, Ten Years Later
This week Jessica Partnow offers a look at the state of youth activism in Russia from 2012 to today. She revisits her reporting from Ukraine and Russia and speaks with the people in those stories against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine. First, she shares the story of re-connecting with her childhood pen pal Sasha, a Ukrainian boy who witnessed the fall of the Soviet Union and is now fighting to protect his country from the...
