Uncovering the History of the Massacre of Black Wall Street (Encore)
In the first of our 3 part series leading up to Black History Month, we turn our focus to how journalists and historians today are covering the Tulsa Race Massacre. We hear from KalaLea, host of the critically acclaimed podcast Blindspot: Tulsa Burning. The series tells the story of the rise of Greenwood, a prosperous Black neighborhood in Tulsa, Oklahoma, also known as Black Wall Street. The podcast recounts the brutal 1921...
Nuclear Colonialism and The Story “Oppenheimer” Didn’t Tell (Encore)
Oppenheimer swept the Golden Globes, reigniting public interest in the Manhattan Project, the WWII-era secret program to develop the atomic bomb and the impacts of nuclear power. But what the film leaves out alters our understanding about the real impacts of this advancement. On today’s encore episode, we hear about nuclear colonialism and how it has changed the course of the people and places of New Mexico with Myrriah Gómez,...
Denial of the Funk: The Impact of Racism on our Nation’s Health
The problem in America is, America’s been in denial about its problems. And that’s a problem. America doesn’t have a race problem, in reality there’s been catastrophes visited upon Black people. Catastrophes visited on Indigenous brothers and sisters. Catastrophes visited on Latino brothers and sisters. Catastrophes visited on working people. Catastrophes visited on women of all colors. We can go on and on. This week on...
The Rise of the New Labor Movement
The last few years have seen a wave of labor organizing as it becomes more and more clear to workers that what they do is not expendable, but actually the heart of every business. From walkouts to unionization, workers everywhere, from Starbucks to Amazon to your local coffee shop have come together to build and exercise their power. In this episode we explore the issues that led people to organize their workplaces, the ins and outs...
But Next Time Part 4: The Road to Rebuilding and Recovering, Better (Encore)
When communities face the aftermath of catastrophes, what does it take to ensure that the next time will be different? In Houston, it takes a city council member who bicycles in her neighborhood to hear from constituents about what they need most. It takes 12 moms who organize to take legal action against the landlords that have kept their families in moldy, substandard apartments. And it takes a city official who blows the whistle on...
But Next Time Part 3: The Fight for Fair Housing in the Face of Climate Change (Encore)
No matter where we come from, or how much money we make, we all deserve a safe and healthy place to call home. In this episode we meet Jamie, a mom who lives in subsidized housing in Houston, Texas, who joins with other moms to stand up to landlords and local officials whose policies have kept Black and brown families trapped in unsafe homes for years. Before and after Hurricane Harvey, Jamie and organizers in Houston came together...
But Next Time Part 2: Language Justice and the Road to Recovery After Disaster (Encore)
This week we continue delving into community-rooted disaster relief in California, from wildfires to the pandemic. From building mutual aid networks, to translating emergency messages in common local languages, we see in action the incredible difference language justice can make in our communities. In Sonoma County, organizers hit the field with information on where to get food, shelter, and support. In San Francisco, they set up a...
But Next Time Part 1: California Wildfires and Protecting Our Farmworkers (Encore)
As fires ravaged California’s world-famous wine country in 2017, a community radio station, emergency dispatcher, and tenant organizers helped the most vulnerable in their community survive and recover. Community organizers and hosts of the podcast But Next Time Chrishelle Palay and Rose Arrieta bring us the first of four stories of hard-won lessons learned from people on the frontlines of California’s wildfires and Texas’...
Behind the Sound: Adwoa Gyimah-Brempong
Welcome to Behind the Sound, an interview series with the folks who make Making Contact. This month we interviewed Adwoa Gyimah-Brempong, a freelance reporter, producer, and Making Contact’s sound editor. How did you get into this line of work? I got into audio while I was getting an MFA in Creative Writing. I’d been a writer and editor for most of my life, and grew up on NPR (my parents are not native English speakers, so when...
Statement of Palestinian Solidarity
We want to acknowledge that recent events have thrown into sharp relief the violence, displacement, and apartheid that Palestinians in Gaza have lived under for decades. As a media organization, we bear responsibility for telling the truth about the historical context leading us to this current crisis, one founded on the ethnic cleansing of Palestine in 1948. Making Contact staff have joined other solidarity media makers and...
