Angelic Troublemaker: Bayard Rustin (ENCORE)
On today’s show, we bring you a special encore episode from our archives to honor Black history and heritage. We take a look at the life and legacy of Bayard Rustin, one of the most central figures in the African American struggle for civil rights and freedom. He was known as the lead organizer of the 1963 March on Washington and trusted advisor to labor leader A. Phillip Randolph and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr....
The Healing Project: An Abolitionist Story
This week on Making Contact we speak with composer, pianist, and vocalist Samora Abayomi Pinderhughes about The Healing Project at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. The Healing Project, fundamentally an abolitionist project, explores the structures of systemic racism — particularly the prison industrial complex — in the United States. Pinderhughes uses music, visual arts, film, and language as abolitionist action. The Healing...
The Fight Over the Indian Child Welfare Act Is Not Just A Custody Battle
It’s a lesser-known case in the docket for the Supreme Court, but if The Indian Child Welfare Act is overturned, it could have 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 Halaand v. Brakeen. But, we also investigate the money and interests behind the lawsuit....
The Response: Mutual Aid with Joshua Potash
Joshua Potash is an anti-capitalist abolitionist based in New York City. Joshua co-founded Washington Square Park Mutual Aid, which provides free food, clothing, and various supplies once a week in the New York City park. They also co-host events like film screenings, skillshares, and various trainings. The group was founded in response to NYPD violence with the aim of creating a counter-narrative and being a community hub for folks...
Upstream: Worker Cooperatives
On today’s show we learn about worker cooperatives: what are they and can they offer an alternative to the dominant capitalist mindset? Our partner podcast Upstream brings us to a bike and skate shop in Richmond, CA that’s providing a much-needed service to its community, while also empowering its own workers. A version of this story was originally aired in 2018. Image Credit: Artwork by Phil Wrigglesworth Like this...
70 Million: Punished and Persecuted for Being Unhoused, Part 2
More than a quarter of the people experiencing homelessness in the U.S. live in California. Nowhere is the unhoused crisis more visible than in the city of Los Angeles, where almost 30,000 people camp out on sidewalks and in parks every night. On today’s episode we continue to follow a community of unhoused people in Echo Park in Los Angeles, that was forcibly evicted by police despite an enormous show of support from...
70 Million: Punished and Persecuted for Being Unhoused, Part 1
On this Making Contact, we hear a story from our podcast partner 70 Million about a community of unhoused people in Echo Park in Los Angeles and how they were forcibly evicted by police despite hundreds of protestors who showed up to support them. We’ll hear from people on the front lines about how people experiencing homelessness are criminalized for simply trying to survive on the street in this edited version of...
Fallen Heroes 2022
Thousands of social justice leaders in communities all over the world passed away this year. We’re closing out the year, as we usually do, with inspiring words from some of the Fallen Heroes of 2022. Special Thanks to the following for use of archival recordings: The California African American Museum, Willie Terry mediasanctuary.org, Larger Living Podcast @largerliving, Multi-Monde productions, Eric Minh Swenson, Dave Id Like...
Two Revolutions, Many Secrets (ENCORE)
In the midst of our stress and trauma dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s hard to imagine what stories we will ultimately tell our children and grandchildren. This week’s Making Contact episode is about two strong women who survived historic trauma, and the stories they later told their families. During this time of social distancing, these stories remind us of the importance of being in relationship with our loved ones,...
The A Word
This week, we explore an often-overlooked issue in the Arab world; racism towards Black Arabs. In this episode, Kerning Culture reporter Ahmed Twaij looks at racism in his own community, taking us from his Iraqi roots, through to modern day slurs still commonly used in many Arab communities around the world. This story originally aired on Kerning Cultures, a podcast telling stories from across the Middle East and North Africa and the...
