Part 1 of The Pandemic Inside: COVID-19 and Prisons (Encore)
Making Contact · Part 1 of The Pandemic Inside: Covid 19 and Prisons – Encore In this encore episode, we look at how COVID-19 has torn through prisons and how organizers are trying to push state and local governments to release inmates in order to contain the spread of the pandemic. In part one, we focus on California. We take a look at why a prison, like San Quentin, is such a perfect environment for infectious diseases,...
70 Million: Where Juvenile Detention Looks More Like Hanging Out
Making Contact · 70 Million: Where Juvenile Detention Looks More Like Hanging Out There’s a place in rural St. Johns, Arizona, where teens who have encounters with officers of the law can play pool, make music, and get mentored instead of going to jail. It’s called The Loft, and it’s the brainchild of a judge who wanted to save the county hundreds of millions of dollars and divert young people towards the support many were not...
U.S. Anti-Torture History After 9/11
Making Contact · U.S. Anti-Torture History After 9/11 In today’s program, we turn our attention to the history of torture in the U.S. since the 9/11 attacks. Sociology professor Lisa Hajjar traces the post-9/11 history of torture through the victories and defeats, and to the ways in which torture and the fight against it have altered the legal terrain on torture, not only in the United States, but potentially on a global scale....
September 11th 20 Years Later: Surveillance, Policing, and Torture
Making Contact · September 11th 20 Years Later: Surveillance, Policing, and Torture September 11th, 2021 marks the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the United States. In today’s program, we turn our attention not to the tragedy of 9/11 itself, but to 9/11 as an inflection point in U.S. culture and policy in two areas: domestic surveillance in the form of fusion centers, and the government and public regard of the use of...
Lessons From Defund the Police
Making Contact · Lessons From Defund the Police It’s been a year since the call to “Defund the Police” rang out through the George Floyd Protests. The idea isn’t new – redistributing police funds into community projects that better support healthy communities -but, it’s never been as popular and forceful. Cities across the country have pledged to invest in mental health services, restorative...
MOVE Demands Justice for Children and The Return of Stolen Remains
Making Contact · MOVE Demands Justice for Children and The Return of Stolen Remains On this episode of Making Contact, MOVE members and supporters of the Black radical liberation group demand that the University of Pennsylvania and Princeton University return the remains of two children killed in the 1985 MOVE bombing in Philadelphia. Both Universities claim to not know where the remains of the two children, Tree Africa, age...