The Electoral College’s Dirty History
Given the Trump Election and the difference between popular votes and Electoral votes, we explore the Electoral College. Who are the electors, anyway? And will the United States ever join the rest of the world, and adopt a popular vote for president? Yale University Law & Political Science Professor Akhil Reed Amar says the Electoral College discourages voting, lessens the power of the states, and could work to the...
Our Lives are NOT for the Taking
Dear friend, Corporate-owned media contributed to Trump’s win as much as this country’s entrenched racism and white supremacy, patriarchy and xenophobia. At Making Contact we value transformative storytelling and create a space for OURcommunities to be heard. An alternative to the empty calories of breaking “news” shows.Let’s take our stories back! People are in motion and in this period we’re...
Greg Palast on Voter Suppression, and Buying Democracy
Like this program? Please show us the love. Click here and support our non-profit journalism. Thanks! Greg Palast, is an investigative reporter and documentary filmmaker. His new film, “The Best Democracy Money Can Buy: a Tale of Billionaires and Ballot Bandits,” unmasks the continuing and unrelenting Jim-Crow attempts by America’s “Billionaire Bandits” to prevent minority communities from...
Immigrants & Elections Pt. 2: Barriers to the Ballot
Photo of Florita & Joseph Campbell at the Halo Halo Restaurant in Phoenix, AZ by contributing producer Valeria Fernández In the US, the right to vote is one of the country’s most cherished and hard-fought rights. But it doesn’t mean that everyone has equal access to the polls. In 2013 the Supreme Court struck down a key civil rights provision of the Voting Rights Act. This November will be the first presidential election in...
Thwarting Democracy, the Battle for Voting Rights
Since the 2013 Supreme Court ruling on the Voting Rights Act, many states have pushed changes to voter laws that raise disturbing connections to the past. Before the anniversary of the Voting Rights Act on August 6th, we revisit the hard fought battles for voting rights and the implications of new laws. Featuring: Reverend Tyrone Edwards, civil rights historian in Plaquemines Parish Louisiana Tyrone Brooks, Georgia State...
From Dreamers in Arizona to Muslims in Michigan: Immigrant Communities Upholding Democracy
This edition of Making Contact is Part I of our special series examining how immigrants are responding and participating in elections and politics today. From Dreamers in Arizona to Muslims in Michigan, we’ll meet immigrant communities upholding democracy. We’ll also have a conversation with the Brennan Center for Justice President and author of the Fight to Vote, Michael Waldman about how immigrants throughout history have...
