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Escape to Cairo from Kerning Cultures
Jul27

Escape to Cairo from Kerning Cultures

  In October 1960, the walls were closing in for Patrice Lumumba. Months earlier, he had been celebrated as the Congo’s first democratically elected prime minister after decades of brutal colonial rule. But now, he had been overthrown in a coup and was being kept under house arrest by his political opponent. With Lumumba’s life at risk, the Egyptian government under Gamal Abdel Nasser proposed a dangerous and unusual plan to have...

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September 11th 20 Years Later: Surveillance, Policing, and Torture
Sep08

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...

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The Electoral College’s Dirty History (Encore)
Nov11

The Electoral College’s Dirty History (Encore)

Making Contact · The Electoral College’s Dirty History (Encore)   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...

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Wealth Inequity and Universal Basic Income
Apr11

Wealth Inequity and Universal Basic Income

Chuck Collins When Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th president of the United states, the wealth gap between rich and poor was already very wide. The top 10% of families — those who had at least $942,000 — held 76% of total wealth. The average amount of wealth in this group was $4 million. And the entire bottom half of the population had just 1% of the total wealth pie, this gap continues to rise and when the...

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Wealth Inequity and Universal Basic Income
Jan17

Wealth Inequity and Universal Basic Income

When Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th president of the United states, the wealth gap between rich and poor was already very wide. The top 10% of families — those who had at least $942,000 — held 76% of total wealth. The average amount of wealth in this group was $4 million. And the entire bottom half of the population had just 1% of the total wealth pie, this gap continues to rise and when the statistical scope...

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The Poetic Address to the Nation (Encore)
Nov01

The Poetic Address to the Nation (Encore)

November 8 marks one year since Donald Trump won the US presidency. One year later, Gallup puts the President’s approval rating at 33%, an all-time low. We at Making Contact reflect on his solid win in the electoral college, his resounding loss of the popular vote, and the year that is drawing to a close. The Poetic Address to the Nation was an event that brought together poets to speak out and against the current administration. The...

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The Poetic Address to the Nation
May02

The Poetic Address to the Nation

The Poetic Address to the Nation was an event that brought together poets to speak out and against the current administration. The event featured poets Cam Awkward, Guillermo Gomez Peña, Michelle ‘Mush’ Lee, Chinaka Hodge, and many others to share pieces from immigration, to trans violence, to activism. Making Contact is broadcasting an abridged version of the event produced by the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and the U.S....

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Spies of Mississippi
Apr19

Spies of Mississippi

Spies of Mississippi is a journey into the world of informants, infiltrators, and agent provocateurs in the heart of Dixie. The film tells the story of a secret spy agency formed by the state of Mississippi to preserve segregation and maintain “the Mississippi way of life,” white supremacy, during the 1950s and ‘60s. The Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission (MSSC) evolved from a predominantly public relations agency to a...

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The Electoral College’s Dirty History
Nov16

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...

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