Blindspot: Tulsa Burning and Focus: Black Oklahoma
On this episode, 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 series 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 massacre and attack led by a group of white...
70 Million: Why Policing Our Schools Backfires
School resource officers are often called upon in middle and high schools to help with routine discipline. But for many children, especially those with disabilities, a law enforcement response to their behavior can lead to the school-to-prison pipeline. This week on Making Contact, we hear a story from our podcast partner 70 Million about the relationship between students with special needs and school resource officers and the changes...
Behind The Sound with Making Contact
This week’s show features a conversation among the entire Making Contact production team. Long-time producers Anita Johnson and Salima Hamirani and interim Senior Producer Jessica Partnow introduce our newest members, Lucy Kang, Amy Gastelum, and Jina Chung. Together, the team reviews highlights from shows aired last year and previews what they are each working on for 2023 and beyond. Along the way, they discuss their...
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...
70 Million: Tribal Land, Banishment, Rehabilitation and Re-Entry
This week on Making Contact – with assistance from our podcast partners, 70 million – we head to the state of Alaska, where statewide increases in violent crime and substance abuse have led to increased incarceration rates among Native Americans. Making use of their legal sovereignty, some Alaska Native leaders issue “blue tickets,” documents that sentence offenders to legal expulsion. Journalist Emily Schwing looks...
70 Million: When “Bail Reform” Isn’t
This week on Making Contact, we look at Bail Reform in the state of Texas with the help of our podcast partners 70 Million. For conservative lawmakers and bail reform advocates have long debated what bail reform can look like for those who cannot afford to bail themselves out of jail. Image Credit: Photo by Brandon Allen Image Caption: Monique Joseph stands in front of the A. M. “Mac” Stringfellow Unit (previously...
Best of Making Contact 2021
Making Contact · Making Contact 2021 Spotlight In this special year-end episode, Making Contact producers and staff turn the spotlight on some the best shows they aired in 2021. Image Credit: Creative Commons Like this program? Please click here and support our non-profit listener-supported journalism. Thanks! Featuring: Making Contact Producers: Salima Hamirani, Anita Johnson, and Monica Lopez Interim Executive Director:...
But Next Time Part 2: From the Ashes
Making Contact · But Next Time Part 2: From the Ashes 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. Continue delving into community-rooted responses to disaster in California, from the fires to the pandemic. You’ll hear about how people banded together to build...
But Next Time Part 1: Toward the Fire
Making Contact · But Next Time Part 1: Toward the Fire 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 podcasts But Next Time Chrishelle Palay and Rose Arrieta bring us the first of four stories of hard-won lessons learned from...
