2:00 PM PACIFIC TIME: Fridays
Covering the movements, the issues, and the people fighting for some of the most important social justice issues of our time. Hosted by Amy Gastelum, Salima Hamirani, Anita Jonhson, and Lucy Kang.
Patagonian Winds of Resistance In the midst of a shattered economy in Argentina, US-based Meridian Gold acquired a gold deposit in Patagonia worth an estimated one billion dollars. This mining project, however, could damage the natural environment and the local community’s way of life. On this edition of Making Contact Pauline Bartolone traveled to the … Continued
Courage Under Fire: Resistance to War Resistance to the status quo is a common theme among social, political, and environmental movements. But resistance during war can increase the stakes, sometimes with dire consequences. On this edition of Making Contact, we’ll take a look at resistance in Rwanda during the nationwide call for genocide in 1994, … Continued
ElectionWatch ’04 – Systems Failure A healthy democracy depends not only on the leaders whom voters choose to elect, but also the systems used to cast votes. When election systems fail, so does democracy. On this edition, we take a look at the disenfranchisement of African Americans in Florida, the debate over electronic voting machines, … Continued
Transgender Bender: Moving Beyond the Binary System Until the 1950s in the United States, in a binary system that included only male or female, gender was simply a matter of plumbing. Now gender is more commonly understood to be more complex-and sometimes separate from the body. On this edition, we take a look at a … Continued
Native Lands: The Struggle for Sovereignty Broken treaties, contested land, reservations, loss of resources. Land sovereignty is a key issue for indigenous peoples. On this edition, we take a look at the Mapuche people in Argentina, the Shuswap Nation in the British Columbia province of Canada, and the Oglala Sioux in the state of South … Continued
Entry Denied: Former Prisoners Re-entering Society The prison population in the United States is rising. So are the numbers of people exiting prison and trying to piece their lives back together. In fact, three million people will be released from prison over the next five years. On this Prison Desk edition of Making Contact, we’ll … Continued
ElectionWatch ’04: All the News That’s Fit to Buy What we learn through the news media shapes how we choose our elected officials. In a democracy, we expect the media to serve the public interest. On this edition, we’ll take a look at how media companies have failed the public interest by influencing the political … Continued
ElectionWatch ’04: Progressive Strategies Bigger, Faster, More Powerful. That’s not a marketing slogan for the latest sport utility vehicle – rather, it’s what some activists say the progressive movement needs to become in order to win the November elections. On this edition, we’ll hear from three such activists: Reverend James Forbes, senior minister of the … Continued
Queer Youth Identities Young people today are embracing a wide range of terms to describe their sexuality: straight, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, two-spirit, questioning pansexual, down low, along with reclaiming formerly pejorative terms like dyke and queer. They are changing the way that society thinks about sexual orientation and gender identity. On this edition of … Continued
The electronics industry has brought us gadgets galore, from mobile phones that take pictures to the computer we use to edit this radio show. But there’s also a dark secret: the electronics industry is one of the world’s dirtiest; its growing legacy includes poisoned workers and mountains of toxic waste. On this week’s edition we … Continued
