Making Contact

In this week's show, we take a look at the health, environmental and financial costs of coal that fall to people living nearby. With the help of our partner podcast Crosswinds, we meet three impacted communities along a railroad connecting coal mines in West Virginia to ports on the East Coast. And we'll hear how that rail infrastructure was built on the forced labor of incarcerated African Americans. Featuring: Adrian Wood, multimedia producer with the Repair Lab at the University of Virginia and producer of Crosswinds    Making Contact Staff: Episode Host: Lucy Kang Producers: Anita Johnson, Salima Hamirani, Amy Gastelum, and Lucy Kang Executive Director: Jina Chung Editor: Adwoa Gyimah-Brempong Engineer: Jeff Emtman  Digital Marketing Manager: Lissa Deonarain Music credits: "A Documentary" by AKTASOK (Valentin Iakovlev) via Pixabay Credits for Crosswinds Episode 3: "Cost" Written, produced mixed and mastered by Adrian Wood Editing by Oluwakemi Aladesuyi of Rough Cut Collective Scoring by Torrin Purkett and Adrian Wood Produced through the Repair Lab at the University of Virginia  Learn More: Making Contact homepage: www.focmedia.org Listen to the entire Crosswinds series: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5ey0DQiOzuvJehEyCjGJYv Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-repair-lab/id1633699454 Coal Dust Kills: www.coaldustkills.com The Repair Lab: repairlab.virginia.edu 

On today’s Making Contact, our friends from the podcast, Kerning Cultures, bring us “Black Panthers in Algeria.” It’s the story of when Elaine Mokhtefi landed in newly independent Algeria in the early 1960s and quickly found herself at the center of a special period in the country’s history, at a time when Algiers welcomed liberation groups from across the world – earning a reputation as the “Mecca of revolution." In this unlikely setting, Elaine moved in the same circles as world famous radicals, ragtag political parties, spies and military leaders. And she became an unlikely sidekick to one of the most iconic liberation groups of our time, just as it was beginning to fall apart.  Credits - Kerning Cultures: This episode was produced by Deena Sabry and Alex Atack, and edited by Dana Ballout. Fact checking by Eman Alsharif, sound design by Mohamad Khreizat, Paul Alouf and Alex Atack. Our team also includes Zeina Dowidar, Nadeen Shaker and Finbar Anderson. Making Contact Team: Host: Anita Johnson Producers: Anita Johnson, Salima Hamirani, Amy Gastelum, and Lucy Kang Executive Director: Jina Chung Engineer: Jeff Emtman Digital Media Marketing: Lissa Deonrain  Learn More:  Algiers: Third World Capital [https://bookshop.org/a/84225/9781788730006] Revolution or Death: The Life of Eldridge Cleaver [https://bookshop.org/a/84225/9781613739112] Kerning Cultures [https://kerningcultures.com/]

The attacks on Imane Khelif's gender at this year's 2024 Paris Olympics is not new. In fact, the focus on women's appearance and gender expression goes back to the founding of the Olympics, the minute women entered elite sports. We talk to Rose Eveleth, host and producer of the podcast Tested about the history of sex testing in the Olympics and why it existed in the first place, why there's no easy way to classify the natural, biological variation that exists in human beings and why we might want to consider new ways of organizing athletes that is less sexist, racist and more accepting of genders outside of a simple binary.   Featuring: Rose Eveleth, host and producer of the podcast Tested  Episode Credits: Host: Salima Hamirani Producers: Anita Johnson, Salima Hamirani, Amy Gastelum, and Lucy Kang Executive Director: Jina Chung Editor: Adwoa Gyimah-Brempong Engineer: Jeff Emtman Music: Alpha Hydrae - Friends Soft and Furious - So What Axletree- The Silent Grove Blear Moon - Further Discovery Crowander - Opening Lines.   Learn More:  Tested on NPR Tested on CBC

The last few years have seen a wave of labor organizing as it becomes more and more clear to workers that what they do is not expendable, but actually the heart of every business. From walkouts to unionization, workers from Starbucks to Amazon to your local coffee shop have come together to build and exercise their power. In this episode we explore the issues that led people to organize their workplaces, the ins and outs and ups and downs of the process, and the backlash. On the forefront of the next labor revolution, we visit a coffee shop in Maine called Little Dog whose staff starts a union. Then we talk to Robert Chlala from the UCLA Labor Center about the rise in unionization efforts among service workers and the social and cultural ethos in a post lockdown country that have led to this new wave of the labor movement.  Featuring: Robert Chlala – Assistant Professor, CSU Long Beach & Visiting Researcher at UCLA Labor Center Jessica Czarnecki, Sydney, Sophie, Kira – Workers at Little Dog Cafe  Making Contact Team: Host: Salima Hamirani Reporter: Jules Bradley Executive Director: Jina Chung Staff Producers: Anita Johnson, Lucy Kang, Salima Hamirani, Amy Gastelum Engineer: Jeff Emtman Editor: Adwoa Gyimah-Brempong Music: “Industrial Zone” by Bio Unit “Stay Quiet” by Monplaisir “Bleu” by Komiku “Leap Second” by Doctor Turtle “Which Side Are You On” by Pete Seeger Learn More: UCLA Labor Center Little Dog Employees Lawsuit Brunswick coffee shop strike ends with potential change in ownership 

We need affordable housing now! On today's episode, we look more closely at two stories that underscore the importance of affordable housing. First, we'll examine what the recent Supreme Court ruling in Grants Pass v. Johnson means for unhoused people who are living on the streets and how historical disinvestment in affordable and public housing has created our current homelessness wave. Then, we'll hear about the fight to legalize and preserve one important type of affordable housing units in New York City – basement apartments – and how the escalating impacts of climate change are making that campaign more urgent than ever.    Paul Boden, executive director of the Western Regional Advocacy Project  Annetta Seecharran, executive director of Chhaya Community Development Corporation    Making Contact Staff: Episode Host: Lucy Kang Producers: Anita Johnson, Salima Hamirani, Amy Gastelum, and Lucy Kang Executive Director: Jina Chung Editor: Adwoa Gyimah-Brempong Engineer: Jeff Emtman Music credit: Pending (Relaxing Acoustic Ballad Nylon Guitar) by William_King via Pixabay Credits for "Invisible Homeless" by the Queens Memory Podcast Episode produced by Stella Gu in conjunction with Melody Cao, Anna Williams, and Natalie Milbrodt Podcast hosted by J. Faye Yuan Mixing and editing by Cory Choy Music composed by Elias Ravin Voiceover work by Xia Liangjie and Chen Xiaojun    Learn More:  Making Contact homepage: www.focmedia.org Western Regional Advocacy Project: https://wraphome.org/ Queens Memory Podcast: www.queensmemory.org Chhaya CDC: BASE Campaign: https://chhayacdc.org/campaigns/base-campaign/ 

On this week's episode, we speak with Bay Area based comedian Karinda Dobbins about the release of her debut comedy album, Black & Blue. In Black & Blue, Karinda shares personal stories, finding humor in the most ordinary moments of her daily life, including her girlfriend’s arbitrary policy on household pests, the changes hipsters have brought to Oakland, and a Black woman’s unique packing list for hiking.  Featuring: Karinda Dobbins, standup comedian, writer, and actor  Episode Credits: Host: Anita Johnson Producers: Anita Johnson, Salima Hamirani, Amy Gastelum, and Lucy Kang Executive Director: Jina Chung Engineer: Jeff Emtman Editor: Adwoa Gyimah-Brempong Music Credits: Dee Yan-Key "Hold on"; Audiobinger "The Garden State" Learn More:  Karinda Dobbins - https://karindadobbins.com/  

In Part 1 of our series on water in the Central Valley of California we visited a town called East Orosi, which has been fighting for clean water for over 20 years. This week we turn our attention to their sewage system, which is also falling apart. Why has it been so difficult for East Orosi to get clean drinking water and fix its sewage problems?  To answer that question we take a look at the entities that run things like sewage and water in unincorporated towns all across California. They're called Community Utility Districts. Community Utility Districts are often one of the only forms of self governance in unincorporated towns. But they're staffed by volunteers, they're underfunded, and they're trying to share a vital resource, water, which is also slowly disappearing in the San Joaquin Valley.  We talk about the problems with Community Utility Districts and ways to save them.  Learn more about the story and find the transcript on radioproject.org. Making Contact digs into the story beneath the story—contextualizing the narratives that shape our culture. Featuring narrative storytelling and thought-provoking interviews. We cover the most urgent issues of our time and the people on the ground building a more just world. EPISODE FEATURES: This episode features Berta Diaz Ochoa- community member of East Orosi; Janaki Anagha- Director of Advocacy, Community Water Center; Kayla Vander Schuur- Community Development Specialist, Self Help Enterprises; Carlos Sanchez- board member of the East Orosi Community Utilities District; Maricela Mares-Alatorre- Community Solutions Advocate, Community Water Center. MAKING CONTACT: This episode is hosted by Salima Hamirani. It is produced by Anita Johnson, Lucy Kang, Salima Hamirani, and Amy Gastelum. Our executive director is Jina Chung.  MUSIC: This episode includes “Blue” by  Komiku; Ocean Tapping by PC III; Friends and Apples by Alpha Hydrae; Gouttes by Hicham Chahidi; Week Twenty-five by Ben von Wildenhaus; No Light Without Darkness by Ketsa; and Thunderstorm by The Custodian of Records. Learn More: Community Water Center: https://www.communitywatercenter.org/ Self Help Enterprises: https://www.selfhelpenterprises.org/

At the beginning of the pandemic, we reported on the extreme inequality of the vaccine rollout to low income countries. Their access was hindered because of a Western patent system which was imposed globally through the WTO. At the time, activists tried to pass the TRIPS (Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) Waiver, which would have suspended all patents related to COVID. This would have allowed countries all over the world to make vaccines, therapeutics and protective equipment during the pandemic crisis.  The TRIPS Waiver failed to provide access to medicines, and poor countries never received the vaccines they were promised. But, as the world moved on from COVID, so did the efforts for equity. The TRIPS waiver failed to provide access to medicines, and poor countries never received the vaccines they were promised. Despite this, the Global South continues to fight back. On today's show, we look back at the failures of the early pandemic and at new initiatives led by scientists and activists to circumvent patents and create broader access to medicines. Learn more about the story and find the transcript on radioproject.org. Making Contact is an award-winning, nationally syndicated radio show and podcast featuring narrative storytelling and thought-provoking interviews. We cover the most urgent issues of our time and the people on the ground building a more just world. EPISODE FEATURES: Fatima Hassan, Human rights lawyer and founder of Health Justice Initiative; Piotr Kolczynski, EU Health Policy & Advocacy Advisor for The People's Vaccine Alliance; Achal Prabhala, Researcher and coordinator of the AccessIBSA project; Petro Terblanche, Managing Director of Afrigen Biologics and Vaccines  MAKING CONTACT: This episode is hosted by Salima Hamirani. It is produced by Anita Johnson, Lucy Kang, Salima Hamirani, and Amy Gastelum. Our executive director is Jina Chung.  MUSIC: This episode includes music from Blue Dot Sessions, “Sweetly;” Deef, “Nostalgia of an Ex Gangsta Rapper;” Doctor Turtle, “Leap Second;” frankum, “Reward MusicTrack - Ambiance guitar;” Monplaisir, “Juan Garcia Madero,” “Ridiculous,” and “Stay Quiet;” Robert John, “Slinky.”  LEARN MORE: Access IBSA The People's Vaccine Alliance Afrigen Biologics Vaccines – An Avacare IDC Health Company The Health Justice Initiative Pandemic Lessons Compendium Difference Between Biologics and Small Molecules

This week we continue delving into community-rooted disaster relief in California, from wildfires to the pandemic. From building mutual aid networks, to translating emergency messages in common local languages, we see in action the incredible difference language justice can make in our communities.   In Sonoma County, organizers hit the field with information on where to get food, shelter, and support.   In San Francisco, they set up a much needed support response to COVID-19 in the city’s Mission District.   Tune in and hear how these leaders act collectively to confront those in power, work for justice, and together answer one vital question: how can next time be different? Special thanks to Sonya Green. Thank you to the But Next Time team. To listen to all of the But Next Time episodes and access video versions with Spanish subtitles visit www.butnexttime.com. You can also learn more about the organizations featured in the podcast and access resources like a listening and discussion guide. Learn more about the story and find the transcript on radioproject.org.  Like this story? Support independent journalism, NewsMatch will double your donation up to $1,000! Making Contact is an award-winning, nationally syndicated radio show and podcast featuring narrative storytelling and thought-provoking interviews. We cover the most urgent issues of our time and the people on the ground building a more just world.  But Next Time was created as part of Rise-Home Stories, a project in which multimedia storytellers and housing, land, and racial justice advocates came together to reimagine the past, present, and future of our communities by transforming the stories we tell about them. The Rise-Home Stories Project includes five pieces of media (a video game, children’s book, animated short, and online storytelling site, and the But Next Time Podcast) that help us rethink our relationships to land and home. For more info visit www.risehomestories.com FEATURING: Alma Bowen, Founder / Executive Director of Nuestra Comunidad, Maribel Merino, Host, Radio Autóctona Indigenista on KBBF, Xulio Soriano, California Rural Legal Assistance, Mariano Alvarez, California Rural Legal Assistance, Gervacion Peña Lopez, Host, Radio Autóctona Indigenista on KBBF, Beatrice Camacho, ERAP manager of North Bay Organizing Project, Valerie Tulier-Laiwa, Coordinator of the Latino Task Force  BUT NEXT TIME: This episode is hosted by Chrishelle Palay and Rose Arrieta, and produced by Leah Mahan. MAKING CONTACT: This episode is hosted by Anita Johnson and produced by Anita Johnson, Lucy Kang, Salima Hamirani, and Amy Gastelum. Our executive director is Jina Chung. MUSIC: All original compositions by Fernando Arruda including “But Next Time,” “Going Back,” and “Rumors of Hope.”  Learn More:  But Next Time Podcast Rise Home Stories Working Films

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 podcast But Next Time Chrishelle Palay and Rose Arrieta bring us the first of four stories of hard-won lessons learned from people on the frontlines of California’s wildfires and Texas’ storms as they work to answer the question, how can next time be different? In this first episode we discuss hardship faced by farm and service workers during this time, especially non-English speakers. These workers are the heart of wine country, from the planters to the harvesters, to the line cooks, hotel staff and dishwashers. Our systems failed them, how do we do better next time? To listen to all of the But Next Time episodes and access video versions with Spanish subtitles visit www.butnexttime.com. You can also learn more about the organizations featured in the podcast and access resources like a listening and discussion guide.  Learn more about the story and find the transcript on radioproject.org. Like this story? Support independent journalism, NewsMatch will double your donation up to $1,000! Making Contact is an award-winning, nationally syndicated radio show and podcast featuring narrative storytelling and thought-provoking interviews. We cover the most urgent issues of our time and the people on the ground building a more just world.   This episode includes interviews from Mariano Alvarez, California Rural Legal Assistance; Alicia Sanchez, President of Board of Directors of KBBF; Alma Bowen, Founder / Executive Director of Nuestra Comunidad; Edgar Avila, Director of Programming KBBF; and Beatrice Camacho, ERAP Manager of North Bay Organizing Project   BUT NEXT TIME: This episode is hosted by Chrishelle Palay and Rose Arrieta, and produced by Leah Mahan. MAKING CONTACT: This episode is hosted by Salima Hamirani and produced by Anita Johnson, Lucy Kang, Salima Hamirani, and Amy Gastelum. Our executive director is Jina Chung. MUSIC: All original compositions by Fernando Arruda including “But Next Time,” “Next Blues,” “Full Bodied Disparity,” “Per Pound,” “A Feeling About It,” and “Going Back.”  Learn More:  But Next Time Podcast: https://butnexttime.com Rise Home Stories: https://risehomestories.com/ Working Films: https://www.workingfilms.org/ California Rural Legal Assistance: https://crla.org/ KBBF: https://kbbf.org/ Nuestra Comunidad: https://nc707.org/ North Bay Organizing Project: http://www.northbayop.org/ Undocufund: https://undocufund.org/  But Next Time was created as part of Rise-Home Stories, a project in which multimedia storytellers and housing, land, and racial justice advocates came together to reimagine the past, present, and future of our communities by transforming the stories we tell about them. The Rise-Home Stories Project includes five pieces of media (a video game, children’s book, animated short, and online storytelling site, and the But Next Time Podcast) that help us rethink our relationships to land and home. For more info visit www.risehomestories.com Making Contact is an award-winning, nationally syndicated radio show and podcast featuring narrative storytelling and thought-provoking interviews. We cover the most urgent issues of our time and the people on the ground building a more just world.