Making Contact

Author, radio host, and scientist David Suzuki has spent a lifetime working to protect the environment. But a generation later, he says activists like him have failed to shift the paradigm; more is needed to protectthe health of our species and our planet. On this edition, David Suzuki says we need to stop fighting, and use the laws of nature as a starting point for moving forward.

Richmond, California is one of the lowest-income communities in the San Francisco Bay Area. It’s also one of the most toxic. On this edition, we’ll hear how community activists in this heavily polluted area are coming together to fight for environmental justice.

African-Americans have endured one of the most painful eras of American history – an era that has been normalized and justified not only by institutions that have been complicit with slavery but also by African-Americans themselves. Dr. Joy DeGruy is the author of “Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome: America's Legacy of Enduring Injury and Healing”, she argues that African-Americans suffer from a deep psychological trauma that has been passed on through generations.

Artists and creative people have always used culture as a tool for social change. On this edition, excerpts from a panel on racial justice, culture and politics featuring some of today’s most insightful and outspoken artists. Special thanks to Applied Research Center, Colorlines and the Facing Race Conference 2012

As we look for a solution to global energy problems and a way out of the limate crisis- some are turning to dams and hydroelectric power as a source of “green” energy. But at what cost? Massive dams are being built and considered all over the world, despite mounting concern over their economic, environmental and human impacts. On this edition, we’ll take a closer look at the damage caused by hydropower projects, and we’ll visit a community trying to keep their culture and homeland free from the destructive influence of river dams.

More than two decades after the fall of the Berlin wall, what have we learned about barriers that separate people? In dozens of countries around the world, millions of people live beside border walls. These heavily militarized and closely watched areas can be dangerous places to be. On this edition, from Palestinian farmers struggling to make a living next to the Israeli wall, to shootings at the fence that divides the US and Mexico. Living in the shadow of the wall…

Corporations have the same rights as people. But do our communities and natural ecosystems have any rights? How about our bodies, cells and genetic material? Thomas Linzey and Katherine Davies argue that in order to defend our bodies and our environment, they must be given rights under the law.

Alixa and Naima are two poets who together make up Climbing PoeTree, an award winning performance duo. Mixing poetry and politics they seek to use their words to educate and inspire. On this edition, we hear performances by Climbing PoeTree and hear how their performances have evolved over the years.

As 2013 approaches, we look at some of the important issues we’ve covered in 2012: from domestic workers struggling for respect, to the consequences of climate change, todrone warfare. We’ll listen back to some highlights from those programs, and get updates on where those stories stand now.

Reporter Nancy Mullane speaks to some of those on California’s death row and we hear from two opponents of the death penalty about where the movement to end executions goes next.