Making Contact

There’s an idea in Mexico that racism doesn’t exist, that all Mexicans are “mestizo” - a homogenous blend of Spanish and indigenous. But cultural worker José Antonio Aguilar says racism is lived by Black and brown Mexicans in many ways.  He founded Racismo MX, an organization which seeks to dismantle racism, after coming to terms with his own racial reality as a “prieto” - a brown man.  We also hear from anthropologist Ismael Rivera and Aztec expert Camilla Townsend as they unravel lies the Spanish colonizers told about ancient Aztecs that still feed racist tropes today. Like this program? Please show us the love. Click here: http://bit.ly/3LYyl0R and support our non-profit journalism. Thanks! Featuring: José Antonio Aguilar - Racismo MX, Founder and Director,  Ismael Rivera - Anthropologist, Historian, Cultural Guide,  Dr. Camilla Townsend, P.h.D. - Rutgers University, Professor    Host: Amy Gastelum Freelance Producer: Anthony Wallace Producers: Anita Johnson, Salima Hamirani, Amy Gastelum, and Lucy Kang Executive Director: Jina Chung Interim Senior Producer: Jessica Partnow Engineer: Jeff Emtman Learn More:  Ismael Rivera Tours https://riveratrips.wordpress.com/ Racismo MX https://racismo.mx/ Camilla Townsend https://history.rutgers.edu/people/faculty/details/188-townsend-camilla

On today's show, we'll revisit the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic by looking at two alternative supply chains for masks during the fallout from the Trump administration's failure to prepare. We'll be speaking with the ProPublica reporter David McSwane about his book Pandemic, Inc.: Chasing the Capitalists and Thieves Who Got Rich While We Got Sick. The book details the shadowy supply chain of brokers looking to profit from the pandemic – to the tune of millions of dollars. We'll also hear from Mai-Linh Hong, co-editor and co-author of The Auntie Sewing Squad Guide to Mask Making, Radical Care, and Racial Justice, about a mutual aid organization that created a different supply chain for homemade masks based on community, care and connection over profit.  Like this program? Please show us the love. Click here: http://bit.ly/3LYyl0R and support our non-profit journalism. Thanks! Featuring: J. David McSwane, award-winning ProPublica investigative reporter and author of Pandemic, Inc.: Chasing the Capitalists and Thieves Who Got Rich While We Got Sick  Mai-Ling Hong, UC Merced assistant professor of literature, co-editor and co-author of The Auntie Sewing Squad Guide to Mask Making, Radical Care, and Racial Justice    Making Contact Staff: Host: Lucy Kang Producers: Anita Johnson, Salima Hamirani, Amy Gastelum, and Lucy Kang Executive Director: Jina Chung Interim Senior Producer: Jessica Partnow Engineer: Jeff Emtman Music Credit: Blue Dot Session  -  Order of Entrance    Learn More:  Making Contact Dr. Mai-Linh Hong J. David McSwane Pandemic, Inc.: Chasing the Capitalists and Thieves Who Got Rich While We Got Sick The Auntie Sewing Squad Guide to Mask Making, Radical Care, and Racial Justice

In 2019, a well known romance writer began tweeting about other writers in her community and concerns about racism. It led to a huge reckoning within an organization called the Romance Writers of America, which is still unfolding. And although the online debate seemed to be isolated to a specific community of romance writers and their fans, it was really a microcosm of what's been happening all over the US. We learn all about romance novels and how newer writers are changing the norms of the genre, and giving it a political power it's never had before. And, we talk about what it means for organizations to change as they grapple with questions of race, including organizations such as ours, at Making Contact. This is an encore presentation of part two of a two-part series. Like this program? Please show us the love. Click here: http://bit.ly/3LYyl0R and support our non-profit journalism. Thanks! Featuring: Contance Grady Shana McDavis-Conway CJ Broderick Jayashree Kamble Jessica Partnow  Making Contact Team: Host: Salima Hamirani Producers: Salima Hamirani, Anita Johnson, Lucy Kang and Amy Gastelum Interim Senior Producer: Jessica Partnow Executive Director: Jina Chung Engineer: Jeff Emtman Music: Frequency Decree - Cenote Broke for Free- Washout Frequency Decree - Lithosphere Blue Dot Sessions - Boston Landing    Learn More: Constance Grady's Article for Vox The Romance Writers of America International Association for the Study of Popular Romance Making Meaning in Popular Romance Fiction: An Epistemología The Equity Project Smart Bitches, Trashy Books Recommended Reading list

In 2019 a well known romance writer began tweeting about other writers in her community and concerns about racism. It led to a huge reckoning within an organization called the Romance Writers of America, which is still unfolding. And although the online debate seemed to be isolated to a specific community of romance writers and their fans, it was really a microcosm of what's been happening all over the US. In this episode we learn all about romance novels and how newer writers are changing the norms of the genre, and giving it a political power it's never had before. And, we talk about what it means for organizations to change as they grapple with questions of race.   Like this program? Please show us the love. Click here: http://bit.ly/3LYyl0R and support our non-profit journalism. Thanks! Featuring Jayashree Kamble; professor of English Literature at La Guardia Community College Reagan Jackson; co-executive director, Young Women Empowered, also a romance reader and fan Contance Grady; Senior Culture Reporter for Vox Elise Staples, member of a romance reading book club through meetup.com  Making Contact Team Episode Host: Salima Hamirani Producers: Salima Hamirani, Anita Johnson, Lucy Kang, Amy Gastelum Executive Director: Jina Chung Interim Senior Producer: Jessica Partnow Engineer: Jeff Emtman Music: Johnny Ripper - Overout Johnny Ripper - Sfhk (mental breakdown) Johnny Ripper - Untitled (waking up) Johnny Ripper - In a Dream Dance of the Seahorse - Gideon Freudman Pictures of the Floating World - Waves Bio Unit - Subterannean Ketsa - you asked Learn More: Constance Grady's Article for Vox The Romance Writers of America International Association for the Study of Popular Romance Making Meaning in Popular Romance Fiction: An Epistemología Recommended Reading list Making Contact is a 29-minute weekly program committed to investigative journalism and in-depth critical analysis that goes beyond the breaking news. On the web at www.radioproject.org.

Journalist Natalie Pattillo and filmmaker Daniel A. Nelson created the documentary film And So I Stayed to raise awareness about criminalized survival. This is the criminal justice system’s long practice of imprisoning survivors of intimate partner violence when they fight back against their abusers. Pattillo, herself a survivor, followed the stories of Kim Dadou Brown, Tanisha Davis and Nikki Addimando, women imprisoned for killing their abusers in a struggle to survive.  Like this program? Please show us the love. Click here: http://bit.ly/3LYyl0R and support our non-profit journalism. Thanks! Featuring: Natalie Pattillo, journalist and mother Daniel A. Nelson, filmmaker and cinematographer  Making Contact Team: Host: Amy Gastelum Producers: Anita Johnson, Salima Hamirani, Amy Gastelum, and Lucy Kang Executive Director: Jina Chung Interim Senior Producer: Jessica Partnow Engineer: Jeff Emtman  Music Credits: via WFMU free music archive Poddington Bear, Alsace HoliznaCC0, Whatever  Photo by Daniel A. Nelson, © Grit Pictures LLC. Learn More:  The Survivor's Justice Project: https://www.sjpny.org And So I Stayed Film: https://andsoistayedfilm.com/ The National Domestic Violence Hotline: https://www.thehotline.org/  Making Contact is a 29-minute weekly program committed to investigative journalism and in-depth critical analysis that goes beyond the breaking news. On the web at www.radioproject.org.

Hundreds of bills targeting the trans and queer community have been introduced across state legislatures this year – a new record. Louisiana, like many other states, has seen a slew of anti-LGBTQ+ bills this session. But the state is somewhat of an outlier in the South, and activists have been successful in pushing back against these types of bills in the past. Sophie Ziegler joins today's episode to show us what legislative organizing looks like in the state – and what it can teach us about the fight for trans rights.  Like this program? Please show us the love. Click here: http://bit.ly/3LYyl0R and support our non-profit journalism. Thanks! Featuring: Sophie Ziegler, oral historian and legislative organizer in Louisiana, founder and director of the Solidarity History Initiative Pearl Ricks, reproductive rights organizer and executive director of the Reproductive Justice Action Collective Peyton Rose Michelle, executive director of Louisiana Trans Advocates and co-founder of locALL Benjamin Franklin High School students  Host: Lucy Kang Producers: Anita Johnson, Salima Hamirani, Amy Gastelum, and Lucy Kang Executive Director: Jina Chung Interim Senior Producer: Jessica Partnow Engineer: Jeff Emtman Music credits - via Pixabay "Documentary" by The Mountain "Shooting stars" by PianoAmor "Chill Ambient" by Coma-Media "Documentary" by Coma-Media "Prank" by Music_For_Videos  Learn More:  Solidarity History Initiative https://solidarityhistory.org/ Mapping Trans Joy https://www.mappingtransjoy.org/ Louisiana Trans Advocates Legislation Tracker https://www.latransadvocates.org/lege-tracker Reproductive Justice Action Collective https://www.rejacnola.org/

In this week's encore episode we hear from artist Samora Abayomi Pinderhughes about The Healing Project, an abolitionist art exhibition. The work explores the structures of systemic racism, particularly the prison industrial complex in the U.S. and takes multiple forms including music, films, community gatherings, and live performances. A digital library of audio interviews centers the project.  The stories, experiences, and ideas from intergenerational individuals across the country, including folks who are incarcerated form the foundation for The Healing Project’s vision for societal transformation.  Like this program? Please show us the love. Click here: http://bit.ly/3LYyl0R and support our non-profit journalism. Thanks! Featuring: Samora Pinderhughes, Keith Lamar, Sam, Cyril, Michelle, Pitt Panther    Making Contact Staff: Host:  Anita Johnson Segment Editors: Jessica Partnow, Lucy Kang, Jacinda Abcarian Producers: Anita Johnson, Salima Hamirani, Amy Gastelum, and Lucy Kang Executive Director: Jina Chung Interim Senior Producer: Jessica Partnow Engineer: Jeff Emtman Music: Borrtex - Creeping Samora Pinderhughes - Process Samora Pinderhughes - Hope   Learn More:  The Healing Project Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/healingprojectsound/?hl=en Exhibition site: https://ybca.org/event/the-healing-project/ Tiny Desk Concert filmed live inside the exhibition: https://youtu.be/ICUoG54pIW0 Exhibition films, “Masculinity” & “Hold that Weight”: https://youtu.be/agCTXovPYp8https://youtu.be/w237dUE1PlQ Exhibition album: https://music.apple.com/us/album/grief/1608045199

The Silicon Valley Bank collapse brings with it memories of the wider 2008 economic crisis. Jeet Heer and John Nichols from The Nation join us to discuss the 2018 bank deregulations that set the stage for this moment and the risky investment strategy at the bank itself. They argue that bailout and FDIC's role in the collapse could set the stage for a dangerous economic future.   Like this program? Please show us the love. Click here: http://bit.ly/3LYyl0R and support our non-profit journalism. Thanks! Featuring: John Nichols, national affairs correspondent for The Nation; Jeet Heer, national affairs correspondent for The Nation Host: Salima Hamirani Producers: Anita Johnson, Salima Hamirani, Amy Gastelum, and Lucy Kang Executive Director: Jina Chung Interim Senior Producer: Jessica Partnow Engineer: Jeff Emtman Music Credits: Blue Dot Sessions - Boston Landing Rocky Marciano - Chamem Me D Dieter van der Westen - Heading for Bamako Frequency Decree - Lithosphere Learn More:  The Nation: Democrats Face a Terrible Reckoning on Bank Bailouts: https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/democrats-bank-bailouts/ The Nation: Silicon Valley Learns to Love Socialism for the Rich: https://www.thenation.com/article/economy/svb-failure-socialism-rich/ The Nation: Bankers Lobbied for Deregulation, Congress Capitulated, and Now Banks Are Collapsing: https://www.thenation.com/article/economy/silicon-valley-bank-congress-deregulation/

In the mid 1990s, the Reproductive Justice movement was formed by Black and indigenous women as a response to the limitations of the "reproductive rights" movement. Movement leaders argue, "rarely do we find ourselves fighting for just one aspect of reproductive justice such as abortion rights" - SisterSong. Dr. Alexis Pauline Gumbs, scholar and writer, joined us to talk about her book Revolutionary Mothering: Love on the Frontlines, her experience being a teenager during the formation of the Reproductive Justice Movement and what she's reading now to inform this moment.  Like this program? Please show us the love. Click here: http://bit.ly/3LYyl0R and support our non-profit journalism. Thanks!   Featuring: Dr. Alexis Pauline Gumbs  Making Contact Staff: Producers: Anita Johnson, Salima Hamirani, Amy Gastelum, Lucy Kang Host: Amy Gastelum Executive Director: Jina Chung Interim Senior Producer: Jessica Partnow Engineer: Jeff Emtman Music Credits: Catching Feelings by Audiobinger Image Credit: Alexis Pauline Gumbs   Learn More:  Alexis Pauline Gumbs Loretta Ross BYLLYE Y. AVERY SisterSong SisterLove Alice Walker June Jordan Listen to June Jordan Angela Davis Adrienne Maree Brown Audre Lorde Feminist Studies Journal

On this week's Making Contact, we feature an extended interview with Ivey Camille Manybeads Tso, a queer Diné filmmaker and director of the award-winning documentary Powerlands. Powerlands traces how multinational energy corporations extract resources and profits while displacing and harming Indigenous communities around the world. The film follows Indigenous activists in Navajo Nation, Colombia, Mexico and the Philippines who are fighting back against corporations like Peabody Energy, Glencore and BHP.  Like this program? Please show us the love. Click here: http://bit.ly/3LYyl0R and support our non-profit journalism. Thanks! Featuring: Ivey Camille Manybeads Tso, an award-winning queer Diné filmmaker and director of Powerlands  Host: Lucy Kang Producers: Anita Johnson, Salima Hamirani, Amy Gastelum, and Lucy Kang Executive Director: Jina Chung Interim Senior Producer: Jessica Partnow Engineer: Jeff Emtman This episode includes excerpts from the documentary film Powerlands. Music: Documentary by Music_Unlimited  Learn More:  Powerlands