KPFA - Making Contact

Today’s episodes of Making Contact and Pushing Limits are preempted by special programming for KPFA’s 2024 Holiday Fund Drive.

To support our mission, please donate here or call (800) 439-5732.

The post Special Holiday Fund Drive Programming appeared first on KPFA.

In today’s episode, we look at how, over six decades after the Korean War, South Korea processed the most international adoptions in history and how the demand for a “domestic supply of (adoptable) infants” may be playing a role in increasing threats to autonomy over pregnancy in the U.S.

GUESTS:

The post Mothers, Markets, and Migration: How South Korea Became a Major Source for International Adoptions appeared first on KPFA.

On today’s show, we dive into 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.

The post We need affordable housing now! (encore) appeared first on KPFA.

On today’s show, we sit down with Kev Choice, a classically trained pianist, rapper, composer, and educator who has reshaped the Bay Area music scene. Raised in Oakland with San Francisco roots, Kev blends hip-hop, jazz, soul, and classical music into a unique sound. His latest EP, _All My Love_, explores themes of love, vulnerability, and human connection, with soulful melodies and reflective lyrics capturing the complexities of relationships. Through music and mentorship, Kev uses his platform to inspire change and elevate consciousness.

The post Kev Choice on Love, Growth, and the Power of Music appeared first on KPFA.

Because of the fall of Roe v. Wade, we’re hearing a lot more about adoption as an alternative for women who find themselves with an unwanted pregnancy. Even before the momentous Supreme Court decision, media portrayals of adoption have always painted it as an easy ethical conclusion to a difficult circumstance. But the real, lived experiences of birth parents who give up their children for adoption have never been part of the conversation.

Do birth parents really see adoption as an alternative to abortion? Are they happy with their decision to relinquish their children? It turns out that for the most part, they’re not.

We talk to Samantha Gonzalez, a birth mother, and Gretchen Sisson, author of the book Relinquished: The Politics of Adoption and the Privilege of American Motherhood.

GUESTS:

Samantha Gonzalez, a birth mother, and co-founder of Reproductive Justice in Adoption.

Gretchen Sisson, author of “Relinquished: The Politics of Adoption and the Privilege of American Motherhood.”

The post Birth Parents on Adoption appeared first on KPFA.

We’re in the homestretch to Election Day 2024. On today’s show, we dig into election mis- and disinformation and why so much of it is targeting immigrants this year.

GUESTS:

Amber Boydstun, professor and co-chair of the political science department at University of California, Davis.

Jaime Longoria, manager of research and training for the Disinfo Defense League.

Shiu-Ming Cheer, deputy director of immigrant and racial justice at the California Immigrant Policy Center.

The post Media, Disinfo, and Lies About Immigrants in the Race to Election Day appeared first on KPFA.

On the eve of a Presidential election being decided by a handful of swing states, we sit down with two women in Indiana to talk about what it takes to make progress in a place that is largely neglected by the national Democratic Party Machine. Dayna Colbert, Executive Director of the Hoosier Democratic Party, talks about their growing foothold, led by women. And, political podcaster Dana Black talks about how to maintain an authentic voice while working alongside the official Democratic Party.

GUESTS:

Dayna Colbert, Executive Director of Indiana Democratic Party

The post Progressive Women Are Shaping Indiana’s Political Future appeared first on KPFA.

Almost half of Puerto Rico’s doctors have fled the island over the past decade, leading to a lack of specialists and treatment and incredibly long wait times. And this isn’t just an inconvenience. People are dying from lack of care. Why is Puerto Rico’s health care system collapsing, and why are doctors fleeing the island?

We take a look at its deeply dysfunctional private medical system and why attempts to fix it and create a universal health care plan on the island are being hindered by Puerto Rico’s status as a U.S. colony. Its massive unpayable debt, held by investors in the U.S., means that it cannot make its own economic decisions, even when it affects the livelihood of poor Puerto Ricans living there. But there might be a fix: getting rid of Puerto Rico’s debt and rethinking its colonial relationship to the U.S.

GUESTS:

The post How the Legacy of Colonialism Keeps Puerto Rico’s Healthcare System in Shambles appeared first on KPFA.

On this week’s episode, we speak with Dr. Jeffrey O.G. Ogbar about his latest book, America’s Black Capital: How African Americans Remade Atlanta in the Shadow of the Confederacy. The book chronicles how a center of Black excellence emerged amid virulent expressions of white nationalism, as African Americans pushed back against Confederate ideology to create an extraordinary locus of achievement.

The post America’s Black Capital: How African Americans Remade Atlanta in the Shadow of the Confederacy (encore) appeared first on KPFA.

It’s been one year since October 7, 2023 and the start of Israel’s brutal assault on Gaza. On today’s show, we hear from journalist Rami Almeghari and other Palestinians about their experiences living through the war. Then, we dive into a conversation with author Norman Solomon about what mainstream coverage of the war is leaving out.

GUESTS:

The post Gaza, one year later appeared first on KPFA.