Black students with dyslexia all too often carry a heavy burden in our public schools. This documentary centers around a grandmother who fought for years to get her grandkids — particularly her grandson — properly assessed for dyslexia. Like too many African American boys, Geraldine Robinson’s grandson had been erroneously labeled with an “intellectual disability” and deprived of proper reading remediation. Monica Lopez hosts this episode, which first aired in 2021.

Featuring:

• Geraldine Robinson, Oakland matriarch raising her grandkids
• Cheryl Theis, Education Advocate, Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund
• Megan Potente, Educational Therapist and Co-State Director, Decoding Dyslexia CA
• Kareem Weaver, Oakland NAACP Education Committee

Episode Credits:

• Reporter/Producer: Lee Romney
• Editor: Monica Lopez and Lisa Morehouse
• Engineer: James Rowlands

Making Contact Team:

• Episode Host: Monica Lopez
• Executive Director: Jina Chung
• Engineer: Jeff Emtman
• Digital Media Marketing: Lissa Deonorain

Learn More:

• International Dyslexia Association
• Decoding Dyslexia
• California Dyslexia Guidelines

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.

School resource officers are often called upon in middle and high schools to help with routine discipline. But for many children, especially those with disabilities, a law enforcement response to their behavior can lead to the school-to-prison pipeline. This week on Making Contact, we hear a story from our podcast partner 70 Million about the relationship between students with special needs and school resource officers and the changes some would like to see in an edited version of “Why Policing Our Schools Backfires.”

70 Million Team

• Episode Reporter: Claire McInerney
• Editor: Monica Lopez and Juleyka Lantigua
• Host: Mitzi Miller
• Sound Designer: Erica Huang
• Photo Editor: Michelle Baker
• Staff Writer and Designer: Kori Doran
• Lead Fact Checker: Kate Gallagher
• Lead Producer: Pamela Kirkland
• Episode Photographer: Zerb Mellish & Michael Minasi
• Creator/Executive Producer: Juleyka Lantigua

Making Contact Team:

• Host: Anita Johnson

• Executive Director: Jina Chung

• Engineer: Jeff Emtman

• Digital Media Marketing: Lissa Deonarain

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.

In this episode we discuss disability, culture and identity from the perspective of disability communities themselves.  

Seattle based activist Dorian Taylor talks about the specific challenges disabled people face while accessing public transportation and Professor Sara Acevedo discusses the powerful ways that common language and terminology can shape our perceptions of disability, and why even today we are seeing further exclusion of disabled people. This program originally aired in 2019.

Featuring: Dorian Taylor, Sara Acevedo.

Episode Credits

Special thanks to CIIS, the California Institute of Integral Studies and the CIIS Public Programs Podcast for use of the Sara Acevedo talk. To learn more about the CIIS Public Programs Podcast log onto https://www.ciispod.com/.

The story of Dorian Taylor was produced by Yuko Kodama and Mona Yeh in partnership with KBCS and Finding America, a national initiative produced by AIR, the Association of Independents in Radio Incorporated. Financial support was provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Wincote Foundation, The John D and Catherine T MacArthur Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Making Contact Team

• Host: Anita Johnson
• Executive Director: Jina Chung
• Engineer: Jeff Emtman
• Digital Media Marketing: Lissa Deonarain

Learn More: 

CIISPod | Sara Acevedo | Hampshire-Dorian Taylor | Krip Hop Nation | Fixed The Movie

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.

The vast majority of care recipients are exclusively receiving unpaid care from a family member, friend, or neighbor. The rest receive a combination of family care and paid assistance, or exclusively paid formal care.

Whether you’re a paid home care provider, or rely on personal assistance to meet your daily needs, or a family member caring for a loved one, the nature of the working relationship depends on mutual respect and dignity. In honor of Disability Pride Month, we’ll revisit the dynamic and complex relationship of care receiving and giving.

• Camille Christian, home care provider and SEIU member
• Brenda Jackson, home care provider and SEIU member
• Patty Berne, co-founder and director, Sins Invalid
• Jessica Lehman, executive director, San Francisco Senior and Disability Action
• Kenzi Robi, president, San Francisco IHSS (In Home Supportive Services) Public Authority Governing Body
• Rachel Stewart, queer disabled woman passionate about disability and employment issues
• Alana Theriault, disability benefits counselor in Berkeley, California
• Ingrid Tischer, director of development, Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund (DREDF)
• Alta Mae Stevens, in-home caregiver

Episode Credits:

• Host: Laura Flynn and Anita Johnson
• Contributing Producers: Alice Wong and Stephanie Guyer-Stevens
• Producers: Anita Johnson, Salima Hamirani, Amy Gastelum, and Lucy Kang
• Executive Director: Jina Chung
• Editor: Adwoa Gyimah-Brempong
• Engineer: Jeff Emtman 
• Digital Media Marketing: Lissa Deonarain

Music:

• Dexter Britain: The Time To Run (Finale)
• Gillicuddy: Adventure, Darling
• Steve Combs: March
• Jason Shaw: Running Waters
• Jared C. Balogh: BRICK BY BRICK DAY BY DAY | INCREMENTS TOWARDS SERENITY
• Nheap: Crossings
• Cherly KaCherly: The Hungry Garden
• Trio Metrik: Vogelperspektive
• Kevin MacLeod: Faster Does It

Learn More: 

• UCSF: UCSF Study Projects Need for 2.5M More Long-Term Care Workers by 2030
• SEIU: Longterm Care Worker
• Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund
• Disability Visibility Project
• Hand in Hand: The Domestic Employers Network
• National Disability Leadership Alliance
• Senior and Disability Action
• Sins Invalid
• San Francisco In Home Supportive Services Public Authority
• Family Caregiver Alliance

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.

On this week’s episode, we dive into the hidden biases of the digital age with Dr. Safiya Umoja Noble, author of the groundbreaking book, Algorithms of Oppression. Dr. Noble unpacks how search engines, often seen as neutral tools, can reinforce harmful stereotypes and limit access to critical knowledge. Join us as we explore the forces shaping our digital experiences and discuss the urgent need for accountability in technology. This show first aired in December 2024.

Featuring:

Dr. Safiya U. Noble, David O. Sears Presidential Endowed Chair of Social Sciences and professor of gender studies, African American studies and information studies at UCLA

Making Contact Team:

• Episode host: Anita Johnson
• Producers: Anita Johnson, Salima Hamirani, Amy Gastelum, and Lucy Kang
• Executive Director: Jina Chung
• Engineer: Jeff Emtman
• Digital Media Marketing: Lissa Deonarain

Learn More:

Dr. Safiya Noble | Dr. Noble @ UCLA | Algorithms of Oppression | Purdue CDS Inaugural Lecture | Dr. Noble discusses the themes of her book

On this week's show, we explore Latino food and culture in Chicago’s historic Pilsen neighborhood and hear about how food can bring communities together. We tag along with the podcast In Confianza with Pulso as they try to answer the question: what does a Latino version of the tv show "The Bear" taste like? We'll head to two restaurants, Cafe Jumping Bean and Pochos, to find out.

Featuring:

Eleazar Delgado, owner of Cafe Jumping Bean | Miguel Hernandez and Irene Acosta, owners of Pochos 

Making Contact Credits

• Episode host and producer: Lucy Kang
• Producers: Anita Johnson, Salima Hamirani, Amy Gastelum, and Lucy Kang
• Executive Director: Jina Chung
• Engineer: Jeff Emtman 
• Digital Media Marketing: Lissa Deonarain

Music credit: "Drums" by Andrewfai via Pixabay

In Confianza with Pulso: "What does a Latino version of "The Bear" Taste Like?" Credits

• Hosted by Liz Rebecca Alarcón
• Produced and edited by Mark Agan
• Audio engineering scoring and mixing by Charlie Garcia

Learn More

Making Contact homepage | In Confianza with Pulso

In this week’s episode, we take a 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 US. This show first aired in November 2024.

Featuring

Alex Lewis, independent producer and founder of Rowhome Productions | Schuyler Swenson, producer | Lydia Doublestein, registered midwife

Making Contact Team

• Episode Host: Amy Gastelum
• Producers: Anita Johnson, Salima Hamirani, Amy Gastelum, and Lucy Kang
• Executive Director: Jina Chung
• Editor: Adwoa Gyimah-Brempong
• Engineer: Jeff Emtman 
• Digital Media Marketing: Lissa Deonarain

Guest Producers

• Producer/Reporter: Anne Noyes Saini
• Producer: Schuyler Swenson

Music Credits

• Andy G. Cohen, “Bumbler” 
• Zé Trigueiros, “Big Road of Burravoe”, “Ponto” 
• Hogan Grip, “Stance Gives You Balance” 

Music was changed only in length and volume levels and can be found here: http://www.freemusicarchive.org/

To celebrate Pride Month, we have a special show featuring stories from the Making Contact archives. We'll revisit the Stonewall Uprising with the 1989 audio documentary Remembering Stonewall, and then head to the gay rodeo with producer Vanessa Rancaño in a story from 2014.

Making Contact Credits

• Episode host and producer: Lucy Kang
• Producers: Anita Johnson, Salima Hamirani, Amy Gastelum, and Lucy Kang
• Executive Director: Jina Chung
• Engineer: Jeff Emtman
• Digital Media Marketing: Lissa Deonarain

Music

• "Minimal Documentary" by penguinmusic via Pixabay
• Bleep sound effect by freesound\_community from Pixabay

Remembering Stonewall: The birth of a movement (1989)

• Narrated by Michael Schirker
• Produced by David Isay
• Distributed by Pacifica Radio Archives

All Around Cowboy: Inside the world of queer rodeo" (2014)

• Story producer and host: Vanessa Rancaño
• This show was part of a partnership with the [UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism](http://journalism.berkeley.edu/)
• Special thanks to [Claire Schoen](http://claireschoenmedia.com/)

Learn More: 

Making Contact homepage | Remembering Stonewall on Pacifica Radio Archives | 

Making Contact episode "All Around Cowboy: Inside the world of queer rodeo"

A year ago, the world said goodbye to Reverend James Lawson Jr. On today's show, we look back at the work and legacy this leading figure in the Civil Rights Movement and advocate of nonviolence, with the help of the podcast Re:Work from the UCLA Labor Center.

Reverend James Lawson Jr., nonviolence advocate and civil rights leader

Making Contact

• Episode host and producer: Lucy Kang
• Producers: Anita Johnson, Salima Hamirani, Amy Gastelum, and Lucy Kang
• Executive Director: Jina Chung
• Engineer: [Jeff Emtman](http://www.jeffemtman.com/) 
• Digital Media Marketing: Lissa Deonarain

Music credit:

"For Documentary" by The\_Mountain via Pixabay

"Soul Force 2" from Re:Work by the UCLA Labor Center Credits:

• Produced by Veena Hampapur and Saba Waheed
• Sound design and editing by Veena Hampapur
• Mixing by Aaron Dalton

Learn More: 

Making Contact homepage | Re:Work from the UCLA Labor Center | Show on FoC Media

Last week, we visited a community in California's Central Valley 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 community utility districts that run sewage and water in unincorporated towns all across California. We'll discuss their problems as well as ways to save them. This show first aired in August 2024.

Episode Credits

• Episode Host: Salima Hamirani
• Producers: Anita Johnson, Salima Hamirani, Amy Gastelum, and Lucy Kang
• Executive Director: Jina Chung
• Editor: Adwoa Gyimah-Brempong
• Engineer: Jeff Emtman
• Digital Media Marketing: Lissa Deonarain

Voiceovers

• Ana Portnoy Brimmer
• Adwoa Gyimah-Brempong

Music Credits

• Komiko – Blue
• PC III – Ocean Tapping
• Alpha Hydrae – Friends and Apples
• Hicham Chahidi – Gouttes
• Ben von Wildenhaus – Week Twenty-five 
• Ketsa – No Light Without Darkness
• The Custodian of Records – Thunderstorm

Learn More

Making Contact | Community Water Center | Self-Help Enterprises