Making Contact

The Canadian Tar Sands is the largest industrial project on earth. And the potential environmental consequences have brought together citizens from across borders, to fight its rippling effects.

This is the first of a two part special, on the growing resistance to the tar sands, produced by Barbara Bernstein.

Featuring:

• Kevin Lewis, Idaho Rivers United conservation director
• Linwood Laughy, writer & historian
• Borg Hendrickson, Clearwater Country co-author
• Andrew Nikiforuk, Tar Sands: Dirty Oil and the Future of a Continent author
• Bob Skinner, Canada School of Energy and the Environment interim director
• Annick Smith, A River Runs Through It co-producer
• Bob Gentry, environmental attorney
• Steven Hawley, Recovering a Lost River author
• David James Duncan, The Heart of the Monster co-author
• Zack Porter, All Against The Haul executive director
• Steve Seninger, University of Montana economist
• Spider McKnight, All Against the Haul communications specialist

We follow Dr. Ann Aurelia Lopez as she shows us the reality of farm workers' lives in the United States and Mexico. Dr. Lopez founded the Center for Farmworker Families in Watsonville, California.

Featuring:

• Dr. Ann Aurelia Lopez, founder and director of the Center for Farmworker Families
• Women farmworkers

Robert Neuwirth, author of "Shadow Cities: A Billion Squatters, A New Urban World", estimates that more than a billion people--thats 1 in 7--are squatters. This week, we visit squats in Venezuela and the Philippines, and find out why squatters aren’t just tolerated...they are crucial to the growth of major cities and national economies.

Featuring:

• Robert Neuwirth, author of "Shadow Cities: A Billion Squatters, A New Urban World"
• Filomena Cinco, Barangay captain of Estero de San Miguel
• Luz Sudueste, Urban Poor Associates organizer
• William Gonzalez, Gladys Flores, Jacqueline Calderon and Yolimar Noriega, Toree David residents
• Andres Antillano, Universidad Central de Venezuela professor & activist for squatters’ rights.

Why are so many of those killed by police young people of color?

A recent ProPublica investigation found that a young black male is at twenty one times greater risk of being shot dead by police than his white counterparts.

On this edition of Making Contact we'll hear from one of the reporters who analyzed the data on police killings to come up with that startling conclusion, as well as stories of family and community members who say the justice system itself needs to be put on trial.

Some call it a new civil rights movement. Others simply call it “black lives matter”. But its yet to be seen if the momentum for justice will result in systemic change. And to get there, what kind of strategies are needed? On this weeks edition, a conversation about waging non-violence between civil rights movement veteran David Hartsough and Ferguson activist Reverand. Osagyefo Uhuru.Sekou.

Featuring:

David Hartsough, civil rights activist and author of “Waging Peace: Global Adventures of a Lifelong Activist,”

Rev. Osagyefo Uhuru.Sekou, activist and Pastor For Formation & Justice Church

Special thanks to Waging Nonviolence.

Before it was legal in the United States, some doctors would risk arrest to provide women with access to safe abortions. When that wasn’t possible, some sought abortions from unsafe providers, often with deadly consequences.

The Supreme Court legalized abortion in 1973, and the numbers of people dying after having an abortion dropped, but are we now seeing a return to the past?

On this edition, what can the time before abortion was legal tell us about the dangers of restricting access to abortion today? We’ll hear a special radio adaption of "Motherhood by Choice not Chance" a documentary produced and narrated by Dorothy Fadiman.

You’ve heard of Hip-Hop, but what about Krip-Hop? That’s the name for the international movement of disabled artists, poets, musicians, and MCs.

On this edition of Making Contact, we hear the story of Krip Hop from hate mail to worldwide phenomenon.

The female body as medium, and as message.

How can a woman determine how she is perceived by the world, and even by herself?

On this edition, we hear stories of women who are using their bodies for political protest, and as tools of self-empowerment…forcing everyone to reevaluate their perspectives on the female form.

Featuring:

• Neda Topaloski & Xenia Chernyshova, Femen members
• Galia Ackerman, author of the book “Femen”
• Catherine King, Executive Producer, Global Fund for Women
• Yolando Y’Netta Harbin-Venson, Big Ol Pretty Girls owner
• Jenny “Diva” Davis, clothing designer Diva’s Exquisite Designs.

On the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on August 28th 1963, Martin Luther King Jr delivered one of the most famous speeches of all time. But it nearly didn't happen. On this special edition of Making Contact for MLK Day, Gary Younge, author of “The Speech” talks about Martin Luther King Junior's “Dream” and the story behind it.

Featuring:

• Gary Younge, author of “The Speech: Martin Luther King Jr's Dream and the Story Behind It”

What are the roots of the historic mistrust between people of color, especially African Americans, and the police? And how does 911 really work? Is slow response time just perception, or reality?

During the 2nd half of our 2-part special—The Race to An Emergency, we follow the path of a 911 call, and along the way, encounter decades of mistrust that fuel a lack of confidence in the system.