Mexicans Confronting Racism: Aztec myths to modern stereotypes (encore)
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...
Juristac and the Amah Mutsun: Indigenous Resistance and Regeneration (Encore)
In this episode, we take a deep dive into Indigenous resistance against extractivism and the forces behind climate change. We’ll look at an underreported story in California about the Amah Mutsun Ohlone’s fight to save their most sacred site — a place called Juristac. Contributors Robert Raymond and Della Duncan explore the horrific injustices wrought upon California Indians since the time of the Spanish Missions up to the present and...
Thirsting For Justice (Part Two): Community Utility Districts and East Orosi’s Drinking Water Problems (Encore)
This episode first aired on Aug 7, 2024 as “East Orosi’s Long Struggle for Water Part 2: The Role of Community Utility Districts.” You can learn about new developments since then in more recent coverage via SJV Water and Fresnoland. In part one of our series on water in the Central Valley of California, we visited a town called East Orosi, which has been fighting for clean water for over 20 years. This week we turn our...
Thirsting for Justice (Part One): East Orosi’s Struggle for Clean Drinking Water (Encore)
This episode originally aired on July 25, 2024 as “East Orosi’s Struggle for Clean Drinking Water.” East Orosi hasn’t had safe drinking water in over 20 years. The water is full of nitrates, runoff from industrial agriculture, which is harmful to human health. The community has taken action to find a solution, from lobbying at the state capital to working with neighboring towns. And they may finally have one. New...
Urban Roots: Reclaiming Indianapolis’ Black History
Today we head back to Indianapolis with the podcast Urban Roots. In the 1950s and 1960s, Ms. Jean Spears was a young mother and burgeoning preservationist. She saved antiques from houses about to be demolished; she bought a home in a white slum and renovated it; later on, she did the same with a historic home in the black neighborhood near Indiana Avenue. In the eighties, she and some neighbors started digging into this black...
A Making Contact Pride Show!
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. Remembering Stonewall: The Birth of A movement (1989) Narrated by Michael Schirker Produced by David Isay Distributed by Pacifica Radio Archives “All...
Staying in the Fight with Ijeoma Oluo, from In the Meanwhile
In this special guest episode from the podcast In the Meanwhile, co-hosts Marcus Harrison Green and Nora Kenworthy sit down with author and activist Ijeoma Oluo (So You Want to Talk About Race; Mediocre: the Dangerous Legacy of White Male America; Be a Revolution) for a searching conversation about movement work, harm, belonging, and the radical choice to stay. Together, they explore the personal cost of speaking truth, the wounds...
Mabuhay: Welcome to Little Manila in Queens (Encore)
This episode was originally published on May 24, 2023 as “Queens Memory Podcast: Seeing Signs” Mapapakinggan din itong episode sa Tagalog (This episode is also available in Tagalog): The Queens Memory Podcast is a project archiving stories from the most diverse community in the US — Queens, New York. “Little Manila” is a Filipino neighborhood dating back to the 1970s, but it still struggles to find its political footing. ...
Self Care as Selfless Act: Mental Health at the Root of Activism (Encore)
Activists in the Latinx immigrant community of Los Angeles share what they do to take care of their mental health. The issues these activists work on often impact their personal lives, and people who work in the service of others are particularly at risk of burnout and compassion fatigue. Self-care becomes a “selfless act” when it allows activists to stay healthy and do their work in a sustainable way. Featuring Paulina...
Radical Therapy from Re:Work (Encore)
In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, we bring you a story at the intersection of therapy, healing and social justice. We’ll hear about one therapist’s work to bring the lens of radical therapy and community care into her practice. This piece was produced by the podcast Re:Work from the UCLA Labor Center. Featuring: Claudia Morales, therapist at Social Justice Healing Re:Work Episode “Radical Therapy” Credits...
