A History of Traditional Root Healing (ENCORE)
In some parts of the world, traditional herbal remedies are the norm. When we think of natural remedies we tend to think of older generations living in remote areas, in far away countries, with little access to modern healthcare. We rarely think about the ancient medicinal plants that might exist in our very own cities. On today’s episode we look at plant and herb medicines through the lens of Michele Elizabeth Lee the...
Grace Lee Boggs: Sister Revolutionary (Updated Encore)
On today’s program we honor the life and legacy of civil rights activist Grace Lee Boggs (June 27, 1915 – October 5, 2015). Through the lens of the documentary film American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs we present a close and personal view of Boggs’ activism. The film plunges us into Boggs’ lifetime of vital thinking and action, traversing the major U.S. social movements of the last century; from...
Remembering Fred Hampton (Encore)
This episode originally aired in 2019. Our radio adaptation of the film, The Murder of Fred Hampton, produced by filmmakers Mike Gray and Howard Alk, provides a glimpse into the life of Hampton and the Illinois Black Panther Party. On December 4th, 1969, exactly 50 years ago, Black Panthers Fred Hampton, age 21, and Mark Clark, age 22, were shot to death by Chicago police. In an infamous moment in Chicago’s history and politics,...
Bayard Rustin: The Gay, Black Civil Rights Activist (Encore)
This episode has also been published as “Angelic Troublemaker: Bayard Rustin” and “Giving Bayard Rustin His Flowers” On today’s show, we take a look at the life and legacy of a central organizer of the 1963 March on Washington, Bayard Rustin. Rustin was an openly gay civil rights leader and a trusted advisor to labor leader A. Phillip Randolph and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This show first aired in June...
Kev Choice: Love, Growth, and the Power of Music (Encore)
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. This...
Saltwater Soundwalk: Indigenous Audio Tour of Seattle (Encore)
In this special encore episode of Making Contact, we present “Saltwater Soundwalk”: Indigenous Audio Tour of Seattle. Produced by Jenny Asarnow and Rachel Lam, this rhythmic, watery audio experience, streams of stories that ebb and flow, intermixes English with Coast Salish languages. Indigenous Coast Salish peoples continue to steward this land and preserve its language, despite settler colonialism, industrialization and...


