Nobody Told Them: Veterans and the Broken Handoff
Making Contact
Veterans leave the military having earned health care, education benefits, and job training. What almost nobody tells them is that none of it is automatic. You have to show up with your DD-214 and enroll yourself, and if you don't, no one follows up. On this episode, six veterans across four decades and four branches of service describe the same gap. A Marine who got out in 1989 and didn't learn what the VA was until 2019. An Army mechanic who called 211 out of desperation and found housing. A combat veteran who lost her home during COVID and was told she earned too much to qualify for help....
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Passing the Torch to Pacifica
Making Contact
For over 30 years, Making Contact has been bringing you grassroots voices and context, to better understand the world and the people who are struggling to make it better. As Pacifica radio takes over production of the show, media critic and Making Contact co-founder Norman Solomon joins us this week, to understand the crucial role of independent media, and how we’ve navigated change—from the Bill Clinton era, to the second term of Donald Trump. Featuring: Norman Solomon, Executive Director of the Institute for Public Accuracy and Making Contact co-founder Archival audio: Bill Clinton,...
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Kev Choice: Love, Growth, and the Power of Music (Encore)
Making Contact
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 episode first aired in November 2024. Featuring: Kev Choice Credits: Episode host: Anita Johnson Executive Director: Jina Chung Engineer: ...
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The Ethical Dilemma of Geoengineering & Global Warming (Encore)
Making Contact
As we head into an ever warming world, some experts and politicians are embracing a possible solution to climate change called geoengineering. Theoretically geoengineering could slow down climate change, stop it, and maybe even remove carbon from the air. It sounds like the perfect answer for a global political system that just can’t stop burning fossil fuels even if it kills us all. But it might not be the easy fix we’re hoping for. We talk to scientists and activists about what geoengineering is and why it could actually be a dangerous way to tackle climate change. We also dive into the...
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Powerlands (Encore)
Making Contact
On this week's Making Contact, we feature an extended interview with Ivey Camille Manybeads Tso, a queer Diné filmmaker and director of the award-winning documentary Powerlands. Powerlands traces how multinational energy corporations extract resources and profits while displacing and harming Indigenous communities around the world. The film follows Indigenous activists in Navajo Nation, Colombia, Mexico and the Philippines who are fighting back against corporations like Peabody Energy, Glencore and BHP. This show first aired in June 2023. Featuring: Ivey Camille Manybeads Tso, an...
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The Coast Miwok Peoples, Colonization, and the Preservation of Indigenous History (Encore)
Making Contact
Dive into the history of Point Reyes National Seashore, one of the most iconic parks in northern California, with us. Known for rugged sweeping beaches and the famous tule elk, we’ll recount the waves of colonization that violently upended the lives of the Coast Miwok peoples who lived there – and one Indigenous woman’s struggle to preserve her family history. The story of Point Reyes is a story about how the forces of colonialism continue to shape the fate of public lands in the United States, and the campaigns waged to fight back and protect Indigenous land. Featuring:...
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Mexicans Confronting Racism: Aztec Myths to Modern Stereotypes (Encore)
Making Contact
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 Ismael Rivera and Aztec expert Camilla Townsend as they unravel lies the Spanish colonizers told about ancient Aztecs that still feed racist tropes...
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Juristac and the Amah Mutsun: Indigenous Resistance and Regeneration (Encore)
Making Contact
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 focus on how the Amah Mutsun are working to regenerate their culture, language, and land. _Special thanks to The Satterberg Foundation & Upstream...
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Thirsting for Justice (Part 2): East Orosi’s Long Struggle for Water: The Role of Community Utility Districts (Encore)
Making Contact
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. Featuring:...
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Thirsting for Justice (Part 1): East Orosi’s Struggle for Clean Drinking Water (Encore)
Making Contact
In 2012, the state of California declared water a human right. Yet nearly 400 water systems don't meet the state's drinking water standards. In the Central Valley, the community of East Orosi hasn’t had safe tap water in over 20 years. The water is full of harmful nitrates and other runoff from industrial agriculture. We visit East Orosi and talk to Berta Diaz Ochoa and others about what it’s like living without access to clean drinking water and how the community has taken action to find a solution. This episode originally aired in July 2024. Credits: **Making Contact Credits** Episode...
info_outlineWe 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 episode first aired in November 2024.
Featuring:
Kev Choice
Credits:
- Episode host: Anita Johnson
- Executive Director: Jina Chung
- Engineer: Jeff Emtman
- Digital Media Marketing: Lissa Deonarain
Music:
- Kev Choice "All This Love"
- Kev Choice "Congratulations"
- Kev Choice "Searching for a Feeling
- Kev Choice "Fresh Fade"
- Kev Choice "International Blvd"
- Kev Choice "God"
- Kev Choice "Feel What I Feel"
Learn More:
- https://kevchoice.wordpress.com/
- https://www.instagram.com/kevchoice/?hl=en
- https://westcoaststyles.com/interviews/2024/04/kev-choice-love-liberation/
- https://www.oaklandsymphony.org/artist/kev-choice/
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.