Making Contact

Frequencies of Change Media
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"Making Contact" digs into the story beneath the story—contextualizing the narratives that shape our culture. Produced by Frequencies of Change Media (FoC Media), the award-winning radio show and podcast examines the most urgent issues of our time and the people on the ground, building a more just world through narrative storytelling and thought-provoking interviews. We cover the environment, labor, economics, health, governance, and arts and culture.

  1. 2D AGO

    Buried History: The Woman Who Created the Home Pregnancy Test

    In 1965 Margaret Crane was a young designer creating packaging for a pharmaceutical company when a scientist gave her a tour of the lab. Looking at the long rows of pregnancy tests she thought, well anyone could do that test at home! So she set about designing a prototype for America's first home pregnancy test. While the design of the prototype was simple, convincing the company, the medical community and conservative social leaders that at-home pregnancy testing was safe and necessary was an uphill climb for Crane, who is only now receiving credit for her contributions to the industry. This show first aired in February 2024. Featuring: Margaret Crane - Graphic designer and inventor of the first home pregnancy test Wendy Kline - Dema G. Seelye Chair in the History of Medicine, History Faculty Purdue University Jesse Olszynko-Gryn - Head of the [Laboratory for Oral History and Experimental Media](https://www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/research/projects/laboratory-oral-history-and-experimental-media) at Max Planck Institute for the History of Science  Arthur Kover - Emeritus Professor of Marketing, Fordham University Alexandra Lord - Chair, Division of Medicine and Science at the National Museum of American History Making Contact Staff: Host: Amy Gastelum Guest Producer: Anne Noyes Saini  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 Deonorain Music:  Podington Bear, Rhythm and Strings  Learn More: National Museum of American History https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/nmah_1803285 A Woman's Right to Know, Pregnancy Testing in 20th Century Britain - https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262544399/a-womans-right-to-know/ Predictor, by Jennifer Blackmer https://newplayexchange.org/plays/348156/predictor 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.

    29 min

  2. MAR 4

    Dr. Rebecca Crumpler, America's First Black Female Public Health Pioneer (Encore)

    Dr. Rebecca Crumpler was the first Black woman to become a physician in the United States. Working in the aftermath of the Civil War, she made immense contributions to public health, despite the racism and sexism she faced. We'll trace the course of her remarkable life and work with in a story brought to us by the podcast Lost Women of Science, hosted by Katie Hafner and producer Dominique Janee. Featuring: Dr. Melody McCloud, Physician and author of _Black Women's Wellness_ Dr. Joan Reede, Dean for Diversity and Community Partnership at Harvard Medical School Jim Downs, Historian and author of _Sick from Freedom_ Victoria Gall, with Hyde Park Historical Society and Friends of the Hyde Park Branch Library Making Contact Credits Episode host and producer: Lucy Kang Executive Director: Jina Chung Engineer: Jeff Emtman  Digital Media Marketing: Lissa Deonarain Music Credit: "The Road From Home" by Sergii Pavkin from Pixabay Lost Women of Science: "Dr. Rebecca Crumpler, America's First Black Female Public Health Pioneer" Credits Producer and host: Dominique Janee  Host: Katie Hafner Managing senior producer: Barbara Howard  Audio engineer and sound designer: Samia Bouzid  Published in partnership with Scientific American Listen to the full episode from Lost Women of Science: https://www.lostwomenofscience.org/podcast-episodes/dr-rebecca-crumpler-americas-first-black-female-public-health-pioneer 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.

    29 min

  3. FEB 25

    I Am Not Your Negro (Encore)

    Master filmmaker Raoul Peck envisions the book James Baldwin never finished, Remember This House. The result is a radical, up-to-the-minute examination of race in America, using Baldwin's original words and flood of rich archival material. I Am Not Your Negro is a journey into black history that connects the past of the Civil Rights movement to the present of #BlackLivesMatter. It is a film that questions black representation in Hollywood and beyond. And, ultimately, by confronting the deeper connections between the lives and assassination of Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr., Baldwin and Peck have produced a work that challenges the very definition of what America stands for. Featuring: Film Participants: James Baldwin, Harry Belafonte, Dick Cavett, Marlon Brando, Robert F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr. Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and many more Credits: Host: Anita Johnson Executive Director: Jina Chung Engineer: Jeff Emtman Digital Media Marketing: Lissa Deonorain Learn More: http://www.iamnotyournegrofilm.com/ http://www.magnoliapictures.com/ https://studios.amazon.com/ James Baldwin: The Last Interview: and other Conversations (The Last Interview Series) Interview with James Baldwin on Sexuality - Richard Goldstein 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.

    29 min

  4. FEB 18

    Remembering Fred Hampton (Encore)

    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, over a dozen policemen burst into Hampton's apartment while its occupants were sleeping, killing Hampton and fellow Panther Mark Clark, and brutalizing the other occupants. As Deputy Chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party, Hampton built a solid reputation as a community organizer and brilliant speaker. The FBI, threatened by the activities of the BPP and its dynamic youth leaders, set on a course to neutralize the organization and anyone they deemed a threat to the agenda of white supremacy. "You can jail the revolutionary, but you can't jail the revolution…You might murder a freedom fighter like Bobby Hutton, but you can't murder freedom fighting." – Fred Hampton. Featuring: Fred Hampton Bobby Rush Rennie Davis Edward Hanrahan Credits: Special thanks to Facets DVD and Filmmakers Mike Gray and Howard Alk Host: Anita Johnson Executive Director: Jina Chung Engineer: Jeff Emtman Digital Media Marketing: Lissa Deonorain Music:  "Grand Caravan", Blue Dot Sessions elling Easements Viola Trio Long", Barbara Bernstein  "Long Cory", Cory Learn More:  The Murder of Fred Hampton A Facets Cine-Notes Booklet The Assassination of Fred Hampton Freedom Archives: Fred Hampton Audio Samples Freedom Archives: Honoring Fred Hampton on the 50th Anniversary of his Murder 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.

    29 min

  5. FEB 11

    Giving Bayard Rustin His Flowers (Encore)

    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 2021. Special Thank You to Nancy Kates and Bennett Singer the producers/directors of Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin and Sam Pollard, the executive director.  And to the Pacifica Radio Archives for use of the Bayard Rustin archival materials. Featuring: Bayard Rustin –  the architect of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom Ashon Crawley – University of Virginia Associate Professor of Religious Studies and African-American and African Studies Nancy Kates – filmmaker and producer of Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin Bill Sutherland – Fellowship of Reconciliation Reverend A.J. Muste – pacifist and mentor of Rustin George Houser – Fellowship of Reconciliation Louis John – nephew of Bayard Rustin Devi Prasad – pacifist  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 Music Credits Cory Gray – "Medieval Tension" Ketsa – "This Way Joyous"  Blue Dot Sessions – "Rally" Blue Dot Sessions – "Rayling" Dee Yan-Key – "Hold On" Dee Yan-Key – "Go Down Moses" Blue Dot Sessions – "3rd Chair" Andy G. Cohen – "Our Young Guts" Learn More Lost Prophet: The Life and Times of Bayard Rustin by John D'Emilio Bayard Rustin Fund Troublemaker for Justice: The Story of Bayard Rustin, the Man Behind the March on Washington by Jacqueline Houtman, Michael G. Long, Walter Naegle I Must Resist: Bayard Rustin's Life in Letters by Bayard Rustin, edited by Michael G. Long Bayard Rustin: Troubles I've Seen Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers PBS History AFL-CIO Washington Post NYTimes 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.

    29 min

  6. FEB 4

    A Dream Remembered? Martin Luther King Jr and the Grassroots Civil Rights Movement (Encore)

    On the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on August 28th 1963, at the March on Washington, 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, Gary Younge, author of The Speech: The Story Behind Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Dream, talks about Martin Luther King Junior's "Dream" and the story behind it. Special thanks to the New School for the recording. Featuring: Gary Younge, author and journalist Making Contact Team: Episode Host: George Lavender Executive Director: Jina Chung Engineer: Jeff Emtman Digital Media Marketing: Lissa Deonorain 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.

    29 min

  7. JAN 28

    Origin Story: Making Contact | 30th Anniversary Capsule

    From its birthplace in an Oakland cafe in 1994 to the Battle in Seattle, international reporting projects, and a deep commitment to social justice journalism, Making Contact has been an important part of the media landscape for more than thirty years. Guest host Jessica Partnow guides us through some of the key moments in Making Contact's history in conversation with founders Peggy Law and Norman Solomon. This episode is part of the Making Contact Anniversary Capsule: celebrating 30 years of social justice journalism. The miniseries takes us from protests on the streets of Seattle to an Indiana family fighting for their daughter's gender affirming care. It explores a racial reckoning in the world of romance writers, and tells the story of border walls from Gaza to Arizona. These shows embody how Making Contact has been digging into the story beneath the story since 1994. Featuring: Peggy Law Norman Solomon Jeff Emtman Credits: Making Contact Team Guest Host: Jessica Partnow Executive Director: Jina Chung Editor: Adwoa Gyimah Brempong Interviews: Salima Hamirani Engineer: Jeff Emtman Digital Media Marketing: Lissa Deonorain Music: "Bullethead," Charlie Hunter Trio 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.

    29 min

  8. JAN 21

    The Cost of Deportations | 30th Anniversary Capsule

    About two million Guatemalans live in the US. But, half of those here lack legal status, and tens of thousands of Guatemalans are deported back to their country each year. Are the countries these migrants left prepared for an influx of returnees?  This episode, originally released in 2018, is part of the Making Contact Anniversary Capsule: celebrating 30 years of social justice journalism. The miniseries takes us from protests on the streets of Seattle to an Indiana family fighting for their daughter's gender affirming care. It explores a racial reckoning in the world of romance writers, and tells the story of border walls from Gaza to Arizona. These shows embody how Making Contact has been digging into the story beneath the story since 1994. Featuring: Carlos Lopez, Casa del Migrante Guatemala Martin, Juan Sebastian, Rodolfo, and Hicer – Guatemalans who have migrated and been deported, or who have attempted to migrate to the US Lisbeth Gramajo, Anthropologist at Rafael Landivar University Willie Barreno, Chef and Founder of Cafe Red Kat Fredy Lopez, San Pedro Credit Cooperative Don Julio, Q'anjobal Maya Elder Don Sebastian Gaspar, Business Owner Father Mauro Verzeletti, Director Casa del Migrante Guatemala and El Salvador Father Dionisio, Pastor of San Pedro Catholic Church Marvin Otzcoy, Guatemalan Fraternity of Northern Nevada Credits: Reporting made possible by a grant from FIJ— the Fund for Investigative Journalism. Voice Overs by Miguel Estrada, Claude Marks, Jesús Hermosillo, Joel Ulloa, Max Ferrin, Glenn Ontiveros, Ruxandra Guidi, Jonathan Lawson, and Chris Stehlik. Making Contact Team Host: Monica Lopez Episode Producer & Reporter: Maria Martin Executive Director: Jina Chung Engineer: Jeff Emtman Digital Media Marketing: Lissa Deonorain Music: "Assobio", Z Trigueiros "Saez", Z Trigueiros "Phased", Z Trigueiros "Fater Lee", Black Ant  (open) "Rise", Meydan (credits) Learn More:  Casa del Migrante – Guatemala La Cafe Red Kat La Cafe Red Kat II 'Nothing for us here': Deported Guatemalans plan to return to U.S. U.S. embassy cables warned against expelling 300,000 immigrants. Trump officials did it anyway. 'Claudia was a good girl. Why did they kill her?' From a Guatemalan village to death in Texas San Juan Ostuncalco llora a Claudia Patricia Gómez

    29 min
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About

"Making Contact" digs into the story beneath the story—contextualizing the narratives that shape our culture. Produced by Frequencies of Change Media (FoC Media), the award-winning radio show and podcast examines the most urgent issues of our time and the people on the ground, building a more just world through narrative storytelling and thought-provoking interviews. We cover the environment, labor, economics, health, governance, and arts and culture.

Information

  • Creator
    Frequencies of Change Media
  • Years Active
    2005 - 2026
  • Episodes
    843
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Frequencies of Change Media
  • Show Website
    Making Contact

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