Making Contact

Wartime. Disaster. Trauma. Charges of mutiny for 50 Black sailors in a Jim Crow courtroom. Discrimination and a battle for civil rights. Listen to this World War II story via oral histories from five of the Black sailors who survived the Port Chicago explosion, court-marshal and imprisonment.

We go back to the night in June 1969 at the New York City Stonewall Inn that sparked the LGBT rights movement. On today's show we'll hear about the day that galvanized a generation and the continued fight for LGBT civil rights. The first Pride parades took place in June 1970 marking the 1st anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising. Michael Schirker and David Isay bring us an oral history Remembering Stonewall: The Birth of a Movement. Editor at large of the Huffington Posts' Gay Voices Michelangelo Signorile says while there have been a series of recent wins for the LGBT rights movement, bigotry remains a daily reality for many. At a New America NYC forum Signorile spoke with June Thomas, Culture Critic and Editor of Outward, Slate's LGBTQ Section about what he calls "victory blindness". It's a central theme in his new book, "It's Not Over, Getting to Beyond Tolerance Defeating Homophobia and Winning True Equality." Special thanks to Pacifica Radio Archives for "Remembering Stonewall: The Birth of a Movement" produced by David Isay for Pacifica Radio, New America NYC for "It's Not Over: Winning True Equality."

Juneteenth, also known as Juneteenth Independence Day or Freedom Day, is the oldest known celebration commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. In this show, we'll explore the history of Juneteenth and we'll expand our conversation of Juneteenth to include a case for reparations. The topic of reparations for African Americans has recently resurfaced with Democratic presidential candidates taking positions on the issue, elevating the discussion to the mainstream.

June 2019 marks ten years since then President of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya, was ousted in a military coup. In this program, Dr. Dana Frank, author of the Long Honduran Night, examines the long term impact of the coup in Honduras, and the evolution of resistance movements in its aftermath.

I Am Because I Am, explores the expansion of gender identity and presumed roles in our society. A look beyond the socially constructed ideas of what is male, female, masculine or feminine. Especially considering Trump's administration attempts to redefine gender to be solely based on a person's genitalia at birth. Thus potentially threatening Transgender, Intersex and Non-Binary Identity.

We think of enhanced interrogation as being a new invention - a kind of torture in use only since 9/11. But Rebecca Gordon disagrees. In this episode she joins us to talk about the United State's long history of using torture domestically and abroad, and its connection to power and race.

In this episode, we honor the life and legacy of civil rights activist Grace Lee Boggs through the lens of the documentary film, AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARY: THE EVOLUTION OF GRACE LEE BOGGS. Produced and directed by Grace Lee.

People with disabilities or disabled people? "Disability: Our Culture Ourselves"— in this episode we discuss disability, culture and identity from the perspective of disability communities themselves.

In this episode we explore racial disparities in end-of-life care: How mistrust keeps many African Americans away from hospice. And later we examine particular challenges and cultural barriers faced by Asians and Latinos at the end of life.

We think of Artificial Intelligence as being the stuff of science fiction movies, set far in the future. But it's already having an impact on our lives. We look at a kind of decision made by artificial intelligence called a risk assessment and how it impacts the poor and people of color and we talk about ways to fight back.