Making Contact

A look back at some of the most important issues of 2011: Attacks on organized labor, the Egyptian revolution, and the struggle to address climate change. We’ll hear highlights from some of our best programs of the year, and get updates on where those stories stand now.

On this edition, author and political science professor Melissa Harris-Perry speaks about the stereotypes black women face, its impacts on their identity and how it has limited the ways in which society views them as true “citizens.”

Gang injunctions are a controversial crime fighting tool that some people say should be illegal, and others say is a necessary last resort for communities plagued by violence. On this edition, we go from the birthplace of gang injunctions in L.A., to their newest use in London.

We take a look at the health impacts of chemical exposure in nail salons, the shoddy regulation of cosmetics, and the movement towards greener nail salons.

As the Occupy movement continues to grow participants, activists and community organizers are grappling with how to ensure that Occupy develops beyond tents and into long-term systemic change.

He went from illiterate street kid, to world renowned poet. But it was in prison that Jimmy Santiago Baca connected with his Native American and Chicano heritage, and began learning the lessons of his people’s past. On this edition, Progressive Magazine editor Matthew Rothschild sits down with Jimmy Santiago Baca.

On this edition, we bring you the voices of Veterans from Occupy Wall Street and a special report on veterans returning home from war and the struggles they endure from inadequate healthcare to the inability in finding employment.

Reproductive health services for women are under attack, leaving poor women and women of color lacking access. But a broad coalition of women is striking back, changing the conversation on abortion and race. WARNING: This program contains graphic language.

The people of the U.S. have seemingly awakened, and are out in the streets, demanding changes to a system in which money controls politics.  On this edition, corporations, elections and the 99%. In a post-citizens united world, is it too late to reclaim our democracy?

Riots all over the world are calling on us to get involved in societal change. But what kind of action is needed, and how do we create real change? We feature a round-table discussion that explores political action, strategies, and leadership.

In 2011, why are there fewer than 20 female heads of state around the world? A former President, a Supreme Court justice and other women leaders reflect on the battles they’ve won on the way to the top of their fields, and just how far there still is to go.

Two generations of veterans cope with PTSD—looking to heal themselves and the world.  Featuring S. Brian Willson, author of Blood on the Tracks.

A new generation is telling their stories of overthrowing corrupt regimes. And in the digital age, their lessons can spread more quickly than ever before. We’ll hear from Egyptian, Serbian, and Azerbaijani activists, about their work to topple undemocratic rulers.

Honey bees help pollinate 1 in every 3 bites we eat. But they’re fighting to survive, in a world filled with pesticides and parasites. We’ll learn about colony collapse disorder and hear from beekeepers, researchers, and gardeners who are trying to protect the honey bee.

Was mainstream media in cahoots with government forces in the lead up to the Iraq War?  In his film, “The War You Don’t See,” Australian journalist John Pilger reveals how American and British journalists contributed to the drumbeat of war and how they could have prevented the invasion of Iraq.

American Arabs and Muslims are under the microscope, and many feel demonized and say they are living in fear of arrest. On this edition, we'll hear stories about the past 10 years of anti-Arab profiling and prosecution. We also look at parallels with the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II.

Hosni Mubarak’s dictatorship is gone, but a military council now rules Egypt, and has kept much of Mubarak’s repressive apparatus. Meanwhile extremist Islamist groups want to adopt undemocratic, right-wing policies. Producer Reese Erlich goes to Cairo to ask: “Who Won the Egyptian Revolution?”

Journalist Christian Parenti speaks about his new book, Tropic of Chaos: Climate Change and the New Geography of Violence. He connects the effects of climate change to the increasing number of civil wars, ethnic violence, criminality and failed states in Kenya, Brazil and India, among others.

The American consensus on Israel and Palestine is breaking down. And Jewish Americans are playing a major role. But it’s not easy. On this edition, a Jewish American community divided. More and more members of the tribe are breaking a long-standing taboo, and voicing criticism of the Israel government.

African-Americans are helping to lead the environmental movement. We take you to a resettlement community in North Carolina, sustainable farms in Wisconsin and a local bike ride in California, where local black leaders are changing the color of environmentalism.