What are borders, and why do we have them? And how is violent border enforcement at the U.S.-Mexico border connected to Israel’s brutal assault on Gaza? And what happens when borders cross living land and communities?

We’ll dig into these questions in this week’s episode with the help of Heba Gowayed, sociology professor at CUNY Hunter College and Graduate Center. And then we’ll hear a story brought to us by In Confianza, with Pulso about one time when the natural boundary between two countries changed,  and what happened to the people caught on the other side.

GUESTS:

• Heba Gowayed, sociology professor at CUNY Hunter College and Graduate Center and author of Refuge: How the State Shapes Human Potential and the forthcoming The Cost of Border.
• Charlie Garcia, writer and producer of the story “The Border is Alive!,” from In Confianza, with Pulso.

The post Dividing Lines: What Are Borders and Why Do We Have Them? (encore) appeared first on KPFA.

On this week’s episode, we speak with Jenny Odell, author of Saving Time: Discovering a Life Beyond the Clock, about how the ways we think about time shapes our lives. We take a critical look at productivity culture and the idea that time is money. Then we hear how to begin to disentangle our daily concept of time from its capitalistic and colonialist roots in order to liberate and expand our relationship to time.

The post Jenny Odell on Saving Time (encore) appeared first on KPFA.

On today’s show, we look at how art can highlight the struggles of incarcerated women, build solidarity with them across prison walls, and fight against the erasure and censorship inherent to incarceration.

First, we’ll hear about a dance performance called “If I Give You My Sorrows” that’s built around the complex ways incarcerated women relate to their beds. Then, we’ll learn about an art exhibition, The Only Door I Can Open, that’s curated and created by incarcerated artists, writers, and poets inside Central California Women’s Facility.

GUESTS:

• Jo Kreiter, artistic director of Flyaway Productions and creative director of If I Give You My Sorrows
• Betty McKay, formerly incarcerated advocate and organizer
• Tomiekia Johnson, incarcerated writer and co-curator of The Only Door I Can Open
• Chantell-Jeannette Black, incarcerated artist and co-curator of The Only Door I Can Open
• Rahsaan “New York” Thomas, executive director of Empowerment Avenue

The post Art from the Inside: Why We Need More Art By And About Incarcerated Women (encore) appeared first on KPFA.

On today’s show, we look at how art can highlight the struggles of incarcerated women, build solidarity with them across prison walls, and fight against the erasure and censorship inherent to incarceration.

First, we’ll hear about a dance performance called “If I Give You My Sorrows” that’s built around the complex ways incarcerated women relate to their beds. Then, we’ll learn about an art exhibition, The Only Door I Can Open, that’s curated and created by incarcerated artists, writers, and poets inside Central California Women’s Facility.

GUESTS:

• Jo Kreiter, artistic director of Flyaway Productions and creative director of If I Give You My Sorrows
• Betty McKay, formerly incarcerated advocate and organizer
• Tomiekia Johnson, incarcerated writer and co-curator of The Only Door I Can Open
• Chantell-Jeannette Black, incarcerated artist and co-curator of The Only Door I Can Open
• Rahsaan “New York” Thomas, executive director of Empowerment Avenue

The post Art from the Inside: Why We Need More Art By And About Incarcerated Women appeared first on KPFA.

Today’s episodes of Making Contact and Pushing Limits are preempted by special programming for KPFA’s 2024 Holiday Fund Drive.

To support our mission, please donate here or call (800) 439-5732.

The post Special Holiday Fund Drive Programming appeared first on KPFA.

Today’s episodes of Making Contact and Pushing Limits are preempted by special programming for KPFA’s 2024 Holiday Fund Drive.

To support our mission, please donate here or call (800) 439-5732.

The post Special Holiday Fund Drive Programming appeared first on KPFA.

In today’s episode, we look at how, over six decades after the Korean War, South Korea processed the most international adoptions in history and how the demand for a “domestic supply of (adoptable) infants” may be playing a role in increasing threats to autonomy over pregnancy in the U.S.

GUESTS:

• Independent Producer and Founder of Rowhome Productions, Alex Lewis
• Producer, Schuyler Swenson
• Registered Midwife, Lydia Doublestein

The post Mothers, Markets, and Migration: How South Korea Became a Major Source for International Adoptions appeared first on KPFA.

On today’s show, we dive into stories that underscore the importance of affordable housing. First, we’ll examine what the recent Supreme Court ruling in Grants Pass v. Johnson means for unhoused people who are living on the streets and how historical disinvestment in affordable and public housing has created our current homelessness wave. Then, we’ll hear about the fight to legalize and preserve one important type of affordable housing units in New York City: basement apartments.

The post We need affordable housing now! (encore) appeared first on KPFA.

On today’s show, 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. Through music and mentorship, Kev uses his platform to inspire change and elevate consciousness.

The post Kev Choice on Love, Growth, and the Power of Music appeared first on KPFA.

Because of the fall of Roe v. Wade, we’re hearing a lot more about adoption as an alternative for women who find themselves with an unwanted pregnancy. Even before the momentous Supreme Court decision, media portrayals of adoption have always painted it as an easy ethical conclusion to a difficult circumstance. But the real, lived experiences of birth parents who give up their children for adoption have never been part of the conversation.

Do birth parents really see adoption as an alternative to abortion? Are they happy with their decision to relinquish their children? It turns out that for the most part, they’re not.

We talk to Samantha Gonzalez, a birth mother, and Gretchen Sisson, author of the book Relinquished: The Politics of Adoption and the Privilege of American Motherhood.

GUESTS:

Samantha Gonzalez, a birth mother, and co-founder of Reproductive Justice in Adoption.

Gretchen Sisson, author of “Relinquished: The Politics of Adoption and the Privilege of American Motherhood.”

The post Birth Parents on Adoption appeared first on KPFA.

We’re in the homestretch to Election Day 2024. On today’s show, we dig into election mis- and disinformation and why so much of it is targeting immigrants this year.

GUESTS:

Amber Boydstun, professor and co-chair of the political science department at University of California, Davis.

Jaime Longoria, manager of research and training for the Disinfo Defense League.

Shiu-Ming Cheer, deputy director of immigrant and racial justice at the California Immigrant Policy Center.

The post Media, Disinfo, and Lies About Immigrants in the Race to Election Day appeared first on KPFA.