Almost half of Puerto Rico's doctors have fled the island over the past decade, leading to a lack of specialists and treatment and incredibly long wait times. And this isn't just an inconvenience. People are dying from lack of care. Why is Puerto Rico's health care system collapsing, and why are doctors fleeing the island?

We take a look at its deeply dysfunctional private medical system and why attempts to fix it, and create a universal health care plan on the island, are being hindered by Puerto Rico's status as a US colony. Its massive unpayable debt, held by investors in the US, means that it cannot make its own economic decisions, even when it affects the livelihood of poor Puerto Ricans living there. But there might be a fix, getting rid of Puerto Rico's debt and rethinking its colonial relationship to the US. This episode first aired in October 2024.

Credits:

Making Contact:

• Episode Host: Salima Hamirani
• Producers: Anita Johnson, Salima Hamirani, Amy Gastelum, and Lucy Kang
• Executive Director: Jina Chung
• Editor: Adwoa Gyimah-Brempong
• Engineer: Jeff Emtman
• Digital Marketing Manager: Lissa Deonarain

Music Credits:

• Daniel Birch – Indigo Strokes
• Axletree – Goldfinch- Flight to the North
• Mindseye – Spores
• Soft and Furious – So What

Learn More:

• Boricuas Unidos en la Diaspora
• The Nation Magazine
• Puerto Rico's Unnatural Disaster

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.

Federal food programs, like WIC, face big changes coming out of the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health. Meanwhile, a single moms collective in Ohio holds it down for the single pregnant and parenting people in their community. Motherful's resource pantry serves their 325-strong membership out of a garage three times a week. We talk to members and founders to learn what's it's like to participate, how it all started and where food justice is headed for them now and in their wildest dreams.

Featuring:

• Kay Riley- college student and Mom to baby Wisdom, Motherful Member
• Rugi Ngaide - Ohio supreme court translator, Mom, Motherful member
• Lisa Woodrow - Co-Founder and Co-Director of Motherful, Mom
• Heidi Howes - Co-Founder and Co-Director of Motherful, Mom
• Rebecca Piazza: Senior Advisor for Delivery, Food and Nutrition Service, Mom

Making Contact Team

• Host: Amy Gastelum
• Staff Producers: Anita Johnson, Salima Hamirani, Amy Gastelum, Lucy Kang
• Executive Director: Jina Chung
• Digital Media Marketing: Lissa Deonarain
• Engineer: Jeff Emtman

Music

• HoliznaCC0, Sky Scraper

Learn More:

• Motherful
• Changes to WIC

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.

For Black Maternal Health Week, we celebrate the important work that Black midwives do in their communities. In this week's show, we'll hear a conversation about how one woman followed her calling to midwifery in a story brought to us by the podcast _Re:Work_ from the UCLA Labor Center.

Featuring:

Kimberly Durdin, licensed midwife and co-founder of Kindred Space LA and the Birthing People Foundation

Credits:

Making Contact

Episode host and producer: Lucy Kang

Producers: Anita Johnson, Salima Hamirani, Amy Gastelum, and Lucy Kang

Executive Director: Jina Chung

Engineer: Jeff Emtman

Digital Media Marketing: Lissa Deonarain

Music credit: "Documentary" by The_Mountain via Pixabay

Re:Work Episode "The Calling" Credits:

Hosted and produced by Veena Hampapur and Saba Waheed

Learn More:

Making Contact homepage: www.focmedia.org

Re:Work from the UCLA Labor Center: https://reworkradio.labor.ucla.edu

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.