Trade Shifts: Reflections on the Seattle WTO Protests 30th Anniversary Capsule

On November 30th, 1999, tens of thousands of people shook the streets of Seattle, Washington, in protest of the World Trade Organization. The WTO symbolized the corporate takeover of human needs and the environment. On this edition, we revisit the voices from that week. This episode, originally released in 2009, 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 : Gopal Dayaneni , organizer with Movement Generation; Mohau Pheko , representative of the Africa Trade Network at the 1999 Seattle WTO meeting; Anuradha Mittal , Executive Director, Oakland Institute; Chuck Collins , co-founder of United for a Fair Economy and Wealth for the Common Good. Making Contact Team : Producer: Andrew Stelzer Episode Host: Tena Rubio Executive Director: Jina Chung Engineer: Jeff Emtman Digital Media Marketing: Lissa Deonorain Music : Infernal Noise Brigade The Platform Learn More: Focus on the Global South Bangkok, Thailand | Inequality and the Common Good Boston, MA | Institute for Policy Studies Washington, DC | International Forum on Globalization San Francisco, CA | Jubilee USA Network Washington, DC | Movement Generation Oakland, CA | Oakland Institute Oakland, CA | Ruckus Society Oakland, CA | United for a Fair Economy Boston, MA | Wealth for the Common Good Boston, MA Books and Films: Five Days That Shook the World: The Battle for Seattle and Beyond By Alexander Cockburn, Jeffrey St. Clair and Allan Sekula The Battle in Seattle - The Story Behind and Beyond the WTO Demonstrations By Janet Thomas This is What Democracy Looks Like (film) 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.

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Trade Shifts: Reflections on the Seattle WTO Protests 30th Anniversary Capsule is an episode from Making Contact.

This episode is 29:12 long.

This episode was published on Jan 7, 2026.

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