Want deeper election coverage than the horse race election coverage? Want to find out what's really happening on our main streets across the country? Then you don't want to miss Live from Main Street.

Hosted by popular journalist-radio personality Laura Flanders, produced by The Media Consortium and adapted for radio by us, these special half hour pre-election programs will be available to you over the next five months on Making Contact. And the best part, our radio programs will be available to you just days after the town hall meeting.

So what is it?

Live from Main Street is a series of town hall events being held in five different cities across the country. These public gatherings will explore the issues that are on the minds of everyday people. From the economy, to national security, to civil liberties, Making Contact will bring you these voices once a month through October.

The Coverage:

Getting Heard this Election Season: What Stands Between the Public and a True Story?
June: Minneapolis, Minnesota

Magic City, Hard Times: How is Miami Facing the Economic Crisis and Working Toward a Sustainable Future?
July: Miami, Florida

Live From Main Street in Denver: So You Say You Want Change?
August: Denver, Colorado (Democratic National Convention)

Voting Rights, Voter Engagement
September: Columbus, Ohio

Women on Real National Security
October: Seattle, Washington

Programs are listed below - click through to descriptions for guest contact information and audio files.

44-08 Live From Main Street Seattle: Women on Real National Security
We move beyond lipstick and hockey pucks to investigate what real national security looks like, as an all-women panel examines how issues of national security impact our daily lives, and ask the tough questions about how to build a better future. View full description

42-08 Live From Main Street Ohio: Will Your Vote Count?
We go to Ohio, the scene of election day chaos in 2004, with long lines, a shortage of voting machines, voter challenges, and unprocessed registrations. Will changes there and in other states make the process better or worse? View full description

35-08 Live From Main Street in Denver: So You Say You Want Change?
Tens of thousands of people will hit the streets of Denver for the Democratic National Convention to champion “change.” But what does this buzzword really mean and what does real, sustainable change look like? We answer that. View full description

29-08 Live From Main Street: Miami’s Economic Crisis and Sustainable Future
We go to Miami, Florida for a town hall discussion of how Miami communities and grassroots groups are facing the economic crunch and working to build a stronger sustainable city. View full description

Want to hear the whole 100-minute Live from Main Street event? Listen here to the uncut program from Miami, FL!

Part 1: Introducing Live from Main Street; First Panel "State of the Economy in Miami" including: Gihan Perera, Miami Workers Center co-founder and executive director; Carolina Delgado, Jobs with Justice membership director; Francisca Cortez, Coalition of Immokalee Workers farmworker; Meghan Cohorst, Student Farmworkers Alliance organizer/translator. (24 minutes) - Download/listen

Part 2: spoken word performance by Rebecca Butterfly Vaughns; Second panel "State of the National Economy" including: Max Rameau, Take Back the Land founder and author; Latasha Jones, tenant organizer; Darin Woods, Countywide Financial Home Loans sales manager; Denise Perry, Power U Center for Social Change director and co-founder. (26 minutes) - Download/listen

Part 3: Spoken word performance by Poetic Vibes; Third panel on "What is Sustainability?" including: Sonia Succar, Emerging Green Builders of South Florida chairperson; Edith McClintock, Dream in Green executive director; Gihan Perera, Miami Workers Center co-founder and executive director. Audience Q and A including: Darin Woods, Countywide Financial Home Loans sales manager; Denise Perry, Power U Center for Social Change director and co-founder; Max Rameau, Take Back the Land founder and author. (26 minutes) - Download/listen

Part 4: Q and A continued including: Sonia Succar, Emerging Green Builders of South Florida chairperson; Edith McClintock, Dream in Green executive director; Gihan Perera, Miami Workers Center co-founder and executive director. Audience Q and A including: Darin Woods, Countywide Financial Home Loans sales manager; Denise Perry, Power U Center for Social Change director and co-founder; Max Rameau, Take Back the Land founder and author. (23 minutes) - Download/listen

24-08 Live From Main Street: Getting Heard this Election Season
We hit the streets of Minneapolis, Minnesota where we'll explore what it takes to get heard this election year in the era of big media and diminished civil liberties. View full description

Want to hear the whole 90-minute Live from Main Street event? Listen here to the uncut program from Minneapolis, MN!

Part 1: Introducing Live from Main Street; Video clip: The Uptake with Chuck Olsen; (25 minutes) - Download/listen

Part 2: First panel including: Colleen Rowley, FBI Whistle Blower and 2006 Congressional Candidate; Marlina Gonzalez, Unconvention and Intermedia Arts program director; and more national and local leaders; Bruce Nestor, Minnesota National Lawyer’s Guild; Amy Goodman, Democracy Now!; (16 minutes) - Download/listen

Part 3: First panel continued; John Nichols, The Nation Magazine; Video from the American News Project: dogging Fox; (13 minutes)
- Download/listen

Part 4: Second panel: how is independent media looking at new challenges and giving voice to ordinary people. Including: Malkia Cyril, The Center for Media Justice director; Joel Kramer, The Minneapolis Post founder; Paul Schmelzer, Minnesota Independent managing editor; Amalia Anderson, program director for the Main Street Project; (23 minutes) - Download/listen

Part 5: Q&A with panelists (11 minutes) - Download/listen