When Blunt Youth Radio member Iris SanGiovanni was eight years old, her dad became homeless for six months after her parents divorced. A few years later, she had the chance to talk with him about his experience.

This conversation exposes the myths and stereotypes that we have about homeless people. Iris even realizes after talking to her dad how much of the advice that he gave her came from his experience. After listening to this, I had to take a moment and reflect on my own life and I felt grateful for what I had. So thank you, Iris and Robert SanGiovanni, for sharing this story with such a large audience.

The Maine Association of Broadcasters awarded Iris’s reporting first place in its radio features category, and this was not a special youth category. This was for the whole state of Maine! So congratulations Iris for representing the kind of thoughtful writing and stories that young people are making!

WEB EXCLUSIVE!

I gave Iris a call while she was at a meeting for Blunt. She told me about her new expectations for herself after creating an award-winning piece at the age of 14 and her new perspectives on family after interviewing her father.

(Listen to the interview!)

Music in this podcast was provided by the Free Music Archive. The intro is called Ringtones by (Xiu Xiu) / CC BY-NC 3.0. The outro is called Hot Brick by CAVE.

Ain’t the South Side of Chicago gorgeous?

I live in the great city of Chicago and not only has summer begun, it is in full sweltering, mosquito biting, leaf wilting, sweaty armpitting FORCE. Hey, no one lives here for the weather. But before it really got started, I have to take myself back to the beginning when summer was actually light and breezy, filled with chirping birds and neighbors out and about.

This week’s feature, about the very beginning of summer here in the Second City, comes from Tonette of Curie Youth Radio. Summer on 64^th is short and sweet so regardless of whether you live in the sultry Midwest, or the breezy coasts, you can get outside and enjoy your summer because one thing’s for sure: in a few months time, you’ll wish you were this sticky again.

The newly installed camera that Tonette mentions. Thanks, Google!

Music in this episode is by YACHT. You can download their album, See Mystery Lights, for free because it is all up on the Free Music Archive.

This interview explores how Victor and his attorneys changed policies at the school for students with disabilities.

I know it requires a bit of attention to understand Victor in this piece. But luckily, KUNM Youth Radio posted an excerpt of the interview in video from YouTube, so watch it right here!

And watch other KUNM media at their section of the Youth Media International website!

Intro and Outro music is by Robot Koch / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 and it was found at the Free Music Archive

Sam Greenspan is a freelance radio producer, media educator, and production assistant at NPR in Washington, DC. And he has been incredibly gracious in lending me an additional feature for this edition of YouthCast. The one contained in the podcast below is The Shell Game. At first you might think that this is about video games, judging from the image above, but really, it’s about music, power, and gender. And more importantly, the way it was recorded totally grabbed my ears. I’ll explain in audio format a little more. Just click “Play!”

WEB EXCLUSIVE

“Searching for Blelvis” is the story of Sam’s quest for DC area street character, Blelvis, or “The Black Elvis.” This story contrasts with The Shell Game because it is more intense: scripted, investigative, and took a few months. It aired on WAMU, Washington DC’s NPR affiliate. I think it really demonstrates the two sides of Sam, and a lot of young producers: they have the talent to do something offbeat and off the cuff, but also to report on and write features of substance. Head over to PRX to hear the whole thing.

And right here, listen to a bonus interview excerpt of Sam and I talking about the making of “Blelvis” and the trouble of being on the other side of the mic as a reporter and producer.

(Listen to the interview!)

Sam also wants to give a shout-out to Radio Rootz DC, which teaches District high schoolers audio storytelling and media literacy.

Music in this episode is by Transient / CC BY-NC-ND 3.0

The Mario Kart shell image is Flickr user michellegabriel.

Ece Erdagöz is from Turkey and studied at the United World College in Montezuma, New Mexico. While in the States, she got involved with the Youth Media Project, which works with different groups of youth in schools, advocacy programs, performance art groups, etc.

Being a member of two minority groups in Turkey, Ece has been surprised that she never faced any kind of discrimination at home. But when she came to another country to study, she started interviewing her fellow “third culture” peers and found different stories of how people feel about being an outsider.

In the player below is our latest episode with the crisp writing and confident, conversational delivery from Ece Erdagöz in her piece “Peculiar Privilege and the Elegy.”

Intro music is by Hayvanlar Alemi / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

Outro music is by Digi G’Alessio / CC BY-NC-ND 3.0

Both songs were found at the awesome Free Music Archive.

Our theme encomapssing photo is from NoBorders Flickr stream. Please head over there if you want to see beautifil B&W phtotography from around the world, accompanied with the short stories behind them

The caption of this Flickr photo by Lars Plougmann reads: My father is visibly nervous the first time my sister drives the car after having obtained her driver's license

This is a series of tales from the Alaska Teen Media Institute about the first time people got their licenses… or the first time they drove a car before even getting a license. Scandal! Max Jungreis asks the tough questions in The Power of Plastic.

Still haven’t taken that test? Here are some tips on passing.

Intro by minusbaby / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

Outro beats from Childish Gambino. Listen to the whole song, but be warned that’s there are some dirty words in here! I Love Clothes (Deadbeat Summer) by Childish Gambino

Photo by Jakub Mosur

Iman Fears (right) was one of two teens chosen from Minnesota to attend the U.S. Sentae Youth Program. She spent a week in D.C. in early March 2010, conducting interviews and recording her thoughts in an audio diary.

In addition to meeting her senators, a chance few people have to begin with, she also met the President and Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

This inspiring report was featured as apart of Minnesota Public Radio News’s Youth Radio Series.

MPR’s Youth Radio Series pairs high school and college-age reporters from diverse backgrounds with an experienced MPR producer to create compelling stories for MPR News, as they say on their website. That producer is usually Sasha Aslanian. She told me that the program was created after their first youth reported piece aired. There was such an overwhelming response from listeners, they now try to deliver a youth reported piece once a month. Check out the sensational premiere, Welfare Migration by Paris Porter on PRX.

Check it out! I talked to Iman on the phone and she does give the gossip like I promised: USA chants in the White House, and staying in the same hotel as former NY Governor Eliot Spitzer when he was, uh, scandalizing himself.

(Listen to the interview!)

Music in this episode is by Deal the Villain and I.D. and Baobinga. It was found at the Free Music Archive.

In this report from Priya Mirmira and Grace Bronson of Y-Press, we hear stories from two teenagers about how they’re health care access was put in jeopardy and became cost-prohibitive when their parents lost the job through which they were getting insurance. With real numbers in personal anecdotes, the giant, confusing mass that is U.S. health care reform becomes a little more understandable.

Hear the rest of the series on health care and youth that Y-Press produced here on PRX.

Music in this episode is by Glasser. This track, Tremel, is available as a free download on Stereogum.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/duckducksnap/ / CC BY-ND 2.0

The finished product from Lanzhou Noodle House!

The Chinatown Youth Radio Project (ChYRP) was a short three-week intensive designed by Hansi Lo Wang, a graduate of Swarthmore College and an alum of the outstanding War News Radio. Like a pop-up shop of a radio group. But out of these three weeks in the summer of 2008, a great number of pieces were produced.

This one, Lanzhou Hand Drawn Noodle House by Xiaojuan Ke, puts a spotlight on a local business.

A little more about ChYRP and resourcefulness. Says Hansi about how they got it done:

“I was inspired by my awesome experiences working on War News Radio and wanted to share that experience with other young people and to tackle another under-reported story in American mainstream media — the Asian-American experience. So with the support of local community groups, media professionals, and other volunteers, I put together a ‘radio boot camp’ for young radio newbies — all of whom were instrumental in shaping the three weeks into a fun and lively experience.”

ALSO!! Xiaojuan answered some questions about her radio piece via email. In it you’ll find out exactly how long of an interview it takes to get the soundbite you need for your story.

How did you get involved in Chinatown Youth Radio Philadelphia?

Date back to the time that I participated in Chinatown Youth Radio Philadelphia was the time that I’ve been in the US for about two years. I met Hansi, the founder of ChYRP in a teen club and I heard about the youth radio project from him. At that time, I knew nothing about radio. I participated just because I thought it would be a great opportunity to improve my communication skills in English. But after getting involved in the radio team, I realized making radio stories was extremely interesting and beneficial.  It helps to improve my communication, writing and presentation skills, as well as making new friends.

Your piece has so much sound (noise in the shop, the door opening… and the door is really the best. I felt like I was learning a secret when you do that.) Did you think about what sounds you wanted?

At the beginning, I recorded different sounds from the store just for fun. But later, I noticed that if I put those sounds into my radio story, it would help audiences visualize the story and help the audience’s imagination.

How did you decide to do a piece on Lanzhou Handdrawn Noodles? Were you a fan?

I’m actually not a fan of Lanzhou Hand Drawn Noodle House. The reason why I chose it was because I think food occupies an important position in the minds of the people all over the world. And I think food culture represents one of the most important traditions within Chinese culture. And Lanzhou Hand Drawn Noodle House is the first and the only hand drawn noodle house in Philadelphia Chinatown. And the skills to make hand drawn noodle are also unique and interesting. So I thought if I could make a piece on it would help people better understand the Chinese culture.

The owner of the shop gets really personal with you. How long did you talk to him for? And can you spell his name out for me?

I talked to him for about one and half hours. The owner’s name is Zengfeng Zhang.

How was it writing and recording in English? Was it easy or did you get frustrated? If you got frustrated, do you feel like you could have told your story better in Chinese?

I done with all interviews in Chinese, then translated them into English. It wasn’t easy since English isn’t my first language. But I didn’t feel frustrated since there were so many people helped me go through all barriers. I didn’t feel like I could have told the story better in Chinese because the purpose of making this piece was to promote Chinese food and to introduce immigrants’ life in the US, so I think it is better to do in English. Also, the initial reason that I participated in the Radio project was to improve my communication skills in English.

What are you up to now? School, work, etc? Where are you? Do you want to keep making radio if you’re not doing that currently?

Nowadays, I am a student who is majoring in Mathematics and Actuarial Science at Temple University in Philadelphia. I want to keep making radio during my free time since it has so much fun and it’s so meaningful.

Music in this episode of the podcast is by Rusko, another Young of the World who is making it big. Check out some free downloads at his MySpace page.

He did a report for Radio Rookies in New York City about what it meant for him when the New York City Department of Education raised the standards for passing the 8th grade and ended social promotion. That’s the practice of letting failing students head on up to the next grade so they can stay with the people they relate to socially.

Coverage of youth in the media rarely represents what young people are truly facing, thinking and saying. By helping young people reach WNYC’s audience of more than one million weekly listeners, WNYC’s Radio Rookies has become an integral part of the station.

- Radio Rookies on who they are and what they do.

* * * * *

Music in this episode is by a cool guy named Treacle from Chicago. Check out his tracks on Vocalo.org, which is also where I spend much of my broadcast time.

This radio drama produced by Zane Anderson and starring himself, Scott Stewart, Sarah Zhang, and Alicia Deogracias, is about all the awkwardness of asking someone out for the first time.

Check out their PRX page to listen to some of the pieces that Zane describes after the drama ends.

BTW, in case you didn’t know, now you do. Sadie Hawkins dances are when girls are supposed to do the asking of the date, not boys. Oh, how quaint. Here’s the origin: a Li’l Abner cartoon from 1937! Click on it for a larger, readable version.

Intro music is by Addiquit / CC BY-NC-ND 3.0

Outro music is by Rhoda / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

Sunset over the Hopi reservation in Keams Canyon, Arizona | Photo credit: Brett Myers

Rebecca Martin, a Youth Radio producer has this to add:

The story was produced with Hopi High School’s radio class. While it was a collaborative production, Austin Coochyamptewa was the lead youth reporter.

Also appearing (in order) are: Alrye Polequaptewa, Leandra Calnimptewa, Paul Quamahongnewa, Annalese Nasafotie, Paul Quamahongnewa, Eloise Coochyamptewa, Leon Koruh, Rochelle Lomayaktewa, and DeAnn Honanie.

* * * * * * *

Intro music: “Leyendecker” by Battles on the album Mirrored.

Outro music: “Oh No” by Andrew Bird on the album Noble Beast. Fun fact: Bird said that the intonation on the refrain was created by a crying, frightened child sitting behind him on a plane.

Francesca Witcher

Francesca Witcher goes to a school where that kind of staging would be a lie. At least in terms of black students. As part of a research project on images of black men in the media, she produced an audio report on how black men at her school are dealing with being a minority and fighting the discouraging stereotypes that might make them drop out.

At the end of this episode, I called Francesca on the phone and she educates my lily-white college going self to what an HBCU is along with getting a little deeper into her media studies major.

This is a news article that proves my point, BTW. The University of Wisconsin at Madison and the University of Idaho both admitted to doctoring their viewbook photos in 2000. It’s also where the photo above is from. And as of 2008, from a study by sociologists at Augsburg College:

Black students made up an average of 7.9 percent of students at the colleges studied, but 12.4 percent of those in viewbooks. Asian students are also more likely to be found in viewbooks than on campus, making up 3.3 percent of real students on average and 5.1 percent of portrayed students. The researchers acknowledge that appearance does not always tell the story of race and ethnicity, and say that they only counted clearly identifiable photos.

The music in this episode is from the Major Lazer album Guns Don’t Kill People, Lazers Do. It’s pretty dope if you like dancing.

As someone who is not too hot with understanding fiduciary theory beyond making change and how to use a credit card, most news about national and state budgets, budget cuts, mortgage crises, TOUGH ECONOMIC TIMES, goes straight over my head and glazed over eyes. It’s hard, damn it!

But what makes it easier is when reporters like Arai Buendia of Youth Radio put a human face to a budget crisis. These reporters shrink down the power of billions to a couple hundred dollars and let us know how these decisions are affecting our neighbors and might affect ourselves.

Hey! The State of the Union Address is on tonight (Wednesday the 27)! The President is going to be talking a lot about the national budget so watch it and try really hard to pay attention because it will affect you.

Photos by AMagill at Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/amagill/ / CC BY 2.0

Also: podcast music is by Thunderheist and Holy F*ck, intro and outro respectively. As usual, it was found at the Free Music Archive. Thank you so much!

100 Bush IDP camp, where Hassan Abdi Elmi lives Credit: UNICEF Somalia/ 2008/ Morooka

UNICEF Radio has produced a series of stories in honor of the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The CRC, as it known in short hand, was an agreement made at the UN on the 30th anniversary of the Declaration of the Rights of the Child. Basically, both of these conventions and declarations put down on paper that the health and well-being of young people should be a priority for governments.

This shorter piece from their series is a lo-fi interview done by youth reporter Mostafa Mohamed Abdurrahman of 16-year-old Hassan Abdi Elmi about life in a refugee camp in Bossasso, Somalia.

Hassan Abdi Elmi, photographed at a refugee camp in Bossaso, Somalia Credit: UNICEF Somalia/ 2009/ Nidam

National Geographic has an article on the complexities of Somalia’s clan governments and the violence and chaos all over the country.

And then The New Yorker referred to Somalia as “The Most Failed State” in a recent issue. Is this a reasonable or fair assessment? NPR News interviewed the article’s author, John Lee Anderson, so check that out, since the entirety of his article is not available online.

And for reference, the Rights of the Child:

1. The child must be given the means requisite for its normal development, both materially and spiritually.
2. The child that is hungry must be fed, the child that is sick must be nursed, the child that is backward must be helped, the delinquent child must be reclaimed, and the orphan and the waif must be sheltered and succored.
3. The child must be the first to receive relief in times of distress.
4. The child must be put in a position to earn a livelihood, and must be protected against every form of exploitation.
5. The child must be brought up in the consciousness that its talents must be devoted to the service of its fellow men.

Phoenix, AZ at night by flickr.com/photos/robotography/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Phoenix, AZ is a little scary. It’s a sprawling metropolis in the middle of a desert valley. Apologies to those who live there and developed it, but it all seems little unnatural. And as a vacation spot, it is filled with golf courses and luxury homes, something that can be off-putting for the year round residents.

My Socialism by Andy Boyd puts us in the passenger seat of Andy’s car as he drives around Phoenix, AZ and gets angsty about its ecology and economy.

Andy is a serious audio entrepreneur. Check out his other work at PRX.

You'll have to start dressing the part when you're a refugee in Syria

20-year old Fouad and 17-year old Ahmed are from Baghdad. They don’t want their full names used for security reasons. A few years ago, they fled the violence in Iraq with their families and settled in Syria, along with about 1.5 million other Iraqis. The two joined the Iraqi Student Project, an American organization that helps young Iraqis get into American colleges. As part of a writing class in that program, Fouad and Ahmed put together an audio survival guide for Iraqis living in Syria. They call it “How to Be a Refugee in Syria.”

This piece originally aired on the World Vision Report.

Intro music is an “orphan work” by Set Badria Anwar called “Rah Wilfy.” There’s a cool story behind this Iraqi recording from the 1920s and what exactly an “orphan work” means at over here at the Free Music Archive.

Outro music is a live performance by Zikrayat / CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 on WFMU in New York.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/baratunde/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

A friend of mine who works in the Chicago Public Schools asked some of her students what they thought signs of gentrification were. The one that got her was something so simple: �People jogging.� Another might be advertisements for shiny new buildings right near vacant lots, like the photo above.

In �Gentrification on Logan Circle,� Producer Shea Shackelford worked with an 8th grade class at the Cesar Chavez Public Charter School in Washington, DC.� While studying the concept of “gentrification,” they spent a week interviewing neighbors and businesses of the Logan Circle area changes going down their neighborhood.

Shea Shackelford produces for Big Shed Audio, a documentary podcast,� and he created The Place + Memory Project, a publically sourced multimedia memorial to things and places� that no longer exist.

Anonymous Baby is a first person essay from an unnamed young woman who got pregnant at fourteen and has a horribly unexpected end to that pregnancy.

The Youth Media Project produces a weekly live show in Santa Fe.

Music in this podcast by The Years / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0. Found at the Free Music Archive.

“Kentucky Fried Cancer” looks at how fast food goes beyond making you a little chubbier: Pizza Hut is now teaching kids to read.

Check out past episodes of Yo!Radio at the Youth Outlook PRX page.

�Donny Lumpkins

Listen to an interview with Donny about where he grew up, his favorite radio shows, and how he sounds so damn good behind the mic!

(Listen to the interview!)

Music in this podcast came from the Free Music Archive.

Smoked Meat Fax Machine / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

Megan Haller was wondering what the punishment in her school might be fore students who get into physical altercations and found out that if you are one of the spectators in the circle, you could end up in detention too.

After her piece, Megan and I talked about why joining the circle can be irresistible, even if you yourself are not a fighter.

The Alaska Teen Media Institute is based in Anchorage.

Chandra Touch, bottom row and fourth from the left, Captain of Plymouth State University’s spirit squad.

We all do things our parents wouldn’t approve of.� For Chandra Touch, one of those things was the most normal activity an American girl can do: be a cheerleader. Chandra’s mom grew up in Cambodia, so cheerleading seemed like a risqu� activity to her. Chandra turned the mic on her mom and on herself to gain some perspective.

This piece was produced for Blunt Youth Radio in Portland, Maine (my radio alma mater! woot woot!) with help from Youth Radio in California. More about Blunt: High school age youth from the Portland area, both free and incarcerated, staff a live call-in talk radio show. It is almost entirely youth-produced, from guest booking to engineering to production on reports, like this one that Chandra made.

Chandra is currently a third year student at Plymouth State University. She is a Social Work major with a minor in Psychology.� I snagged her through email, since class has now started and everyone is busybusybusy.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rubbertoe/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

There are a few staid themes in youth reporting, and I’m sure I’ll feature pieces that touch on all of them in the next few months. They’re the DANGER topics, the ones that lend themselves to moralizing and giving adults a platform to tell teens what they should do: teen pregnancy, drugs and alcohol, gang violence, etc. Teenagers’ relationships with police officer figure greatly into the last two.� Quinn Andrews is a reporter at Y-Press in Indianapolis, Indiana and after meeting with a group of teens to get their opinions on how police treat them, he went and interviewed to officers, a rookie and a veteran, about how they perceive the Youth.

Check out that piece Quinn refers to in the interview, where Y-Press had a roundtable with young people about their opinions on police officers, here.

Do you have a story about a police officer being less than respectful to you, whether you are young or not-so-young? How about a story of an officer being helpful or friendly? (I remember this one guy pulling up to a light next to me and my friend and just asking, “How are you doing today?”)

When I think of police and teenagers though, I always think of this viral YouTube clip of a Baltimore police officer hassling some skateboarders. It is pretty riveting and upsetting, since it’s the textbook example of what a lot of people think of when theythink of bad cops. This officer may be a jerk, but that boy he shoves around? His family is suing him for $6 million. Who’s overreacting now? They go to trial in October.

(Listen to the Love Doctor)

Independent producer Lacy Roberts was homesick. It was her last year of college and she had realized how much her hometown of Missoula, Montana and growing up in the country had shaped who she was. When she re-discovered some absurd letters her grandfather had written to her during freshman year, Lacy set out to create an audio portrait of herself, her family, and the state that will always be closest to her heart.

Stay tuned for after Lacy’s piece, because I gave her a call. We talked about avoiding the pitfalls of self-indulgence when making an autobiographical feature. Also, I now know more about Montana than ever before.

Lacy Roberts works on an on-hiatus, but hopefully returning soon, podcast with Rachel Blatt called the Ladies’ Village Improvement Society. Check it out on iTunes (search “Ladies Village”) and then listen and then maybe contribute!

Intro and outro music for this episode by Bilal Bashir & Divine Styler / CC BY-NC-ND 3.0, from WFMU’s Free Music Archive.

Lake Mead, Arizona, the body of water created by the Hoover Dam. Check those falling water lines! Creative Commons photo by flickr user kyle simourd.

A whole slew of reporters from Terrascope Youth Radio (Ashley Brown, Carmen Chan, Jennifer deBruijn, Elise Hens, Elizabeth Jones, Yusung John Lim, Margaret Lloyd, Tyler Thompson, Andrew Wimmer, and Michelle Slosberg) produced this in depth story about water in Arizona, from just about every angle they could see: legal, political, personal, environmental, and a few more. Listen up to the YouthCast.

Terrascope Youth Radio is made up of a bunch of rogue science reporters from Cambridge. As they say about themselves, “It�s radio about scientists trying to figure out how nature works, and also about ordinary people who care about the world around them.”

I also used to live in Colorado, where until earlier this summer, it was illegal to drink the rain water you collect in barrels. Because rain, obviously, belongs to people before it even falls out of the sky. The Colorado Springs Gazette explains the law change. Here’s what I’m wondering: where does your tap water come from? If you wanna take a second and tell us where you live and where your water came from, it would be for the greater good.

Music in this podcast is by The Sounds of Taraab / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0, from the WFMU Free Music Archive.

From the Veggielution flickr stream.

Robert Rogers lives in San Jose, California, and he is really freaked out by the pesticides and additives in his grocery bought food. So he went exploring in his city and found Veggielution, a five acre farm under a highway. Ride a bike and learn about permaculture with Robert in this informative piece from outLoud Radio.

Listen to an interview with Robert about his feature!

(Listen to the interview)

Robert will be attending San Francisco State University in the fall where he plans to major in journalism.

outLoud Radio is based in California. They are made up of LGBTQ teens and allies with a mission to “develop the skills and confidence to decide for themselves how they will be represented, advance social justice and make the most of their lives.” Yay, outLoud!

Music in this episode of YouthCast came from daghoti. / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0, downloaded at the Free Music Archive, run by the geniuses at WFMU in New York City.

This piece mixes a personal story, a format you hear a lot of in Youth Radio, with sound rich reporting, something of which you hear less. Here is an excerpted part of the interview (not on the podcast) where Antony and I talked about form:

(Listen to the interview)

Antony is currently a Chemistry major at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, but he’s thinking of adding Botany as well. Smarty pants.

Jalisco

Antony and his brother on the electronics

This is my last YouthCast podcast, so I wanted to feature the future of YouthCast – children!�� This piece is recorded by third graders. It is a goodbye tribute to a visiting Korean exchange student, and it is written as an audio poem adapted from �Welcome Back� by Georgia Heard.

As I mentioned in my blog post yesterday, I’m not saying goodbye, but so long. This has been a great journey and I thank you. I will indeed miss you!!

God’s speed…

Producer & Licensor: David Green & Third Grade Audio

http://www.flickr.com/photos/46042146@N00/1065156117/

Have you graduated? Well, what’s next? Those are definitely words you will hear during these next two months. While students have many options after graduation, some are choosing to enlist in the military.� Kathyrn Petros spoke with a recruiter, counselor and a couple students in her high school about military recruitment.

Producer & Licensor: Alaska Teen Media Institute

Website: http://www.alaskateenmedia.org

Also check out this piece -� Dear Mom: I Joined the Marines from Curie Youth Radio

And more from War News Radio

Another ode to mothers! But don’t they deserve it? This week we wanted to explore teenagers relationships with their moms. Youth Mic producers Rosa, Esther� and Constance hit the streets of New York to interview individuals about this.

Producer: Rosa, Esther & Constance

Licensor: Youth Mic

Website: http://www.columbia.edu/cu/wkcr/

Music:

Mama, I’m a Big Girl Now - Hairspray

A Song for Mama - Boyz II Men

Producer & Licensor

Curie Youth Radio

Would you like to dance?

Do you want something to drink?

�� � �Where’d you get that dress?

Will You Marry Me?

Wow, how’d that last one get in there? Well, according to Alaska Teen Media Institute reporter Hellen Fleming, that last question is not so difficult to fathom. �Some teens are hearing those infamous words, and they are preparing for weddings after graduation!�

Here’s something a little different – a radio drama! Why not? It’s the first day of April!

Jennifer Ferran produced this piece about a nerdy, clumsy high school guy (Trevor) who finds a watch that changes his whole image. But is it all it’s cracked up to be? Trevor takes us through a journey that leads us to his answer.

Producer: Jennifer Ferran

Licensor: Youth Media Project

The Chris Brown-Rihanna case has brought up so many discussions on the seriousness of domestic violence.� It has enlightened us to educate ourselves about this issue.

So in a conversation with youth in NJ this past weekend, a young man brought up one term, “Respect.” His argument was that women have lost respect for themselves and have allowed men to disrespect them. Now, although the issue of domestic violence goes much further than that, his point was well taken.

But, Youth Radio reporter Adriel Louis brings us something different when he recounts his tactics of trying to get a girl’s attention and her response. He speaks of her confidence and beauty. And in this month of celebrating women, we decided to feature this piece.

Adriel Luis was a finalist at the Youth Speaks Grand Slam Poetry Finals in San Francisco.

Producer: Adriel Louis

Licensor: Youth Radio

*If you have been, or are a victim of domestic violence, please use the National Domestic Violence hotline. I will be featuring a more in-depth blog post later this week about domestic violence.

Shirley “Star” Diaz & Chantel “Telly” meeting in Chicago at the Third Coast Festival in October 2008. She was awarded the TCF Silver for this piece “Growing Up in the System.“

*Congratulations to Star! She had a baby last week We’re going to try to catch up with her soon, so be sure to check back!*

Radio Rookie Shirley “Star” Diaz grew up in six different foster homes after her father murdered her mother. Separated from her six younger siblings, Diaz speaks with her older sister as she confronts the tragedy and tries to make sense of it all.

Producer(s): Shirley “Star” Diaz & Melissa Robbins

Licensor: Radio Rookies

Website: http://www.wnyc.org/radiorookies

Music: Imagine Me by Kirk Franklin (2005)

Some people say art is just a reflection of life. Well, we’ve seen some emotional things happen in the entertainment world over the past few years when it comes down to love and relationships. Was Beyonce right when she sang “Crazy in Love?” And how about the artists below? Are they just expressing the way people in society feel about their experiences with love?�Rataysha Lavender of Radio Rootz goes on a mission to find out� Does Love Make You Crazy?

Producer:�Rataysha Lavender

Licensor:�Radio Rootz

Website:�http://www.radiorootz.org/

Music:

What Love Is (Instrumental) – Mary J. Blige

Bust Your Windows – Jazmine Sullivan

Damaged�- Danity Kane

Bleeding Love – Leona Lewis

Before He Cheats – Carrie Underwood

Beautiful Girls – Sean Kingston

Dangerously in Love – Beyonce

Friday the 13th…what will you be doing? Well, if you were Tony Tellado of The Best of Sci-Fi Talk, you might pop some popcorn and get ready for a night of Sci-Fi. Recently, Tellado interviewed Greyson Chadwick, one of the leads in the zombie comedy Dance of the Dead. In the film, zombies invade a high school prom and Chadwick (as Lindsey) joins sci-fi geeks to stop the madness.

Also check out:

YouTube Interview with a couple of the actors from Dance of the Dead

Sci-fi Talk Live (Blog Talk Radio)

After all the celebrations this past weekend, today, President Barack Obama had to step into reality. As a president, there is so much to do. He will be met with new challenges daily. I wonder, will he ever wish he had super powers to deal with such issues? And if so, what would he want to use? Students for Third Grade Audio talk about the super powers they wish they had.

Producer & Licensor: David Green & Third Grade Audio

Music: Keep Risin’ (Instrumental) (2002) by Souljahz

Over the past year we’ve heard one word that could summarize the result of the presidential elections: Change. With the start of a new year and the presidential inauguration just a few weeks away, that word has resurrected a buzz. And although we’ve heard countless promises from Barack Obama about the changes he’s proposing, even he admits that the change must begin within. Louis, a producer for 826NYC, shares his personal struggle with his past and his desire to change.

Producer: Louis

Licensor: 826NYC

Website: http://www.826nyc.org/

Audio Excerpts & Music:

President-Elect Victory Speech (2008) by Barack Obama

Yes We Can (2008) by Barack Obama

A Change is Gonna Come (1964) by Sam Cooke

*Check out more pieces produced on PRX about CHANGE by clicking here.

Chris Flynn������������������������������� Porsha Thomas������� Missing photo Jasmine Gonzalez

Santa isn’t real…Are you kidding me? Chris Flynn, Jasmine Gonzalez and Porsha Thomas of Curie Youth Radio interview Chicago teens about the moment they found out the truth about Santa Claus.

Producers: Chris Flynn, Jasmine Gonzalez and Porsha Thomas

Licensor: Curie Youth Radio

Website: http://www.curiehs.org/curie_youth_radio

Music:

Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy from The Nutcracker (1891) performed by � �� Philharmonia Orchestra

I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus (1987) performed by John Mellencamp

When you think of the holidays, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Some say candles and carols, others say traditions and family. Well, Jamie Lamb, a producer for Voices of Youth – Moab, says the theme is often repeated: love; giving love is the best Christmas gift ever.

Producer: Jamie Lamb

Licensor: Voices of Youth – Moab

Website: http://www.kzmu.org/voicesofyouth

Music:

All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth (1948) by Spike Jones & His City Slickers and George Rock

Give Love on Christmas Day (1970) by The Jackson 5

Radio Rookies reporter Jordan Teklay sings along with Prince “Emancipation!” At 15, he became legally emancipated from his parents. Then, he moved from California to New York City to escape his past and embrace adulthood. At 17, Teklay reflected on the past two years, with humor and insight.

Producer: Melissa Robbins & Kaari Pitkin

Licensor: Radio Rookies

Website: http://www.wnyc.org/radiorookies

“Change That America Can Believe In” & “Yes We Can” were the slogans that the Barack Obama campaign championed. Now, President-elect Barack Obama will have the opportunity to lead the movement of change. But how can we get on board? What do we need to change in our personal lives? Lucia Martinez of KUNM reflects on the changes she believe we need to make in order to become truly the UNITED States of America.

Listen to a few other youth-produced pieces about change on the PRX web site.

Producer: Lucia Martinez

Licensor: KUNM’s Youth Radio

Website: http://www.kunm.org/youthradio

Music: Yes We Can by Will.i.am (2008)

Now, with less than a week to election day, we want to open the polls to YOU and get your opinion. Check out the poll below…

Pictured: Mallory St. Claire, Jordan Denari & Quinn Andrews

Music:

Intro (America the Beautiful) by Kirk Franklin Hero

October is Domestic Violence Awareness month. The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence is an organization founded to advocate on behalf of battered women.

Youth Mic producers Isis Thompson and Brittany Kaitt speak with two women about the violence they experienced in relationships. They share warning signs and behavior patterns of abuse.

Music

Hell No! by Felicia P. Fields The Color Purple: Original Broadway

Love is Blind by Eve Ruff Ryders’ First Lady

What would you do in your first moments of freedom?

Teens incarcerated at the Long Creek Youth Development Center speak with LaShanda, a producer for Blunt Youth Radio Project. They talk about the things they miss most, one of them is freedom.

We want YOU to post three things you would do in your first moments of freedom.

I think I would stand outside crying and breathing in the fresh air, thank God and hug my family members; I’m just not sure if I would do it in that order.

*Here are a few other pieces that may interest you: Prison Diaries, Youth Portraits, and Incarcerated Youth Speak Out.

Producer: LaShanda

Licensor: Blunt Youth Radio Project

Website: http://www.bluntradio.org

Music: Locked Up by Akon (2004)

In our discussions about teen pregnancy, we so often focus on the girls becoming mothers. But what about the guys becoming fathers?

Youth Voices Reporter Wenda Thompson takes a look at the fathers-to-be and programs designed for their needs…

Producer: Wenda Thompson

Licensor: WAMU

Website: http://yv.wamu.org/

Music: MyBabyDaddy by B Rock and the Bizz (1997)

School is back in session, and the question is will young people find the time to be involved in politics amidst studying, homework, school activities and part-time jobs? Will we vote? And what about those of us ineligible to vote because of our age; What part do we play in this election?

This is a historical year in politics – a woman is the Republican nominee for Vice President (Governor Sarah Palin, Alaska) and an African-American man is the Democratic nominee for President (Senator Barack Obama, Illinois). Lillian Warner of Weekday High explores where politics can fit in to young people’s full schedules during this election.

Producer: Lillian Warner

Licensor: Weekday High

Website: http://www.kuow.org/weekdayhigh

Music: School’s Out by Alice Cooper (1972)

The school year is approaching. Soon, we’ll see back-to-school sales and teens shopping for new outfits, but not all teens. Across the country, many high schools already have or are implementing rules that require students to wear uniforms.

Youth Voices reporter Jeanna Colbert-Watkins examines this growing trend and finds out why teens like herself are not too happy about it?

Producer(s): Jeanna Colbert-Watkins
Licensor: WAMU
Website: http://yv.wamu.org/

Opening voices from children ages 4-12 at the Little Lights Day Camp in Lindenwold, NJ

�

�

The Summer Olympic Games begin Friday, August 8, uniting “one world and one dream.” But in the midst of war and global disputes, can sports really bring unity and change across the nations?

Youth Reporter Jordan, a 15-year-old from Dublin reports on Sports for Development as a method of changing attitudes and lives in the developing world.

Producer(s): Jordan & UNICEF Radio
Licensor: UNICEF
Website: http://www.unicef.org/videoaudio/video_radio.html

Music: God Save the Queen
Brian May & The Royal Academy of Music Symphony Orchestra with Roger Taylor & Ray Cooper
Party at the Palace – The Queen’s Concerts, Buckingham Palace, 2002

In this Wednesday, July 9, 2008 file photo, Rev. Jesse Jackson speaks during a news conference in Chicago. The Rev. Jesse Jackson used the N-word during a break in a TV interview where he criticized presidential candidate Barack Obama, Fox News confirmed Wednesday, July 16, 2008. (AP Photo/Russel A. Daniels)

Rookie Reporter Veralyn Williams first began questioning the use of the N-word when she started studying African American history in college.

Over the past couple weeks, there has been controversy over whether Reverend Jesse Jackson used the N-word as he prepared for an interview on Fox. According to TV Newser, Rev. Jackson said “Barack…he’s talking down to black people…telling n�s how to behave.”

Video of the Controversial Comments

The irony is that Rev. Jackson is a civil rights leader and has been at the forefront of calling for a complete ban of the N-word. What do you think about the controversy and the debate over the use of the word? Post your comments!

Producer: Kaari Pitkin, Pejk Malinovski, edited by Marianne McCune

Licensor: Radio Rookies

Website: http://www.radiorookies.org

*A language note for listeners: the N-word is said several times throughout this story.

Alaska Teen Media Institute reporter Sara Perman got to wonder how other kids get their summer jobs. She soon found out it’s often who you know rather than what you know, even when you’re a teenager.

Producer: Sara Perman

Licensor: Alaska Teen Media Institute

Website: http://www.alaskateenmedia.org

Music: Summertime by DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince (1991)

Lauren Fitzpatrick (Northwestern University) reports that even if gay marriage becomes legal throughout the United States, not all couples would be able to rush down the aisle. Islam bans homosexual marriages, but some are finding ways around the ban.

Producer: NPR’s Next Generation Radio
Licensor: NPR’s Next Generation Radio
Website: http://www.npr.org/about/nextgen

 

David Barber-Callaghan of Blunt Youth Radio Project wrestles with the question.
 We're trying to catch up with him to find out his decision. We'll post the interview soon.  We also want to know your thoughts about prom.  Did you go?  Are you planning to?  Why or why not? 
Post your comments!

( intro & outro music: “Life of the Party” by Jackson 5)

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions…

One thing I used to hate to hear my dad say to me was, “Tel, you have to make a decision.” That used to bother me so much because I didn’t want to decide! Why can’t I do/have both? Why can’t you decide for me? I don’t know which choice to make…These were the thoughts that would go through my mind.

Well, this week we’re checking out another young person who needs to make a decision; his lies between pursuing a rap career or a college education. Keith Shine produced this piece for Curie Youth Radio in June 2007, and we’re trying to catch up with him to find out his progress, so be sure to check back on the blog later this week. Hopefully we’ll have an interview for you to view…

So…what do you want to be when you grow up? We’ve all heard the question.

In pursuit of your dreams, have you had to sacrifice something? Did you have the support of your family? Are you happy you made the decision? Any regrets? Leave a comment with your thoughts!

( music: “Golden” by Jill Scott)

(Listen to “And How Does That Make You Feel?”)

( music: “noctuary” by bonobo)

During his early teens, producer Matt Terrell of SCAD Radio came to understand his sexuality while flipping through pages of scantily-clad men in the International Male catalog. Recently, Matt has noticed that the catalog is changing its image and becoming a little more…mainstream.

(Listen to “The International Male”)

This week on YouthCast, “Our Name is Rogelio Bautista” from KRCB Voice of Youth, narrated by David Velediaz, Julio Hernandez, Maria Marquez, and Luis Vargas. This is the story of Rogelio Bautista, from birth, to immigrating from Mexico, to childhood, to gang initiation, to death at age sixteen.

Want to read an online discussion with the producers of this story (and other members of the KRCB Voice of Youth crew)? Head over to Transom. Photos of the Bautista family can be seen here.

(Listen to “Our Name is Rogelio Bautista”)

(music: “interlune” by Joy)

Lavinia and Chris Gelineau met in college, fell in love, and got married. Neither made it past the age of twenty-five. This week on YouthCast, producer Spencer Scott of Blunt Youth Radio Project tells their story.

(Listen to “The Cost of War”)

Music: “Turquoise Hexagon Sun” by Boards of Canada

A half-hour slam poetry special from Noah Miller of OutLoud Radio. Queeriosity is an annual San Francisco-area event organized by Youth Speaks.

(Listen to “Queeriosity”)

***

Thanks to the Providence Poetry Slam for letting me record the intro at the Youth Grand Slam

This week on YouthCast, a poetic reflection on campus race relations. Three students at Carleton College discuss what it means to be black and how the word “nigger” changes in different contexts.

This piece was produced by Terin Mayer of KRLX. Poetry by Corey Stewart, a 2006 graduate of Carleton College. Go HERE for an interview with Terin.

(Listen to “A Prohibition”)

music: “change down” by bonobo

This week on YouthCast: a telephone conversation between a young prison inmate and his family.
  
Joey Thompson produced this piece with the Blunt Youth Radio Project. At the time, he was incarcerated in the Long Creek Youth Development Center in South Portland, Maine. Following the phone call, we hear from Claire Holman, director of Blunt. 

Sam Greenspan guest hosts YouthCast this week for Kiera Feldman.

(Listen to “Joey's Phone Call Home”)

This week on YouthCast, rumors fly in cubicle-land. Chris Frenier and Noah Magen of Alaska Teen Media Institute imagine office gossip gone awry.

(Listen to “The Office”)

music: “the plug” by bonobo

(Listen to “Quien Soy?”)

(Listen to “Thrift Town”)

music: “are birthday's happy” by jens lekman

“Radio Love” is a sonic love poem by Tiffany Patterson. “What do you love about radio?” Patterson uses sound to answer that question along with a musical memory from native New Yorker and rapper Pudgee Tha Phat Bastard.

Tiffany Patterson of Brooklyn College Radio sends a sonic love letter to radio.

(Listen to “Radio Love”)

LISTEN TO TIFFANY'S INTERVIEW

clarification: at the beginning Tiffany mentions someone named Ann–that's Ann Heppermann, Tiffany's radio instructor at Brooklyn College

Just miles from where the last American-made, square-rigged, sailing ship was built in 1893, Bob Webb keeps Maine’s maritime heritage alive in song. A modern-day “shantyman,” historian, and folklorist, Bob sings to preserve Maine’s unique culture. This story was produced by Sam Greenspan of the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies.

When Jaimita Haskell got bumped up into a more advanced high school program, all the books were brand new and the students listened politely to each other. Then, because of overcrowding, she got dropped back into the relative chaos of mainstream classes. In the course of reporting on it, Jaimita surprises herself and her principal.

[Download the mp3]

This is a picture of the Halloween memories that college senior Ahmad Safi doesn't have. Listen to his commentary to find out why.

(Listen to “Why Ahmad Never Got to Celebrate Halloween”)

music: “tsuxiit” by islands

Get ready for Halloween with a trip through a corn maze on Sauvie’s Island, just outside of Portland, Oregon. Annie Soga and Ben Lavine of the KBOO Youth Collective lead the way.

[Download the mp3]

From its start in the 1980s hardcore scene to the fragmented movement it is today, producer Zoe Cordes Selbin explores straight edge.

[Download the mp3]

All over, young gay men understand their sexuality because of the International Male Catalog. But they company is trying to change their image. Producer Matt Terrell thinks the World’s Tackiest Catalog is getting too mainstream. Where will young gays turn when they don’t understand who they are?

[Download the mp3]

Want to know where to find the most treasure-laden trash cans around? High school. Roll up your sleeves and dive right in with the students of Curie Youth Radio. Producers Geraldo Hernandez and Giancarlo Hernandez bring us a collage of secrets, tardy slips, and all the things that people are really thinking about in 5th period.

(Listen to “Back to School in a Garbage Can”)

( music: “falling down sound” by the octopus project)

***

Want to know why those people are singing at the end of the podcast? Proceed to an audio postcard from Edinburgh–a kick-off for the Audio Postcard Project.

The trash doesn’t lie. Curie Youth Radio students rifled through the trash at their Chicago high school for an entire year and produced a collage of student notes that reminds us what school’s really about: not school.

[Download the mp3]

There are many parts of the country where illegal immigration is not a pressing issue… Places far from any U.S. border; places where the economy isn’t strong enough to attract workers. But some Americans in these places see a direct link between their experiences and the experiences of the millions of immigrants who cross the border illegally for economic reasons. Nineteen-year-old Machlyn Blair lives in rural Kentucky and finds the current immigration debate relevant to his life, and the history of his family.

[ download the MP3 ]

From the perspective of newspaper accounts and police reports, Rogelio Bautista died for a word, a color, a number, his death jotted down as just another statistic in our escalating gang war – but that’s not the perspective of the four narrators of the story “Our name is Rogelio Bautista.”

Learn more about KRCB Voice of Youth at http://www.krcb.org/voice_youth/.

[ download the MP3 ]

The world is a great place, right? Well, let’s see what happens when seven almost strangers get stuck in an elevator. True colors really shine!! This is a story of what some Latinos go through when they live on this side of the border.

[ download the MP3 ]

Lena Eckert-Erdheim interviews a group of fashion-conscious highschool girls about the connections between what they wear, self-esteem, body image, and their relationships with boys and other girls.

[ download the MP3 ]

Phil attempts to ask someone — anyone — to Prom.

At Curie Youth Radio, a workshop at Curie High School on Chicago’s Southwest Side, students write, record, and produce their own pieces about everything from snowball fights to gang warfare.

We work with ProTools, and we collect our sound from our high school hallways, our families’ kitchen tables, and anywhere else the train takes us.

[ download the MP3 ]

But, one submission stood out for educational value and sexiness. Here's Jen Turner's story about robot reproduction–LISTEN

Want more sex ed? Cyd La Luz (producer of “Bi Chic” from YouthCast's May 2 episode) tells about how queer sex ed released the floodgates of puberty. Click here to listen to Cyd's story about dental dams.

Johanna Greenberg’s parents have yet to tell her about ‘the birds and the bees.’ She goes out to see if her peers’ parents have talked to them about sex. Then she takes the intiative with her own parents.

[ download the MP3 ]

Proposals at prom? Teens toasting to wedding vows with sparkling cider instead of champagne? You betcha. Alaska Teen Media Institute reporter Hellen Fleming reports on the phenomenon as she’s seen it at her high school.

This piece aired in ATMI’s monthly program ‘In Other News.’ It also aired as part of the statewide Alaska Public Radio Network program ‘AK.’ Hellen’s piece won second place for Best Single Subject Reporting at the 2003 Alaska Press Club Awards. It should be noted that there is no ’student category for this competition.

[ download the MP3 ]

July 5, 2005. On the front page of the Science section of the New York Times, an article titled ‘Straight, Gay or Lying? Bisexuality Revisited’ reports on a study that ‘casts doubt on whether true bisexuality exists, at least in men.’ Questions, doubts and misunderstanding run rife when it comes to bisexuality. Cyd La Luz set out to discover whether bi people are for real, and learned a lot more than she expected.

[ download the MP3 ]

Broadcast on the “Summer” themed show of The Underground, the KBOO youth collective’s monthly public affairs show. Broadcast initailly August 25, 2004, on KBOO Portland OR.

[ download the MP3 ]

Photo by pdxjeff

…Unless you end up in the back of a police cruiser. Callie Dean of the KBOO Youth Collective provides a lesson in what not to do if you get a little bored while waiting for the bus.

(Listen to “Boredom”)

music: “schroed(er)/inger” by mazarin

***

When Jaimita got bumped up into a more advanced high school program, all the books were brand new and the students listened politely to each other. Then, because of overcrowding, she got dropped back into the relative chaos of mainstream classes. In the course of reporting on it, Jaimita surprises herself and her principal.

[ download the MP3 ]

18-year-old Pablo Ponce lives in the South Side of Chicago and wants to spend his life in theater. But, for now he works in a parking lot as a valet. His office is a glass booth–the cubicle of the outdoors. Pablo dashes car to car, wishing his job afforded him a little more human interaction. Pablo produced this story for Curie Youth Radio.

(Listen to “I'm the Guy Who Parks Your Car”)

Music: “Skin” by Andrew Bird

***

Pablo parks cars at a downtown Chicago lot. He is 18. He wonders about you, and longs for a connection stronger than a car key and a dollar tip.

Curie Youth Radio is a writing and radio production class at Curie High School on Chicago’s Southwest side.

Here, students create their own stories: fresh takes on everything from snowball fights to gang warfare. They see their stories as a way for teenagers in one Chicago high school to reach out to the rest of the world.

[ download the MP3 ]

Blunt Youth Radio Project producer S. Spencer Scott interviewed Lavinia Gelineau about the loss of her husband Chris, a young soldier who was recently killed in Iraq. Weeks later, Lavinia Gelineau was murdered by her abusive father. Scott deftly weaves the two tragedies together in a thoughtful commentary about the cost of war.

Versions of this feature originally aired on the Maine Public Broadcasting Network and on WMPG’s Blunt in Portland, ME

[ download the MP3 ]