RadioActive

Loneliness is a mental health risk factor for LGBTQ youth in normal times, so the Covid-19 pandemic has been hard on queer and trans youth. This week we’re bringing you a story from 2016 about a community in Seattle that works to provide an escape from that loneliness. On Seattle’s Capitol Hill, Lambert House is a safe space where queer youth are free to be themselves. | **RadioActive Snapshots: 10 years of stories by Seattle teens - new episodes every Thursday**

A lot of white people are waking up to realities like white privilege and racism, and they’re trying to figure out their role in anti-racism work. Paul Kiefer introduces us to Anelise Moon-Schruder, a young white woman raised in a low-income family who is using white privilege to fight racism. | **RadioActive Snapshots: 10 years of stories by Seattle teens - new episodes every Thursday**

Patrick Liu and his parents live in Redmond. Three nights a week they eat dinner with their family in Tianjin, China - over Skype. Patrick’s grandma is sick, so it’s hard not to be together. They rely on technology to stay connected. | **RadioActive Snapshots: 10 years of stories by Seattle teens - new episodes every Thursday**

Marian and her mom struggled to connect. As an immigrant family, they were divided by a language barrier and cultural differences. But these differences started dissolving when Ilhan Omar, the first Somali American congresswoman, was elected in 2018. | **RadioActive Snapshots: 10 years of stories by Seattle teens - new episodes every Thursday**

Paul Hillaire-Villaluz is Native American and homeless. Although he enjoys his life outdoors, he finds community in the Chief Seattle Club, a place where urban homeless Native people can go for food, showers, and drug help. Paul tells his story and explains how the club has impacted him. | **RadioActive Snapshots: 10 years of stories by Seattle teens - new episodes every Thursday**

Feven's teacher, Mr. Little, grew up Black and in poverty in Seattle. In high school his white teacher disrespected Black experiences and history, so he dropped out. Now he works to support disenfranchised students at Rainier Scholars.RadioActive Snapshots: 10 years of stories by Seattle teens - new episodes every Thursday

After the election, some RadioActive teen reporters had questions: about polarization, belonging, and social media. In this episode, they set out to combine factual reporting with fictional scenes to tell an even "truer" story about these questions. Produced by Emily Chua, Meghana Kakubal, Irving-Antonio Nevarez, and Morgen White. Production assistance from Mary Heisey. Edited by Kyle Norris. New episodes every Thursday!

Here's a guest episode from Oregon Public Broadcasting. "Class of 2025" has been following a group of students for 8 years. This episode is all about why male students tend to have a hard time than female students in middle school.Listen to new episodes from RadioActive every Thursday this spring!

During the lockdown, the restaurant industry was only hanging on through online orders and deliveries. But for me, those orders are how my mom and I made our rent.

It's finals week at Washington State University: A symbolic end to a difficult semester for many students. WSU roommates Dan and Campbell talked about navigating the pandemic in a social environment like college.

Camila was 17, and four months sober when the pandemic started. She shared her struggles and triumphs through maintaining that progress with KUOW's Radioactive Youth Media program. https://www.kuow.org/stories/i-stayed-sober-through-the-pandemic

There are many reasons to be anxious about the future right now. Some expectant mothers may be wondering what the future holds for their kids. That brought back some memories for Liza White, who carried a child during 9/11.

Teens in the Seattle area have been balancing the grief, loss, and uncertainty of 2020 with the ups and downs of high school. And that's what this hour of youth radio is all about. Join hosts Adar Abdi and Ruby Lee as they showcase 13 stories produced by teens during the pandemic. You'll hear from a teen musician in recovery from drug addiction and a high schooler who made the move from South Africa to SeaTac. All from RadioActive Youth Media.

At just 8 years old, my mom, Diem Pham, became a refugee of the Vietnam War. Her parents put her on a small boat, where she spent 10 days at sea and six months at a refugee camp in Malaysia. Decades later, I explore her diaspora through poetry.

Not everyone’s great-grandma sold moonshine and slept with a gun under her pillow. But my great-grandma did. Here's what she taught my mom and me about gender, growing up and moving on.

From RadioActive youth producer Hebaq Farah:My aunt, Regina Elmi, came to the United States from Somalia by way of Kenya in 1996. At that time, multilingualism was not encouraged for immigrant children like her. So she lost the ability to speak her native languages of Swahili and Somali.As an adult, my aunt realized her biggest regret was this loss of language. So she works to bridge the gap between educators and families to help immigrant children embrace their culture, at home and in schools.Listen to Hebaq's conversation with her aunt on the RadioActive Youth Media podcast. New episodes every Tuesday and Thursday

"My dad, Fitsum Habtemichael, was 17 years old when the war between Ethiopia and Eritrea began. He was given a choice: to escape and to live independently, leaving his family behind, or to remain and become a soldier. So he left."Produced by RadioActive's Samrawite HabtemichaelNew episodes of the RadioActive Youth Media podcast on Tuesdays and Thursdays

I am Korean and Irish, which makes me biracial. My Irish family came to the U.S. a long time ago, but for my Korean side, coming to America is more recent history.My great-aunt Sue immigrated from Seoul, South Korea to Seattle when she was my age. She even graduated from Rainier Beach High School, where I'm now a sophomore. I talked to her about her immigration story, and what it can teach me about my own racial identity.

When you're the first person in your family to go to college, how do you compete?

"My friend Coltrane Fisher is a 17-year-old musician and quite the character. As kids, we bonded over our similar love for music but drifted apart at the end of middle school as Coltrane started experimenting with hard drugs.By the beginning of high school, Coltrane went to rehab for opioids, among other drugs including alcohol."Produced by RadioActive's Jared LamNew episodes of the RadioActive Youth Media podcast on Tuesdays and Thursdays

Have you ever felt a big lump in your throat as you got up to speak to new people? I was 8 years old when I first noticed “the lump.” It came whenever I tried to speak. Through the Toastmasters Gavel Club program, I gained confidence and learned how to make an impact with just my voice. Best of all, I overcame the lump. New RadioActive stories every Tuesday and Thursday!

Nova High School principal Eyva Winet is working to amplify youth voices, like mine, in any way they can. As a non-binary high school student, I have learned so much about myself and the power of my own voice from Eyva. New RadioActive stories every Tuesday and Thursday!

Some people may think that homeschooling is only for celebrities or the reclusively religious, but my family doesn’t fall into either category. After 10 years of homeschooling I’ve just graduated high school. I talked with my mom about why she gave up a career in software engineering to homeschool me and my brother. New RadioActive stories every Tuesday and Thursday!

For students of color, having a teacher with the same race or ethnicity has shown to improve test scores and reduce the likeliness of disciplinary issues. Yet only 20% of educational leaders in the United States are people of color. Jeffrey Forbes Jr. is my teacher and basketball coach at Decatur High School in Federal Way. But more than that, he is my role model.

The start of a new school year is often met with nervous excitement. With many schools moving to online learning this year, students are adjusting to new learning environments.RadioActive youth producer Kouther Ahmed spoke to her brother about his transition from middle school to high school -- and his transition from South Africa to SeaTac.New stories from RadioActive every Tuesday and Thursday

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Follow @ActivityClubNG for updates

On a single day in King County, an estimated 300 to 500 children under the age of 18 are sex trafficked, according to the Seattle organization Real Escape from the Sex Trade (REST).The dangers of getting forced into sex trafficking are something that everyday teenagers are warning each other about online. But the information shared in videos is often misleading — and it may keep us from recognizing the real risks.RadioActive's Jadenne Radoc Cabahug has more.

For the first time in United States history, the country saw six women run for president in the 2020 election. Unlike the male candidates, the women were asked about their fashion choices.What women candidates wear plays a huge role in whether people think they’re electable, and that judgment of women’s clothing choices starts pretty young.RadioActive's Ritika Managuli introduces us to Sancha Gonzalez, a student who participates in Mock Trial. Once, judges docked points from her team for wearing skirts. As Gonzalez prepares for a future career in politics, she grapples with the unwritten dress code for women in leadership roles.

Over the past two decades, while juvenile incarceration rates have been decreasing, rates of incarcerated girls have either stayed the same, or increased.In response, the Kitsap County Girls Court opened in June 2019 as Washington State’s first court system providing service just for girls.A few months ago, RadioActive's Lila Shroff went to see Girls Court in action.

In the time of Covid-19, our hairstylists, waxers and threaders aren’t available to keep us looking fresh. Many of us are trying to figure out what to do about our body hair as our hair continues to grow and grow ... and grow.The younger generation doesn’t seem to mind.

Elise Cresswell is a reporter searching for a big story. When she meets a scorned "cowboy," she thinks she's found it.But like any good story, it doesn't end the way she expects...

High school looks different this year for most students: classes on Zoom, drive-through graduations, social distance birthday parties, skipped proms.But some students have more pressing worries as classes move online. How do you make the switch to online learning when you don’t have wifi at home? How are students of color and students from low-income families affected?

Two teens share an hour of stories about family, resilience and self-discovery, all produced by young people in the Puget Sound region.

As a Mercer Island High School senior, RadioActive's Meghana Kakubal worried that school closures would make it difficult for her to graduate on time. She wasn't worried about finishing her course work, though, because she knew it would continue online.Unfortunately, many students with disabilities won't be able to transition to online courses so easily. Christine Kenyon, a special education teacher at Mercer Island High School, worries that her students’ education will be completely disrupted by the closure.

Radioactive reporter Charlotte Engrav shares her story

Two teens share an hour of stories created by young people, and discuss the balance between teen activism and just being a kid.

When my dad immigrated to Seattle from Eritrea, the Eritrean Catholic church became his new community. He goes to mass every Sunday. There, he sings in Tigrinya, his native tongue, and prays to God.As a first generation Eritrean American, I feel the duty to keep our traditions, language and culture alive. But the church has never completely felt like my own. And my brother no longer attends church.How can I protect my community while staying true to myself? And how can my brother and father bridge this gap between them?

In India, 90% of people have arranged marriages. That might feel odd to those of us who grew up in the United States, like Ritika. She's a 16-year-old, first-generation Indian American, and she feels caught between two traditions when it comes to love. Will she choose her own path, or go down the traditional arranged marriage route like her mother?

In middle school, you’re thrown into a completely new environment with hundreds of people you’ve never met before. Your body and brain are changing. You’re starting to learn how to grow up.This transition can be hard on young teens. They can fail in classes and have issues outside of school.However, at Chinook Middle School in Sea-Tac, a group called Los Siete provides guidance and support for middle school boys.

Being vulnerable doesn't make me less of a man. Los Siete taught me that.This is part one of two stories on Los Siete, a program at Chinook Middle School in Sea-Tac for young men.

Huma's sister Saba has autism. In three short years, Saba will graduate from high school. What will life look like - for Saba and the rest of our family - after graduation?

All Morgen's life, the only thing she knew about her biological father was his number: sperm donor 893. Recently, they found each other through a genetic testing site, making her wonder if a stranger could become family.

Three generations of women gather in the kitchen to answer the question: What does it mean to be Filipino?

Sam Miller is a six-foot-six, 360-pound stand-up comedian. Sam's larger than life presence isn't the only thing that sets him apart on stage. In his comedy, he talks about his experiences with drug and alcohol addiction, incarceration and homelessness. Offstage, Sam works with young people struggling with those same issues.

In Washington State alone, 143,000 students receive special education services. I'm one of those students.

During a lockdown, teachers must secure the classroom doors and windows. At Franklin High School in Seattle, they have found a way to address one of these security measures... with art.

My grandfather was a South Vietnamese soldier during the Vietnam War. After the war ended, the Communist government imprisoned him in an re-education camp. As a way to connect with his family, he secretly wrote letters, poems and stories.

There are over 12,000 people in Seattle and King County experiencing homelessness. Many of them, including families, live in vehicles.

Sometimes politics drive family and friends apart. But when Ilhan Omar, the first Somali-American congresswoman, was elected in 2018, my mom and I became closer than ever before.

Nova High School is a "saving grace" for non-conforming students.