Teens Find Middle Ground

In this episode, Teens Find Middle Ground has a one-on-one conversation with David Simas, who served as the President and CEO of the Obama Foundation and was also the White House Director of Political Affairs from 2014 to 2016. Together, we discuss the relevancy of caucusing and what the future of democracy looks like with Gen Z at its forefront.

This week, we disucssed the groundbreaking summit at Camp David, at which the U.S., South Korea, and Japan now bolster military cooperation. Join us as we unpack this undeniable step forward in Japan-South Korea relations and dive into the potential conflicts with China and North Korea.

In this discussion of Teens Find Middle Ground, we covered the large contrast in media coverage between two very distinct tragedies. The two events at hand are the Greek Migrant Boat Tragedy and the OceanGate expedition's submersible implosion.

This week, we centered our discussion around Iran's new set of hijab rules and restrictions. From the Women, Life, and Freedom Movement to possible peace with Saudi Arabia, Iran is a country that has certainly been in the spotlight, making for a fascinating dicussion. Thank you to all our participants, and we hope you enjoy!

On this episode, Teens Find Middle Ground had a discussion centered around the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27). The conversation began with the potential outcomes of the conference, then shifted towards Climate Change as a whole. During the discussion, participants shined a light on Tuvalu, the first country to replicate itself in the metaverse. The conversation concluded with different nations' diverse and distinct approaches to stopping Climate Change.

This week, we took a look at the death of Mahsa Amini and the women's rights revolution being held in Iran. As two Iranian teenagers, we were interested in understanding what the typical American teenager knew about this topic, and in the process educating he American youth on this issue. We spoke about the origins of the 1979 Iranian Revolution and how the history of Iran impacts its government and people today. In addition, we highlighted Iran's Morality Police, Islam's influence on this event, and conversed about the advocacy taking place in Iran. This week's unique conversation included a 16-year-old from Washington. We would like our discussions to be a reflection of all viewpoints, so please feel free to come to our next discussion and voice your opinion!

Teens Find Middle Ground podcast trailer.

On this episode, Teens Find Middle Ground focused on one of the most controversial debates of our time: gun rights and the second amendment. We focused on what implementing more extensive background checks would look like, to prevalence of school shootings, and arming teachers. We want our discussions to be a reflection of all viewpoints. If you area a teen and feel that your opinions were not reflected by this podcast, please join us! Check out our website for upcoming discussions and our Instagram for interactive polls.

On this episode, Teens Find Middle Ground focused on the phrase "defunding the police" and if it is more beneficial or harmful to stopping police brutality and crime. We want our discussions to be a reflection of all viewpoints, if you are a teen and feel that your opinions were not reflected by this podcast, please join us! Check out our website for upcoming discussions and our Instagram for interactive polls.

In this discussion, TeensFindMiddleGround discussed what the aftermath of the COVID-19 looks like regarding reopening schools and churches, mail-in voting, foreign affairs, the political climate, and more! Keep in mind that we held this discussion in August, so some of the topics and ideas discussed are no longer relevant. We hope you enjoy!

This week we held a discussion with Trump and Biden supporters to discuss the character of each candidate. We covered Trump and Biden on race, the border wall crisis vs. the climate crisis, the rhetoric of the Trump 2016 campaign, twitter as an accurate representation of Trump's character, and Trump's use of force on Black Lives Matter protests. Our participants included teens from Nebraska, Arizona, Texas, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, Massachusetts, and California!

This week we held a discussion with Republicans and Democrats to discuss labels, stereotypes and the media. We focussed specifically on the liberal bias in society, the idea of facts vs. feelings, which politicians are a better representation of each party (Biden vs. Sanders) (Trump vs. Reagan), choosing friends based on party, and the role of social media platforms like Tik Tok in either increasing or decreasing the divide between parties.

This week we covered Trump's foreign policy! We looked specifically at the notion of “America First,” the Paris Agreement, the Iran Nuclear Deal, Trump's stance on immigration, the role of the US on the world stage, and Trump's personal relationships with world leaders.

This week we, discussed reproductive rights with over 40 pro choice and pro life participants from all across the United States! We covered Roe v. Wade, the stricter state regulations on abortion, contraceptives + sex education, the role of political parties in the pro choice vs pro life movements, and pro life feminism.

This week, we looked at the First Amendment in the context of the world around us today. We discussed hate speech, the sensorship of Trump's tweets on Twitter, the use of the Confederate Flag on public and private property, and the role of religion in recent Supreme Court ruling protecting the LGBTQ community. Our participants included people from Dallas, Ohio, Nevada, Missisipi, Maryland, and California! We want our discussions to be a reflection of all viewpoints, if you are a teen and feel that your opinions were not reflected by this podcast, please join us!

We wanted to discuss racism as a whole in America. We wanted to look beyond mainstream media coverage of the death of George Floyd and the protests that have followed and hear real experiences and perspectives in order to achieve an understanding that will last longer than this media cycle. We covered the way history is taught in schools, racism on high school campuses, and performative activism. We additionally heard the experiences of many African American participants who have been racial profiled or experienced racism and talked about the ways we can combat implicit bias and racial profiling. We further examined the use of the Confederate flag in America and Trump's decision not to rename forts and monuments named after Confederate generals. Our participants included teens from Florida, New Jersey, Maryland, Massachusetts, and two participants from Ghana, Africa who gave us an international perspective! Please join us if you are a teen and you feel your opinion was not heard! Check out @teensfindmiddleground on Instagram for more information.

This week, we took a look at the protests following the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who was murdered by former police officer Derek Chauvin. We focused on the violence in the protests, Bl Lives Matter vs All Lives Matter, what it means to be an ally, how to reform the police system, the phrase "ACAB," and finally Trump's response to the protests and the role of parties within the pressing issue of police brutality. Our participants include teenagers from Baltimore, Minneapolis, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Alabama, and more! We want our discussions to be a reflection of all viewpoints, if you are a teen and you feel that your opinions were not reflected by this podcast, please join us to be heard!