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RadioActive

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Stories produced by students participating in our youth media program. Meet the current youth producers, and learn more about the intensive, fun and free introductory radio journalism workshops we offer throughout the year. 

caption: The summer 2023 class of RadioActive Youth Media.
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The summer 2023 class of RadioActive Youth Media.
KUOW Photo/Lila Lakehart

Episodes

  • caption: On popular social media platforms like TikTok, teenagers post videos warning other teens of trafficking tactics. But sometimes these tactics aren't true.

    Teens are warning each other about sex trafficking on TikTok. Here’s why the videos could do more harm than good

    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.
  • caption: Mercer Island High School graduating seniors (from left to right) Isabel Funk, Annie Poole, and Elizabeth Gottesman dance to music on a Mercer Island dock on June 8, 2020, the evening before graduation. Instead of a senior graduation party, attended by many, these seniors spent the time together as a smaller group.

    Oh, the places you’ll go! On Zoom, in your living room...

    Graduation is a time of great fanfare in the United States, but this year, because of the coronavirus pandemic, students had to find other ways to celebrate. RadioActive’s Meghana Kakubal and Lila Shroff documented their graduation from Mercer Island High School for KUOW, chronicling intimate moments with friends, as well as the logistics of a drive-through graduation.

  • caption: Girls Court Judge, the Honorable Melissa Hemstreet, sits in the courtroom after a Girls Court session.

    Inside Girls Court, Washington State’s first therapeutic court model for girls

    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.
  • caption: Hair maintenance has grown lax during the coronavirus pandemic... and those in Gen Z tell us not to sweat it.

    Take a lesson from Gen Z: Let your body hair grow

    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.
  • caption: 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.

    Spurned. A podcast about an outcast cowboy

    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...
  • caption: Hosts Asemayet "Mimi" Zekaryas and Essey Paulos pose for a photo on Zoom. As many schools switch to online learning due to Covid-19, some students thrive while others fall behind. How does inequities in school funding play a part in these disparities, and which students are the most vulnerable?

    For students of color, Covid-19 reveals deep inequities in Seattle area schools

    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? RadioActive’s Mimi Zekaryas and Essey Paulos look at the education gaps between white students and students of color, as well as schools in wealthy areas and those where most students come from low-income households.
  • caption: An empty hallway at Garfield High School in Seattle.

    'It's a civil rights issue.' Special education in the midst of a pandemic

    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.