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RadioActive

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: Sisters Paulina (left) and Eva Solorio. Paulina chose to go to Mariner High School in Everett, Washington, while Eva chose to go to Kamiak High School in Mukilteo, Washington.

    How I reconnected to my Mexican roots in a majority-white school

    When RadioActive’s Eva Solorio graduated from middle school, she was ready for a change. So she chose to go to a nearby high school, instead of the one all her friends were going to. But it turned out to be a bigger change than she expected.

  • caption: The loading screen of "High School Hustle," the (fictional)  video game. Can you level up without breaking down?

    Fiction: 'High School Hustle' the video game

    Choices, wins, and losses — getting through high school is kind of like playing a video game. In this sound-rich, fictional audio story, RadioActive’s Alayna Ly explores the transition from high school to whatever comes next. Can you level up without breaking down?

  • caption: Some Muslim students who eat halal say that cheese pizza is one of the only options available to them in the school cafeteria.

    My high school doesn’t serve halal meat. Here’s why I wish it did

    Washington schools are not required to offer meals that accommodate students’ religious beliefs, like kosher or halal meals. RadioActive's Rahmah Abdulazeez looked into how not having many halal lunch options at school affects Muslim students like her.

  • caption: Morgen White poses in her starting position before beginning a freestyle pole dance to the Nicki Minaj song "Grand Piano" at Divine Movement Pole Dance & Fitness in Seattle in May 2022.

    How I found bodily autonomy through pole dancing

    For RadioActive's Morgen White, pole dancing is a sanctuary. Taking pole dancing classes has boosted her confidence and strengthened her self-love. In this essay, she explores the importance of appreciating herself as a sexual being, and being fully herself in front of others who respect and value her body as her own.

  • caption: Walnut Park residents gather as the FareStart mobile market is set up on September 16, 2022.

    'It's kept me alive': Kent residents rely on free farmers market in Walnut Park

    For the past seven months on Friday afternoons, residents of Kent’s Walnut Park neighborhood have been able to pick up fresh produce and dry goods from an outdoor market. And it’s all free. The Walnut Park market is one of four free mobile markets in South King County run by the non-profit FareStart. RadioActive’s Marian Mohamed talked with Walnut Park residents about what the market means to them.

  • caption: Nike Adejumobi, Nhu Tat and Mia Doan browse a booth in the Artist Alley at Emerald City Comic Con on Aug. 18, 2022.

    Embarking on an Epic Quest: What I learned at my first Comic Con

    Attendance numbers were almost back to pre-pandemic levels this year at Emerald City Comic Con, Seattle’s annual comic and pop culture convention. RadioActive’s Alayna Ly went to Comic Con for her first time, and brings us this audio postcard.

  • caption: Visitors stream through the main entrance to Pike Place Market in August 2022.

    ‘A coral reef for local businesses’: Pike Place Market celebrates 115 years

    This August, Seattle’s Pike Place Market celebrated its 115th birthday. Since 1907, the iconic market has been home to small businesses, street-performing musicians, fish throwing, fresh produce, and even the first-ever Starbucks. RadioActive’s Antonio Nevarez went to Pike Place Market to talk to tourists, regulars, and store owners about the Market today.

  • caption: A collage of portraits of the summer 2022 RadioActive youth producers. Top row from left: Ada Walther, Hayden Andersen, Micah Riggio, Lucas Deng, Anjali Einstein, Indigo Mays. Middle row: Evelyn Jiang, Idrissa Gaye, Josie Jansons, Terina Papatu, Dashiell Pinck, Sadeen Al Ziyad. Bottom row: Carter Ortiz, Caden LaMar, Kea Lani Diamond, McKenna Kilayko, Gideon Hall.

    Meet KUOW's summer 2022 RadioActive youth producers

    KUOW's RadioActive Youth Media is proud to offer our 19th annual summer introductory workshop for teens. In our first hybrid in-person and virtual workshop, seventeen teens, aged 15-18, spent one week learning about radio journalism and audio storytelling.

  • caption: Teen library volunteer Shilten Kenzhegazy holds up the map she made in a King County Library System online workshop hosted by the Federal Way Library Teen Advisory Group in May 2021.

    Teen volunteers bring the magic of the library online

    When you think about libraries, you might picture the maze of bookshelves, the tables and chairs. Or maybe even the squeak of an ungreased wheel as a librarian walks by with a book cart. All that went away when the pandemic hit. But teenagers in King County eventually found a new way to hang out at the library. RadioActive Youth Media’s Emily Chua has more.

  • caption: RadioActive Youth Producer Lily Turner poses with Roosevelt junior Maxford Brown.

    'Missing out.' Some students with disabilities felt left behind during online schooling

    For many students with disabilities, online classes during the pandemic came with new challenges, and a loss of their usual, face-to-face classroom support. KUOW Radio Active Youth Producer Lily Turner, who is deaf in one ear and has trouble hearing in the other, has this story about lessons learned during the pandemic and how schools can do better to make sure all students can fully participate.

  • caption: From left: Bill Thieleman, Madi Goldstein, and Eridon Stewart.

    Pride and joy, more than 50 years in the making

    It’s Pride Month, and thousands of people of all ages are participating in LGBTQ Pride events across the region. RadioActive Youth Media’s Lyn Strober-Cohen looked into how the queer experience has changed — and stayed the same — over the decades.