RadioActive Youth Media is where young people discover public radio journalism and gain access to the skills, community and institutional resources that spur their growth as media makers. Through their stories, listeners of all ages gain a deeper understanding of young people whose voices are rarely heard by the greater public.
Visit us:
Latest Episodes
Hear stories created by RadioActive youth producers about the people and issues that matter to young people in the Northwest. Subscribe to get our latest audio pieces delivered directly to you.
-
A poem for my mother, a Vietnam boat refugee
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 interviewed her about that experience, and wove her answers into a spoken-word poem.
-
‘Life goes on.’ How my abuelita challenged gender roles in Mexico
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.
-
My aunt helps immigrant students get the type of education she deserved as a child
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.
Workshops
RadioActive is proud to offer award-winning youth journalism and radio storytelling workshops throughout the year. Our approach is to provide interactive, collaborative workshops where participants learn the technical, social and emotional skills needed to amplify the stories that matter to them.
Our philosophy is that youth voices are powerful and not heard often enough.
Participants learn about journalism, audio recording, audio editing, interviewing, script writing and speaking on the air. They work with professional journalists at KUOW. They gain confidence and leadership skills in a supportive environment while collaborating with other participants to make radio stories and episodes for the RadioActive podcast on topics they choose. There is no experience necessary, and participants are paid for successfully completing the program.
Through our community workshops, RadioActive serves nearly 900 young people a year at more that 25 schools and community organizations. In these short-term programs, youth discover public radio journalism, learn basic radio storytelling skills, and share their voice.
We prioritize working with communities without ready access to media platforms and/or who are underserved by high quality arts programs.
-
Summer 2020 Online Radio Storytelling Workshop
Learn MoreIn this fun, challenging, and hands-on workshop, you'll learn broadcast journalism and storytelling skills, build your confidence, and work with others while creating a radio story about a person in your home or community.
This is a PAID opportunity open to teens ages 15-18 in the greater Seattle area. This workshop is the entry point to RadioActive's advanced producer program, a year-round opportunity to collaborate on youth-led radio productions.
Applications for summer 2020 are now closed. Applications for summer 2021 will open in January 2021.
Meet the Current Youth Producers
KUOW's RadioActive Youth Media offered our 17th annual summer introductory workshop for teens. In our first-ever all-virtual workshop, twelve teens, ages 15-19, spent three weeks learning what it means to be a radio journalist.
