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.
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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.
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RadioActive: A young wolf shares their story
“A lot of people don’t know me as my wolf self. But that’s only because I like to keep it a secret.” An 11-year-old shares their special connection to wolves in this creative audio piece.
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What I heard when I returned to school
Many students are going back to school for in-person learning. RadioActive youth producer Charlotte Engrav is one of them. She feels mixed emotions. In this creative audio diary told entirely through sound, she shares her experience with anxiety during school after over a year of virtual classes.
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Fantasy books are my escape, but I wish the genre was more inclusive
Adar Abdi is a White Center teenager with a passion for fantasy. She gravitated to fantasy novels as an escape from reality, into worlds without racism or sexism. But as she continued to read, she found more messages — subtle and overt — that brought the same issues she tried to avoid to the forefront. This piece is an imagined confrontation between Adar and a fantasy writer.
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 600 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.
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Summer 2021 Intro to Radio Journalism Workshop
Learn MoreIn this fun, challenging, and hands-on virtual summer workshop, teens learn radio journalism and storytelling skills, build confidence, and work with others while creating a radio story about one person in their home or community.
This is a PAID opportunity open to teens ages 15-18 in the greater Seattle area. This workshop is also the entry point to RadioActive's Advanced Producers program, a year-round opportunity to collaborate on youth-led radio productions.
Applications for summer 2021 are now closed.
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SoundBites: Self-Guided Audio Storytelling Activities
Learn MoreStudents across the country are home from school, and some are looking for creative ways to fill their days. We're excited to share 12 bite-sized audio storytelling activities for teens and pre-teens. These self-directed activities take about 30 minutes to complete, and can be done in any order either alone or with a partner.
Meet the Current Youth Producers
KUOW's RadioActive Youth Media is proud to offer our 18th annual summer introductory workshop for teens. In our second all-virtual workshop, fifteen teens, aged 15-18, will spend four weeks learning about radio journalism and audio storytelling.