Blunt Youth Radio Project

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WMPG’s Blunt Youth Radio Project brings together Maine teenagers to produce audio stories and interviews on topics that matter to them. Finished work is aired on WMPG or made available in podcast format.

The young people handle all aspects of audio production: story development, contacting interview subjects, reporting, recording, editing, on-air hosting, broadcast engineering, podcast production, and sharing and promoting finished audio pieces. Whether youth are participating in Blunt-hosted workshops or are long-term audio correspondents, there is room for everyone to be part of our audio team. 

Blunt Youth Radio Project is the winner of thirteen regional and national broadcasting awards. Blunt has been on air for 20 years, and our work has aired on various NPR programs, the BBC, Marketplace, and This American Life, as well as many stations around the country through the Public Radio Exchange. Our broadcast can be heard Tuesday nights from 7:30-8:30 EST on WMPG-FM, Greater Portland, Community Radio

Series

Caption: PRX default Series image
4 Pieces

Blunt Presents Special Coverage of the 2004 Presidential Election

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3 Pieces

Teens and their families talk about S-E-X.

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3 Pieces

Blunt youth producers explore the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina by documenting the displaced, and taking at hard look at the racial inequality exposed by the storm.

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22 Pieces

Incarcerated youth from the Long Creek Youth Development Center in South Portland, Maine tell stories of life behind bars.

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8 Pieces

Blunt goes to the Maine Women's Lobby Economic Summit.

Caption: Messges from Japan, Credit: Eleanor Graf
9 Pieces

Blunt Youth Radio is trying to give Japanese people a way to tell the story of their experience following the March 11, 2011 Tohoku Earthquake. Messages from Japan is gathering and sharing the stories of regular Japanese people since the devastating earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis.

Caption: Freshly Harvested Sungold Tomatoes
5 Pieces

Young people all over the country are deeply driven to be youth climate activists. One way they are doing this is by figuring out how to best use their voice to advocate for the issues that matter most to them. Youth producers from around southern Maine met virtually during the pandemic as part of a 12-week Blunt Youth Radio audio workshop focused on climate activism. These pieces are their final projects created during the workshop.

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13 Pieces

Youth Led Public Affairs Live from Blunt Youth Radio


Pieces

Caption: Theo Lichter
High school senior Theo Lichter ponders a life of no sweetheart at Valentine's day, or any day, of getting left out and just accepting life for wha...

Bought by WMPG


  • Added: Feb 14, 2011
  • Length: 04:02
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: Pat (left) and Joshua Presby
If Pat could tell his late step-mother, Barbara Jean, one thing, it's that he probably should have listened to her advice.

Bought by YouthCast and PRX Remix


  • Added: Jan 18, 2011
  • Length: 05:02
  • Purchases: 2
Caption: Japanese WWII Propaganda
A Japanese student got fellow students from England, France, the USA, Germany, China and Japan to tell each other what World War II meant to them, ...

Bought by WMPG


  • Added: Dec 06, 2010
  • Length: 10:01
  • Purchases: 1
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Can environmentalism, cultural theory and marketing work together? Is Walmart green beyond the bills in the cash registers? Producer Isaac Woodbury...

Bought by PRX Remix, New Hampshire Public Radio, and WMPG


  • Added: Nov 15, 2010
  • Length: 06:39
  • Purchases: 3
Caption: Crowd cheers Lady Gaga in Portland, Maine, Credit: Shinji Ishikawa
On September 20, 2010, Lady Gaga came to Maine to protest the U.S. military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy. In this vox pop, members of Blunt Youth...

  • Added: Sep 20, 2010
  • Length: 04:11
Caption: Iris and her dad, Robert
When Blunt member Iris SanGiovanni was eight years old, her dad became homeless for six months after her parents divorced. A few years later, she h...

Bought by KZYX, WSLR, KBCS 91.3 FM Community Radio, KSFR, WMPG and more


  • Added: Aug 19, 2010
  • Length: 04:17
  • Purchases: 10
Caption: Graduation Day
Libby Donovan wasn't challenged in high school, but she still got good grades. She feels that her high schools policy of heterogeneously mixing the...

Bought by WMPG and KUOW


  • Added: Mar 22, 2010
  • Length: 03:45
  • Purchases: 2
Caption: Anna Flanagan
Now that 3 of Portland High School's (in Portland, Maine) environmental leaders have graduated, they're wondering if they did enough for the cause.

Bought by PRX Remix, WMPG, and New Hampshire Public Radio


  • Added: Jun 20, 2009
  • Length: 03:37
  • Purchases: 3
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Afternoon drink turned nightmare for both my personal health and the environment. The problems of high fructose corn syrup which is in nearly EVERY...

Bought by KDNK, WMPG, and New Hampshire Public Radio


  • Added: Jun 19, 2009
  • Length: 03:24
  • Purchases: 3
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The Ins and Outs of Getting Away Without Going Anywhere

Bought by WMPG and WGXC


  • Added: Aug 28, 2008
  • Length: 05:31
  • Purchases: 2