Playlist: Best Youth-Made Radio of 2011
Compiled By: PRX Administrator
From polka to peer mediation and everything in between, the best radio we heard this year at Generation PRX, PRX's youth radio division.
Learn more at generation.prx.org
The Words of Our Parents
From City High Radio | 03:44
When adults talk to teenagers, they often wonder, "Are they hearing ANYTHING I say? Are they going to remember ANY of this?" Seventeen-year-old Grace investigates.
- Playing
- The Words of Our Parents
- From
- City High Radio
When adults talk to teenagers, they often wonder, "Are they hearing ANYTHING I say? Are they going to remember ANY of this?" Seventeen-year-old Grace investigates. This vox pop comes in two versions. Version A ends with a DeVotchKa song. Version B contains the word "piss ant" and ends with a Tori Amos song. Enjoy!
Do You Want It?
From Fusion Youth Radio | Part of the Summer Audio Workshop 2011 series | 04:31
This “vox pop”-inspired mix asks how ordinary people in Chapel Hill, NC, view food and how food affects their lives. Producer Brentton Harrison adds, "if I were to open up a restaurant, it would be a BBQ joint and I would call it 'Notorious P.I.G.'”
Original music featured in this piece by Rev. B & The Wanna B’s (all rights reserved).
- Playing
- Do You Want It?
- From
- Fusion Youth Radio
This “vox pop”-inspired mix asks how ordinary people in Chapel Hill, NC, view food and how food affects their lives. To answer one of my own questions, if I were to open up a restaurant, it would be a BBQ joint and I would call it “Notorious P.I.G.”
Music featured in this piece by Rev. B & The Wanna B’s.
A child's view of domestic violence
From MPR News Stations | Part of the MPR News' Youth Series series | 07:13
Valencia McMurray revisits an incident that happened in her family when she was six and has kept a hold on her family 14 years later.
- Playing
- A child's view of domestic violence
- From
- MPR News Stations
More than a quarter of American children experience parents physically fighting each other at some time in their lives. Early researchers into family violence often considered children to be "invisible victims", but that view is changing.
MPR Youth Radio reporter Valencia McMurray revisits an incident that happened in her family when she was six and has kept a hold on her family 14 years later.
Best Couple
From Radio Rookies | 04:48
When seniors at a small public high school in the Bronx cast their votes for "Best Couple" they chose a pair they admire but who definitely defy the stereotype of best couple.
- Playing
- Best Couple
- From
- Radio Rookies
When seniors at a small public high school in the Bronx cast their votes for "Best Couple" they chose a pair they admire but who definitely defy the stereotype of best couple.
Polka!
From Stories from Deep in the Heart, a project of Texas Folklife | 05:22
Middle School Youth Producer Paiton Kalina investigates her family's love of Polka music in this humorous and lively first-person essay. Produced with help from Amber Woytek at the Wharton Boys & Girls Club.
This story was produced during a three-week summer workshop led by Lucia Duncan at the Wharton Boys and Girls Club, in Wharton, TX (55 miles southwest of Houston). The theme of the workshop was music the students’ families listen to: gospel, polka, and two types of Mexican music (Zapateado and Tribal). The students discovered similarities among the different types of music - in the way that music contributes to culture and in the way that music and culture change.
To Bet or not to Bet
From Brooklyn College Radio | 06:09
An exploration of the betting world in Rockaway, NY. Interviews and anecdotes.
- Playing
- To Bet or not to Bet
- From
- Brooklyn College Radio
An exploration of the betting world in Rockaway, NY. Interviews and anecdotes.
Peer Mediation with a Pencil
From Philly Youth Radio | Part of the Students of Violence series | 02:51
Shayla Torres dealt with a lot of violence in her last school, where she was a peer mediator. Here, the 17-year-old junior recalls one especially contentious situation.
- Playing
- Peer Mediation with a Pencil
- From
- Philly Youth Radio
Shayla Torres dealt with a lot of violence in her last school, where she was a peer mediator. Here, the 17-year-old junior recalls one especially contentious situation.
Radio Rookies - Jillian Suarez
From WNYC | Part of the WNYC 9/11 Anniversary Programming series | 05:27
Jillian Suarez's story is one she says she doesn't want to tell with tears. Jillian's father, a New York City police officer, didn't come home on 9/11 and for three months her mother held out hope he would be found alive - until she received a call that his remains had been found.
- Playing
- Radio Rookies - Jillian Suarez
- From
- WNYC
I'LL HEAL IN TIME
Jillian Suarez's story is one she says she doesn't want to tell with tears. Jillian's father, a New York City police officer, didn't come home on 9/11 and for three months her mother held out hope he would be found alive - until she received a call that his remains had been found. Now 18 years old, Jillian rarely speaks about her loss. For this piece, she decided to push through her silence to sit down with some of the closest people in her life, including her mom, to talk about her father's death and what his absence has meant to her.
Big Loose Fear
From Sarah Lawrence College Radio | 05:58
Life lessons from the recycling center.
- Playing
- Big Loose Fear
- From
- Sarah Lawrence College Radio
At the age of 22, fresh off the humanities degree assembly line, Jennie Gruber found herself doing the filthiest work of her life at a recycling center called Big Blue Sphere. There she came face to face with an invisible subculture of Santa Cruz vagabonds who taught her to see homeless people in a whole new light. Visiting a similar recycling plant near her current home in Brooklyn, and reminiscing about the job with an old co-worker, Gruber muses on the influence that "Big Loose Fear" had on her life.
What If
From Littleglobe | 03:50
In this piece, Ellie Evans, a student from the New Mexico School For The Arts, asks the question: What if? What if the world were different? This imaginative and poetic piece challenges our current understanding of the world around us.
- Playing
- What If
- From
- Littleglobe
In this piece, Ellie Evans, a student from the New Mexico School For The Arts, asks the question: What if? What if the world were different? This imaginative and poetic piece challenges our current understanding of the world around us. Her simple yet beautiful questions pull the rug out from underneath listeners- what if old is young... or what is we all understood basic human rights? Listen and let Ellie guide you through an imaginative world that could be... better.
Soundtrack to School Violence
From Philly Youth Radio | Part of the Students of Violence series | 05:02
Cristel Martinez came to America from the Dominican Republic with a dream to become a music producer. But the only music she hears in school, says the eighteen-year-old senior, is the sound of violence.
- Playing
- Soundtrack to School Violence
- From
- Philly Youth Radio
Cristel Martinez came to America from the Dominican Republic with a dream to become a music producer. But the only music she hears in school, says the eighteen-year-old senior, is the sound of violence.
When Do You Feel Most Alive?
From City High Radio | 03:11
High school Junior Reilly asks other teenagers, "When do you feel most alive?" This vox-pop is short and sweet, and has the interesting effect of making at least THIS listener feel just a little more alive herself.
- Playing
- When Do You Feel Most Alive?
- From
- City High Radio
High school Junior Reilly asks other teenagers, "When do you feel most alive?" This vox-pop is short and sweet, and has the interesting effect of making at least THIS listener feel just a little more alive herself.
*This story is actually 3 min 08 seconds. We can't figure out how to remove the 40 seconds of silence at the very end. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Can I do Anything Anymore?
From Terrascope Youth Radio | 06:51
Terrascope Youth Radio reporters Andy Cox and Levi Toledano wonder why no matter how much they do for the environment, it's never enough.
- Playing
- Can I do Anything Anymore?
- From
- Terrascope Youth Radio
Terrascope Youth Radio reporters Andy Cox and Levi Toledano wonder why no matter how much they do for the environment, it's never enough.
Illegal Mail
From Blunt Youth Radio Project | Part of the Incarcerated Youth Speak Out series | 08:47
For students locked up in Maine's Long Creek Youth Development Center passing notes is a crime... and an art form. Jacorey investigates.
- Playing
- Illegal Mail
- From
- Blunt Youth Radio Project
For students locked up in Maine's Long Creek Youth Development Center passing notes to one another - what the facility calls "illegal mail" - is a crime, but it's also one of the most commonly committed crimes at Long Creek. Jacorey delves into the culture of illegal mail, from the enforcers to the self-defined King of Illegal Mail.
The Sound of School
From WHJE | 03:18
Ever wondered how school would sound if it had a rhythm?
- Playing
- The Sound of School
- From
- WHJE
Throughout the school day we are bombarded by sounds, whether we acknowledge them or not. They surround us day in and day out. Sometimes they come at you on beat; moving in a constant flow of different sounds. These are those sounds. This is that rhythm.
Postcard from Occupy Wall Street
From Youth Radio | 04:16
Among the thousands of protesters to amass in Lower Manhattan in the past month are out-of-towners from across the country. One of them was 16-year-old Jelani Gibson who traveled by bus from Pontiac, Michigan with his grandmother. From Zuccotti Park, the continuously occupied headquarters of the demonstration where he spent a week in early October, he has this postcard.
- Playing
- Postcard from Occupy Wall Street
- From
- Youth Radio
Among the thousands of protesters to amass in Lower Manhattan in the past month are out-of-towners from across the country. One of them was 16-year-old Jelani Gibson who traveled by bus from Pontiac, Michigan with his grandmother. From Zuccotti Park, the continuously occupied headquarters of the demonstration where he spent a week in early October, he has this postcard.
Advertising in schools
From Alaska Teen Media Institute | 05:54
The morning announcements brought to you by Taco Bell.
- Playing
- Advertising in schools
- From
- Alaska Teen Media Institute
Alaska Teen Media Institute Reporter Aviva Hirsch with a story about advertising in high school. Schools are receiving money and also trying to avoid bombarding students.