Take your map and compass! In this hour of youth-produced radio, we bring you nine stories about teens facing high-stakes decisions and forks in the road.
Stories of difficult choices:
“Faced with a difficult choice, my immigrant father's love kept our family together.” by Phillip Zhou | As a child, Phillip didn't know much about his father's immigration history. But everything changed recently when Phillip learned of the important choice his father had made for their family.
“Buying hot dogs was an act of resilience for my grandfather in the Jim Crow South” by Nyla Moxley | George “Hot Dog” Moxley. A nickname born in the Jim Crow South and given to a boy who defied the unspoken laws of the time.
“When I was 16, my grandmother had an abortion. At 18, I tell his story” by Natalie Lahr | In the summer of 1972, the year before Roe v. Wade did not legalize abortion nationwide, Elaine Fichter was 16 and eight weeks pregnant.
War stories:
“My grandfather’s “little story”: a journey through the war and prison in Vietnam” by Aaron Ton | My grandparents and their children lived comfortably in southern Vietnam. But everything changed on April 30, 1975.
“Walking on the Nile in his shoes” by Eliham Mohammed | A daughter reflects on the emotional and difficult journey her father, an Ethiopian refugee, had to take to save his life and pursue his dreams.
“Why a young Marine refused to fight in Iraq” by Olivia Asmann | It’s been more than 20 years since Darren Fisher said “no” to the fight against terrorism.
Stories to find your way:
“What is it like to be a model wearing a hijab?” by Maymuna Yusuf | Fatuma Yusuf faces and overcomes the challenges of being a woman who wears hijab in the modeling industry.
““I thought Columbia was going to save me: the realities of first-generation students” by Jana Le | When Khanh Doan got into their dream college, they quickly realized that going to college wouldn't end their struggle with depression.
“Building community is “an act of social justice” at the Seattle Fandango Project” by Vivi Cardenas-Habell | Vivi didn't fully appreciate the Seattle Fandango project until Covid took it away.
Radioactive youth media was KUOW's former radio journalism and audio storytelling program for youth. This showcase was edited by Kelsey Kupferer.
KUOW support Radioactive and this showcase came from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Discovery Center and BECU.
