Express Yourself!

Dogs may be man's best friends but too many of our furry friends go into shelters and never come out. Hurricanes are considered Acts of God, and today our co-hosts Youngjoo Ahn and Katelyn Darrow talk to two passionate animals lovers who founded the non profit, An Act of Dog. Katelyn reports on safety for pets during disasters in her Gift of Giving segment. Reporter Izzy Fasheh shares a fascinating look at French Realist Artist, Rosa Bonheur who painted animals. Mark Barone and Marina Dervan founded An Act of Dog to protect the lives of animals by ensuring that all of America's shelters adopt the "No Kill Equation". Using art for social change, Mark is painting 5500 shelter dogs. These ambassadors strive to raise $20 million to create a Memorial Museum to those animals who are euthanized. They have been featured in USA TODAY, OPRAH'S Magazine "O," FOX, ABC, HUFFINGTON POST, as well as many other publications, and will be featured in a new book by National Geographic.

Hosts Youngjoo Ahn and Caie Kelly interview Russian Artist, Vladimir Kush whose credo is "To reflect the world in the mirror of the metaphor." We'll journey with Vladimir around the world as hereflects the complexities of modern life through his paintings. New audition by Isabella Fasheh who will discuss the life of Frido Kahlo in her segment "An Artist a Week!" Veteran radio host, Steven Zhou returns with his artistic viewpoints. Vladimir Kush was born in Russia, in a one-story wooden house near the Moscow forest-park Sokolniki. At the age of seven Vladimir began to attend art school until late evening where he became acquainted with the works of great artists of the Renaissance, famous Impressionists, and Modern Artists. Artist, Vladimir Kush, is the founder of Metaphorical Realism, his goal … to reflect the world in the mirror of the metaphor.

BangIt's Game Day on Express Yourself!™. Youngjoo Ahn and Katelyn Darrow interview the World and US Champion Scrabble player, Conrad Bassett Bouchard. In the first segment, the ladies talk about intolerance in organizations and share support for the Moraga Boy Scout, Ryan Andresen who was denied his Eagle Award because of being gay. Reporter, Ryan Sim interviewed California's State Champion Chess Player, Benjamin Tong and brings us highlights of his championship strategies. Although Conrad Bassett Bouchard began playing scrabble with his family at age 3, he began tournament playing at 14. He found it fun and rewarding and by age 17 was in the top 20 in the US and by 21 in the top five. He first played a tournament abroad in November 2011 in Bangkok, Thailand where he beat the current National/World Champ Nigel Richards in the finals ranking Conrad number one in the World English Scrabble Players Association.

WOW! Thanksgiving Day, November 22, is the anniversary of our first broadcast of Express Yourself!™so we decided to bring our original reporters back for a Thanksgiving Anniversary Reunion. Hosted by our first lead host of Express Yourself!™, Steven Zhou, and our current main host, Youngjoo Ahn, this is a celebration of gratitude and frivolity as our veteran teens share stories of the past 365 days and talk about how being a reporter on Express Yourself ™ has impacted their lives. Joining Youngjoo and Steven are Book It! reporter, Courtney Cheng, currently at CAL Berkeley; Making a Difference Reporter Rachel Glass at University of Oregon in Eugene; Say What? reporter, Vivien Lee, also at CAL Berkeley singing Dream a Dream from Les Miserables; and winding up our fun-filled hour is Campus Calling Reporter, Jacqueline Tao at Stanford. Smart savvy teens making a difference-that's a year of Express Yourself.

Hosts Youngjoo Ahn and Caie Kelley interview author and self-publisher, Sheri McGuinn who writes about resilient people who are dealing with major crises, hopefully worse problems than the average reader will ever have to encounter. Youngjoo shares her fascinating experiences in becoming a writer, reporter, and President of Club Be the Star You Are!® in high School. Tanner O'Dell, our Texas Teen Chef brings us more of his tantalizing treats and helps us create individual homemade cookbooks

It's an election year and the Express Yourself!™ teens may be too young to vote, but they certainly have opinions on what they would like to see happen in our country. In our ELECTION special, Pro Parlay Reporter, Ryan Sim joins host Youngjoo Ahn with a discussion on the state of the union. Our fun What's Poppin/ reporter, Caie Kelly shares interesting historical perspectives on the election process. Auditioning as our economic reporter, Alex Pawlakos discusses outcomes for the economy based on the voters. And what would politics be without a victory meal? Teen Chef Tanner O'Dell cooks up the perfect celebratory feast for our newly elected officials.

Enjoying the beauty of the autumn season, the On-Air STAR team is live at the Pear and Wine Festival thanks to sponsorship of The Lamorinda Weekly Newspaper with a history lesson about the celebration and superstitions surrounding Halloween. They interview two little girls who are experiencing the festivities and having a great time preparing their costumes for trick or treating. Sisters Vivien and Jennifer Lee sing a charming duet and Steven Zhou stops by to say hello. Fall tradition is the topic for Caie's What's Poppin' segment as the girls share stories of family fun surrounding this favorite holiday. Singer and volunteer Lora Galoyan stops by to talk about adventures in voice training, growing up in Armenia, and offers a touching tribute to a beloved local teen, Bret Olson. Get ready to carve a pumpkin, paint your face, and be thrilled and chilled by the BTSYA Halloween Spooktacular!

The on-air team of Be the Star You Are!® and Express Yourself!™ set up a remote radio tent at the Pear and Wine Festival. Co-hosts Youngjoo Ahn and Caie Kelley introduce a Club BTSYA school President, Lora Galayon who sings Adele's Rolling in the Deep plus I Give My Love. Lora grew up in Armenia and talks about the differences in cultures. Robbie Sadre plays a mean guitar and shares how he conceived of the idea to create Club Be the Star You Are!® in high schools. Fourteen year old Jennifer Lee sings Call Me Maybe and If I Die Young by the Band Perry. Jennifer is the enthusiastic new event coordinator for the BTSYA organization. Yougjoo discusses the variety of activities and opportunities that Club BTSYA offers to anyone who wants to be creative and become a leader. Everyone has a terrific time at the festival with the food, booths, and one another. It's a bright autumn day with plenty of pears, singing, music, and expression!

Hosts Youngjoo Ahn and Caie Kelley offer a living organically episode. The Gift of Giving Reporter from New Jersey, Katelyn Eystad shares ideas on how to help feed the hungry and our hosts audition a new reporter from Texas, Tanner O'Dell with his segment, Live to Eat-Happy, Healthy, and Hungry Reporting. Tanner will tell us why eating fresh and organic is better. Celebrity hairstylist, Kate Pierovich, shares how she became a success in Hollywood working with the stars of GLEE, Teen Wolf, MTV, and awards shows, then left the red carpet world to live clean and green in Oregon. It's a healthy, hearty, heartwarming show on Express Yourself!™

Host Youngjoo Ahn and Caie Kelley interview Ellen Hopkins, the #1 New York Times bestselling, award-winning author of eight young adult novels, including Crank, Glass, Fallout, and Perfect, as well as the adult novel Triangles. Hopkins' second adult novel Collateral will be published in November 2012. Ellen Hopkins currently lives with her family in Nevada. Be sure to visit her online at ellenhopkins.com; myspace/com/ellenhopkins; and twitter.com/ellenhopkinsYA. Pro Parley Reporter interviews a librarian for his segment, and Youngjoo talks about making homemade books in Artsy Gifts