IndyKids reporter CJ interviewed Shakira Barrera, a Nicaraguan-American actress and humanitarian. You can catch her playing a role in the upcoming Marvel series, Ironheart.

They discussed her career, the challenges of being an actor, representation in Hollywood, Shakira's humanitarian efforts, and advice she has for young people who want to be actors.

Theme music by Adrian Moring.

Visit IndyKids.org to find out how you can participate and support!

Which planets are hot? Does a planet made of diamonds exist? Why hasn't there been an astronaut on the moon for 50 years? Has a spaceship ever flown near a black hole? Are humans treating space as badly as we're treating our oceans? Students at the Gillen Brewer School interview Dr. Erika Nesvold and ask her all of these questions and more! 

Visit IndyKids.org to learn more about our newspaper and educational programs!

About Dr. Erika Nesvold:
Dr. Erika Nesvold is an astrophysicist who has performed astronomy research at NASA and the Carnegie Institution for Science. She is now a developer for the astronomy video game Universe Sandbox. Erika is the author of Off-Earth: Ethical Questions and Quandaries for Living in Outer Space, and co-founder of the space ethics nonprofit the JustSpace Alliance.

She can be found on Twitter and Instagram with the easy-to-find handles @erikanesvold. JustSpace can be found on Twitter @justspaceorg and on Instagram @justspacealliance.

Audio recordings by Áine Pennello, and IndyKids' executive director is Isis Phillips.

IndyKids reporters from P.S. 117Q in NYC explore the power of kindness. They interview Malachi Coleman, a 4-star football player from Lincoln, Nebraska who will play for the Nebraska Huskers next year. Because of his own experiences in foster care, Malachi founded Fly Like Chi, a foundation that brings sports and arts to children in foster care. Listen as IndyKids fourth graders go through the process of preparing for and conducting their interview, and reflect on what kindness means to them.

IndyKids is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that creates a newspaper and podcasts for kids, by kids. 

Visit IndyKids.org to get a newspaper subscription, or donate, or to find out how you can volunteer or participate in a workshop!

Visit Flylikechi.com to support Malachi Coleman's foundation.

IndyKids reporters Charlotte and Lucas interview award-winning writer and environmental journalist, Antonia Juhasz, about her path in climate reporting, how she centers activists and impacted people in her coverage, and what gives her hope.

Key terms to listen for:

Solutions journalism
Inequities
Fenceline communities
Climate disaster
Food and fisheries
Climate
Expert/expertise

Discussion Questions:

1. How did Antonia start covering the climate crisis?
2. What is solutions journalism?
3. Why does Antonia prioritize women⁠— – and women of color specifically⁠— – in her reporting?
4. What kinds of expertise does Antonia look to highlight in her reporting?
5. What are some of the challenges Antonia has faced in her journalism career?

Credits:

IndyKids Reporters – Charlotte Osoria and Lucas Muñoz Jetmore

Produced by Emily Löwinger, Isis Phillips, and Julia Thomas

Edited + Music by Emily Löwinger

Audio Mentor – Jo Corona

Show Intro Music by Luca Cantagallo

Additional Music by Emily Löwinger

Original Artwork by Cayzlen Rodriguez

Special thanks to Emma Gaffney and Jo Corona

We’d like to thank The New York Community Trust and Wolf Family for their support.

IndyKids reporters Cayzlen and Maliyah interview activist Jackie Fielder about her experiences organizing against the Dakota Access Pipeline and her role in the divestment movement happening in San Francisco.

Key terms to listen for:

Ancestral territories
Reservation
Treaty
Tribal citizen
Renewable energy
Divestment / disinvestment

Discussion Questions:

1. What led Jackie to become a climate organizer?
2. Why does Jackie want the city of San Francisco to stop doing business with big banks?
3. Why are pipelines so dangerous?
4. What specific kinds of renewable energy does Jackie want to replace fossil fuel power?
5. What does divestment have to do with civil rights?
6. Why does Jackie say we need a cultural shift in order to fight climate change?

Credits:

IndyKids Reporters – Maliyah Ledesma and Cayzlen Rodriguez

Produced by Emily Löwinger, Isis Phillips and Julia Thomas

Edited by Emily Löwinger

Audio Mentor – Julia Thomas

Show Intro Music by Luca Cantagallo

Original Artwork by Cayzlen Rodriguez

Special thanks to Emma Gaffney

We’d like to thank The New York Community Trust and Wolf Family for their support.

IndyKids reporter Luca interviews author and journalist Katie Worth about her book, Miseducation: How Climate Change is Taught in America. They discuss the connection between climate change and critical race theory, and how Katie views humans’ ability to shift their perspectives and make change.

Key terms to listen for:

Climate denialism

Discussion Questions:

1. What inspired Katie Worth to look into climate change education in American schools?
2. How do Luca and Katie describe the connection between climate change and critical race theory?
3. What does Katie Worth say about humans’ capacity to make change?

Credits:

IndyKids Reporter – Luca Cantagallo

Produced by Emily Löwinger, Isis Phillips, and Julia Thomas

Edited by Emily Löwinger

Show Intro Music by Luca Cantagallo

Original Artwork by Cayzlen Rodriguez

Special thanks to Emma Gaffney

We’d like to thank The New York Community Trust and Wolf Family for their support.

IndyKids reporters Zahra, Lily, and Gibran interview Pati Rodriguez, a community organizer with Mi Casa Resiste and Frack Outta Brooklyn, and her daughter Gia Luna about their fight against National Grid’s fracked gas pipeline in Brooklyn.

Key terms to listen for:
Pipeline
Fracked gas
Toxic

Discussion Questions:

1. What does Pati say about the National Grid-owned North Brooklyn Pipeline?
2. Why did Pati chain herself to the pipeline?
3. Describe what Pati says about how her mother influenced her life.
4. How does Pati explain the connection between the climate crisis and immigration?
5. What is Gia’s favorite thing about her activism with her mother?
6. Why is fracking gas illegal in New York State?
7. What does Pati mean when she says she wants to plant seeds?
8. What gives Pati and Gia hope?

Credits:
IndyKids Reporters – Lily Dribin, Gibran Freilla Williams, and  Zahra Latheef
Produced by Emily Löwinger, Isis Phillips and Julia Thomas
Edited by Emily Löwinger
Audio Mentor – Abē Levine
Additional Script Editing – Zahra Latheef
Show Intro Music by Luca Cantagallo
Additional Music by Emily Löwinger
Original Artwork by Cayzlen Rodriguez
Special thanks to Emma Gaffney

We’d like to thank The New York Community Trust and Wolf Family for their support.

In episode 1 of the IndyKids Climate Crisis series, IndyKids reporters Mila and Melina interview Lucy Andrews, a scientist and PhD student in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management at the University of California Berkeley.

Lucy talks about why she loves being a scientist, her favorite part of the job, what ecosystems and fossil fuels are, and what they have to do with the climate crisis!   

This episode is perfect for students who are being introduced to climate change and climate crisis concepts, including how wars impact the environment.

Listen at home as a family or use the episodes and discussion guides (in the episode descriptions) as an educational resource.

Key terms to listen for:
Ecosystem
Climate
Climate conditions
Fossil fuels
Greenhouse gasses
Solar power
Wind power
Hydro power
Nuclear power
Resilient

Discussion Questions:

1. Why do Mila and Melina want to learn more about the climate crisis?
2. What is an ecosystem?
3. What do ecosystems have to do with climate change?
4. What are fossil fuels? Why do we rely on them so much? How does burning fossil fuels contribute to the climate crisis?
5. How does war affect the environment?
6. What does Lucy want people to know about her work?

Credits:
IndyKids Reporters – Melina Ferreyra and Mila Lemoine
Produced by Emily Löwinger, Isis Phillips and Julia Thomas
Edited by Emily Löwinger
Audio Mentor – Zoe Grueskin
Show Intro Music by Luca Cantagallo
Original Artwork by Cayzlen Rodriguez
Special thanks to Emma Gaffney


We’d like to thank The New York Community Trust and Wolf Family for their support.