Just before her senior year of high school, Kesar Gaba did something brave. She examined a very difficult period of her life and had a conversation with her mother about it for the first time. She wanted to see if a discussion like this could help her mother open up about her own struggles.

Kesar recorded the conversation with her mother for the Summer Youth Podcast Academy in 2021. We’re airing Kesar’s story now for the first time. Afterwards, producer Mira Gordon catches up with Kesar, now a freshman in college, and asks how her relationship with her mother has changed.

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Miseducation is a podcast of The Bell that equips New York City public high school students with the tools to report on inequities in the nation’s largest school system.