RadioActive

In May 2024, KUOW announced the station was ending RadioActive Youth Media, its long-running youth journalism program.

For 20 years, RadioActive brought listeners the stories and perspectives of young people in the Pacific Northwest. Soundside producer Noel Gasca reflects on what the program has meant to the over 6,000 youth who participated — and what will be lost. 

Nine stories of teenagers navigating high-stakes decisions and forks in the road. 

Episode webpage: https://www.kuow.org/stories/choose-your-own-adventure-radio-nine-stories-by-seattle-teens

[RadioActive Youth Media was KUOW's journalism and audio storytelling program for teenagers. It ran from 2013-2024.]

In this hour of youth radio, hosts Gavin Muhlfelder and Phillip Zhou present nine RadioActive Youth Media stories produced in 2023. They also talk with some of the youth producers about the time they spent at KUOW, what they learned, and what their stories mean to them now.

Episode webpage: https://www.kuow.org/stories/an-hour-of-stories-from-radioactive-summer-2023

It’s been more than 20 years since the U.S. invaded Iraq. For Darren Fisher, it’s been more than 20 years since he said, "No" to that invasion.

RadioActive’s Olivia Asmann has the story of one young Marine’s objection to fighting in the so-called war on terror.

This story discusses the realities of the military and war.

Episode webpage: https://www.kuow.org/stories/why-one-young-marine-refused-to-fight-in-iraq

[RadioActive Youth Media is KUOW’s radio journalism and audio storytelling program for young people. This story was entirely youth-produced, from the writing to the audio editing.]

RadioActive’s Vivi Cardenas-Habell says the Seattle Fandango Project played a key role in her upbringing. But she didn’t fully appreciate it until Covid took it away.

Episode webpage: https://www.kuow.org/stories/building-community-is-an-act-of-social-justice-at-the-seattle-fandango-project

[RadioActive Youth Media is KUOW’s radio journalism and audio storytelling program for young people. This story was entirely youth-produced, from the writing to the audio editing.]

In the summer of 1972, the year before Roe v. Wade made abortion legal nationwide, Elaine Fichter was 16 years old and eight weeks pregnant.

Fichter lived in Washington state where abortion was already legal, and she made the choice to terminate her pregnancy.

Fifty years later, Fichter’s grandchild, RadioActive’s Natalie Lahr, explores how her grandmother’s decision impacted both of their futures.

Content note: This story discusses the process of getting an abortion in some detail. It also references parental abuse. Please take care when listening.

Episode webpage: https://www.kuow.org/stories/at-16-my-grandma-had-an-abortion-at-18-i-m-telling-her-story

[RadioActive Youth Media is KUOW's radio journalism and audio storytelling program for young people. This story was entirely youth-produced, from the writing to the audio editing.]