Teens Find Middle Ground

This week we held a discussion with Trump and Biden supporters to discuss the character of each candidate. We covered Trump and Biden on race, the border wall crisis vs. the climate crisis, the rhetoric of the Trump 2016 campaign, twitter as an accurate representation of Trump's character, and Trump's use of force on Black Lives Matter protests. Our participants included teens from Nebraska, Arizona, Texas, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, Massachusetts, and California!

This week we covered Trump's foreign policy! We looked specifically at the notion of “America First,” the Paris Agreement, the Iran Nuclear Deal, Trump's stance on immigration, the role of the US on the world stage, and Trump's personal relationships with world leaders.

This week we, discussed reproductive rights with over 40 pro choice and pro life participants from all across the United States! We covered Roe v. Wade, the stricter state regulations on abortion, contraceptives + sex education, the role of political parties in the pro choice vs pro life movements, and pro life feminism.

This week, we looked at the First Amendment in the context of the world around us today. We discussed hate speech, the sensorship of Trump's tweets on Twitter, the use of the Confederate Flag on public and private property, and the role of religion in recent Supreme Court ruling protecting the LGBTQ community. Our participants included people from Dallas, Ohio, Nevada, Missisipi, Maryland, and California! We want our discussions to be a reflection of all viewpoints, if you are a teen and feel that your opinions were not reflected by this podcast, please join us!

We wanted to discuss racism as a whole in America. We wanted to look beyond mainstream media coverage of the death of George Floyd and the protests that have followed and hear real experiences and perspectives in order to achieve an understanding that will last longer than this media cycle. We covered the way history is taught in schools, racism on high school campuses, and performative activism. We additionally heard the experiences of many African American participants who have been racial profiled or experienced racism and talked about the ways we can combat implicit bias and racial profiling. We further examined the use of the Confederate flag in America and Trump's decision not to rename forts and monuments named after Confederate generals. Our participants included teens from Florida, New Jersey, Maryland, Massachusetts, and two participants from Ghana, Africa who gave us an international perspective! Please join us if you are a teen and you feel your opinion was not heard! Check out @teensfindmiddleground on Instagram for more information.

This week, we took a look at the protests following the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who was murdered by former police officer Derek Chauvin. We focused on the violence in the protests, Bl Lives Matter vs All Lives Matter, what it means to be an ally, how to reform the police system, the phrase "ACAB," and finally Trump's response to the protests and the role of parties within the pressing issue of police brutality. Our participants include teenagers from Baltimore, Minneapolis, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Alabama, and more! We want our discussions to be a reflection of all viewpoints, if you are a teen and you feel that your opinions were not reflected by this podcast, please join us to be heard!