RadioActive Youth Media

Nostalgia — that universal bittersweet longing for times gone by — hits hardest during our most important life transitions. But how does nostalgia arise? And can it ever go too far? In this discussion, Maya Konz and Patrick Liu delve into the origin, psychology and unique effects of nostalgia, especially for high school seniors on the dramatic verge between childhood and adulthood.

Are you a fan of "Harry Potter"? Or maybe Sabrina the Teenage Witch ? Ever wonder if witchcraft actually involves a wand and broom? Witch culture is everywhere, from 1990s sitcoms to Halloween costumes. Often, what’s left out of the equation is input from real witches. We headed down to our local occult store, Edge of the Circle Books, to learn about actual witchcraft practices, cultural differences and witches' takes on media representation.

Imagine being a private eye. Sitting behind your dimly lit desk, the glow of streetlights creeping in through the window shades. Rain softly falling outside. Suddenly, there’s a crash of thunder. Someone bursts through the door — there’s been a murder. And you’re on the case. Isn't that how it works when you're a private eye? Maybe not.

KUOW's RadioActive Youth Media partnered with the Coalition for Refugees from Burma to run a six-week podcasting workshop with refugee youth at Kent-Meridian High School. Here, RadioActive's Alivia Thrift, one of the workshop mentors, shares highlights from each of the podcasts.

Two young men created this song at the Echo Glen Children's Center, a maximum security facility in Snoqualmie, in a series of workshops with RadioActive Youth Media . This was RadioActive's first workshop at Echo Glen.

Death is a heavy topic, but sometimes it's still okay to joke about it. In this episode of the RadioActive podcast, Zeytun Ahmed and Patrick Liu explore when it's appropriate to make jokes about death and how morbid humor can actually be valuable.

September 11, 1973, was the day everything changed for my grandmother, Beatriz Alvarez. She was attending university in Santiago, Chile, on her way to becoming a history teacher.

It's Monday evening. My mom, my dad, and I are sitting at the dinner table with our eyes trained on the computer screen in front of us. I say hello in Chinese: “Nǐmen hǎo!” " Āi!" my grandma replies. I see my mom's three older sisters and my grandma eating brunch in Tianjin, China. We're eating dinner in Redmond, Washington. They tease us for eating Costco dumplings and flaunt their own homemade ones.

My great aunt, Milagros Ortiz, has an air about her that's warm and calm. Her laugh is loud, and when she speaks, it's right to your soul. In her house in British Columbia, we listen to traditional dance music she recorded when she visited Nicaragua a few years ago. It's a place she has mixed feelings about because "pain is there." But there's also resilience and joy, my Tia (aunt in her native language, Spanish) tells me.

I’m the worst cook. Actually, I'm worse than the worst. I’m the kid who burnt cereal because I thought microwaving Cocoa Puffs would result in a more melty-chocolate flavor.

" Bismillāhi r-raḥmāni r-raḥīm. Al ḥamdu lillāhi rabbi l-‘ālamīn. Ar raḥmāni r-raḥīm." "I pray all the time throughout the day," Saara Majid, a 25-year-old Muslim, told me. "I always have my prayer beads on me. They're my sense of security."

Five years ago Alma Kimura was a successful lawyer. She played tennis every Thursday and was a part of a book club. Then one of her tennis partners suggested she try another sport. Alma, 58 at the time, figured it would be good for her health. So she gave powerlifting a try.

When I see a set of stairs or a bench at a plaza, I think of the tricks I want to do on them. It’s like, I have to land this trick. And I'm not the only one who thinks that way.

“I’ve been so lucky,” my friend Graham Blair said. “It’s not like this for most trans people.”

Sex is everywhere. But many people still think teens aren’t ready to handle the #Truth. RadioActive takes a look into how we value and define virginity, and the push for abstinence-only education.