YouthSpeaks Podcast
Photo Credits: Anna Ravid
By Sonya Surapaneni
Throughout 2020, high schoolers across the country suddenly had an abundance of spare time due to pandemic school closures, allowing them to explore new passions and develop innovative projects. I was one of them, a rising sophomore, already beginning to develop an interest in psychology and sociology. From blogging to taking related courses, I decided to delve deeper into my field of study, adopting a creative lens as I went. This led me to podcasting in late July, and as I ranted into the microphone, the podcast accumulated a base of over over 1000 listeners globally!
YouthSpeaks is a mental health podcast focusing on self-care, global issues, and nuanced topics from a South Asian perspective. With fourteen episodes out in our first season, we have covered everything from heteronormativity to South-Asian struggles to toxic masculinity and even eating disorders. The podcast began as I struggled with Leela, my best friend, as we navigated technology in the vastly different post-pandemic landscape. From talking to people who have experienced podcasting firsthand, such as Ninth Grade Dean, Mark Lukach, to reaching out to advisors for outreach like Mark Friedman, YouthSpeaks took a community to build. Initially, our following was hard to grow, but as we spread the word through social media and connections,-people began to listen, and we grew globally!
At YouthSpeaks, we feature many different guest speakers to speak about their stories and offer advice to the listeners. Our most popular episodes featured an eloquent friend of mine, Piya Devidasani--founder of Cal MSV--as she spoke about self love, Stress-Free Teens Founder Rohan Tirumala, and Forbes Entrepreneur Naomi Porter. They shared their stories of how they combatted adversity through their lives, speaking of gender relations and making it as teenagers in the media. They also talked about their initiatives, which is common among many episodes at YouthSpeaks. At the end of each section, these guests often give a quick piece of advice to our listeners, which we’ve had good reviews about! My favorite piece of advice comes from Vishesh Gupta, Stanford graduate, who proclaimed at the end of the college application advice episode: “it’s important to know when you’re done [...] there is a lot to get through, and you should just know. At that point, you’re done.” Super simple, but super compelling!
My favorite episode featured Athenian history teacher, Sanjev deSilva, and National Youth Poet Laureate Finalist Samuel Getachew, as they spoke on the world as a whole today. As they were both extremely intelligent people involved with their own communities, we emphasized their educational lenses as we spoke about the media. The lengthy discussion continued as we discussed coping mechanisms people use, stereotypes, and even action we can take to further ensure safety in our closest communities. This episode continues to be relevant to society even today, as it focuses on the BLM protests around the world.
The podcast also brought us to social media--accumulating over 7000 followers on all of our platforms. We’re most active on Instagram, where we post updates about the podcast including episode release dates, upcoming episodes, potential guest speakers and more. As we continue to post about world affairs, our page is filled with resources for students to get involved with their communities including nonprofits, startups, volunteering opportunities, podcast interviews, and more. Students are able to go to our highlights to find hundreds of resources for all of their interests and passions. Check out our Instagram page: @youthspeaksca to keep updated!
. With listeners from over 23 countries around the world, thousands of followers on social media, and various publications in mental health and equality journals, YouthSpeaks is becoming a leading mental health podcast for teens around the world today! For our next episode, we have a battle between Leela and myself: Introvert vs Extrovert, and how we deal with social situations today. Check it out now on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7eODPHe6orpzImJoSakjvU?si=KP0unulsQC63Md3_ihtG4g!
