ST PAUL, Minn. — From the studios and editing bays of the Saint Paul Neighborhood Network community media center, come the voices of young people.
Luka Cook, Gloria Ngwa and Rena Curtis are all producers at Listen Up Youth Radio.
"[We are] working with youth, to like tell stories that we wanna tell, that not only represents us and our identities, but also community issues that we really care about," Ngwa said.
The team works to lift up the voices that deserve a bit more amplification.
"As a Black person, and also as a queer person, I want to have voices represented in media that are historically underrepresented," Cook said.
The cohort builds community not just around them but with each other along the way. The radio shows and their podcast Youth Soup's episodes talk about social justice, climate, music and mental health.
"Being a teenager is like hard in general, and also a lot of people who are a part of Listen Up are dealing with their exploring their identities," Curtis said. "And there's so many other things that impact your mental health."
Coming from a group whose formative years may have been stolen, if not at least hindered by the pandemic, the radio show and podcasts are a way to combat the adult way of thinking that social justice is a grown-up-only topic.
"They kind of like shun us when we want to speak out on issues like this," Ngwa said, referring to adults. "Because they think since we're on the internet a lot we just talk about TikTok and things like that. But it just goes so much more into depths of that. Youth should be more involved in media."
Executive Director Jordan Lee Thompson is a firm believer that the youth are our future, but he said he believes we can't just watch them do it from the sidelines.
"We should be empowering our young people but we should also be partnering with them," he said. "Partnering with them to make sure that we're all doing this work together. It's both a matter of skill and training to make sure that they know how to do this work but also so that they are well connected."
Listen Up Youth Radio and its listeners, along with supporters are investing in a future that promises good stewards.
"What I get out of this is a sense of fulfillment that I am leaving a net positive on the world and like on Minnesota," Cook said. "Leaving it a little bit better than I found it."
"I've always known that listening is really important," Curtis added. "I think I have gotten so much time and space to practice it."
You can listen to the radio show on 94.1FM on Mondays from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. and on 98.9FM on Fridays from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m.
You can also stream their podcast called 'Youth Soup' on any streaming platform.
Watch more Breaking The News:
Watch all of the latest stories from Breaking The News in our YouTube playlist: