PBS's Podcast By Teens For Teens Premieres Second Season

 Who knows better than teens about the mental health challenges of being a teen today? Teens, that who. That's why PBS's podcast On Our Minds breaks through that paradigm of adults lecturing teenagers on mental health issues. 

 On May 4th, PBS NewsHour’s Student Reporting Labs (SRL) premiered the second season of their youth mental health podcast On Our Minds, hosted by 17-year-old high school junior Matt Suescun of Wyckoff, New Jersey and 16-year-old high school junior Faiza Ashar of Baltimore, Maryland.  

The podcast, curated by teens, for teens, is in partnership with WETA’s Well Beings, a multi-year mental health public awareness campaign that works with local PBS stations across the country to deliver local programming.

The podcast will consist of fifteen episodes, released twice-weekly through the end of June. Throughout the season, Matt Suescun and Faiza Ashar will explore some of the most pressing mental health challenges facing young people in 2022.

“I hope the podcast will help teens who are struggling to better understand and process their mental health,” said host Faiza Ashar, “In today’s day and age, it can be easy to feel isolated or overwhelmed by your struggles. I want On Our Minds to remind people that sometimes we all need help – you’re never alone.”

“When I was dealing with my own challenges, it always helped me to find people who shared similar struggles, whose stories I could relate to,” said host Matt Suescun. “I want to be able to be that person for others, and I think this podcast is a great way to start.”

Episodes in the second season of On Our Minds delve into many of the major issues young people face today: eating disorders, grief, racism, social media, sexuality and gender identity, and the pressure to overachieve, academically and socially. The hosts and additional student reporters had the chance to interview leading doctors, artists, and celebrities, including filmmaker Ken Burns, singer Madison Beer, author George Jackson, and Zaila Avant-Garde, 14 year-old winner of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, among others.

“Last year’s season had such an impact on students, plus their parents and educators,” said lead producer Briget Ganske from PBS NewsHour Student Reporting Labs. “There is other reporting on the youth mental health crisis, which is good and important. But On Our Minds is doing something unique and very necessary: giving teens the agency, mentorship, and platform to tell their own stories and ask their own questions. This is incredibly empowering for the student creators and educating and inspiring for all listeners.”

Since 2009, SRL has supported students in telling stories about their communities and about the issues that have impacted them. To learn more about PBS Student reporting labs, click here.

Now in over 180 middle and high schools, Student Reporting Labs (SRL) is a national youth journalism program and public media initiative that trains teenagers across the country to produce stories that highlight the achievements, challenges, and reality of today’s youth. SRL creates transformative educational experiences through video journalism that inspire students to find their voice and engage in their communities. Since 2009, SRL youth media producers have helped students place over 100 video news reports on PBS NewsHour’s nightly broadcast and more on local media outlets. 

Visit www.studentreportinglabs.org to learn more.