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YR Media A national network of young journalists and artists creating content for this generation.
Special Series

YR Media

A national network of young journalists and artists creating content for this generation.

Tuesday

The Short-Lived Fame Of Pint-Sized Rap Stars
Jason Merritt/via Getty

The Short-Lived Fame Of Pint-Sized Rap Stars

A new generation of child stars has arrived, and their YouTube videos receive millions of views. But when it comes to talented kids, there's a difference between being famous and being a spectacle.

The Short-Lived Fame Of Pint-Sized Rap Stars

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Arresting Youth In Sex Trafficking Raises Debate

Oakland police used to put a priority on arresting johns. But with cuts in funding, the police now target the girls who've been trafficked for sex. Brett Myers/Youth Radio hide caption

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Brett Myers/Youth Radio

Arresting Youth In Sex Trafficking Raises Debate

In Oakland, Calif., known as a center for sex trafficking in children, police used to put a priority on arresting johns. But with cuts in funding the police now target the children who've been trafficked for sex. Prosecutors say arresting the victims is actually a way to save them. Some children's advocates disagree.

Arresting Youth In Sex Trafficking Raises Debate

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Monday

Trafficked Teen Girls Describe Life In 'The Game'

Oakland, Calif., in the San Francisco Bay Area, has been dubbed by the FBI as a "high-intensity child prostitution area." Oakland officials say that a third of teenage girls working in prostitution there were abducted and forced onto the streets, and 61 percent of teen prostitutes say they were raped as children. Brett Myers/Youth Radio hide caption

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Brett Myers/Youth Radio

Trafficked Teen Girls Describe Life In 'The Game'

According to the FBI, more than 100,000 children are sold for sex each year in the U.S. Many are brutalized by pimps and exploited by men who seek out young sex partners. In a Youth Radio investigation, two young women who recently escaped what they call "the game" share their stories.

Trafficked Teen Girls Describe Life In 'The Game'

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Wednesday

Opinion

Returning To Parents' Insurance Raises Other Issues

The new health insurance law allows young adults to stay on their parents' insurance policy until the age of 26. As soon as the law was signed, commentator Molly Adams called her mother and asked if she'd take her back.

Returning To Parents' Insurance Raises Other Issues

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Thursday

How To Make College-Bound Students Financial Pros

Fahiya Rashid, who attends the University of California, Irvine, says she got some wise advice from her father. When he went to college he took on too much debt, and he's still paying it back. Ariel Edwards-Levy/Youth Radio hide caption

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Ariel Edwards-Levy/Youth Radio

How To Make College-Bound Students Financial Pros

New college students will have to master tough personal finance lessons early. Fahiya Rashid, a student at the University of California, Irvine, says her dad warned her of the problems he had. Rashid says her dad had more than a dozen credit cards and took out students loans. She says he's still paying the money back.

How To Make College-Bound Students Financial Pros

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Wednesday

In Hard Times, Some Blacks Turn To Hustling

The national unemployment rate is about 9.5 percent, but among African-Americans the figure is nearly 16 percent. So, many African-Americans have turned to the underground economy to make a living.

In Hard Times, Some Blacks Turn To Hustling

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Friday

Face Of Slain BART Rider Reappears In Oakland

Downtown Oakland, Calif., is boarded up as residents await sentencing for the transit cop found guilty of manslaughter for killing unarmed passenger Oscar Grant on New Year's Day. Some graffiti artists are transforming the boarded-up buildings, and some stencils of the slain man are being welcomed by business owners.

Face Of Slain BART Rider Reappears In Oakland

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Wednesday

Oakland Awaits Verdict In Subway Shooting Trial

As part of NPR's continuing coverage of the Oscar Grant trial, Youth Radio brings us this audio postcard -- not from Los Angeles where the trial is happening, but from Oakland where the case began New Year's Day in 2009. That's when then-BART Transit officer Johannes Mehserle shot and killed an unarmed 22-year-old man. Last year, the city erupted with angry protests, some of them violent. And now that the officer's trial is nearing a close in Los Angeles, Youth Radio's Pendarvis Harshaw, an Oakland resident, traveled to three distinct spots throughout the city to ask how people are feeling about the case.

Oakland Awaits Verdict In Subway Shooting Trial

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Friday

Do Looser Laws Make Pot More Popular? Not So Far
sumografika/iStockphoto.com

The New Marijuana

Do Looser Laws Make Pot More Popular? Not So Far

Marijuana laws have been liberalized in more than a dozen states, and in California, medical marijuana dispensaries are common. But that doesn't mean pot use is on the rise. According to government data, Americans who admit to using pot have been at about 6 percent since 2002.

Do Looser Laws Make Pot More Popular? Not So Far

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Friday

Opinion

Juveniles Need A Chance, Not Life In Prison

After pleading guilty to a carjacking at 16, author R. Dwayne Betts served nine years in an adult prison. He agrees with the U.S. Supreme Court's decision this week that juveniles can't serve life in prison without parole for lesser crimes. He says the promise of release is powerful.

Juveniles Need A Chance, Not Life In Prison

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Monday

Opinion

In Coal Country, Another View On Mining

There was a national moment of silence on Monday to honor 29 miners in West Virginia who died last week, and the rescuers who tried to save them. Youth Radio's Willa Johnson lives in McRoberts, Ky., about four hours away from the Upper Big Branch mine, where the tragedy occurred. Johnson comes from a coal family, but now finds herself questioning the industry — and working against mining in her community.

In Coal Country, Another View On Mining

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Friday

'Young Invincibles' On Life With Health Insurance

With the new health care law coming into effect, Youth Radio asked a number of young people about health issues they've neglected because they didn't have insurance.

'Young Invincibles' On Life With Health Insurance

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Wednesday

Some Immigrants In Calif. Seek Mexico Health Care

In California, some Mexican-Americans are get their medical and dental care in Mexico, where it's much cheaper than in the U.S. And despite the new health care law, it's likely that many will continue to do so.

Some Immigrants In Calif. Seek Mexico Health Care

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Wednesday

Opinion

Expectations From State Of The Union

Youth Radio's King Anyi Howell says he has more than hope for the president's first State of the Union address. He has expectations, big ones, for Wednesday's address.

Expectations From State Of The Union

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Tuesday

Hopi Teens Worry About Loss Of Culture

For nearly 1,000 years, the Hopi people have lived on the same three mesas, land now considered part of northeastern Arizona. For all that time, they have been speaking the Hopi language, which is slowly dying. There are many hurdles standing in the way of preserving Hopi, including, for Hopi teens, the choice between preserving their culture and adopting a modern lifestyle.

Hopi Teens Worry About Loss Of Culture

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