In the face of existential anxieties, it's hard to know what to do. They feel so big and overwhelming that it can be hard to come back to the physical world and ground in the present when we're pondering the meaning of life. In this episode, we're talking about the things we do to feel well-regulated in the face of existential questions — the specific actions we take to feel connected to meaning and joy. Inspired by Melissa Bernstein from Lifelines, we're talking about our "meaning and play spar...
Feb 07, 2022•19 min•Season 4Ep. 10
The experience of going through puberty is always unique and difficult, but in pandemic times, can feel even more isolating. In this week's episode of This Teenage Life, we're talking about our experiences with puberty, body image, and outsider's perspectives.
Jan 25, 2022•12 min•Season 4Ep. 9
Who makes This Teenage Life? How did they reach out and get involved? How does our work affect them? In this episode of This Teenage Life, we go behind the scenes to talk about how we make the show and how it impacts us.
Jan 17, 2022•18 min•Season 4Ep. 8
Small comments can really hurt, especially when they’re rooted in racism, misogyny, or other identity-based biases. In this episode, two teens discuss microaggressions, focusing, in particular, on actions and comments they’ve experienced about their hair.
Jan 17, 2022•16 min•Season 4Ep. 7
Crushes can be fun, horrible, nerve-wracking, day-dreamy... they combine all the feelings and they're different for everyone. In this episode, we talk about how crushes make us feel, how we feel about them, and some cultural differences when it comes to talking about crushes.
Dec 24, 2021•19 min•Season 4Ep. 6
In addition to being a medical issue, the pandemic has also led to a mental health crisis. In this episode, one member of This Teenage Life shares her personal story of isolation and depression during quarantine. No one at This Teenage Life is a mental health professional, but here are some resources in case you or someone you know is experiencing depression: Materials from the Child Mind Institute: Overview of Depression: https://childmind.org/guide/depression-in-kids-quick-guide/ Depression in...
Dec 05, 2021•17 min•Season 4Ep. 5
At This Teenage Life, we all experience anxiety in different ways — feelings in our chest, sweat on our palms, repetitive thoughts. On this episode, we talk about our experiences of anxiety and the various strategies and coping mechanisms we've developed to manage it.
Nov 15, 2021•23 min•Season 4Ep. 5
They might make us look “better,” but they don’t always make us feel better about who we are and what we look like. In this episode of This Teenage Life, we’re hearing people’s perspectives and experiences with photo filters — like the ones we use (or choose not to use) on Instagram, Snapchat and Tik Tok. Thanks to Raya, Sophia, Jayden, and Tori for inspiring this episode.
Oct 28, 2021•12 min•Season 4Ep. 4
A lot of folks in This Teenage Life are going through post-high school changes right now, and with that, comes a lot of feelings of inadequacy. These feelings seem to always be present regardless of what we're doing, and in today's episode, we explore them and start to figure out how to reframe and move past them.
Oct 03, 2021•15 min•Season 4Ep. 3
Join us as we delve into the ways books transport and transform us. This episode is extra special not only because of the topic, but because you'll hear from our new This Teenage Life chapter — listeners from an ocean away who reached out to come together and share their stories.
Sep 13, 2021•21 min•Season 4Ep. 2
Here in the U.S., we're transitioning from summer to fall, from vacation to back-to-school. This Teenage Life is starting it's fourth season and the original crew members are starting new chapters in their lives now that high school is finished and new jobs and colleges await. At the same time, folks from younger groups are going through a big transition themselves: in-person high school for the first time. In this episode of This Teenage Life, we're talking through our anxieties and hopes for o...
Sep 08, 2021•24 min•Season 4Ep. 1
Our hearts break for Kabul today as the Taliban take over the city. We stand with our friends there. Shame on world leaders for this tragedy.
Aug 16, 2021•2 min•Season 3Ep. 32
This episode is a narrative piece by Cloe Moreno, the artist for This Teenage Life, and centers around her relationship to body image. Through her own reflections and a conversation with her mom, she tells her story about grappling with an eating disorder— how it started for her and how she is overcoming it. Warning: This episode might be triggering for some. If that's the case, just switch to another great episode of This Teenage Life:)
Aug 12, 2021•14 min•Season 3Ep. 31
Over the years, we've received a lot of emails from listeners about friendship — how to make friends, keep them, and how to processing friend breakups. In this episode of This Teenage Life, we're talking about friendship and some of the messiness that comes with being a human trying to connect with others.
Aug 05, 2021•22 min•Season 3Ep. 30
With all their hip dips, pimples, stretch marks, and fat, bodies are cool and beautiful because of everything they do for us. How can we learn to love them despite societal critiques and unrealistic standards? In this episode, we talk about specific insecurities, the comments and comparisons that have helped foster them, and the practices we've developed to love our bodies just the way they are. This episode contains some audio clips from a previous episode about body insecurities — we'll actual...
Jul 22, 2021•23 min•Season 3Ep. 29
In this episode, inspired and hosted by a listener-turned-contributer named Lydia, we process feelings around parents' divorces. Check out Lydia's independent work at wildflowerszine.com .
Jul 03, 2021•18 min•Season 3Ep. 28
For better or for worse, how feminine or unfeminine we are can define how we’re treated in the world — and how we think about ourselves. In this episode, Olivia discusses her relationship with femininity.
Jun 26, 2021•13 min•Season 3Ep. 26
President Biden signed into law that Juneteenth is now recognized as a national holiday. This Teenage Life contributors shared their feelings about Juneteenth and its importance to them, especially in the context of Black history being recognized as US history. Music credit: Molly Zucchet normally makes all our music but this episode sampled from Lobo Loco on Creative Commons.
Jun 19, 2021•10 min•Season 3Ep. 25
I felt invisible and was bullied in high school and now I'm moving on. This is my story.
Jun 12, 2021•15 min•Season 3Ep. 24
Access to COVID-19 vaccines around the world is still unequal and that needs to change. But in the US, despite the spread of some misinformation, vaccination has continued. Excitingly, sometime this week, 12-15 year-olds are set to be approved to receive COVID-19 vaccines. In this episode, we explore our feelings about differences in vaccination status between already-vaccinated older teens vs. younger ones and we interview biologist, Dr. Lillian Cohn to answer some questions we have about COVID...
May 10, 2021•33 min•Season 3Ep. 23
Sending our support to our listeners in India, given the dire Covid-19 situation there.
Apr 29, 2021•1 min•Season 3Ep. 22
In this episode, we explore the question "what do you want to be when you grow up?", and share the anxieties it evokes in us.
Apr 25, 2021•17 min•Season 3Ep. 21
It has been just over a year since our quarantining and social distancing began on March 13th, 2020. We have experienced feelings of grief, loss, isolation, and now — with vaccines coming out — some hope. In this episode, we combine conversations from over the past few months with journal entries to reflect on our first year experiencing a global pandemic.
Apr 03, 2021•16 min•Season 4Ep. 20
Because of the pandemic, we're no longer waking up and getting ready to go to school in the same way. What do we do instead? In this episode of This Teenage Life, which was inspired by a listener from Missouri, we talk about our morning routines.
Mar 07, 2021•13 min•Season 3Ep. 18
There are all these weird implicit social rules while texting. Should I add an exclamation mark? What does their “ha” mean? In this episode of This Teenage Life, we explain some of the norms we abide by while texting.
Feb 21, 2021•16 min•Season 3Ep. 17
Casual interactions are harder to come by in COVID. In this conversation, we talk about struggling to maintain friendships and struggling with ways to reach out to other people.
Feb 08, 2021•13 min•Season 4Ep. 16
Hair can be a huge part of our cultural identities and sense of ourselves. However, as authentic, inner confidence grows, it can also become less important to us. In this episode, Cami and her mom reflect on hair loss and the connection between hair, race, and culture. Their conversation, while ostensibly about hair, also reveals a lot about the admiration and love between a mother and a daughter.
Feb 02, 2021•17 min•Season 4Ep. 16
There's so much tied up in hair - cultural significance, identity expression, and more. On this week's episode of This Teenage Life, we're talking about our experiences with our hair.
Jan 30, 2021•20 min•Season 4Ep. 15
We might be stuck inside during a global pandemic, but in our heads, we’re going places. We're rockstars, comedians, novelists, and boxers. In this episode of this Teenage Life, we discuss feelings of burn out and where we go to escape those feelings: our daydreams.
Jan 18, 2021•18 min•Season 3Ep. 14
We cherish connection but in the pandemic, we’re struggling to foster the kind of closeness that comes from casual interactions with people. In this episode, we talk about our feelings of disconnection and how we’re trying to reach out and reconnect.
Jan 11, 2021•16 min•Season 3Ep. 13
