‘On Our Minds’ Teen-Co-Hosted Youth Mental Health Podcast
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PBS NewsHour Student Reporting Labs

‘On Our Minds’ Teen-Co-Hosted Youth Mental Health Podcast

Started: 2020
Ages 13-18
  • Currently active
  • Created by our station
Learn more

PBS NewsHour Student Reporting Labs (SRL) has long recognized the need to address mental health among teens. Produced by, for, and with teens, ‘On Our Minds’ premiered in 2021. The first season covered depression, the fallout from performance pressures at school, and even a guided meditation. Due to its success, ‘On Our Minds’ is now a fixture of SRL’s media initiatives, and is now looking for student contributions for its *third* season. Take a listen to Season 2, which contains interviews with Ken Burns, Baratunde Thurston, and Run DMC and stories that cover eating disorders, grief, medication, diagnoses, ADHD: https://studentreportinglabs.org/on-our-minds/

This project reaches tweens and teens via...

  • Directly engaging t(w)eens via activities, events, or programs
  • Indirectly reaching t(w)eens via educators, PD, curriculum
  • Media and/or educational content that is made by, with, or for t(w)eens

What topics does this project focus on?

Culture, society Current affairs Education Identity, relationships Journalism Life skills, career skills Media literacy Media making Public media Wellness, mental health

*

Is this project considered part of the station's journalism work?

Yes

Departments involved:

Education Newsroom Production (TV/Radio)

Media and/or educational content

Who is the primary audience of the content?

T(w)eens

Who creates the media content?

T(w)eens and adults (in collaboration)

*T(w)eens

Who decides the topic areas of the content?

Both youth and adults (in collaboration)

Where is the content shared?

Website Podcast YouTube Instagram Facebook Twitter TikTok

Directly engaging tweens and teens in local programming

In this project...

T(w)eens are involved in station decision-making (e.g., youth advisory)

Contact time between youth participants and station staff:

11+ hours

Contact time between youth participants and partner orgs:

0 hours (partner staff do not interface with teens at all)

Indirectly engaging youth via educators, professional development, or curriculum

This project indirectly engages youth by partnering with...

Schools

Does this project train educators or run a professional development program?

No

Does this project create curricula or educational resources for educators to use?

Yes