Breathe Life Podcast: Youth Voices Matter

Creating Youth Voices: A Youth-Led Podcast Series powered by Breathe Life Podcast. 

As part of StandUp SpeakOut-NC's Creating Youth Voices initiative, we are launching a youth-led podcast series titled "Youth Voices Matter" that centers honest, bold, and healing conversations about what it means to grow up in today’s world. This 8-episode series is co-hosted by youth and driven by the stories, insights, and experiences of middle and high school students. Through unfiltered dialogues with peers, mentors, and elders, youth speak on mental health, friendships, identity, school pressures, social media, relationships, and resilience. This podcast is a platform for youth leadership, truth-telling, and community change.  

Coming in 2025: 

• Episode 1 – "We Been Here: Why Youth Voices Matter" A bold opening that centers youth power and purpose. Guests from SUSO-NC speak on what they’ve survived, why they’re rising, and what the world needs to hear.
• Episode 2 – "For the Boys: Brotherhood & the Pressure to Be Strong" A space for young men to unpack masculinity, mental health, and identity—with support from mentors who get it.
• Episode 3 – "For the Girls: Sisterhood, Survival & Softness" Young women reflect on love, body image, and resilience, asking: What do we wish someone had told us sooner?
• Episode 4 – "Let’s Be Real: Co-Ed Talk on Love, Trust, and Respect" An honest dialogue between young men and women about relationships, boundaries, and growing together—not apart.
• Episode 5 – "The Algorithm vs. The Authentic: A Social Media Reality Check" Youth and adults explore the pressure of performance in a digital world—and what it means to be real online.
• Episode 6 – "School Ain’t Life… But It Feels Like It" Students and educators ask the big questions: What’s school really preparing us for? And what needs to change?
• Episode 7 – "Dear Grown Folk: A Generational Truth Circle" A powerful intergenerational exchange—where youth and elders finally have the conversation that’s long overdue. 
• Episode 8 – "What the Youth Want the World to Know" The mic drop. Youth guests return to share the truths they want the world to hear, feel, and remember.

If your youth are ready to be heard, we’re ready to listen. Let’s create space for truth, growth, and transformation.

To learn more or nominate youth to participate, please email us at marketing@susonc.org.