STEAM Box vs

In this live episode of the STEAM Box vs Podcast , Highlander Charter School Superintendent Simona Simpson-Thomas is joined by student moderators Leanne (12th grade), Ariel (10th grade), and Favor (11th grade). Centered around the visual theme "Who Are We Right Now?" and the core value "Students First, ALWAYS," the panel addresses real questions submitted directly by the student body. The unfilter...

In this special episode of the STEAM Box Podcast, recorded live with our summer ACN (Advanced Course Network) youth, we sit down with Ed Brady, Hollywood producer, restaurateur, and Cranston mayoral candidate. Known as the ultimate “master connector,” Ed shares his incredible journey from carrying golf bags as a 13-year-old at Alpine Country Club to rubbing shoulders with celebrities at an SNL aft...

STEAM Box and the youth of the summer ACN program sit down with author and artist Dr. Nettrice Gaskins. Recognized as a leading pioneer of "Afrofuturism 3.0," Gaskins discusses how generative AI acts as a digital continuum of her background in computer graphics, education, and traditional fine arts. The conversation dives straight into the high-stakes debates surrounding AI in the arts today. Dr....

The ACN STEAM Punks join special guests Kristina (professor at Lesley University College of Art and Design) and Amy Duffy (ceramics teacher at Central Falls High School). Kristina, a leading point person for the Reciprocity Rhode Island project, shares her vision of educational school design that has been growing through community organizing since 2020. Together, the group explores a revolutionary...

In this episode the STEAM Punks sit down with Carlos Vargas, VP of Community and Government Relations at Navigant Credit Union, to demystify personal finance and plan for the future. Carlos shares his journey growing up on the south side of Providence and explains how his personal mission is simply to "help the 5-year-old me" and support families like his own. Together, the youth dive into high-im...

In this special, chaotic episode of STEAM Box vs! The summer program Steampunks sit down with none other than the Digital Dark Lord himself, Lord Voldemort. Our youth hosts don't hold back, grilling him on everything from his half-muggle heritage to why he famously underestimated Harry Potter. Voldemort opens up about his miserable, sweaty days living as a parasite on the back of Professor Quirrel...

What does it take to make a living as a recording artist while staying entirely true to yourself? In this episode of the student-led Steam Box podcast, the STEAM Punks host a masterclass in creative resilience with Rhode Island's own Lainey Dionne. Lainey pulls back the curtain on the business of music publishing, detailing how she writes and licenses her songs for hit reality shows like The Karda...

Join the "STEAM Punks" from the ACN summer program for an exciting, behind-the-scenes conversation with animator, storyboard artist, and Lesley University professor Brandon Strathmann . In this episode, Brandon pulls back the curtain on what it is really like to work in professional animation studios, sharing stories from his time doing fast-paced "floater" storyboard retakes for Family Guy , char...

Podcast Description: In episode one of the 2027 season of the STEAM Box podcast, a brand new group of youth Steampunks interview special guest Chris Revill. Chris, known for his *Let's Chat* podcast, shares his journey of starting a podcast as a hobby in 2013 and how the networking opportunities eventually allowed him to leave an 11-year career in healthcare for a job in digital marketing and sale...

In the season finale of Joyful Rebellion, STEAM Box and the Highlander Charter School STEAM Punks are joined by Abby Katz, a behavioral science researcher from Brown University's School of Public Health. We're ending the season sitting pretty at #1 in the world in education and technology as we go deep into the emotional, biological, and cultural connections we have to our most comforting meals, f...

In this episode of The Joyful Rebellion , STEAM Box youth sit down with Highlander Charter School's long-time school psychologist, Miss Dehlia, for an honest and vulnerable conversation about mental health. Turning the tables on the professional, she opens up about her own 20-year journey with therapy, how it helped her navigate trauma related to her mother's alcoholism, and the importance of lear...

Finding Therapy Outside Therapy: Cozy Games, Toxic Friends, and Teen Mental Health In this episode, we’re joined by Dr. Alvaro, a mental health professional and researcher, alongside STEAM Punks from Highlander Charter School. The group tackles the heavy realities facing today’s youth, confronting the alarming statistics that 1 in 9 teens, and over 30% of trans youth, have considered attempting su...

In this final episode of the school year with ARISE, we sit down with special guests Dr. Erin Papa and Alicia Pratt from the Coalition for a Multilingual Rhode Island. We discuss the profound ways language shapes our fundamental identity, connects us to our heritage, and builds community. We share powerful personal stories about navigating the stigmas of accents, the erasure that comes with anglic...

STEAM Box and Arise youth sit down with "Tacos," a passionate STEM educator and former contestant on LEGO Masters Season 3. Tacos shares her journey from studying architecture to utilizing LEGO and other hands-on materials to teach structural integrity and problem-solving to students. She opens up about the realities of being a woman in highly competitive STEM fields, offering vital advice to youn...

Taking her artist name from a CHamoru creation goddess, Fu'una discusses how she intertwines her indigenous identity and family history in Guam with her creative practice. Throughout the conversation, she opens up about the physical demands of large scale mural painting the sacrifices required to balance a full-time job with a creative passion and her critical perspective on the environmental and...

In this special presentation from STEAM Box, the STEAM Box Allstars, a diverse group of high school students from across Rhode Island plan their 3rd annual Joyful Rebellion mental wellness event The students have a remarkably candid conversation about the unique pressures facing their generation that older adults often misunderstand They open up about the heavy realities driving their need for men...

In the final STEAM Box podcast recorded at the Boys and Girls Club of Pawtucket, We sit down with the Panthers for an unfiltered, hilarious, and insightful conversation The episode kicks off by celebrating a newly crowned Youth of the Year, diving into the rigorous interview process and the realities of sharing the spotlight with Big time siblings The crew doesn't hold back on their hottest takes,...

In this special live episode, high school seniors Daniel and Zon share their unfiltered perspectives on the reality of artificial intelligence. Recorded live at the CSREA AI symposium, this conversation digs into how teenagers are truly experiencing AI today.  Our guests from Highlander Charter School and ARISE explore the "toxic" codependency of young people using AI bots as their best friends in...

In this episode of the #1 podcast in education STEAM Box X ARISE sit down with Janella Watson of Watson Creative Consulting. Together, we discuss the real world impacts of Artificial Intelligence on young people, exploring both the wonders and worries of our rapidly changing tech landscape. Learn about the hidden environmental costs of AI data centers, the ethical dilemmas surrounding deepfakes, a...

STEAM Box’s host Bubbly and the youth team at ARISE sit down with SilverMoon LaRose, a member of the Narragansett Tribe and an educator at Rhode Island's Tomaquag Museum. Silver Moon shares profound insights into the culture and history of Southern New England's native people, highlighting the beautiful, communal tradition of handwoven splint basketry. The conversation explores the connections bet...

In this episode of Mangu Con Salami, STEAM Box youth from Highlander Charter School, open up with special guests Elliot Rivera from the 10 Men program and (Name Redacted) from the RI Coalition Against Domestic Violence The group gets into some honest real talk about the unspoken gender expectations young people navigate every day, from the financial pressures of dating to societal beauty standards...

In this episode of the STEAM Box VS podcast, the Panthers are joined by Shawn Andrews, founder of the Rhode Island nonprofit Heroes Read. Shawn explains how his organization tackles the K-12 literacy crisis by using popular arts, such as comic books and graphic novels to engage struggling readers with material they are actually passionate about. The group discusses the real-world challenges of fun...

In this special episode of the Mangu Con Salami podcast, STEAM Box ARISE join relationship expert Amanda Toomey from the Katie Brown Educational Program. Together, they go deep into the complexities of modern dating and friendships, focusing heavily on how to tell the critical difference between a relationship that is emotionally intense versus one that is emotionally safe. Through candid conversa...

The Steampunks from Highlander Charter School are back for a raw and insightful episode of the Mangu Salami podcast. In this session, the STEAM Box group breaks down the complexities of modern relationships, from the differences between freshman and senior dating to the dangers of "love bombing" and coercion. Listen in as the students debate controversial topics like sharing social media passwords...

STEAM Box Highlander Charter School youth sit down with Kerry from the Katie Brown Educational Program to explore how neurodivergence shows up in romantic relationships. The group discusses what it means to be neurodivergent, including experiences with ADHD, autism, and processing differences, and how this impacts communication and perception in dating. Together, they tackle difficult questions ab...