Alaska Teen Media Institute

For this episode, we’re talking about the Netflix documentary “Operation Varsity Blues.” The movie details the 2019 college admissions scandal, focusing on Rick Singer, the college admissions counselor at the center of it all. The story is told with news footage and interviews, but scenes are also reenacted with actors, scripted from FBI wiretaps used in the case. The discussion was led by ATMI se...

We take another trip around the world for this episode, to Costa Rica, to hear about how the pandemic has impacted people there. ATMI senior producer Daisy Carter has family who live in Costa Rica. Her cousin Andres Canas came up to Alaska to visit this spring. They sat down to talk about how the pandemic has affected life for him, his friends and family, and the different ways Costa Rica has resp...

In 2001, the Roadless Rule was setup to protect 50 million acres of national forests. The Tongass National Forest, located in Southeast Alaska, is the largest National Forest in the United States at 16.7 million acres. As of October 28, 2020, 9.3 million acres of the Tongass were no longer protected by the Roadless Rule, opening it up for things like road construction and logging. In this episode...

Megan Edge is the communications director for the ACLU of Alaska. She previously worked for the state of Alaska on prison reform issues and was a reporter for the Alaska Dispatch News. She was a guest speaker for ATMI's youth health reporters cohort, where youth develop the skills to create stories on health and safety issues within their community. ATMI senior producer Quinn White interviewed her...

Welcome to ATMI's newest podcast series, Film Club! Each episode our youth film critics and cultural connoisseurs get together to spill the theoretical tea on a new movie. For this episode the ATMI crew discussed the 2020 movie “Promising Young Woman.” Written and directed by Emerald Fennell, and starring Carrie Mulligan, Promising Young Woman tells the story of Cassandra, a young woman who is sti...

Rush Hour is a local jazz band made up of high schoolers Caleb Rapanut, Ethan Zawodny, Thomas Myers, Miko Hare, and Avery Caldwell. Before the pandemic they were practicing together after school, playing battle of the band shows, and even served as the backing band for ATMI's live on stage radio show in 2019. But since the pandemic hit, they've had to find creative ways to keep the band alive. ATM...

It has been a year since the pandemic forced schools in Alaska to close their doors and switch to remote learning. Slowly but surely, though, students are returning to in-person classes. In January Pre-K through 2nd grade along with some special needs programs returned, followed by the rest of the elementary grades in February. On March 15th, middle and high school students are scheduled to return...

On January 19th, the Anchorage School District brought its first wave of students back into the classroom. Katherine Porter was one of the first teachers back with them. She teaches special education study skills at East Anchorage High School. ATMI youth health reporter Annika Wolfe spoke with Ms. Porter about what it was like returning to in-person classes, the difficulties teaching remotely, and...

For those that have had and recovered from the coronavirus, the symptoms can really vary. Some people are asymptomatic and may not even know they have the virus. But others, like Libby Pederson, had a very different experience altogether. Libby is a born and raised Alaskan who has been teaching special-ed for twenty years in Anchorage. She spoke with ATMI producer Danielle DuClos to talk about her...

While the lives of youth are greatly altered by the pandemic, we are much safer from it than many other demographic groups. So today we’re shifting gears to talk about one of the most vulnerable groups: the elderly. In this episode, we hear from Rebecca Parker, executive director of the Anchorage Senior Activity Center. ATMI senior producer Quinn White spoke with her about how the facility has fou...

We’ve talked a lot about remote schooling on this podcast and how difficult it can be for teachers and students. But one thing we haven’t really covered is how all this isolation affects youth, and how school mental health resources are trying to meet those needs. In this episode, we hear from Cycelia McMorris, a school counselor at Hanshew Middle School. She spoke with ATMI senior producer Quinn...

Alaska’s journalists have been reporting non-stop throughout the pandemic, contextualizing case numbers and sharing Alaskans' personal experiences with the virus. In this episode, we hear from Michelle Theriault Boots and Zaz Hollander, reporters at the Anchorage Daily News who focus on Alaskan health coverage. They spoke with ATMI senior producer Quinn White about covering COVID-19 in Alaska, how...

Sean Schubert is part of the workforce development team at King Technical High School in Anchorage. As Schubert describes it, he helps young men and women to take that next step in high school into whatever awaits them, whether that be college, trade school, the military, or a job. But with the pandemic causing schools to switch to online learning, Schubert’s role has shifted a bit. He’s also lead...

Now that Alaskans are starting to get the coronavirus vaccine, ATMI producer Danielle DuClos checked back in with Dr. Anne Zink, Alaska's Chief Medical Officer. In this extended interview Dr. Zink talks about getting the vaccine herself, the various side effects people can have from it, health and safety precautions moving forward, and the role that youth in Alaska can play to help keep our commun...

A few days before Thanksgiving 2019, Patrick Walker enlisted in the army. Shortly after basic training, a global pandemic began sweeping across the world. Currently Patrick is a combat medic, stationed in South Korea. ATMI producer, and friend since high school, Ryan Danigole spoke with Patrick to talk about how the coronavirus precautions in the military and how South Korea's response compares to...

Danny Mindilin is an ER doctor working at the Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage. He has been on the frontline of the coronavirus pandemic, treating patients hospitalized with Covid-19. ATMI senior producer Quinn White spoke with Danny about what it was like in the early days of the pandemic, how they are dealing with shortages of doctors and supplies, and the stresses about being a med...

Ed Dodd and his wife purchased Classic Toys in 1998 from its original owners. It has been longstanding local business in the community that has seen generations of customers come through its doors. Normally the holiday shopping season would be its most profitable time of the year. But when you add in a pandemic and city-wide mandates on businesses and local gatherings, it because increasingly diff...

Tonei Glavinic was a member of ATMI from 2006 to 2008. Currently they live in Mexico City. After a recent trip to Washington D.C., Tonei started to feel sick. They got tested and sure enough, they had contracted Covid-19. ATMI senior producer Sam Bernitz spoke with Tonei on November 24th, 2020, to hear about their experience with the coronavirus. Hosted by Quinn White. Music by Devin Shreckengost...

Danyelle Kimp is a music teacher at Russian Jack Elementary and this year he's tasked with the difficult challenge of teaching young students virtually. ATMI senior producer Daisy Carter spoke with him about the challenges of online learning, dealing with the constantly changing plans to return to in-person classes, and the positive impacts music has on his students. They spoke on November 18th, 2...

Alaska Teen Media Institute is based in Anchorage, Alaska. We would like to acknowledge the Dena’ina people whose land we work on. And in this episode we're going to talk more about that. Melissa Shaginoff, who in addition to being an artist and curator, hosts land acknowledgment workshops for the YWCA Alaska. ATMI senior producer Daisy Carter spoke with Melissa about the importance of land acknow...

Contact tracing is an essential part of combating the spread of Covid-19. Not only do contact tracers work to discover where a person infected with the coronavirus may have contracted it, they also attempt to inform others about possible infection. But there is a lot more to the complicated work that they do. In this episode we’ll be hearing from Annie Thomas. She’s been a nurse for about fifteen...

Youth 4 Change is an Anchorage-based organization that looks to address and minimize the oppression of Black, Indigenous, People of Color within the education system by uplifting youth voices. In this episode we’re going to hear from two of the group’s members, Stefani Martinez and Ruth Dan. They spoke with ATMI senior producer Cornilius Nelson about the work that their group is doing, aspects of...

On November 8th, the Anchorage School District Superintendent announced that they would not be following through with a plan to bring pre-school through second grade and some special education programs back to in-person learning. This was at least the third time this year that ASD has had to reverse course in reopening schools, due to the coronavirus pandemic. In order to better understand this sa...

Anchorage Youth Vote is a nonpartisan organization that works to empower youth to vote and be engaged in the democratic process. In a normal year they would be putting on mock elections, hosting candidate forums for state-wide races, and getting into the community to educate youth about the rights and responsibilities of living in a democratic society. This year, as we all know, is quite different...

ATMI producers Daisy Carter, Cornilius Nelson, Ryan Danigole, Riley Taylor, Quinn White, Ormund Alaois, and Youth Vote's Tuan Graziano got together on Zoom to talk about the anxieties of being a young and/or first-time voter during this historic presidential election. They talk about voting plans, dealing with misinformation, researching local candidates, and much more. Hosted by Daisy Carter. Mus...