Navigating Pressures Around Chosen Career Paths and Finding Joy in the Process
This Teenage Life
As a young person, it is okay to not know what you want to do. There is a lot of pressure placed on teenagers to know what they want their careers to look like, but how does one know what they want to do, and how they want to do it? In this episode of This Teenage Life, Stella, Jayden and Lydia explore questions around meaningful work. What does “meaningful work” mean? How does one balance financial responsibility, familial and societal pressure in chosen career paths? Is it realistic to find joy in one’s work in this day and age? Through conversations with the current teens on...
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Throwback Episode: Grappling With Loss
This Teenage Life
In this re-released episode, Stella shares her experiences processing the loss of her Dad. She explores societal expectations of closure and how they diverge from her own understandings of loss and ambiguity. Trigger warning— this episode references suicide. If you or anyone you know is struggling with this, here are some resources: US National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 800-273-8255 Resources in India: http://www.aasra.info/helpline.html
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Throwback Episode: Daydreams
This Teenage Life
In this re-released episode, the teens chat with Aleeza and Fonzo, the hosts of The Moth’s teen podcast, Grown — here on and They discuss their daydreams, hopes, and anxieties about growing up and becoming people they want to be.
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Throwback Episode: Coming Out Story
This Teenage Life
This week, we're re-releasing an episode about a trans young man and his mom navigating his coming out and transition. Together, they demonstrate the power of love and communication between a parent and a child.
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Throwback Episode: Eco-Anxiety and Optimism
This Teenage Life
This week, we have another thrownack episode for you: All about climate and eco-anxiety. The teens discuss their grief about the climate emergency and other environmental crises. They then talk about transforming their feelings into shared action.
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Throwback Episode: We Are Not Alone: Connecting with Animals & Ourselves
This Teenage Life
This week, we're re-releasing our 2022 interview with author and naturalist Sy Montgomery. Life can feel especially lonely if you think humans are the only creatures on this planet. Getting close to animals and the natural world can help us connect with ourselves and each other. On Earth Day 2022, we spoke with Montgomery about forming deep relationships with animals and how getting to know animals can change us.
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Throwback Episode: Parents Are People Too
This Teenage Life
Today, we're throwing it back to a Season 1 of This Teenage Life with a re-release of the episode "Parents Are People Too." As kids, it’s often hard to see that parents are not just parents. They’re human beings who have their own needs, emotions, styles, fragilities, crushes, etc. In this episode, we talk about moments when we began to discover that parents are, in fact, people too.
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Independence
This Teenage Life
In this episode of This Teenage Life, teens discuss what independence means to them: how they discover it, the challenges of balancing freedom with still being a “kid,” and how their sense of independence evolves from high school to college.
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Creating Authentic Friendships
This Teenage Life
It can be challenging to navigate between being yourself and trying to fit in. It can feel vulnerable to express enthusiasm yet nonchalence can get in the way of making true friendships. How do we create honest and authentic friendships with other people? What has worked or not worked for us in the past? In the spirit of starting off 2026 with some reflection, hope, and desire for increasing authenticity, we share this episode on friendship. Happy New Year! To share your episode ideas or just say hi, email us at team@thisteenagelife.org.
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Turning Interests into Community, Work, and Purpose
This Teenage Life
Josie Kim is a teenager, a hockey player, and great sports photographer. In high school, she learned to use a camera to engage with her love of sports in new ways that allow her to connect with people and even get paying jobs. In this episode you'll hear an interview with Josie and learn about her journey. We hope this can help more teens to think about how to engage with interests in new ways that help cultivate meaning, community, and a sense of purpose. Check out Josie's work at her Instagram: @jkimphotography17
info_outlineIn this re-released episode, Stella shares her experiences processing the loss of her Dad. She explores societal expectations of closure and how they diverge from her own understandings of loss and ambiguity.
Trigger warning— this episode references suicide. If you or anyone you know is struggling with this, here are some resources:
US National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 800-273-8255
Resources in India: http://www.aasra.info/helpline.html