WNYC’s Radio Rookies program takes listeners inside the most intimate moments of teenager’s lives. Now, for the first time, we present a special, “Growing Up, Getting By”, an hour of stories and interviews about how teenagers find their way to adulthood.
Heroin
When she was 16, Janesse Nieves said she and her mother have one thing in common—they were both betrayed by Janesse's father. She took her microphone and went to his house to try to convince him he should stop using heroin. A clinical expert told her there was nothing she could do about his addiction, but she found that hard to believe. After the story, Marianne McCune calls up Janesse to hear how she's doing now, 8 years later.
Let Me Just Breathe
An interview about a night that almost took Jesus Gonzalez's life in a completely different direction. It was Halloween of 2004, and Jesus got into a confrontation with P-Mac, another teenager from his neighborhood. P-Mac pulls a knife and swings at Jesus, who gets away but is later faced with the question of whether or not to seek revenge.
How To Survive Teasing
As a little kid, Samr "Rocky" Tayeh was the adorable, chubby boy at home; but at school classmates called him "Barney", the big purple dinosaur. Rocky didn't hide in a corner and wait for the bullying to stop, he learned how to use his sharp tongue to shut other kids down, but sometimes he takes it too far. Rocky heads out to a park in Brooklyn to talk with kids about how they survive teasing.
Crushes
Surviving unrequited love may be one of the most universal experiences of being a teenager. We listen to excerpts of Catalina Puente's and Linda Cuevas's stories about how tough it is to pick yourself up and move on. Then host Marianne McCune sits down in the studio with both of them to hear their advice to people trying to heal from a broken heart.
Growing Up Alone
Sunnie Hwang moved to the US from Korea, hoping she would find the happiness she had as a child—when her parents were still alive. In 2002, she told WNYC listeners about her life as an orphan, trying to make her way in the world. Listen to her original story, and then host Marianne McCune heads out to Queens to find out how she's doing now.
Thanks Dad
Edward Llanos told his first Radio Rookies story about how his family coped when he was stricken with a nearly fatal illness. Years later, he participated in the Moth Community Outreach Program and told a live audience in downtown Manhattan how his dad helped save his life.
