A Generation Activated
Today's youth activists are leading us all towards a better tomorrow. Against the Current, season one of our new podcast 52 Hertz, centers five remarkable youth voices in powerful stories about transformation, about hope and fear, about the urgency young people feel to take action for the planet.
Jay Neilson for Lonely Whale / Atlanta, GA
Jeremy Cohen for Lonely Whale / New York City
Today's youth activists are leading us all towards a better tomorrow. Against the Current, season one of our new podcast 52 Hertz, centers five remarkable youth voices in powerful stories about transformation, about hope and fear, about the urgency young people feel to take action for the planet. Beyond just the environment, these young people share their stories as activists centered on the value of human life for themselves, their communities, and future generations.
“If you don't have love for humanity, but call yourself an environmentalist, the world will never change.”
Steff McDermott, 19
Episode 2 - Sail For Climate Action
Each of these stories is a testament to the importance of youth empowerment in the fight for the future of our shared Earth; every chapter an intimate window into the minds and the lives of young change-makers from the mainland United States to the sandy beaches of Hawai'i, the Cayman Islands and lush Bali, Indonesia.
These young people are challenging what we thought we knew about environmental activism to create space for change within the movement and outside of it, recognizing the intersection of social justice and environmentalism as essential to creating a more equitable planet for people the world over, and to hold the systems responsible for the current world state accountable.
They're using the lack of privileges and the lack of resources that these communities have to further exploit them for profit.
Zanagee Artis, 19
Episode 11 - Zero Hour
This five-episode collection highlights the resilience and optimism of youth leaders staring down thousands of years of systemic oppression with grace, empathy, and love — for a better, more hopeful world. Tune in and learn more from the environmental leaders of Generation Z.
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Explore Youth Activism Episodes
DYSON CHEE (18)
Dyson Chee is an 18-year-old youth activist from Oahu who was a vocal advocate for the implementation of Bill 40 — one of the most stringent single-use plastic bans in the United States.
MELATI WIJSEN (19)
At 19, Melati is a co-founder of three organizations. She and host Petrice Jones discuss youth empowerment and ways traditional education has failed.
STEFF MCDERMOTT (18)
In this episode, Steff discusses how she goes against the current, working to elevate the often-ignored voices in the Global South and to strengthen bonds across the Atlantic Ocean.
WANJIKU “WAWA“ GATHERU (21)
52 Hertz host Petrice Jones and Wawa talk about how the erasure of BIPOC voices in the environmental community perpetuates racism and undermines the very goals environmentalists are trying to achieve.
ZANAGEE ARTIS (20)
Zanagee Artis co-founded Zero Hour when he was just 17 years old. Zanagee has been recognized by The New York Times and Teen Vogue as one of the magazine’s “9 Climate Activists of Color You Should Know.”