If you were to find a way to show the world the power of your generation, what would you do? Well, the answer for three ambitious Gen-Zs would be to start a podcast. From an idea that was being tossed around during a club meeting in their school library, to the creation of the Unit-E Podcast – George, Flora, and I, students from Beijing City International School (BCIS) are on a journey to create the #1 podcast run by teens.
The aim of Unit-E is as its name suggests: to unite, specifically uniting the voices of youths. The group was founded back in 2011, and it did something extremely different from what the group is doing now – it published magazines. As the current leader of the Unit-E Club, I decided that I wanted to do something new with this group. Unit-E used to be a magazine group, but because there are fewer people reading magazines nowadays, I thought that we could put an emphasis on utilizing online platforms to unite the voices of youths. Namely through an online blog and podcast channel.
The Unit-E Podcast debuted in July, and the idea for the show came to me after I listened to a couple of episodes of Call Her Daddy, a podcast hosted by Alexandra Cooper. The podcast itself was an interview-style one, and even though it is done with A-list celebrities such as Hailey Bieber, Katy Perry, and Simone Biles, the conversations revolve around down-to-earth things like mental health and relationships. I got inspiration from this podcast and decided that I could do something similar with Unit-E. So, I put out an email to all the students in secondary school, advertising Unit-E, and George and Flora joined. I told them what I wanted to do and they were incredibly supportive throughout the entire process. From logo design to t-shirt design, recording, video editing, and thumbnail design, we have done this all by ourselves. I still cannot thank them enough for their contributions to this podcast.
George, who is the producer of the podcast, said that when he joined Unit-E, he noticed that a lot of the time, adults are speaking up for teenagers about their issues and the advice that they give is not the most feasible and realistic. “So, I guess it’s a platform in allowing other people of the same age to receive authentic content,” he said. “The podcast is a way for teens to discuss global issues or issues that are close to their heart from their perspective – to show the world what teenager life is really like, and not how adults think they are.” George mentioned how, when in the episode talking about peer pressure in academics, he felt that a lot of the time, teachers try to comfort students by saying that the grade you receive only indicates your own growth and progress, however, when surrounded by people who receive better grades than you, you feel that you are being left behind and not good enough. This almost unexplainable feeling of discouragement and downness is something perhaps only teens can understand and relate to, which is a reason why the podcast is made for teens, by teens.
On a recent episode, student-athlete Shidong Sun made an appearance on the show, talking about his thoughts on balancing school and sports. When asked about why he decided to be on the show, he said: “First off, I really liked the hosts. They really made me feel comfortable and they held the conversation well and brought up some interesting points.” He mentioned how the podcast itself is free and is open to any topic youths believe should be seen by the public more, which is why it is a way for many of our voices to be heard. “The fact that it’s people my age hosting it makes me feel more comfortable as well, making the conversation more realistic and relatable.” Shidong has also shared his journey of learning how to dunk in an article on the Unit-E blog, which is also a way for more youths to share their stories and perspectives with the world.
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After thinking about what we can do to the podcast to better align with the mission of Unit-E, we are about to launch a new series to the podcast – Teens Talk International. We are inviting students of different nationalities and backgrounds on the podcast to discuss culture, the importance of its diversity, and how it shapes our everyday lives as students and teenagers. If you or someone you know might be interested in joining, please email unit-epodcast@hotmail.com or WeChat (ID: margaret_yjw).
Unit-E aims to create a future where all youths are able to have their voices heard and valued by the world and create a place where the changemakers and trailblazers of tomorrow unite!
Images: Margaret Yang
