By Audrey Willett:
Basically Everything Podcast is made by teen for teens. Their goal is to create a comfortable platform in which teens can share their lives and opinions. Please enjoy our interview with them!
AW: Tell us all about you and your organization!
BE: Basically Everything Podcast is a community of passionate teens established in July 2020 by Archi K. from Pittsburgh, PA, and Palak Y. from Boston, MA. As a result of the pandemic, our interactions with friends reduced significantly, and it became challenging to have conversations with someone with the same interests. To overcome this challenge, we created a podcast called "Basically Everything" by collaborating with friends, who were also in the same boat. The main goal of the podcast is to create inclusivity and promote friendship, even when it is made virtually. In our podcast, we invite teens from different walks of life to share their perspectives on important topics such as mental health, time management, COVID-19, science, LGBTQ+ rights, to name a few. Now, we are a team of 35 members from three countries and six U.S. states, catering to over 400 listeners and almost 500 followers on social media. We have created a collaborative platform where our audience is able to reach out to us for guest-speaker opportunities, suggest ideas for upcoming episodes, and ask for advice on starting their own podcast.
AW: Why do you think it’s important for your generation to let their voices be heard?
BE: We believe everyone deserves a chance to share their voice. In our generation, insecurities with body image, intelligence, popularity, health, and sexuality are vastly common. Basically Everything was created to give teens around the world an opportunity to open up and speak about issues that may be taboo or controversial. Our generation will be the next in society, and it’s important to us that we all have a voice.
AW: Are you optimistic or pessimistic about the future?
BE: We are mostly optimistic about the future. This has been a very rough year, with the pandemic, political turmoil, and more, but we still believe that the future will be better. Our goal is to spread some positivity and allow others to share their experiences and wisdom.
Although our organization is just composed of teenagers, every little difference counts. Together, we can improve our society and community and make the world a better place. It may take some time, but we are hopeful that the world will improve and our futures will be brighter.
AW: What are the most important issues facing our world right now? And in the future?
BE: One of the most important issues facing our world is the inability to listen to others. In the words of Stephen Covey, we must “seek first to understand, then to be understood,” in order to create significant change. From racial and gender inequality to environmental issues, it is imperative that we actively listen to others around us and suggest our opinions in a respectful way so we can reach a compromise.
AW: What does your organization offer that helps the world be a better place?
BE: Our organization creates monthly episodes where we welcome new perspectives and ideas on topics that are present in our world. We have a strong community where everyone’s opinions are valued. Our episodes are created to give our youth the chance to share their voice and bring about new points of views to certain matters. We strive to educate and empower teens around the world.
AW: Will you be voting in the next election?
BE: As most of us are minors, we may not be legally able to vote in the next election. However, when we are eligible to vote, we definitely will be voting!
AW: Please tell us all about your current campaigns, projects, and endeavors. Tell everyone where to find you online and on social platforms.
BE: Currently, we are trying to release a new episode every month that covers a wide range of subjects, from neuroscience to time management. We often feature a guest speaker to talk about a topic of their choice and discuss issues relevant to our society. In the future, we plan to organize a “BE the Change” event, where we hope to unite all sorts of organizations and changemakers to share their experiences and promote their organizations. If you’re curious or interested, you can find us at @basicallyeverythingpodcast on Instagram or visit basicallyeverything.carrd.co/ for all links.
AW: If there is anything else you would like to say, please do!
BE: Basically Everything reached its one-year milestone this July. We opened positions on our team, and welcome teens ages 13–18 from all backgrounds. Whether you are tech savvy or an avid speaker, we have a spot for you! For more information, please visit our carrd or email us at
Audrey Willett is a southern California sophomore in high school. She is an activist and aspiring filmmaker, and the Social Media Outreach coordinator for The Gen Z Collective.
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