Welcome to YAHA Yaps, a youth-led podcast that explores health, well-being, and community as seen through the eyes of Alaska youth.

YAHA stands for Youth Alliance for a Healthier Alaska. We’re a public health group from different parts of Alaska, working to bring awareness toward big issues in our state, such as youth mental health, houselessness, reproductive and sexual health, relationship and health education, nutrition and wellness amongst Alaskans, and other health related topics.

Our first episode is an introduction to YAHA, who we are, what we do, and all the amazing things we work on. It features YAHA members Kayla, Yedidia, and Ari in conversation.

Hosted by Yedidia.

Music by Ahman Greer.

Production support from Logan Ehrhart, Nathan Pobieglo, and Wren Crockett.

This podcast was made possible with funding from the Alaska Department of Health, and the Division of Behavioral Health.

This Arts, Health, and Well-Being in Alaska project is supported, in part, by a grant from the Alaska State Council on the Arts with funding from Rasmuson Foundation.

The views expressed in this podcast do not necessarily represent the views of our sponsors.

If you’re interested in YAHA and want to learn more about the work we do or get involved, you can follow us on Instagram at @AK_Youth_Voice.

In this episode, we look at Covid-19 from the perspective of two political figures in Alaska: Mike Dunleavy, Governor of Alaska, and Edna DeVries, mayor of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. We sat down and interviewed Governor Dunleavy and Mayor DeVries in separate conversations, but both were in-depth discussions about how COVID-19 has both directly and indirectly affected Alaska's population as well as political and legislative systems.

The interview with Governor Dunleavy was conducted on May 10, 2022. The interview with Mayor DeVries was conducted on August 26, 2022.

In this episode, we look at Covid from the perspective of two Matanuska-Susitna School District officials: Dr. Randy Trainy, who is the Superintendent of the Mat-Su school district, and Dr. Justin Ainsworth, who is one of the school districts’ Associate Superintendents.

In this joint interview, Dr. Trainy and Dr. Ainsworth discuss Covid-19 mitigation in Mat-Su schools, the mental health impacts of the pandemic, Covid testing and vaccinations among students, and how Covid has affected work with unions.

This interview was recorded on Thursday, May 26.

In this episode, we look at Covid from the perspective of Youth in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley. In the first conversation, we hear from a group of four upperclassmen; in the second conversation, we'll hear from a group of three underclassmen.

We recorded these roundtable discussions during Spring Break and, while most teenagers were hanging out with friends, these youth took time out of their well-earned break to sit down and talk with us!

These interviews were recorded on Tuesday, March 1.

In this episode, hosts Ben Kolendo and Avery Palenske have two conversations, one with Elizabeth Ripley and another with Dr. Anne Zink. Ripley sits on the Board of Directors of the Mat-Su Regional Medical Center and discusses COVID mitigation in Mat-Su schools, the mental health impacts of the pandemic, and how the cancellation of the 2021 Youth Risk Behavior Survey impacted our ability to review how COVID has affected the youth in Alaska. Dr. Zink is Alaska’s Chief Medical Officer and also works as an ER doctor. She discusses her work, confidence in the various COVID vaccines, and current major health issues among Alaskan Youth.

The interview with Elizabeth Ripley was recorded on Wednesday, January 19. The interview with Dr. Zink was recorded on Tuesday, February 1.

Real Talk with Real Youth is hosted by Ben Kolendo and Avery Palenske. Follow along as they facilitate youth-mediated conversations on different sides of the COVID-19 debate to help the audience form their own opinions.