Sexting, sex bracelets, sex parties. The media would have you believe that 21st-century teenagers are out of control, but are they? Today’s show takes an objective look at teenage sexual behavior, and explores what’s driving the hype.
And from teenage sex to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – how a simple sketch made in Dover, New Hampshire became a multi-billion dollar franchise.
Listen to the full show and Read more for individual segments.
Kids Gone Wild
- Kathleen Bogleis the co-author of Kids Gone Wild: From Rainbow Parties to Sexting, Understanding the Hype over Teen Sex. She argues that kids these days are actually less promiscuous than they were 10, 20, even 30 years ago.
Modern Day Scarlet Letter
- These days, many teenagers live half their lives on social media sites, and they're writing the rules as they go. One online trend 16-year-old radio rookie Temitayo Fagbenle finds disturbing is something she calls "slut-shaming," or using photos and videos to turn a girl's private life inside out.
- Listen to her story at WNYC's website.
Researching What Makes Something Funny
- Peter McGraw is a marketing and psychology professor, and the director of the Humor Research Lab at the University of Colorado where he studies what makes us laugh, and why. He is also the co-author of The Humor Code: A Global Search for What Makes Things Funny.
- We've got some clips and more information from Peter, righthere.
Teaching People to be Funny
- Bryan Bowden is a teacher – not of the standard curriculum, but of stand-up comedy – which means not just nurturing talents, but coming to terms with their insecurities. This profile was produced by Annie Gilbertson as part of the Deutsche Welle radio’s series, “Generation Change”. You can listen to the segment here.
TMNT's New Hampshire Roots
- The co-creator of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Kevin Eastman, now lives in California, but drew the very first ninja turtle in the Dover, New Hampshire home of his collaborator, Peter Laird.
- You can read more about the New Hampshire origins of TMNT, right here.