Episodes
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How Teen People Covered 9/11
In 2002, Teen People published several stories about 9/11 and how it affected young people in the US and Afghanistan. Join me as I leaf through the March 2002 and September 2002 issues of Teen People, uncovering personal and political histories through this iconic teen magazine. Credits: Music by...
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This is history: Colette Shade on Y2K
My favourite book about the internet is by the Canadian author Douglas Coupland. In his 2014 book, Kitten Clone: Inside Alcatel-Lucent, Coupland asks, “Where did the sense of invention go—the sense of futurity—the sense that by working in tech, you were somehow building a better tomorrow, a…
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How TEEN PEOPLE magazine celebrated the year 2000
Party like it's 1999... in 2025! How did TEEN PEOPLE magazine usher in the new millennium? Join me as I leaf through the December 1999/January 2000 issue of TEEN PEOPLE. ................ Find me on Twitter and Instagram at TeenPeoplePod And online at www.annasoper.ca Music: Scottish Folk Song…
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Girls, Interrupted: Lisa Whittington-Hill on Winona Ryder, Courtney Love, and Amy Winehouse
Teen People is inspired by my collection of TEEN PEOPLE magazines. Published between 1998 and 2006, TEEN PEOPLE featured real teens in every issue. Two decades on, I track down TEEN PEOPLE's real teens, and speak with authors delving into the late '90s and early 2000s. Join us! In 2023, I...
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Film critic, author and podcaster Alonso Duralde on his book, HOLLYWOOD PRIDE
Alonso Duralde joins me to talk about his new book, 'Hollywood Pride: A Celebration of LGBTQ+ Representation and Perseverance in Film'. Published in May 2024, 'Hollywood Pride' presents a history of film from the dawn of cinema to the "pansy craze" of the 1930s and the New Queer Cinema of the...
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How TEEN PEOPLE magazine covered Columbine in 1999
The Columbine massacre of April 20, 1999, was the deadliest mass shooting at a K-12 school in US history, until it was surpassed by the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in December 2012, and, later, the Uvalde school shooting in May 2022. It was the deadliest mass shooting at a high school…
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Celebrating 50 Oscar Nights with TCM host Dave Karger
TCM host Dave Karger joins me to speak about his new book, 50 OSCAR NIGHTS! Featuring Dave's original interviews with Hollywood legends like Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno, Julia Roberts, Meryl Streep, and Martin Scorsese, 50 OSCAR NIGHTS is the perfect gift for cinephiles. Dave started his career as an...
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Part II: Sarah Ditum on Britney, Paris, Amy, Aaliyah, Jen, Lindsay, and Chyna
In part two of a two-part interview, I speak with Sarah Ditum about her new book, TOXIC. It’s a scathing reexamination of the lives of nine female celebrities: Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Aaliyah, Janet Jackson, Amy Winehouse, Kim Kardashian, Chyna, and Jennifer Aniston. Each...
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Part I: Sarah Ditum on the 2000s: "Relentlessly anti-sisterhood"
In part one of a two-part interview, I speak with Sarah Ditum about her new book, TOXIC. It’s a scathing reexamination of the lives of nine female celebrities: Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Aaliyah, Janet Jackson, Amy Winehouse, Kim Kardashian, Chyna, and Jennifer Aniston. Each...
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"I'm writing the book I needed": storytelling with poet-historian Resi Ibañez
Resi Ibañez is a poet, public historian, and community organizer in Lowell, Massachusetts. We connected on Instagram, when they sent me a DM asking if I could track down a TEEN PEOPLE article they remembered reading in the mid-2000s. With a few keywords and a rough idea of the timing, I searched…
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James Frankie Thomas on his homoerotic, post-9/11 campus novel, IDLEWILD
As a teen, James Frankie Thomas modelled a prom dress and smooch-proof makeup in a 2004 issue of TEEN PEOPLE magazine. Now, he's the author of a compelling novel, IDLEWILD, published by The Overlook Press. James spoke with me about crafting this novel at the Iowa Writers' Workshop, and how he...
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Nadia Ahmad on climate justice, abolition, and being in Teen People magazine
When Teen People magazine sent Nadia Ahmad on a shopping spree in 1998, she didn't feel cool enough to model makeup! Plus, she had just started wearing a hijab, and the 18-year-old wasn't sure how to reconcile her femininity within the norms of a teen magazine. Today, Nadia is an Associate...
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Alisha Fernandez Miranda talks TEEN PEOPLE, Disney, and her dream jobs
Alisha Fernandez Miranda is a Cuban-American writer based in Scotland. Her memoir, 'My What If Year' was published in February 2023, and the book describes her year-long experiment doing internships in the dream jobs of her childhood. She is also the host of the award-winning podcast, 'Quit Your...
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All Star: Amar Shah on Kobe, Shaq, and making an impact
If you spent hours on AOL Instant Messenger, this episode is for you! Amar Shah is a multiple Emmy award-winning writer and producer who got his start on TEEN PEOPLE magazine's News Team! He speaks with me about online friendships, making an impact, and his viral Washington Post essay; on growing...
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Celebrating TEEN PEOPLE magazine's 25th anniversary
I don’t think of my podcast as being about TEEN PEOPLE magazine: it’s about my guests, and why they were in TEEN PEOPLE, and what they’re up to now in their 30s and 40s. But January 2023 is the 25th anniversary of TEEN PEOPLE, so I thought I’d celebrate with an episode featuring a few of the…
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The one where we talk about reproductive rights
Jenny Mushkin Goldman was 17 years old when a group of anti-abortion protestors ambushed her high school, in the summer of 1999. TEEN PEOPLE magazine was there to capture the scene, and quoted Jenny in their story, which was published in the December 1999/January 2000 issue. More than two decades...
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Trailer: Teen People
In the year 2000, TEEN PEOPLE's publisher, Anne Zehren said, presciently, "We make celebrities real, and real teens celebrities." TEEN PEOPLE featured their readers throughout each issue, printing their full names, ages, and locations; making many of them pretty easy to find online today. Where…
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Hometown boy makes good: changing the world with Dr. Ben Barry
"We made it, we're in the Ottawa Citizen!" Dr. Ben Barry is Dean of Fashion at Parsons School of Design in New York. When he was fourteen, Ben founded a modelling agency in his hometown of Ottawa, Canada. Realizing there was an untapped market for models of all sizes, Ben made a name for himself…
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Start over each day: life lessons with Sudanë Del Valle
When Sudanë Del Valle was in her first year of college, she went back to her old high school to attend a graduation ceremony. There, she was scouted for a Teen People fashion shoot by the magazine's Editor-in-Chief, Amy Barnett; whose sister was graduating that year. Sudanë subsequently appeared…
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Rock star: Jaya Saxena on Other Music, gemstones, and building solidarity
“Other Music is like a fun, messy library for music. You almost never find what you were looking for, but you always find something you never knew you wanted.” Jaya Saxena was 17 when she was asked to describe her favourite record store in Teen People magazine's Summer Music Special of 2004. Now…
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"My true gender is theatre kid" : the James Frankie Thomas story
Like a Millennial Pygmalion, 16-year-old Frankie Thomas was plucked from the streets of New York, into the glossy studios of Teen People magazine. Their photo appeared in the March 2004 issue of Teen People (the prom issue!), under the headline "Smooch-proof Lips". Among other things, Teen…
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Right place, right time: Rabbi Andrew Oberstein's leap of faith
In 2005, Rabbi Andrew Oberstein was a budding theatre kid in Los Angeles, when Teen People magazine invited him to interview Sandra Bullock. "I loved Miss Congeniality," he told me, "so I thought, 'why not take this opportunity to check out what's going on with Miss Congeniality 2?'". Before…
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Shouting from the rooftops: how Teen People magazine brought this couple together!
Gennie Gorback is an early childhood educator and President of the California Kindergarten Association. As a teenager, she joined Teen People magazine's Trendspotter club, and was featured not once, but twice, in Teen People! The first time, Gennie and her college friend Dan pranked Teen...
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"The most delightful surprise": Kerisha Harris found her calling through Teen People's News Team
Kerisha Harris is a corporate communications professional from Paterson, New Jersey. In the early 2000s, Kerisha was a member of Teen People magazine’s News Team, a corps of young journalists from across the US. She has since worked as a journalist, and is currently working on a Master’s degree…
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"They did so much, so well, so long ago." Tabitha Sukhai talks Teen People magazine
This is Teen People, the podcast where I track down people from Teen People magazine. Where are they now? This week’s guest, Tabitha Sukhai, gives us an update. Tabitha is an award-winning digital media professional and social media strategist. She got her start as a Teen People Trendspotter…
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Mr. Maroney goes to Washington
Who had Bush v. Gore in a Teen People debate on their Y2K bingo card? Padraic Maroney is a writer and marketing professional from upstate New York. After moving to Philadelphia as a teenager, he created content for The Bucks County Courier Times’ 'Reality' section, written by local teens. This…
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“Detroit is a city of 700,000 stories”: Alex B. Hill’s map quest in the Motor City
Welcome to season two of Teen People, the podcast where I interview people who were in Teen People magazine. The podcast was inspired by my teenage collection of Teen Peoples, which I rediscovered a few years ago. Teen People magazine featured their readers throughout every issue, and published...
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YA author Kelly McWilliams: "I write about the oppression of women because it makes me so angry."
Kelly McWilliams was a teenager when she published her first novel. These days, Kelly's working on her third novel, while promoting Agnes at the End of the World; a dystopian YA book published in 2020. Agnes at the End of the World received starred reviews in School Library Journal, Kirkus…
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Lindsay Soll Kirkman: "I don't know what you wear to meet a boy band."
Welcome to Teen People; the podcast where I dig into my collection of Teen People magazines, and interview some of the real people who were featured in Teen People! I'm Anna Soper. This episode is a chat with Lindsay Soll Kirkman. As a teenager, Lindsay was invited to apply to Teen People’s News...
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On movies and motherhood with Ellie Wen
Welcome to another episode of Teen People; the podcast that catches up with real people from Teen People magazine! In 2005, Ellie Wen appeared on Teen People’s annual list of 20 Teens Who Will Change the World. As a young teen, Ellie created an award-winning digital library called Repeat After…
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Lucas Peerman tells me about his work as a Teen People News Team member!
This episode features a conversation with Lucas Peerman, News Director of the Las Cruces Sun-News in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Lucas was 18 when he joined Teen People magazine's News Team; a diverse corps of young journalists who contributed some of their first bylines to Teen People. He spoke with...
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Browsing classic Teen People covers with Teen People editor, Zena Burns.
Welcome to Teen People, the podcast that catches up with folks from Teen People magazine. This is the second of a two-part interview featuring Zena Burns. Zena got a job at Teen People in 1999, and stayed there until the magazine came to an end in 2006. She was heartbroken when the magazine…
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"You could probably do this podcast for the next ten years." A chat with Zena Burns!
Welcome to episode 10 of Teen People; the podcast that catches up with folks from Teen People magazine. This episode is a first for me, as I’m talking with a Teen People staff member! Zena Burns was Entertainment Director at Teen People magazine and Managing Editor at Teen People dot com. Teen...
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Swing dancing with Lisa Wong Macabasco, of Vogue.com.
Welcome to another episode of Teen People! My name is Anna Soper, and I’m a writer, artist and librarian from Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Today I’m talking with Lisa Wong Macabasco, who was part of Teen People magazine's News Team. Lisa graduated from UC Berkeley and Columbia University's Graduate...
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Diana Maciel's best celebrity encounter involves a rapper and a rack of furs...
Hi, my name is Anna Soper, and this is Teen People. This podcast features in-depth conversations with people who appeared in Teen People magazine as young adults. So far, they’ve shared stories of building their careers, having kids (or not!) and finding their way through this challenging time.…
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Trendspotting with Robin Knudsen!
Robin Knudsen was 16 when she scouted my earlier guest, Preston Drum, for a Teen People photoshoot in Charlotte, North Carolina. She and Preston were friends in school, but by the time she scouted Preston for her story, he had changed schools, and it seemed like he didn’t recognize her. It didn’t...
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How it started/how it's going. A chat with former teen politician, Derrick Seaver.
Hi, I’m Anna Soper, and this is Teen People, the podcast that shares the stories of folks who appeared in Teen People magazine as young adults. My next guest was in the November 2000 issue of Teen People, in a story featuring young voices in American politics. At the age of 18, Derrick Seaver…
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This podcast is "serious cultural anthropology." I talk with Minneapolis artist Preston Drum!
Welcome to another episode of Teen People, the podcast that shares the stories of the real people who appeared in Teen People magazine! My next guest is Preston Drum, an artist, musician and arts educator in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Preston is originally from Charlotte, North Carolina. When he was...
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Dr. Joe Normandin talks first love, Drag Race, and neuroscience!
Today, I talk with Dr. Joe Normandin, who was in Teen People's October 1999 issue. Joe and his then-partner were featured in an article called 'Happy Together', which profiled young lesbian and gay couples in the United States. This was just twelve months after the murder of Matthew Shepard, a...
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"I just show up." Atiya Jones makes art in Pittsburgh!
Welcome to episode three of Teen People. My name is Anna Soper, and I am a British-Canadian artist, writer, and librarian in Canada. Today I give you Atiya Jones: funny, outgoing, fashionista. Girl-about-town—until Covid hit—in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Atiya was but a girl in Brooklyn when she...
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Bras, boys, and body image: Ashley Canino on Teen People magazine
Ashley Canino was thirteen when she appeared in Teen People. Modelling a pair of very low-rise corduroys, Ashley was part of a fashion editorial called 'Fashion for Every Body'. From "busty" to "boyish", each model was dressed solely according to their measurements. It's an editorial decision…
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Caron Levis tells me about her Teen People internship, and daydreaming in lockdown.
Welcome to Teen People! This unofficial podcast reveals the stories of those who appeared in Teen People magazine as young adults. My first guest is Caron Levis, who interned at Teen People in the late 1990s. Today, Caron teaches at NYU and the New School's Creative Writing MFA program. She is…
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