Be Loud Radio

Get ready to BE inspired - Be Loud DJs traveled down to Studio Be and spent the morning learning about the art and stories that fill the space. We sat down with some of the Studio Be staff to learn more about the space and also spent time reflecting on the mic about creativity, culture, and art in New Orleans. PLUS! DJ Fave does her Senior Sign Off. 

Hear some awesome interviews with community partners who visited us in studio to ask about water! And our relationship to it as New Orleans residents. So many wonderful conversations took place that day  - HUGE shoutout to all the studio guests that came that day to connect with the Be Loud DJs! Thank you!!

Be Loud DJs consider our relationship to water as New Orleans residents and we feature a conversation with Jessica Dandridge-Smith, the Executive Director of the Water Collaborative

Kicking off Spring 2026 with some new DJs, new topics and fresh new content! Check out this episode, which features conversations about cold weather, Mardi Gras 2026, a Senior Sign Off from Kim and a listen to some of the Pass The Mic recordings made this year!

A selection of some of the Golden Mic segments from the 2025 Golden Mic!

On this episode, we spend time thinking about the places where we belong, plus clips from some great conversations with the current Lede Community Reporting Fellows!

Be Loud DJs get some great interviews from Tremé Fest! Featuring a segment about the Claiborne Overpass by students from the Net Charter and a little podcast from our trip to Big Couch!

Be Loud DJs collected sounds from the architectural instruments at the Music Box Village and got to interview artists from the Feel the Rhythm of the Drums festival. Catch both the sounds and the insights captured that day on this episode of Be Loud Radio!

More from our conversations with community leaders!

Be Loud DJs host community members at the studio for conversations about what issues matter to us and how we care for our city.

Kicking off Season 5 with thoughts on what youth love about New Orleans, what they'd like to change and what platform they would run on if they were mayor! This episode also features clips from an interview with Council woman Lesli Harris.

For this episode of Be Loud Radio Hour, we bring you audio essays and reflections from the Born After the Storm Project as a part of the commemoration of the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Learn more about this project at www.bornafterthestorm.com

Be Loud Studios live from the Youth Voice Festival! Check out some interviews and jump into the podcast room with some of the attendees and participants at this year's Youth Voice Festival.

What do Be Loud DJ's want adults to know? What expertise do they have to share? Listen on for some sage words from the Be Loud DJs.

Be Loud DJs interview Glenda McKinley and DJ Tr33, with a bonus feature about sustainable Mardi Gras solutions from the Youth Climate Action Fund project

Kicking off the Spring season of Be Loud! We're exploring a new question: How do we celebrate ourselves and the world around us? Check out our first episode of Spring 2025!

All of the 2024 Golden Mics in one place! 

Be Loud Radio REWIND! Some special extras that were recorded throughout the season packaged into one great episode! Catch a conversation with Ness from Mess Arts, interviews from a voter registration drive, and DJs getting on the mic to talk about the importance of stories, give shoutouts, and be themselves.

DJs give shoutouts to the people and things they want to celebrate and interview festival goers at A Studio in the Woods' FORESTival. A little post-election processing, as well. 

These are confusing times! On this episode, hear from Be Loud DJs and special guests about what's going on today and how they find joy even when things are challenging.

Be Loud DJs talk family traditions with each other and then with people attending the Family Folk Life Festival at the Louisiana Children's Museum.

Be Loud DJ's took on the Grassroots Radio Conference at Gallier Hall in New Orleans! DJs got to interview folks who work at community radio stations around the country, learning about what they do and also what they think is the power of storytelling. This episode includes interviews with radio hosts & practitioners, a podcast with MarkAlain Dery, the founder of WHIV, and an extra special addition of an interview between DJ Splash and Theo Mitchell, announcer for the New Orleans Pelicans and Saints.

This episode of Be Loud Radio Hour kicks off the 4th season of Be Loud! This season will tackle the question, "How do we find joy in confusing times?" We start the journey into this question in this episode with a focus on identity. This episode also features a conversation with Nina Compton and a reflection on #IAMNEWORLEANS from the students attending the 2024 NOLA Future Fest. 

DJs on the Scene! Listen to Be Loud DJs share their thoughts on the festival, as well as interview tourists, attendees, artists, musicians and workers!  

For this full episode of the Be Loud Radio Hour, our DJs were live on the scene at two very important local events: Youth Day At The Capitol and the Just Been Served workshop put on by The Juror Project. Be Loud was on the scene as over 100+ young people gathered at the LA Capitol to advocate for their rights. Hear their interviews with leaders from organizations like Daughters Beyond Incarceration, Puentes and The Covenant House.DJ DeMarcus Cousin the 3rd Jr. attended the Just Been Served workshop, a workshop dedicated to learning the importance of jury service and how you can serve.

In this episode of "Next Voices", students from the Living School talk about everything from Tik-Tok to high school curriculum to what it means to be a young person today. As always, we were so impressed by the energy and positivity of students from Living School.BIG shout out to New America Foundation for making this experience and production possible! 

For this full episode of the Be Loud Radio Hour, Be Loud DJs visit LOOP NOLA, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide positive, life-changing outdoor experiences for children and youth in Greater New Orleans. Our DJs learned some survival skills, explored City Park and interviewed some of the workers at LOOP NOLA. Our DJs also share some insight on how they've grown on AND off the mic so far this year. 

For this full episode of the Be Loud Radio Hour, Be Loud DJ's attended the Louisiana Children Museum's annual Mudfest as well as hosted the annual Youth Voice Festival.  Listen to Be Loud DJs share their thoughts on Mudfest, as well as interview attendees at each festival. 

DJs on the Scene! Listen to Be Loud DJs share their thoughts on the festival, as well as interview tourists, attendees, volunteers and staff members of the Jazz Museum at this year's Danny Barker Banjo & Guitar Festival. 

In this episode, Be Loud DJs met with Lauren LaRose and Mariana Barry Boyd, two experts working to share and promote how social media affects teenagers. DJ Bird and Diggity Deuce sat down with them and asked important questions on how we can build a more balanced and informed relationship with technology.But, we also wanted to give youth an opportunity to share their own perspective. Be Loud DJs recorded insights into their digital lives. Exploring the highs and lows of social media engagement. So tune in and listen to our next segment on social media and what the digital world means to Be Loud Teens.

In this episode of "Next Voices", students from Next Level talk about facing failure and the shortcomings of systemic institutions in America. We were so grateful to these students and their teacher for sharing their thoughts with us, and now with you all! BIG shout out to New America Foundation for making this experience and production possible! 

DJs on the Scene! Listen to Be Loud DJs interview one of the tour guides and share their experiences visiting New Orleans' Free People of Color museum!

"Next Voices" is a Be Loud podcast that listens to the next generation of students, leaders, and citizens here in New Orleans. In this episode, we talked with 8th graders from Bricolage Academy about what it means to grow up in their community and what they associate with being an American. The energy and enthusiasm of these 4 brave students really cemented the larger purpose of this project. Young people have a lot to say and we need to listen.Big shout out to our new friends from Bricolage Academy and we are grateful for these students for joining us in the studio and to their teacher Té Smith for leading the way.  Also, thank you to our partner the New America Foundation for inspiring and investing in this work. These experiences have pushed us to re-imagine what it means to listen to and record with young people. We hope you will continue to tune in to these conversations.

DJs on the Scene! Listen to Be Loud DJs interview members of the New Orleans community with ties to the historic Dew Drop Inn as the Inn plans to finally reopen this year.

New podcast alert! "Next Voices" is a Be Loud podcast that listens to the next generation of students, leaders, and citizens here in New Orleans. In this episode, students from The Net discuss what "America" means to them and realizations they've had as they navigate life and school. Big shout out to our new friends from the NET Central City and especially to their teacher Erin Lierl for coordinating, preparing, and inspiring this conversation. Also, thank you to our partner the New America Foundation for inspiring and investing in this work. These experiences have pushed us to re-imagine what it means to listen to and record with young people. We hope you will continue to tune in to these conversations. 

Every year, we partner with Lede New Orleans- an organization that equips emerging creatives with skills, tools and resources to transform how local media serves our communities.For this episode, DJs connected with Lede fellows and learned more about their reporting on the impact of prison on our local community. With their help, DJs also heard from leaders FFLIC LA as they shared more about their work in transforming the systems that put children at risk of prisons.Incredibly grateful to these two organizations for coming through to talk to Be Loud, inspire new questions and ideas, and to listen to what they had to say about their own experience.We will be sharing these conversation on an upcoming episode of our podcast. Stay tuned.

Be Loud had the incredible opportunity to "sit down" (over Zoom) with City Council President JP MorrellIt was an awesome conversation that covered everything from his day to day schedule to podcasting to how to deal with the hate. Super impressed by the energy and focus of the DJ crew and of course- big shout to JP Morrell for sitting down to talk with DJs about his life in and out of politics. 

Welcome back to Be Loud Radio Hour.To start the show, DJ spent a beautiful Saturday morning recording @tremefest and interviewed the many different artists, musicians, and vendors that made this year's festival a huge success.We are super impressed by Be Loud DJs. Pushing themselves to mic up and talk to someone new. Working on their interview skills. Making follow up connections. Chasing down second lines. Even figuring out how to record segment introduction in a bounce house.These things are not easy and DJs show up every week to get better on and off the mic.

This month, we went on our first field trips of the year! First, Be Loud interview teen artists at the Young Artists Movement as they finalized their new mural. Then, we went to the Louisiana Children's Museum and recorded with families about their traditions. Grateful for both of these opportunities and big shout out to these community partners for pressing record with Be Loud DJs.

Welcome back! We are kicking off our third season of Be Loud Radio with our largest cohort of young DJs. For episode 1, you meet some of our new DJs and hear more about what they want to do this year on the mic. Also, we will check in with our community partners at 826 New Orleans, Rooted School, and Make it Count Math.

In this episode the Be Loud crew meets up with the Pass the Mic Fellowship for an awesome episode. Be Loud Studios is a nonprofit organization committed to amplifying kid confidence through radio production. Additionally, we facilitate a year long fellowship for local K-12 teachers that want to learn how to produce meaningful audio/radio/podcast projects with their classrooms. So enjoy these pieces by our wonderful NOLA educators and students. As always learn more at BeLoudStudios.org

In this episode the Be Loud crew meets up with the Pass the Mic Fellowship for an awesome episode. Be Loud Studios is a nonprofit organization committed to amplifying kid confidence through radio production. Additionally, we facilitate a year long fellowship for local K-12 teachers that want to learn how to produce meaningful audio/radio/podcast projects with their classrooms. So enjoy these pieces by our wonderful NOLA educators and students. As always learn more at BeLoudStudios.org

What’s up! Thanks for tuning in to Be Loud, this episode we are live at Jazz Fest!Thanks for listening, and remember to Be Loud!

What’s up! Thanks for tuning in to Be Loud! In this episode we stopped by Music Box Village and interviewed some awesome musicians.  This episode also includes segments from 826 New Orleans. Thanks for listening, and remember to Be Loud!

What’s up! Thanks for tuning in to Be Loud! In this episode we get a visit from Dancing Grounds. Chanice stopped by to talk about Dance for Social Change, then you’ll hear about the places that make us feel safe. This episode also includes segments from Homer Plessy and 826 New Orleans. Thanks for listening, and remember to Be Loud!

What’s up! Thanks for tuning in to Be Loud! In this episode we go to the Danny Barker Festival at the New Orleans Jazz Museum. We interview leaders, vendors and musicians at the festival, and learn why it’s important to preserve the music and culture of New Orleans. This episode also includes segments from Homer Plessy and 826 New Orleans. Then at the rectangle table we meet with some local comedians to play Would You Rather.Thanks for listening, and remember to Be Loud!

What’s up! Thanks for tuning in to Be Loud! In this episode we talk to LEDE New Orleans about what it takes to do a great interview, and how to be a confident journalist. Then at the rectangle table we have a discussion about fears and how to face them.Thanks for listening!