Saturday, November 14th, 2pm and Sunday, November 15, 8pm on 820AM
For 10 years, WNYC's Radio Rookies program has been taking listeners inside the most intimate moments of teenager's lives: a 16-year-old confronting her father about his addiction to drugs, a girl giggling with her big sister about an obsessive crush, a high school senior deciding whether to risk his life for revenge. Now, for the first time, Radio Rookies presents an hour-long special, "Growing Up, Getting By," hosted by WNYC reporter and Radio Rookies founder Marianne McCune. The stories you'll hear are about how teenagers find their way to adulthood.
 Listen to full hour special
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Heroin
When she was 16, Janesse Nieves said she and her mother have one thing in common—they were both betrayed by Janesse's father. She took her microphone and went to his house to try to convince him he should stop using heroin. A clinical expert told her there was nothing she could do about his addiction, but she found that hard to believe. After the story, Marianne McCune calls up Janesse to hear how she's doing now, 8 years later.
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Let Me Just Breathe
An interview about a night that almost took Jesus Gonzalez's life in a completely different direction. It was Halloween of 2004, and Jesus got into a confrontation with P-Mac, another teenager from his neighborhood. P-Mac pulls a knife and swings at Jesus, who gets away but is later faced with the question of whether or not to seek revenge.
listen | listen to "Guns," Jesus' original Rookies story
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How To Survive Teasing
As a little kid, Samr "Rocky" Tayeh was the adorable, chubby boy at home; but at school classmates called him "Barney", the big purple dinosaur. Rocky didn't hide in a corner and wait for the bullying to stop, he learned how to use his sharp tongue to shut other kids down, but sometimes he takes it too far. Rocky heads out to a park in Brooklyn to talk with kids about how they survive teasing.
listen | listen to "Obesity," Rocky's original Rookies story
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Crushes
Surviving unrequited love may be one of the most universal experiences of being a teenager. We listen to excerpts of Catalina Puente's and Linda Cuevas's stories about how tough it is to pick yourself up and move on. Then host Marianne McCune sits down in the studio with both of them to hear their advice to people trying to heal from a broken heart.
listen | listen to "Obsession," Cat's original Rookies story | listen to "Suicide," Linda's original Rookies story
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Growing Up Alone
Sunnie Hwang moved to the US from Korea, hoping she would find the happiness she had as a child—when her parents were still alive. In 2002, she told WNYC listeners about her life as an orphan, trying to make her way in the world. Listen to her original story, and then host Marianne McCune heads out to Queens to find out how she's doing now.
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Thanks Dad
Edward Llanos told his first Radio Rookies story about how his family coped when he was stricken with a nearly fatal illness. Years later, he participated in the Moth Community Outreach Program and told a live audience in downtown Manhattan how his dad helped save his life.
listen | listen to Edward's original Rookies story
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