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Patricia Stonesifer, chairwoman of the Smithsonian Institution and on the White House Council for Community Solutions, discusses her work and the White House efforts to reach disconnected youth – young people who are neither in school, nor in the workforce.

Mark Hyman, journalist and former writer for BusinessWeek and Sports Business Journal, and author of The Most Expensive Game in Town: The Rising Cost of Youth Sports and the Toll on Today's Families, offers a sobering look at the business of youth sports.

The Center for New York City Affairs recently hosted a forum to review the connection between child welfare and juvenile justice in New York City and the state. Listen to the forum here.

Churchill and others have said, "If you are not a liberal at twenty you have no heart; if you are not a conservative at forty you have no brain." We asked listeners: how true has that been for you?

Churchill and others have said, "If you're not a liberal at twenty you have no heart, if you're not a conservative at forty you have no brain." How true has this been for you?

Historically speaking, when we think of revolutions we think of youth. And in the case of the Arab spring, this is certainly true — one half of the Islamic world is people under thirty, and they are at the forefront of sweeping change. How are their values and religious beliefs similar to (and different from) their elders? And what do they want the future to look like?

On Saturday, some 30 young writers will read poetry and fiction alongside well-known Brooklyn writers at Fort Greene Park's monument. The younger set, aged 7 to 17, has worked with the New York Writers Coalition on honing their creative writing chops this summer. Listen to their poems here.

The 15th annual New York City Fringe Festival begins on Friday. To mark the date, WNYC asked five playwrights and alumni of the FringeNYC five questions about what it's like to be a part of the fest.

After months of preparation for the NYC Digital Waves Youth Media Festival, it finally arrived on Saturday July 30^th - as it quickly came it also quickly passed. I miss the festival already. But maybe it was part of the appeal so we would hunger more for next year! Even as someone who planned this event I didn't feel like, "finally it's done now move on," (maybe a tiny bit), but I want more.

Children's advocates are calling on the City Council to restore $23 million the mayor proposed cutting from after school programs. They claim a cut that large means 16,000 elementary and middle school students will lose access to homework help, arts and sports classes.

It was hard to tell who was more lucky last night: President Barack Obama being at a show with The Roots or The Roots being at a show with the president. But it wasn't luck that made it happen; President Obama's attendance at their concert follows a recent talk before Facebook nation at their headquarters in Palo Alto, and a speech on the economy at George Washington University. These appearances, plus the launch of Gen44, is an attempt by the President to reach out to America's youth — a key demographic that helped him secure his victory in 2008. We talk with Anna Sale, reporter for WNYC's politics website, It's a Free Country.

Pop lyrics seem to have taken a turn towards the "me" and "I" variety, according to a new study. The study analyzed three decades of songs, and concluded that song lyrics have become more narcissistic in recent years, reflecting current youth culture. Is that really true? Maura Johnston, music editor for The Village Voice, lends her thoughts on this topic.

We want to know: Do you believe you are narcissistic? Take this test and find out.

Egyptians approved a referendum on constitutional changes over the weekend and ushered in a new era in the country, which will begin with parliamentary and presidential elections. The old ruling party and the Muslim Brotherhood seem to have the advantage heading into elections, but that could all change in an instant.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak addressed the youth of his country — most of whom are the very people calling for his removal from office — with what many perceive as paternal condescension. We take a closer look at the generation gap between the President and his populace.

Dan Savage, author of the syndicated sex-advice column "Savage Love," discusses his "It Gets Better" campaign, which gathers videos of encouragement for LGBT youths.  

Young people have been hit the hardest by the economic recession. One out of four unemployed persons is under the age of 25 and nearly 20 percent of all young workers are currently unemployed. More than 1.3 million workers under the age of 25 have left the work force since the recession began in December 2007.

Dan Savage, author of the syndicated sex-advice column "Savage Love," discusses his "It Gets Better" campaign, which gathers videos of encouragement for LGBT youths.  

In an attempt at hipness, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. has aligned its Camel brand cigarettes with the burgeoning artist community of Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Two years ago, Barack Obama won the presidency in part by having inspired young people to come out and vote in record numbers. Early indicators say young voters aren't as excited about turning out this year. We hear from students from the University of Pennsylvania on how (and if) they plan to vote.

Every year, with NYPD sponsorship, 200 young kids, most of them Muslim, gather in open spaces to yell and throw and hit.  More specifically, they're praising glovesmanship, bowling carrom balls, and knocking Dilscoops: They're playing cricket for the "NYPD United."