Creative placemaking “integrates arts, culture, and design activities into efforts that strengthen communities” (National Endowment for the Humanities, n.d.). Youth podcasting is one strategy for injecting new energy into rural Kentucky communities and elevating voices and local perspectives of place that are seldom heard. 

The Appalachian Young’Uns podcast is the brainchild of Haley Simpkins, a recent UK graduate with a major in Journalism and a minor in Community & Leadership Development. During the Spring of 2022, Haley worked with Dr. Breazeale as part of an independent study class to launch this podcast. A native of Pike County, Haley wanted to develop a podcast that featured Eastern Kentucky youth, with a focus on Pike County.  After meeting with an Advisory Council comprised of Extension specialists in the Arts, 4-H, Journalism, and CLD, Haley recorded the first few episodes of the podcast. Each episode features Haley interviewing a different Eastern Kentucky youth. The conversation centers on what it means to be Appalachian and how that identity intersects with other important identities, such as 4-H, the arts, and so forth. With support from Dr. Breazeale and CLD, Haley is currently teaching a UK junior from Eastern Kentucky how to take over as host for the podcast. Cooperative Extension will help promote the podcast. Furthermore, Dr. Breazeale and her team are currently developing a discussion guide to accompany the episodes that can be used by Agents to foster digital literacy and reflect on issues of identity and place.      

            Appalachian Young’Uns also led to the development of a new major offered through 4-H Teen Conference. Fifteen youth from around the state enrolled in a two-day workshop on “digital storytelling and podcasting” offered in June 2022 by Dr. Breazeale and UK alumni, Julia Price. UK press covered the event: http://news.ca.uky.edu/article/workshop-empowers-teens-create-podcasts. The goal of the workshop was to help students recognize the importance of youth voice and introduce them to the fundamentals of podcasting and community media as an outlet for their voice. Students gave the workshop high marks, stating “I can’t wait to go home and continue working on my podcast.” With oversight from the Advisory Committee, Breazeale’s team is translating the workshop into an Extension curriculum on podcasting to be used by Kentucky Arts and 4-H Agents.