YR Media (formerly Youth Radio), the award-winning leading music, technology, and media training center and platform for diverse emerging content creators, introduced its new show "Movers & Shakers,” a series of interviews and profiles of young leaders in the technology, media and music industries.

Spotlighting cultural innovation, this interview series features one-on-one conversations between diverse Gen Z content creators and newsmakers for the aforementioned industries.

Through a significant editorial effort, including the insight of more than a dozen young YR Media journalists who offer an authentic and inclusive image, “Movers & Shakers” highlights the innovative work of artists belonging to the diverse communities who are in the creative vanguard and seek to lead a cultural change.

After interviewing Victor Silva, a computer scientist and leader of the "Black in AI organization,” Melissa Pérez Winder, a YR Media contributor, highlighted:

Participating in the ‘Movers & Shakers’ campaign opened my eyes to the hardships and inequities many face with regards to accessing and utilizing technology.

“My conversation with Victor taught me that without equitable access to technology and technology education across the globe — including those countries with few resources — AI will not be able to bring forth a better future for humanity,” added Pérez Winder.

Building on the success of “In the Black Mirror,” YR Media's first season of interviews with leading voices in the artificial intelligence (AI) space, a technology that is changing the world for better or worse, “Movers & Shakers” is awaited with great anticipation.

“In this latest iteration, “Movers & Shakers” aims to expand the scope by digging deeper into the innovations and back stories of BIPOC influencers who are changing the way our culture thinks about technology, media, and music,” it is highlighted. 

The interview series is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and is conducted in collaboration with YR Media's MIT App Inventor partners, whose goal is to create content, curriculum, and research in AI literacy.

What does it take to do something in your field that creates change? Check out the complete series at YR Media: https://t.co/qmxjzMrCG1

— YR Media (@itsYRmedia) June 4, 2022

“Movers & Shakers” Guests 

Among the guests to chat in this new season are:

• Diana Nucera, who is translating AI for the public.
• Jaden Jefferson, 14-year-old journalist who obtained executive interviews with major political figures.
• Ezinne Nwankwo, a PhD student who is countering the spread of misinformation on topics like COVID-19.

About YR Media

Headquartered in downtown Oakland, California, this nonprofit organization has nearly 30 years of experience helping future generations develop critical media and journalism skills. It produces journalism, music, graphic design, podcasts, and documentaries that "alter and shape the dominant narrative.”