![YR Media’s Best Broadcast Essays of 2023](https://yr.media/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/NWS-231215-yrmedia-best-stories-web-1200x720-broadcast.jpg)
As we usher in the new year, these are some must-listen audio essays from 2023. Hear from YR Media’s writers about their thoughts on a variety of issues such as the increase in cost of living to the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down affirmative action.
I Can’t Keep Up with Inflation
By Noumaan Faiz
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.youthradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/05033710/person-holding-receipts-inflation-GETTY-IMAGES.jpg)
“Now I admit, I didn’t always notice the effects of inflation. I was only six years old during the big financial crisis in 2008. But now as a young adult, I finally understand my parents’ frustration when gas prices go up even a few cents. Having to spend almost $100 every time I’m filling up a tank drains both my bank account and my soul.”
Starting Therapy was What I Needed All Along
By Nina Roehl
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.youthradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/03125156/annie-spratt-unsplash-therapy.jpg)
“Looking back to before I started therapy, I realize now that I was diminishing the real struggles I was going through … I really feel the difference in where I am mentally now. I know that I still have a lot of work to do, but I’m proud of how far I’ve come. And therapy has been a tool that’s helped guide me in the right direction.”
College Admissions: Affirmative Action vs. Legacy Applicants
By Audrey La Jeunesse
![](https://yr.media/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/GettyImages-1448852789-1024x683.jpg)
“At my very privileged school, it’s frustrating when my peers with long family histories in prestigious universities, cry “affirmative action” when students of color — especially Black and brown students — are admitted to those universities … . Colleges can’t be race-blind with the types of questions and essays they ask for. For many, like me, race is inseparable from life experience.”
Wood Street Commons: When Your Neighbors are Forced to Leave
By Phoebe Lefebvre
![An image of the Wood Street Commons homeless encampment in Oakland from 2018. There are signs protesting the city clearing out a section of the Commons.](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.youthradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/31163336/Screenshot-2023-05-22-at-5.35.53-PM-1024x728.png)
“I’ve lived down the road from Wood Street for 13 years, and I’ve watched as Oakland’s largest homeless encampment grew from a collection of tents to a massive, bustling community. In April, the city finished clearing out Wood Street … I’ve volunteered at the encampment for the majority of my life, so watching the people vanish was shocking.”
Red Dots Under My Name
By Shriya Dharmapurikar
![](https://yr.media/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/KCBS_Shriya-Dharmapurikar_Name-1024x663.jpg)
“Here’s the hardest thing about this red underline. Growing up, it only added on to the fear that I didn’t belong. When my name becomes underlined, it feels like it’s a mistake — like it doesn’t belong on the page, or it should be different.”