Audio Road Trip: Introducing On Our Minds Season 6
March 1, 2026
The sixth season of PBS News Student Reporting Labs’ Edward R. Murrow-award-winning podcast about the teenage experience, On Our Minds, will launch April 15, 2026. At America’s 250th anniversary, this season takes listeners on an audio road trip to explore what it’s like to be young in every corner of the United States.
Buckle up! Join high school student-hosts Zack and Helena on an unforgettable *audio* road trip across the country. At each stop, student producers from all over will take listeners on a tour of their towns, cities, and neighborhoods, introducing us to the places and faces that make teen life unique in every corner of the United States. Pack light, bring snacks, and prepare to add On Our Minds: Season 6 to your road trip playlist, available wherever you get your podcasts.
On Our Minds is hosted by and co-created with high school student journalists to amplify their unique perspectives and experiences. This new season involves student producers from across the country — from college-town Missouri and the San Francisco Bay to New Jersey and Colorado.
“Everyone is an expert in what’s happening in their own community,” says SRL Youth Media Producer Becky Wandel. “This season we get to share awesome local stories while finding common threads in teen life across very different hometowns. Our student producers are showing that community can be found anywhere and everywhere—tune in and get to know someone else’s neighbors.”
In this ten-episode season, listeners will find relatable voices in unfamiliar places, from beekeepers in the five boroughs and a pizza joint in the Rockies, to the hallowed walls of a Jersey Dunkin Donuts. And, a conversation with Braiding Sweetgrass author Robin Wall-Kimmerer.
On Our Minds is distributed by PRX/Dovetail. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes and segments are also available for free republication.
Meet the co-hosts
Zack Castruita is a senior at Samueli Academy in Santa Ana, California. Always on the hunt for great chicken wings and drumsticks, Zack spends his time making loud noises, playing percussion, and live broadcasting sports. He loves adventuring around Southern California, whether that means beaches, forests, or sporting events.
“I love podcasts because they remind me of my grandma, who tells unforgettable stories and makes deep connections,” says Castruita. “So, like millions of teenage boys, I want to be more like my grandma. Through On Our Minds, I’m excited to help share unique stories from kids across the country.”
Helena Ortiz is a sophomore at Rockingham Early College High School in Wentworth, North Carolina. Known for her sharp sarcasm and “great” advice, Helena loves spending weekends downtown with friends, watching SNL and The Good Doctor, and hanging out with her pet turkey, Juanita (pronounced wah-knee-tuh). She’s a fan of informational podcasts and is a natural storyteller, often sprinkling in a little hyperbole for good measure.
“I love telling stories and hearing about life from different points of view. I enjoy trying new things and want to help amplify voices like mine, especially from communities that don’t always see themselves represented in the media,” says Ortiz, who is proud to be representing her Southern roots.
This season, On Our Minds is working with student producers from several states and Puerto Rico to produce the segments in each episode. More about them here:
Broomfield, CO (Denver Metro) and Winter Park, Colorado. Student producer: Theodore Bonavita.
Columbia, Missouri. Student producer: Maggie LeBeau
Highland Park, New Jersey. Student producer: Libby Peckman
Bay Area, California. Student producers: Keerthi Eraniyan (San Ramon) and Padma Balaji (Fremont)
Richmond, Indiana: Student producer: Lemon Swanson
Many more places/producers to be announced soon.
Theme music for this season was composed by Emilson David Orellana Juarez & Jerick Romero Ciprian
How to contribute to On Our Minds
Interested in being involved next season? Each fall, On Our Minds has an open call for student hosts and story producers. Learn more here and sign up for StoryMaker for updates.
About Student Reporting Labs
PBS News Student Reporting Labs (SRL) is a hands-on journalism training program from PBS News and WETA that connects young people to real-world experiences and their educators to tools, resources, and community. This national program trains and equips educators and teens with the tools and training to report stories in their own communities, and provides platforms for their stories to reach national audiences. Since 2009, Student Reporting Labs has helped students publish over 150 video news reports on the PBS News Hour nightly broadcast and many more via local media outlets. Student Reporting Labs reaches over 9,500 educators through StoryMaker, its free learning platform. Visit www.studentreportinglabs.org and www.story-maker.org to learn more.
About PBS News
PBS News is the consolidator news brand within NewsHour Productions LLC, a wholly-owned non-profit subsidiary of WETA Washington, D.C. Major corporate funding is provided by BDO, BNSF, Consumer Cellular, and Raymond James, with additional support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Ford Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the National Science Foundation, David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Walton Family Foundation, Friends of the News Hour and others. More information on PBS News is available at www.pbs.org/newshour. You can watch and find PBS News programming on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. News Hour Productions produces PBS News Hour, PBS News Weekend and Washington Week with The Atlantic.
About WETA
Founded in 1961, the Washington Educational Telecommunications Association (WETA) is the leading public broadcasting station in the nation’s capital, serving Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia with educational, cultural, news and public affairs programs and services. WETA hosts the production of PBS NewsHour, a classical music radio station, and programming that focuses on the United Kingdom. Learn more at https://weta.org.