Teen People

Like a Millennial Pygmalion, 16-year-old Frankie Thomas was plucked from the streets of New York, into the glossy studios of Teen People magazine. Their photo appeared in the March 2004 issue of Teen People (the prom issue!), under the headline "Smooch-proof Lips". Among other things, Teen People’s makeup artists suggested using lip liner as lipstick—it’ll last longer—or layering gloss over a lip stain. As you’ll hear in this episode, this was uncharted territory for Frankie. Frankie grew up in Chelsea, and went to the Friends Seminary, also known as the Quaker School. Founded in 1786, the school’s former students include Kyra Sedgewick, Vera Wang, Amanda Peet, and Lena Dunham. Frankie has an MFA in fiction from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, and has written for The Paris Review; focusing on '90s pop culture, Young Adult literature, and queer aesthetics. Their writing career began with a teenage blog—you’ll hear excerpts from this throughout this episode. Want to see Frankie's Teen People photo? Find it on Twitter and Instagram, at TeenPeoplePod, and on Tumblr: www.teenpeoplepod.tumblr.com. And check out my website, www.annasoper.ca. Read Frankie's work here: about.me/frankiethomas Frankie's book list: 'I'm Supposed to Protect You from All This', Nadja Spiegelman, 2016 (Riverhead Books) 'Detransition, Baby', Torrey Peters, 2021 (One World) 'Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls', T Kira Madden, 2019 (Bloomsbury) 'The Secret History', Donna Tartt, 2004 (Vintage)(Frankie's literary North Star!) Did you figure out that this whole episode is a tribute to Wes Anderson's movie soundtracks? Borrowing tracks from The Royal Tenenbaums to Moonrise Kingdom, here's the music that made it happen: Frédéric Chopin, ‘Berceuse Op. 57’, Christine Hartley-Troskie. CC BY 2.5 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5), via Wikimedia Commons. Maurice Ravel, ‘String Quartet in F Major (Second Movement)’, United States Army Band. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Lesfm, ‘Amazing Grace of Christmas’. Public domain, via Pixabay. Erik Satie, ‘Gymnopédie no. 1’, Robin Alciatore. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Johann Sebastian Bach, ’Sheep May Safely Graze’, BWV 208, Kevin MacLeod. CC BY 2.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), via Wikimedia Commons. embracetheart, ‘City Traffic (Outdoor)’. Public domain, via Pixabay. Franz Schubert, ‘An die Musik’, Adrien Poupin and Armelle Mathis. CC BY 3.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), via Wikimedia Commons. Mild Wild, ‘See Through’. CC BY 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), via Wikimedia Commons. Amy Sayer, ‘wild tape’. CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/), via Free Music Archive. Ketsa, Awakening-Spring. CC BY 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), via Free Music Archive. Mild Wild, ‘Line Spacing’. CC BY 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), via Wikimedia Commons. Update, April 2022: Read James Frankie Thomas' first essay as James Frankie Thomas; a startling take on The Killers' 2003 hit, Mr. Brightside: www.astra-mag.com/articles/i-wish-i-could-stop-thinking-about-mr-brightside/ Update, October 2023: Hear more about James' first book in our follow-up conversation! soundcloud.com/teenpeoplepod/jamesfthomas Teen People is recorded in Kingston/Katarokwi, the traditional territory of the Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee and the Huron-Wendat.

"We made it, we're in the Ottawa Citizen!" Dr. Ben Barry is Dean of Fashion at Parsons School of Design in New York. When he was fourteen, Ben founded a modelling agency in his hometown of Ottawa, Canada. Realizing there was an untapped market for models of all sizes, Ben made a name for himself as an agent for models of all sizes. Ben’s agency initially supplied models for the local newspaper, which quickly became his biggest champion. Then TEEN PEOPLE gave him a call. In March 2001, they celebrated Ben on their annual list of "20 Teens Who Will Change the World". This caught the attention of Oprah Winfrey, who featured the 18-year-old on her talk show. As an adult, Ben shifted into a career in fashion education. He has a BA from the University of Toronto, and degrees from Cambridge University, where his PhD research demonstrated a business case for size diversity in fashion and beauty advertising. Over the past few years, Ben has worked at Ryerson University in Toronto, where he was Chair of Fashion, and Founding Director of the Centre for Fashion Diversity and Social Change. He remains an Associate Professor of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, in the School of Fashion at Ryerson. Ben spoke with me in the spring of 2021, from his country home west of Kingston, Ontario. Podcast notes: Ben is the co-founder and co-editor of Fashion Studies, an open access, academic journal, which you can find here: www.fashionstudies.ca. Find me online: www.annasoper.ca. This is the last episode of season two, and if you haven't heard my other interviews, please do! I would love to hear your thoughts on this project, so please get in touch, or leave a review or rating on your favourite podcast app. Intro music (edited for length): Fog Lake, 'Roswell'. Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0): www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ @foglake on SoundCloud Outro music: RomanBelov on Pixabay Teen People is recorded in Kingston/Katarokwi, the traditional territory of the Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee and the Huron-Wendat.

This is Teen People, the podcast where I track down people from Teen People magazine. Where are they now? This week’s guest, Tabitha Sukhai, gives us an update. Tabitha is an award-winning digital media professional and social media strategist. She got her start as a Teen People Trendspotter, part of a network of thousands of Teen People readers who contributed original content to the magazine, participated in focus groups, and advised Teen People’s staff on local trends in their own communities. As a New York-based Trendspotter, Tabitha had a close involvement with the magazine and its staff. This gave her valuable editorial and marketing experience in a major media corporation. In 2001, she jumped into an internship—or rather, a series of internships—across the TIME Inc. spectrum, but she began by working with Isabel González, Teen People’s Special Projects Editor, and head of the magazine’s Trendspotter program. Today Tabitha uses her skills to uplift small businesses and mentor up-and-coming digital media professionals. Tabitha spoke with me in the fall of 2021 from her home in New York. Podcast notes: See Tabitha in action: https://about.me/tabitha.sukhai Find me on Twitter and Instagram: [at] TeenPeoplePod And on Tumblr: https://teenpeoplepod.tumblr.com Credits: Music by Lesfm from Pixabay Subway sound effects: Jay Reed from Winslow Township, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0), via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lexington_Avenue_Line_vc.ogv Teen People is recorded in Kingston/Katarokwi, the traditional territory of the Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee and the Huron-Wendat.

TCM host Dave Karger joins me to speak about his new book, 50 OSCAR NIGHTS! Featuring Dave's original interviews with Hollywood legends like Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno, Julia Roberts, Meryl Streep, and Martin Scorsese, 50 OSCAR NIGHTS is the perfect gift for cinephiles. Dave started his career as an entertainment journalist, writing for ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY, and freelancing for TEEN PEOPLE. He spoke with me about interviewing Britney Spears and LFO, as well as his favourite Academy Awards moments! ................ Podcast notes: Thanks to Running Press for sending me a copy of Dave's book! Buy it here: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/dave-karger/50-oscar-nights/9780762486328/?lens=running-press Find me on Twitter and Instagram at TeenPeoplePod And online at www.annasoper.ca Music and sounds: The Sound of dial-up Internet by wtermini on Pixabay Spirit Blossom by RomanBelov on Pixabay Poor, But Happy by HoliznaCC0 CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ ................ Teen People is recorded in Kingston/Katarokwi, the traditional territory of the Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee and the Huron-Wendat.

In part one of a two-part interview, I speak with Sarah Ditum about her new book, TOXIC. It’s a scathing reexamination of the lives of nine female celebrities: Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Aaliyah, Janet Jackson, Amy Winehouse, Kim Kardashian, Chyna, and Jennifer Aniston. Each experienced some form of global fame, as well as the consequences that come with too much attention. In TOXIC, Sarah writes, "...tearing these women to pieces was both a social activity and a form of divination. In the entrails of their reputations, we hunted for clues about what a woman ought to be..." We talk: teen magazines, blogs, promise rings, sex tapes, and Britney Spears' "cult of virginity", celebrity memoirs, Justin Timberlake's homemade shotgun, why Taylor Swift reminds me of Avril Lavigne, and what Donald Trump owes to WWE. Part II: https://soundcloud.com/teenpeoplepod/sarah-ditum-toxic-teen-people Notes: Find me online at www.annasoper.ca and on Twitter and Instagram at TeenPeoplePod. Find Sarah online on Twitter and Instagram at sarahditum. ................ Buy Sarah's book! Here's how: UK: https://www.littlebrown.co.uk/titles/sarah-ditum/toxic/9780349727134/ North America: https://www.abramsbooks.com/product/toxic_9781419763113/ ................ Author photo: Paul Clarke ................ Additional thanks: Stephanie Palumbo at Canadian Manda Group, Toronto ................ Sounds and music: The Sound of dial-up Internet by wtermini on Pixabay Drop It by Coma-Media on Pixabay Fighter [No Vocals] - punk rock by 22941069 on Pixabay ................ Teen People is recorded in Kingston/Katarokwi, the traditional territory of the Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee and the Huron-Wendat.