The future really is a foreign, unknown country, and none of us have a crystal ball – but want to know the best way to be able to have a good idea about what is coming? Talk to young people! It’s really not a trite cliché that young people ‘are’ the future – but true. Young people are the ones who have to live in the future, so it’s in their best interest to try and shape a future they all want to live in. This episode is a bit of retrospective of the series, where we summarise our findings...

School is one of the great social levellers – every young person irrespective of who they are has to go. However, the 2020 pandemic revealed two critical things – firstly, just how unequal the schooling system has become and secondly, just how important good schooling is. In the first episode about the modern school system, we get under the skin of these issues, talking to teenagers about what it’s really like to attend a failing school and the impact this has had on their future. We also...

What does faith and spirituality mean to teens living in the increasingly secular West, where we tend to worship Apple and celebrities more readily than we worship religious icons? Surprisingly – a lot! In an uncertain and anxious age where there are few answers and little comfort, young people are embracing everything spiritual and religious with gusto, with some turning to more traditional religion and others seeking solace in the more esoteric. Don’t believe us? Check out the more...

Amazingly, ‘feminism’ – ostensibly a movement about equality for women has become one of the most controversial – and often maligned – labels in modern discourse. Loads of teenage women – and lots of teenage men – are inspired and empowered by the movement and find real strength in modern feminist icons, books and TED talks. Feminism has been the fuel for the #metoo movement, helped young people challenge the notions of power and language and helped a new generation fight for greater gender...

Being a teenage boy in the ‘20’s is challenging – you are either accused of possessing massive privilege or there is well-founded concern about how you are doing, with rates of depression, suicide, risky behaviour and body dysmorphia rising sharply in young men. In this episode we get real with teenage boys about what it’s like living the ‘20’s and the very real consequences of being pressured to be Alpha, what they think of girls, sexual politics, social media, role models, feminism and...

After a year of upheaval and devastation, race has finally become part of the global discussion and a priority conversation for everyone to be having – but how do you turn this into a movement and not just a moment? We did the thing everyone should be doing and talked to teenagers about race, identity, the role it’s played in their young lives so far and their hopes for the future. In this episode, we talk to teens of different races and backgrounds about racism, prejudice, BLM, the police,...

Pornography has been around forever and has occupied a ‘special’ place in the lives of teenagers for decades. But has porn – and the relationship with porn – changed for the first truly digital generation? The answer is a resounding yes!! Modern teenagers are the first generation to have unfettered, 24/7 access to any flavour of pornography they like, and are they ever indulging! The average teenager watches 87 hours of porn a year, and there is little doubt this is having a massive impact on...

Did you know that teenagers (16-19) are 40% more likely to suffer from domestic violence than people in their twenties (20-24)? Do teenagers even really know what qualifies as domestic violence or that they can become victims, seeing as the majority think DV happens to married middle-aged people? Would your teenager recognise the red-flags or warning signs of a potentially or actively abusive partner? If the answer is ‘no’ to any of the questions, stop what you are doing and listen! This...

There is no getting around it – sex work in the 2020’s is booming. From the meteoric rise of Only Fans, the popularity of Sugar Daddy-style dating apps, the proliferation of porn and webcamming, and young people utilising the power of the internet and social media to market themselves – clue: Instagram has become the world’s most successful sex work marketing tool! But how is this impacting teenagers and moreover, with selling sex becoming so normalised, are they tempted to ditch the bar and...

Popularity is one of the most coveted ‘things’ for teenagers – all young people want to be seen as popular (both online and offline) and all parents want popularity for their kids. And yet, despite its importance, no one really understands what popularity is – what makes some teens popular and others less so? If you are popular, how did you get to be that way and what should you do with that popularity and equally what does it feel like to be unpopular or even bullied? In this episode, teens...

Bodies. We’ve all got one. And you never have a more challenging relationship with your body than when you’re a teenager. Whilst the teenage relationship with their body has always been difficult, this has been hugely exacerbated for modern teens, by the existence of the internet and social media. Young people don’t need to seek out a fashion magazine or watch another teen movie to feel inadequate about their physiques – specimens of physical perfection are blasted at them 24/7 from their...

Cancel Culture is a relatively new thing - but has rapidly become one of the most controversial and provocative issues in public discourse. Some people believe cancel culture holds people to account for what they’ve said or done, other people believe it is another tool to prevent people from speaking or acting freely. But what does it feel like to get cancelled? What happens when something you said as a teenager – even if objectively offensive – casts a shadow on your entire future? We speak...

Hosted by the youth issue expert, journalist and author Chloe Combi,  You Don’t Know Me is a new Podimo podcast that gives you a no holds barred insight into the lives of teenagers today, through their own experiences and voices. Throughout the series Chloe covers topics such as , body image, sexuality, race, popularity, school, feminism and cancel culture with Gen Z, giving an ultimate insight into their world and the future they are creating. You Don't Know Me is a Podimo...