A platform for young leaders, activists, and changemakers to share their powerful stories and transformative ideas.

Hosted by Lily Mott, each episode is packed with inspiring conversations that highlight how young people around the world are driving extraordinary change in their communities and beyond. Whether you’re passionate about social action or simply looking for motivation to make a difference, this podcast will leave you feeling empowered and ready to take action.

On June 1, 2020, I finished up my workday at Congressman Joe Neguse’s (CO-02) office in Washington, DC and took off running down Independence Avenue. Finally reaching Lafayette Square Park, I pulled out my phone and began to record the Black Lives Matter protest unfolding before me. I spent the next seven hours at the protest, at one point being tear-gassed and fired on by police with rubber bullets. After I got back to my apartment at 1am, I decided to record my experience on my phone as an audio note. The next day, I published that note as the first episode (linked below) in what has since turned into a weekly podcast called “Be the change.”.

While I used this first episode of my podcast to recount my experience and educate my friends and family about what was happening at the protests they’d seen on the news, the podcast quickly evolved to feature the stories of young activists, advocates, and changemakers around the country who are leading movements toward change. Since I had never conducted an interview, used audio editing software, or created graphic design content before, I leaned heavily on Google how-tos and Amazon reviews. Nonetheless, within the first few weeks of June, I had ordered recording equipment, designed an Instagram page, and used Audacity to publish four 20-minute episodes.

Now, more than four years later, I’ve published over 235 episodes featuring guests from 34 countries. My listenership has grown at the same time, with more than 33,500 downloads from people in 77 countries, including every continent except Antarctica. Guests on the podcast have discussed a range of issues from local political controversies to international crises like climate change and mental health awareness.