Season Three is here, and we're kicking things off with two behind-the-scenes episodes. In this episode, we take a peek behind the curtain to learn what goes in to selecting the winning monologues. From 661 to 18–it's quite a task.

A monologue written from the perspective of Philadelphia, imploring its citizens to put down the guns, starts a conversation about gun violence. Featuring conversations with Tyler Riddick, a senior at the U School who wrote the monologue after her friend was killed by a stray bullet; Jose Ferran, a peer intervention specialist at Healing Hurt People who survived a gunshot to the arm in 2011; Leonard Chester, founder of The Overcame Foundation; and Jerrick Medrano, who performs the monologue and opens up about his own experiences with gun violence.

A monologue about a young man who is turned away from his first job interview starts a conversation about how we treat individuals on the autism spectrum and how we prepare them for work and independence. Featuring conversations with Dylan Henry, a sophomore at the Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts, whose younger brother inspired the monologue; and three individuals from Project SEARCH, a program that offers vocational training and internships to young adults diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.

A monologue about a young woman grappling with her identity after a friend is attacked starts a conversation about being Muslim in America. Featuring conversations with the writer Ruya Erkut, a freshman at George Washington Carver, and her mother, Ebru Erkut, who works as a paralegal at an immigration firm. This is a personal episode about growing up and parenting as a Muslim in the current, fraught political climate. 

A monologue about a young man sharing some news with his mother starts a conversation about coming out. Featuring conversations with Lisbet Espinal, a sophomore at the Philadelphia Military Academy, who wrote “Breaking Barriers” to address a problem she perceives in her community, and with Francisco Cortes, Interim Executive Director or GALAEI, a queer Latinx social justice organization.

A monologue about claiming and reclaiming power over one's body starts a conversation about sexual harassment. Featuring conversations with Dori Hoffman, a high school junior who wrote her monologue "War Paint" after four years of silence about her own experience of sexual harassment; and Nuala Cabral, a filmmaker, educator, and activist dedicated to teaching consent and confronting sexual harassment in all its forms.

A monologue about a girl getting her period for the first time starts a conversation about puberty, menstruation, and what it means to enter the next stage of your life. Featuring conversations with Kaltra Zabiku, whose monologue "The Initiation" inspired this episode; and with Nadya Okamoto, who has become a leading voice in the Menstrual Movement since she started PERIOD, an organization that provides feminine hygiene products to those in need.

A monologue about young Chinese American grappling with her cultural identity and embarrassment about her inability to speak Chinese starts a conversation about the challenges of being a first generation American. Featuring conversations with Donna Zhang, a senior at Drexel University whose monologue "A Last Stroll Through Pain" inspired this episode; Rebecca, Faith, and Nikita, three first generation Americans; and Raquel Salas Rivera, a Philadelphia transplant from Puerto Rico and the  2018-19 Poet Laureate of Philadelphia.

A monologue about the stresses of being a teenager starts a conversation about teen stress and teen resilience. Recorded live at the Louis Bluver Theatre at the Drake, this episode features conversations with: Brittany Blythe, a senior at Lankenau High School; Kay'Stienna Carter, a junior at Benjamin Franklin High School; Ericka Morris, educational consultant; and Dr. Ken Ginsburg, a pediatrician specializing in Adolescent Medicine at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

A monologue questioning the value of a classroom discussion starts a conversation about learning. Featuring conversations with Ericka Morris, a former teacher and curriculum specialist, Tamir D. Harper, a senior at Science Leaderships Academy and co-founder of UrbEd, and Brooke Sexton, Artistic Director of YesAnd! Collaborative Arts.

A monologue written from the perspective of a cigarette starts a conversation about addiction. Featuring conversations with Charmira Nelson, who wrote the monologue while struggling with a secret addiction to cigarettes when she was a junior in high school, and "John," a recovering addict and member of Narcotics Anonymous.

A monologue about a young man and his family facing eviction starts a conversation about housing instability, youth homelessness, and aging out of the system. Featuring conversations with Selena Ortiz, a young woman currently in the system, and Dr. Nikia Owens, the Director of Income and Financial Stability Community Impact at the United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey.

A monologue about a sister saying goodbye to her severely autistic older brother starts a conversation about autism spectrum disorder. Featuring conversations with Lisa Gardner, a mechanical engineering student whose monologue was written at a time when her relationship with her brother was particularly challenging; and Dr. Kate Wallis, a pediatrician who specializes in youth with autism spectrum disorder.

A monologue about a young woman at the therapist following the death of her brother starts a conversation about grief, death of a sibling, and loss. Featuring conversations with Taliya Carter whose monologue draws upon her interest in psychology as well as from her own personal experiences of sibling death; and Darcy Walker Krause, the Executive Director of The Center for Grieving Children in Philadelphia.

A monologue about a relationship in peril because of another relationship--with a phone--starts a conversation about social media, technology, and the ways we communicate. Featuring conversations with a group of high school students from the Academy at Palumbo in South Philadelphia and tech life expert Stephanie Humphrey.

A monologue about a fast food worker starts a conversation about jobs. Featuring a conversation with Chekemma Fulmore-Townsend, President &CEO of the Philadelphia Youth Network, man on the street interviews, and worst job experiences from the production team.

A monologue about a young black man encouraging his friend to pursue higher education starts a conversation about black male engagement. Featuring a conversation with "The Tribe," four young black men whose bond helped them thrive at Philadelphia's academically rigorous J.R. Masterman School. 

On April 15th, 18-year-old Dubois Stewart was on his way home from community service. A police car pulled up behind him. He was stopped and frisked. “I was terrified.” Dubois said in an interview with Mouthful for our episode on community policing. “I’d never been stopped and frisked before. I seriously thought I wouldn’t go away unharmed because of all the cases I’d recently heard of police brutality between black young males and police officers in general.” Two weeks later on April 29th, 15-year-old Jordan Edwards was shot and killed by police in Balch Springs, Texas. He was unarmed, sitting in the passenger seat of a car. According to The Guardian, black males aged 15-34 were nine times more likely than other Americans to be shot and killed by police in 2016. To date, more than 110 black people who have been killed by police in 2017. For today’s episode of Mouthful, a weekly podcast that puts young people at the center of important conversations, we’re doing something different. We’re revisiting our conversation with Dubois and his mom, Vashti, in the wake of the stop and frisk. In Vashti’s words, “We can’t normalize injustice and by telling people the story we keep the conversation going.”

A monologue about a young black woman who is expelled from school for standing up to racism starts a conversation about the high expectations and double standards imposed on students of color in majority-white institutions. Featuring an interview with Angela Antoinette Bey, whose life growing up in Southwest Philadelphia looked very different than the private high school she attended, and an honest conversation with two mother/daughter duos who share the experience being de facto representatives of diversity in mostly white spaces.