Toby Favalora says he “can’t wait” until the mid-term Congressional elections, still more than six months away.
He’s not a candidate for office—indeed as a Bedford High School sophomore, he’s not old enough to vote. However, he said, “I love getting people to sign up to vote—it’s one of my favorite things in the world.”
Favalora is also an authentic political news junkie, and a few months ago he started preparing and sharing a series of short podcasts, aimed at teenagers and young adults, called “Why Do I Care?” They are available through various online services, such as spotify.com, listennotes.com, and podcasts.apple.com. Toby’s websites whydoicarepod.com or anchor.fm/why-do-i-care also have links to the podcasts.
His basic message: “Politics matters, and affects you directly.”
The podcasts cover “important issues that should be shared,” Favalora said. The synopsis of his entries, presented in Apple Podcasts, explains, “Politics affects all of us whether we like it or not. ‘Why Do I Care’ is a podcast for teens that dives into the world of politics and why it matters from a teen’s perspective.”
Each runs about 15 minutes, a length based on feedback he received from kids. His subjects have ranged from immigration to the Supreme Court, to “Fighting for Feminism.”
“I read the news a lot, and I love podcasts,” Favalora said. To prepare a topic, he undertakes “a super-deep dive” into an issue. Once he finishes a session, “I get onto a rhythm.”
What triggered Favalora’s intense interest in issues? He says it started during the pandemic lockdown when he began watching a television program. Was it “60 Minutes?” “Fox and Friends?” “Frontline?” “Inside Politics with John King?”
Actually, he said, it was watching reruns of “The West Wing.” New episodes ended in March 2006.
Soon he converted that inspiration to real-life challenges. Two years ago—still in eighth grade—he became involved with Vote Save America, a liberal grass-roots organization. During the runup to the 2020 election, “most of the volunteering was online,” he pointed out. So he did a lot of voter outreach by text and telephone.
Favalora was assigned to a section of Pennsylvania, “trying to convince people there to vote for Biden.” He was realistic about his impact: “If I get three people in an hour, I see that as a huge win.”
Since then, he has come to the realization that “the reason so many things aren’t fixed is that people aren’t talking to each other.”
That doesn’t mean universal agreement. “Everybody should stretch their boundaries,” he said. When there’s a major event, “I go to multiple news sources.”
Even with increasing polarization, he feels, there are areas where young people should be able to find common ground. For example, he cited the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. An area of disagreement could be: “What should the United States’ role be in world affairs?”
“Climate is something everyone should agree on,” he continued. “That’s the one that concerns me the most.” There can still be a lively debate on the response to the crisis, he said, such as the wisdom of the proposed Green New Deal.
Perhaps not everyone sees the connection between high gasoline prices and “corporate greed,” Favalora said. “So I researched about tax rates and cost of crude oil.” The results of his efforts are on a podcast.
The technical aspect is less daunting than you’d think. Favalora said he chooses a topic as late as Tuesday and processes the podcast on Wednesday, using a website that allows him to record, edit, and post his podcast. He said he doesn’t use a script and often can finish the piece in a single take.
Occasionally he recruits a second voice; “I’m not an expert on everything,” he laughed. A recent podcast featured a conversation on immigration reform with Philip Kellerman, a longtime advocate for migrant farmers and families.
The website app monitors the number of listeners; Favalora said he averages 50 per podcast and would like to double that. “I think the message being shared is so crucial.”
Favalora is not striving for balance — “people know my political positions.” What he hopes is that listers will become interested, perhaps even enough to advocate. “Kids are kind of into complaining, but they don’t turn that into anything,” he observed. Many are not voting.
A 10-year veteran of Destination Imagination, Favalora was president of the Democrat Club at BHS. He also is “trying to learn how to skateboard.” He envisions a political science college major, perhaps something that involves messaging. “Being a press secretary looks like real fun,” he said.
Meanwhile, “I’m doing what I love right now.”
Mike Rosenberg can be reached at [email protected], or 781-983-1763
Loading ...
