Staff Picks: Our Must Reads, Watches & Listens

As is true in many sectors, especially as technology advances, the world of youth development is always changing. There is a constant stream of new research, trends, and ways of understanding what young people need. It keeps us on our toes, and a big part of doing this work well means staying curious and keeping up with what’s evolving.

At LIFT, we back that up with a professional development stipend for every full-time team member. Employees are encouraged to use the stipend on conferences, courses, books, and anything else that helps them grow in areas like youth development, adolescent mental health, and out-of-school-time care.

That said, our passion for this work doesn’t just last Monday to Friday. We’re lucky to have a team full of people who genuinely enjoy learning about young people, on and off the clock. So, we pulled together a list of staff-recommended reads, watches, and listens that have helped shape how we think about and show up for the young people we’re so lucky to walk alongside.

A quick note: some of these recommendations are geared toward adult audiences and may not be appropriate for youth. Just something to keep in mind as you explore or pass along recommendations.

Podcasts:

• Good Inside with Dr. Becky 

• The In-between Years with Dr. Sheryl 

• Ask Lisa: The Psychology of Raising Tweens and Teens

• Parenting Teenagers Untangled: By Lisa Damour 

• Grown-ups Read Things They Wrote as Kids by David Misener 

• Raising Teenagers: Self-care, Surviving & Thriving with Dr. Ginni Mansberg

Books

• The Conscious Parent by Dr. Shefali Tsabary 

• The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt 

• The Emotional Lives of Teenagers: Lisa Damour 

• If  You See Them: Young, Unhoused, and Alone in America by Vicki Sokolik 

• The Teenage Brain: A Neuroscientist's Survival Guide to Raising Adolescents and Young Adults by Frances E. Jensen, Amy Ellis Nutt. 

Documentaries/Movies:

• The Social Dilemma  

• The Mask You Live In 

• Hiding in Plain Sight (PBS)