VCU Health System employee develops teen talk show

By Kimberly Selden
VCU Communications and Public Relations

A Virginia Commonwealth University Health System employee is hoping to take a podcast that she created for teenagers to the next level, a nationally syndicated television show.

The podcast is called “We Got Issues” and is a teen talk show created by Nyya Sistrun, a VCUHS Human Resources employee.

The show was originally created in 2005 for public access. Last month, the show produced its first of seven episodes to be aired online.

Sistrun hopes to solicit sponsorship so she and her team can create a 30-minute to one-hour pilot for the show. She says her goal is to have “We Got Issues” produced for television.

The show features six teens with unique backgrounds. “We Got Issues” opens with a skit performed by the teens that relates to the topic of that day’s show. A local band provides the opening music for the show, and Sistrun is the host, along with the six teens, known as “The Crew.”

The first episode is titled “Hip-hop: Creating Culture or Chaos?” Topics that will be discussed in other tapings include teen violence, pregnancy, STDs, teen fashion, teens in church and out-of-control teens. 

According to Sistrun, the purpose of “We Got Issues” is to give teens a public forum to discuss important topics concerning them and their community. “We need to keep the teen voice going,” says Sistrun. "Teens are our future and without their voice there is no future.”

“I hope the show opens people’s eyes and shows them what others may be going through,” said Anthony Giles, a member of "The Crew.”

Tori Doran, another "Crew" member, is excited about the production of the show. 

“The show allows us to speak our mind on issues that we normally don’t get to express our views about,” she said.

Sistrun previously worked at Black Entertainment Television and was disappointed when that network’s talk show, "Teen Summit," was cancelled. This inspired Sistrun to create “We Got Issues."