“Can I put wolfblood into my own blood so I can feel like a wolf?”
That’s just one of the unique questions Kassidy Young has received on her weekly radio show hosted by KOUG Radio.
There truly are no stupid questions on “No Qualifications.” Young occupies the airwaves for an hour each week, wrestling with viewer-submitted and personally procured questions. Her topics include sex ed, gun laws and transgender issues, but she bars no holds. Young aims to show that value and understanding can be kneaded out of some of the most abrasive and absurd topics. “It’s an honest process. ‘I don’t know what that is, let’s Google it.’ Every episode”, Young said, opening up about her discussion process.
“I spend a lot of time talking to people. To kind of be able to look at things from a couple perspectives has definitely been helpful. I’ll read an article and I’m like, ‘What’s another view I can see in that?’” she explained.
Kassidy Young’s self-admitted secret power is looking at her friend’s situations and helping them put their problems in better context, but that has not always been the case. When she was three years old she was so quiet that her parents sent her to speech therapy. It worked.
“They regretted it, because I haven’t shut my mouth since.” Young said, only half joking.
Young draws inspiration from spirited conversations with her young nieces and nephew, between ages two and six. “They are unabashed creativity. They don’t have an agenda,” she said.
Young described how her friends and family naturally gravitate to her for advice. She’s been encouraged to become a therapist, but expressed that she wants to keep work and this part of her passion separate. She’s a sacred participant in the process of getting people out of their comfort zones. She clears logical obstructions to create a clearer space between very different stances. “I like helping people, but I don’t ever want to make it work. No matter how much you love your job, some days you’ll just hate it. I never want to feel like that.” Young said, describing her plan.
While Young may not end up a therapist, she does plan to use her communication skills to fix faulted and biased systems. “I’d like to get involved with fixing the advertising world. It hasnegative depictions of women,” she said in a concerned tone. After almost three years of studying marketing, Young imagines herself as the head of a marketing department someday.
“They regretted it, because I haven’t shut my mouth since.” Young said half jokingly.
One of Young’s techniques includes searching for the internet’s “dumbest” questions. However she also crafts her own topics—some even that challenge her own views. Young often brings her friend Shannon Kelley to the talk show. She explained how Kelley is, “as conservative as she is liberal.” On air they have explored dramatically divided political topics, like transgender bathroom policies, yet their friendship has never faltered.
Catchy as her show name might be, Young’s true secret power is that she is well qualified. She is hypersensitive to personal bias, strives for objectivity and is not afraid to play the devil’s advocate. Listeners might pick up pretty quickly that the show isn’t solely about Young’s personal opinions. It’s about her ability to showcase and expand the breadth of perspectives on the table. She invites listeners to do the same even if it means her own stances are on the chopping block.
“I’m very extroverted and that is a privilege in some respect,” Young admitted.
KOUG Radio’s music and programming director, Lisa Walz, expressed faith in Kassidy’s ability to develop a show that attracts listenership. “Kassidy is a brilliant and talented on-air personality who has shown how to create the best of something new,” Walz said, citing the numerous compliments Kassidy Young has received from listeners.
Tune in to Young’s “No Qualifications” Thursday’s from 4-5 p.m. on Koug Radio, streaming on the Radio FX app. Discover other WSUV student shows on kougradio.com/koug-radio- programming. To pitch your own show email KOUG Radio at kougradiomanager@wsu.edu.