The globalization of youth culture complicates young people's relationship to democracy as traditionally conceived. More and more young people define themselves as cosmopolitan citizens, connected through popular culture, digital technologies, and migration histories to social geographies outside their own local and national contexts. Despite these new forms of citizenship in youth culture, however, one familiar image of young people remains unchanged: They continue to be seen as disengaged from organized efforts to lead and represent their communities. This article focuses on the dimension of the youth media movement focused on hands-on production in non-school spaces--sites where young people generate original stories for significant audiences. Sites operating outside of schools, especially independent afterschool programs, are a key force in the youth media movement. Such programs provide a vehicle for young people to tell stories using dialogue, reflection, and action to convey their truth. Youth media programs operating outside of schools, such as Youth Radio--a nonprofit afterschool organization in which young people produce stories for local and national broadcasts on radio, television, and online outlets--often deal with democracy as both content for stories and context for teaching and learning. Young people in these sites take on some of democracy's most pressing themes and issues, while working in an environment that promotes active participation, involvement in decision making, and constant vigilance toward matters of equity. These programs have the potential to do more than simply foster "youth voice." This article describes an ethnographic study of Youth Radio, in which four features emerged: (1) peer teaching; (2) collegial pedagogy; (3) multiple outlets; and (4) applied agency.