“Detroit is a city of 700,000 stories”: Alex B. Hill’s map quest in the Motor City

Welcome to season two of Teen People, the podcast where I interview people who were in Teen People magazine. The podcast was inspired by my teenage collection of Teen Peoples, which I rediscovered a few years ago. Teen People magazine featured their readers throughout every issue, and published their full names, ages and locations—which makes them really Google-able today. As I flipped through these old magazines, I realized these kids were my age, or older. "Where are they now?", I wondered.

In season one, I spoke with authors, teachers, artists, and journalists. Even a former politician. All were in Teen People magazine as young, high achievers; interns; models; and contributing writers.

This season begins with a conversation with Alex B. Hill.

Alex was 17 when Teen People honoured him for his charitable work, in 2005. By that time, he’d raised $70,000 USD for medical supplies in Uganda, including an ambulance serving 140,000 people across 62 communities. Alex is now based in Detroit, Michigan, where he has worked for the Detroit Health Department as an epidemiologist and data and design coordinator.

Alex has a BA in international relations, and an MA in medical anthropology. He is currently working on a PhD at Wayne State University, where he also works as a Geographic Information Systems Director, and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning, and the Department of Public Health.

Alex spoke with me in the spring of 2021, and began by telling me about his charity, which landed him on Teen People magazine’s list of Teens Who Will Change the World.

Podcast notes:

Find Alex's work here: https://alexbhill.org
And buy his book, Detroit in 50 Maps: https://beltpublishing.com/products/detroit-in-50-maps

Find Teen People podcast on Twitter and Instagram: [at] teenpeoplepod
And check out my Tumblr page: https://teenpeoplepod.tumblr.com/post/672928165927256064/s2e1alex

Intro music: by lesfm on Pixabay
Outro music: © Anna Soper

Teen People is recorded in Kingston/Katarokwi, the traditional territory of the Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee and the Huron-Wendat.