Kid Nation stars, now adults, describe their experience on the controversial CBS reality show

Jezebel

Listen to a podcast featuring two of the 40 kids who participated on the controversial CBS reality show that left them alone in the desert, airing in fall of 2007. "I do think there’s kind of a touching idea at the heart of Kid Nation, which is just that there is an aspect to young people that is sometimes refreshing," says Michael Thot, who was one of the leaders. "I think you saw it in the Parkland children most recently—they’re not really children, they’re absolutely adults in how they conduct themselves. So when you look at this past week and you think about the spoiled a**holes who may or may not become Supreme Court justices, and throw tantrums in the middle of the floor, you can remember that there was a point in time where there was some 11 year olds out in the New Mexico desert who managed to handle themselves a little bit better under scrutiny."