Calling all students! NPR’s Student Podcast Challenge returns for 2025. Is it still OK to ask the adults to come and record their own work?
And, as we said above, for more tips, advice and the latest updates on this year’s contest, make sure to sign up for our weekly newsletter. We’re very excited to hear your stories. Good luck!
And we really do listen to every single entry. We’re excited to hear from you, and listen to what you have for us, no matter whether it’s a passion project or a class assignment.
Yes! You can pick the number of entries you want to submit. Just make sure each of your podcast entries are (1) between three and eight minutes in length and (2) don’t use copyrighted audio. We don’t want your work to be disqualified.
Students must write, record and produce eligible contest entries. We welcome teachers and educators to incorporate podcasting into their class curriculum and walk students through the basics of audio recording and editing. We know students are getting feedback from the adults involved. Bottom line, we please ask the adults to not get their own hands on their students’ projects.
It is possible that pre-recorded music won’t be used. Entrants may include live performances of public domain songs or non-copyrightable rhythm elements if it is relevant to the story. The public domain is a term used in the Official Rules to mean that the copyrighted material has expired and is no longer protected by the Copyright Act. We encourage Entrants to err on the side of excluding music if the Entrant is not sure whether the music is copyrighted or not.”
Source: Calling all students! NPR’s Student Podcast Challenge returns for 2025
Student Podcast Challenge: What excites you most about NPR and why you shouldn’t edit your podcast? Contact Us at [email protected]
We get a lot of questions each year. For any other questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at [email protected].
You can get started by reading the rest of the announcement post, then check out our student resources page. You can subscribe to the newsletter for weekly updates.
PBS News Student Reporting Labs has good resources such as the audio storytelling toolkit and recording lesson.
In the past, our winners have also been on NPR’s Up First or Code Switch. They’ve also received additional recognition from their school or school districts, and many have been interviewed by local media. It is a great opportunity to share your story and get as many people as possible to listen to it.
Our judges will select a middle school and high school grand prize winner. A visit from the NPR Ed team and a certificate and trophy will be included in the grand prize, as well as an interview with your teacher.
Parents and teachers, step away from the microphone! It’s not ok for podcasts to be edited by adults. The entries should be original work by students. We had to disqualify entries that clearly broke the rule last year.
You can choose any topic that you want to explore. It doesn’t have to be a big important subject – just anything that excites you! If you aren’t sure about your idea, run it by your friends, teachers and family. Ask them what part of your story they find the most interesting and try zooming in on that.
10 Books We Love to Add to the Kids’ Favorite Reads of High School Students: Jazz Night in America and Dalit Kitchens of Marathwada
📚 Books: Whether you are a young reader or young at heart, here are 10 young adult novels you should add to your list of must-reads. The books are part of this year’s Books We Love series.
Jazz Night in America gets a little more relaxing with a holiday edition featuring an album by Philadelphia-born pianist George Burton.
🍛 Food: The rare cookbook Dalit Kitchens of Marathwada explores the culinary traditions of two groups of Dalits, a group of people who broadly occupy the lowest rungs of South India’s ancient caste system. Some dishes include ingredients you might not traditionally find in your kitchen. There are some recipes from the book.
📺 TV: The new ensemble dark comedy No Good Deed follows several couples and families that get tangled up in the sale of a home that holds a secret. Lisa Kudrow, Ray Romano, Luke Wilson and more are in the cast.
The room next door explores the inevitability of death and its intertwined ties to life. Martha asks her friend to accompany her during her last days after her cancer treatment failed.
Up First: Stop–Gap Bill Fails, Bring Closer, and Military-Infantry-Syria-hts
Good morning. You’re reading the Up First newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox, and listen to the Up First podcast for all the news you need to start your day.
Federal agencies will run out of money tonight at midnight after House Republicans weren’t able to pass a stop-gap funding measure yesterday. House Speaker Mike Johnson crafted a Plan B proposal in response to President-elect Donald Trump’s demands to replace an original bipartisan bill that was killed on Wednesday. Plan B failed last night. The original plan was derailed when Trump and his top advisers, including Elon Musk, demanded that Congress kill the deal.
The city of Pokrovsk is located in the eastern part of the country. It’s a transportation hub and coal mining center. Over 3,000 soldiers in the Russia army have been killed or wounded trying to capture it so far, according to an estimate.
Source: GOP stop-gap bill fails, bringing potential shutdown closer. And, NPR’s guide to dance
Dance in the Wild – A Dance-Inspired Guide for the Young Soldiers of the Resistance Front Against the Irregularity
Replacing the former Syrian regime is now the challenge of the rebel group. They’ve set up an interim government. Many people are waiting to see what the rebel group HTS will do differently than Assad. The challenge: governing a devastated country with many ethnic and religious groups.
If you think you can’t dance, you would be wrong. You do not need special shoes or skills to dance, and anyone can do it. Great music is a plus. Check out this comic’s step-by-step guide with advice from experts on how to move and groove with confidence.