The GOP stop-gap bill did not pass
An Official Rules for the NPR Student Podcast Challenge Returns for 2025, Part II: Introductory Information and Contact Form (with a press release)
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. Students, we can’t wait to hear your stories. Good luck!
And we really do listen to every single entry. We are excited to hear everything you have to say so we can listen to whatever you have for us.
Yes! You can submit as many entries as you’d like. Make sure that each of your entries is between 3 and 8 minutes in length and that they don’t use copyrighted audio. We do not want your work to be disqualified.
The rules are the same, as long as students keep the topics between 3 and 8 minutes.
“Pre-recorded music may not be used. If it’s relevant to the story, the live performances of public domain songs or non-copyrightable rhythm elements can be entered. For the sake of these Official Rules, “public domain” does not mean publicly available; it means that copyright has expired and the material is no longer protected by it. 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
The Student Podcast Challenge: What Topics Do Students Love to Discuss? Questions and Answers for Educators, Parents, Teachers, and Families
Here are a few questions we get over and over again each year. Don’t hesitate to reach out to us if you have any questions.
It all started with a small idea back in 2018, when NPR’s education team wanted to know what was really going on in the minds of young people. Things that keep students up at night, their obsessions and concerns, and stories they’re dying to get off their chest, were what we wanted to hear about. So we created the Student Podcast Challenge, an opportunity for students all around the country to record their stories and share them with NPR.
There are other good resources out there too: Check out this audio storytelling toolkit and recording tutorial from our friends at PBS News Student Reporting Labs.
Several of our past winners were first-time podcasters, so you can do it, as well.
Our judges will select a middle school and high school grand prize winner. The grand prize includes a visit from the NPR Ed team who will interview you and your teacher for a story, as well as a certificate and trophy.
Parents and educators, please stop speaking on the microphone. Please, no podcasts produced or edited by adults. The entries should be original work by students (see FAQ section below). We had to disqualify a few entries because they clearly broke the rule.
You can explore any topic that interests you. It doesn’t have to be a big important subject – just anything that excites you! If you’re not sure about your idea, give it to your friends, teachers and family. Ask them to help you plot out the most interesting parts of your story.
Books We Love (The Room Next Door, No Good Deed) — 10 Young Adult Novels that Aren’t Yours to Love
If you’re a young reader or a child at heart, you should check out these 10 young adult novels. The books are part of this year’s Books We Love series.
Jazz Night in America is getting a little more mellow and cozy with the holiday edition featuring George Burton’s The Yule Log.
🍛 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. You might find some ingredients you wouldn’t usually find in your kitchen in some dishes. Some of the recipes in the book are here.
📺 TV: The new ensemble dark comedy No Good Deed is a story about couples and families that get involved in the sale of a home with a secret. The cast has Lisa Kudrow and Ray Romano in it.
The Room Next Door shows the inevitability of death and its ties to life. It follows Martha, who asks her friend Ingrid to accompany her during her last days after a cancer treatment failed.
Up First Newsletter: Stop-Gap bill fails, bringing potential shutdown closer to Ukraine’s war-syria hts
Thank you for a good morning. You are reading a newsletter. If you subscribe, then you will get the news delivered to your inbox and you will also be able to listen to the Up First show.
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. When Trump and his top advisers told Congress to kill the deal, it derailed the original plan.
The Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk is facing one of the fiercest battles in the country’s eastern region. It is a transportation hub and coal mining center. According to an estimate, over 3000 Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded in attempts to capture it so far.
Source: GOP stop-gap bill fails, bringing potential shutdown closer. And, NPR’s guide to dance
The HTS Comedy: How to Dance without a Shoes or a Procedural Power-Law. A Quiver for Disgrace
The rebel group that toppled former Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad’s regime now faces the challenge of replacing it. They’ve set up an interim government. There are many people waiting to find out what the rebel group HTS will do. The challenge: governing a devastated country with many ethnic and religious groups.
If you think you’re unable to dance, you’re wrong. It’s not necessary to have special shoes or know how to dance to do it. Great music is a plus, though. This comic has advice from experts about how to move with confidence, if you check it out.
