What makes Michigan the perfect state ever? How is courting in highschool as of late completely different from an earlier technology? Why is everybody in New York City unbothered by the sound of sirens?

These are only a handful of the various questions raised – and answered – by hundreds of center and highschool college students across the nation who entered NPR’s fifth annual Student Podcast Challenge.

This 12 months, we acquired greater than 3,300 entries, from 48 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. It’s a giant soar over final 12 months, and probably the most entries we have gotten since we started the competition started again in 2019!

The NPR Ed staff has spent weeks listening to, agonizing over, and judging their work. And in the end, we’re excited to share our 13 center college and 13 highschool finalists. From these excellent podcasts, our judges will select one center college and one highschool Grand Prize winner.

It’s the fifth anniversary of the Student Podcast Challenge: Maybe you, pricey trainer, have stayed with us because the early days of the pandemic. Or, you latterly started listening to – and educating about – podcasting, and found our contest. Either method, we have loved listening to out of your college students, and the tales they’ve introduced us. So thanks all for sticking with us. We hope to listen to from you once more subsequent 12 months!

Below are our 13 center college and 13 highschool finalist podcasts, listed in alphabetical order. Congratulations!

Content warning: Some podcasts on this record take care of delicate matters, together with trauma and faculty shootings.

Middle School

All About Tourette’s Syndrome – Victor Intermediate School, Victor, N.Y.
Student: Tyler Picard, Eva Cherpel, Zach Pallifrone and Andrew Noeson
Teacher/Sponsor: Amy Smith-Faczan

Four classmates share the story of their buddy who has Tourette Syndrome. Their podcast informs listeners how the situation can have an effect on pupil life – and how you can be buddy to somebody who has it.

Amelia’s Storytelling – Hawkins STEMM Academy, Toledo, Ohio
Student: Amelia Hankinson
Teacher/Sponsor: Rodney West-Estell

In this pleasant first-person podcast, Amelia imagines what it is wish to be the shortest particular person in her class. In her fictional story, she tries nearly the whole lot in an effort to vary that, from consuming garlic to stretching and reaching for her toes.

An Assault On Our Future – Compass Community Collaborative School, Fort Collins, Colo.
Students: Cole Anderson, Iris Beachy-Quick and Julia Walkowiak
Teacher/Sponsor: Allison Horsch

To higher perceive the lasting influence of college shootings, three college students interview a member of their group in Colorado who survived the Columbine bloodbath in 1999.

Conscientious Consumerism – DeWitt Middle School, Ithaca, N.Y.
Student: Corallus Meeks
Teacher/Sponsor: Rosina Belcourt

Born and raised on a small household farm, Corallus is aware of a factor or two about processed meats. Her podcast explores the ethics of the place our meals comes from, and in regards to the meals selections we make: “By our simple changes in food choices, we can make a huge impact in our agriculture system and make it one more step towards a more ethical world.”

DalyanAgcaNPRPodcast – Maret School, Washington, D.C.
Student: Dalyan Agca
Teacher/Sponsor: Senay Agca

This podcast asks, “Do you love classical music … and your pets? If so, keep listening!” Dalyan walks us by way of how some well-known classical items have been influenced by the composers’ cats and canines. “And, you never know,” Dalyan tells us, “maybe your pet will be the inspiration of your next piece.”

Hawaii Innocence Project – Highlands Intermediate School, Pearl City, Hawaii
Students: Brynna Colmenares and Emma Forges
Teacher/Sponsor: Kelli Kajiwara

Two center schoolers from Hawaii introduce the origin story of the Hawaii Innocence Project, and take a look at the authorized non-profit’s efforts to free wrongly convicted inmates of their state.

J&D Podcast– Millburn Middle School, Millburn, N.J.
Students: Jhanvi Wong and Devin Wong
Teacher/Sponsor: Emily Surman

How can we actually measure the influence that telephones and social media have on the lives of younger individuals? These siblings put this long-running query to the take a look at, when Jhanvi provides up her telephone for every week, whereas Devin observes. The first day begins off with a battle: “I’m trying so hard not to think about my phone. I sometimes reach for it, thinking it’s to the side of me. I really want my phone back.” After that, the brother and sister duo be taught some shocking classes.

NWEY Middle Schools Now – Presidio Middle School, San Francisco
Students: Norah Weiner and Erika Young
Teacher/Sponsor: Jenny Chio

Middle college is not fairly what it was. The fixed menace of gun violence; widespread considerations about psychological well being; Instagram and TikTook. As this podcast notes, lecturers in an earlier time did not retailer cat litter of their lecture rooms, in case a lockdown forces them to create a DIY rest room. And then, there are the pressures to evolve that social media brings. For higher and for worse, Norah and Erika conclude, center college has modified in profound methods.

Self Care Fanfare– Charles N Holden Elementary School, Chicago
Students: Leslie Herrera-Godinez and Etta Nevius
Teacher/Sponsor: Mark Stickler

Leslie and Etta go on a journey of self-care discovery: They spend 5 days attempting completely different methods that may assist cut back stress: together with studying books, baking, listening to music, and sleeping. Through their experiment, the 2 middle-schoolers be taught that caring for your self can look completely different for everybody.

Tales of Embarrassment– Charles N. Holden Elementary School, Chicago
Student: Maisey Marshall
Teacher/Sponsor: Mark Stickler

Everyone has these cringe-worthy moments – for Maisey, it is the reminiscence of getting to rise up in entrance of the entire class and apologize for a tantrum. Along the best way, this pupil will get some classmates, and lecturers, to replicate on their embarrassing tales, as a method of exploring what we will all be taught from such moments.

Undocumented– Seward Communications Arts Academy, Chicago
Students: Anian Andrade, Carlos Morales and Gabriel Mendez
Teacher/Sponsor: Greg Michie

Three eighth graders from Chicago got down to inform the tales of undocumented youths from their group. Part of a three-part collection, this episode options an intimate dialog with Luna, a highschool pupil who immigrated from Mexico at a really younger age.

We The Students – Luria Academy of Brooklyn, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Student: Mia Tweel
Teacher/Sponsor: Chiara Cafiero

How can you’re keen on democracy after shedding an election? Mia, a middle-schooler in Brooklyn, asks this query – by way of a brand-new pupil authorities.

Women Life Freedom – The Northwest School, Seattle
Student: Nina Goldin
Teacher/Sponsor: Susan Fine

Fourteen-year-old Nina tells the historical past of the primary women-led revolution in Iran, and asks listeners to present it their consideration and help.

High School

Bulletproof– After School Matters, Chicago
Student: Natalie Martinez
Teacher/Sponsor: After School Matters

Natalie tells the terrifying story of being at a Chicago mall throughout a mass capturing in 2022. “When I heard six gunshots and ran to the back of the store, suddenly I felt terrified, aghast, and petrified. While I was sitting and crying, I called my friends and family, telling them I’ll miss and love them to the moon and back, because I thought I was going to die.” The excessive schooler discusses how she survived this lethal incident, and interviews a Chicago police officer for recommendation on what to do in these conditions.

Cracking the Nutcracker: Balancing Tradition with Progress – University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, Chicago
Students: Kriti Sarav and Sarina Zhao
Teacher/Sponsor: Menaka Sarav

A beloved vacation ballet, The Nutcracker showcases a spread of culturally-inspired dances. Two excessive schoolers in Chicago problem among the outdated points of the present and take a look at how a dance firm of their metropolis is modernizing the classical ballet.

Facing Fentanyl: An Exploration of the Opioid Crisis in our County – Montgomery Blair High School, Silver Spring, Md.
Students: Caroline Bathon, Maxwell Erlebacher and Lili Miller
Teacher/Sponsor: Sarah Forman

A faculty district in Maryland is going through a life-threatening disaster – from fentanyl. Three college students report on their very own experiences, and people of their classmates: the concern, trauma, and loss. They additionally interview college officers to report on the insurance policies being carried out to take care of the surge in overdoses.

Grief and the Power of Art– Cypress Woods High School, Cypress, Texas
Student: Cameron Wallace
Teacher/Sponsor: Lori Andrade

Cameron discusses the interconnected nature of artwork and grief, how art-making will help us work by way of detrimental emotions and even carry individuals collectively.

How The Jackson Water Crisis Affects Education – Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science, Columbus, Miss.
Student: Georgianna McKenny
Teacher/Sponsor: Thomas Easterling

Media protection of the water-quality disaster earlier this 12 months in Jackson, Miss., has centered on the blame sport. Whose fault was it? As normal, whereas the “adults” argued, the scholars of Jackson struggled to manage. Georgianna tells the story, partially, by way of the expertise of her cousin, Mariah, who not too long ago attended Jackson Public Schools: “Mariah starts her day by going to the bathroom, to check if her water pressure is working before getting ready for school,” Georgianna tells us. “No water comes from the faucet.”

Jiah Hwang’s Podcast – Stanford Online High School, Redwood City, Calif.
Student: Jiah Hwang
Teacher/Sponsor: Estefany Arenas

In this private and emotional podcast, Jiah opens up about her relationship along with her older sister, and the way seeing her confront – and overcome – discrimination at school has led the 2 siblings to a deeper relationship.

OCD 101 – Emma Willard School, Troy, N.Y.
Students: Patty Kongsomjit and Narmene Omer
Teacher/Sponsor: Laszlo Bardos

Two college students with obsessive-compulsive dysfunction interview a psychiatric nurse practitioner to clarify its complexities, and to discover why it is essential to boost consciousness on how OCD impacts on a regular basis life.

Soccer in the US: My Obsession with America’s New Favorite Pastime– Branson School, Branson, Colo.
Student: Ayah Al-Masyabi
Teacher/Sponsor: Anne Hellman

Ayah explains the historical past of American soccer, interviews soccer gamers and followers, and shares how she fell in love with the sport: “Soccer has been my life – through many miserable 90 minutes, and overwhelming moments of joy, but more importantly, memories with those I love.”

The Down ‘Loe – Enloe Magnet High School, Raleigh, N.C.
Student: Leeya Chaudhuri and Jacob Harrenstein
Teacher/Sponsor: Brian Hedgepeth

The Down ‘Loe traces the essential however little-known historical past of Oberlin Village, a historic Reconstruction-era freedmen’s colony in North Carolina.

The Happiness Wish – West Adams Preparatory High School, Los Angeles
Student: Sara Roshan
Teacher/Sponsor: John Foley

“Hi, my name is Sara.” Thus begins this highly effective first-person narrative of an Afghan refugee, her journey to the United States, and the significance she and her household place on schooling. “Obviously I can’t make big changes,” she says, “but I can study harder for myself, for my friends, and for all the people in my country.”

transAction– Clayton High School, Clayton, Mo.
Student: Stella Plein
Teacher/Sponsor: Amy Doyle

This collage-style podcast options voices from 5 transgender teenagers who share their tales of rising up in St. Louis, the place gender-affirming care was banned by the state.

Trans Kids in America – Marblehead High School, Marblehead, Mass.
Student: Dylan McDonald
Teacher/Sponsor: Jennifer Billings

In this heartfelt dialog together with his mother, one Massachusetts teenager opens up about his expertise being a transgender youth. “Kids like me are why we need to fight these anti-trans bills,” Dylan says.

Undocumentary – Palos Verdes High School, Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.
Student: Sia Presser
Teacher/Sponsor: Kristin Lyons

These college students interview classmates who’ve immigrated from Mexico, and the challenges they’ve confronted as soon as they made it to the U.S.

The winners in our Honorable Mention class will probably be introduced later this summer time.

All finalist certificates will probably be mailed to varsities within the fall. Please attain out to studentpodcastchallenge@npr.org with any questions.