Announcing the 2024 NPR College Podcast Challenge Honorable Mentions
It’s a wrap! The fourth annual NPR College Podcast Challenge received nearly 300 entries from students in more than 30 states and the District of Columbia.
Back in March, we announced our 10 finalist entries, and last month, we shared the lovely story of Jo Strogatz, grand prize winner of the 2024 contest.
Beyond these entries, though, we also received 11 podcasts that that our judges thought had a strong story to tell. Here are the honorable mentions:
Adopted & Unspoken by Emily Cowherd
University of Kentucky, Lexington, Ky.
Gaining Voice – A Teen’s Journey Navigating Mental Health and the Model Minority Myth by Lauren Tran-Muchowski, Sabrina Taing and Lindsay Lazarski
Wesleyan University, Middletown, Conn.
Immigration: The Strengthening of Character by Alejandra Quiroz
Miami Dade College, Miami, Fla.
Leaky Promises by Violet Mendelsund, Pippa Tsuki Carlson and Adrien Wheaton-Schopp
Columbia University, New York, N.Y.
My Roommate’s Scandal by Aidan Keen
Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, Ill.
One of the Good Ones by Malcolm Bamba and LaRob K. Rafael
Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Oberlin, Ohio
PUGE: A new gospel choir with a long history by Isabel Jacobson, Maya Mukherjee, Theo Wells-Spackman and Vitus Larrieu
Princeton University, Princeton, N.J.
The Cost of El Sueño by Lia Portillo, Isabel Juarez Rubio, Natalie Mathews, Atziary Perez, Valentina Puac, Allison Florez Bermudez and Juliana Nobles
Northwestern State University, Natchitoches, La.
Unrepresented: The complicated history of the 33 million missing votes in the 2024 election by Arundathi Nair
Stanford University, Stanford, Calif.
Vinyl by Samantha Neiss
Minnesota State University, Mankato, Mankato, Minn.
What Stays With – Unforgettable Words by Juliana Mills, Jeffery Salinas, Kristine Mendoza, Kari Can, Evan Laurino and Victoria Mills
San Diego City College, San Diego, Calif.
Congratulations everyone! Thanks again for sharing your stories with us. We loved listening to every minute of them, and we hope to hear from you again this fall.
NPR’s College Podcast Challenge will return Fall of 2025. Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates. You can reach us at studentpodcastchallenge@npr.org.
Judge blocks Trump from cutting funding over ‘sanctuary’ policies
A judge ruled the Trump administration cannot deny funding to Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and 30 other cities and counties because of policies that limit cooperation with federal immigration efforts.
As Trump touts D.C. arrests, experts caution they’re not the best indicator of public safety
The Trump administration says it has arrested more than 700 people in Washington, D.C., in its mission to crack down on crime. Experts say it's difficult to draw conclusions from that about public safety.
Tour bus rollover kills 5 on interstate highway in western New York
A tour bus returning to New York City from Niagara Falls with 54 people on board crashed and rolled on a highway near Pembroke, killing five passengers and injuring many others, authorities said.
Famine is declared in Gaza: What does it take to make this pronouncement?
An announcement of famine — as has now happened regarding Gaza — is a complicated decision. Here's what must be considered before such a declaration is made.
Intel will give the U.S. government a 10% stake, Trump says
The president's highly unusual announcement underscores the Trump administration's desire to take control over U.S. businesses.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia released from federal custody pending criminal trial
The case of Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man originally from El Salvador, raised basic questions of due process in Trump's crackdown on undocumented immigrants after he was arrested and sent to a maximum security prison in El Salvador, violating a U.S. immigration judge's 2019 order prohibiting his deportation to his home country.
