Calling all student storytellers: NPR's Student Podcast Challenge is back for 2026. As always, we're looking to award prizes to the best middle school and high school podcasts in America — but we have an additional special prize this year:
To mark the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, send us podcasts that explore what the phrase, "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" means to you.
For this special challenge, our judges will be listening for stories that look back at historical events, take us to historic places, or that explore what it means to be an American. Stories of innovation, of rights and protest, arts and culture, civic engagement and governance, or personal narratives or beliefs.
In other words, the full range of the American experience.
Just to be clear, though: The Student Podcast Challenge is still open to podcasts on any topic. As in previous years, we'll be awarding two grand prizes in this general category: one from middle school (grades five through eight), and the other from high school (grades nine through 12). Our fourth grade competition, which we added in 2024, will continue as well.
The 2026 edition of the Student Podcast Challenge will open on Jan. 5 and close on May 30.
You can submit here, whenever you're ready.
The contest will be open to students in grades four through 12. The grand prize winners will be announced, after summer break, in September.
Special prize to mark the anniversary of the nation's founding
Winners of the America 250 prize will be announced in June, to celebrate the nation's birthday on July Fourth.
As we do with our grand prize winners, we'll choose the best of those stories from across grade levels, and feature them on Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and other NPR programs and podcasts.
For those who are new to the contest, we started out in 2018 asking students across the country to make a podcast, and to have a teacher, educator or parent submit it to us. Then, each year, we listen to every single one (more than 20,000 podcasts so far!) and narrow them down to a list of finalists and honorable mentions.
From those entries, our judges select our grand-prize winners: one for grades five through eight, and another in grades nine through 12. Since 2024, we've also opened our contest to fourth-graders, and we choose winners and honorable mentions from that category as well.
The Student Podcast Challenge is a chance to tell your own story, in your own voice. And over the years, we've found that the best podcasts are the ones where students bring a particular passion for the story they want to tell.
For example, some of our favorite entries from last year included a fifth-grader's interview with a survivor of the Japanese incarceration camps, and a narrative podcast discussing the sense of loss that comes from an Indian family's move to the U.S.
Other finalists discussed topics like how the Palisades Fire brought together a community in Southern California, stories from the Ukraine War and the challenges LGBTQ students face in scouting.
Along the way, we had great podcasts too about pop culture, history, music and, of course, Bigfoot!
How to enter
You'll have most of the winter and spring semester to create a podcast that you can be proud of. When you're ready, you can submit your work here. If you're entering your student's work for the special prize, you'll have the option to opt in on the same submission form.
Is this your first time participating — as a teacher, or a student? Don't fret! We're here to help, with plenty of guidance.
You can start by reading the rest of this announcement post, and check out our student podcasting resources page. And subscribe to our newsletter for updates from the contest team.
And, for the first time ever, early in 2026, NPR's education team will host two webinars, where we'll talk about the contest, and answer your questions about student podcasting in general, and the special prize. We'll have tips and tricks for educators and students, we'll seek your feedback on how to improve the contest, and we'll have plenty of time for your questions.
You can sign up for those below:
And, it's worth pointing out that several of our finalists and past winners (including last year's high school grand prize winner) were first-time podcasters, so you can do it too!
Questions? You can always send us an email at studentpodcastchallenge@npr.org.
The basics
For both the main competition and our special challenge, the rules (which you can find in detail here) remain pretty much the same: Podcasts must be between three to eight minutes.
A special note here: Parents and educators, step away from 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 some entries last year for clearly breaking this rule.
And, students, please keep it clean! No offensive language will be allowed.
And, because of legal considerations, we have specific rules about what music you can, and can't, use in your podcast. (Please pay attention to this: Sadly, we've had to disqualify quite a few podcasts over the years because they used copyrighted material.)
And, as noted above, students do need to work with a teacher, educator or family member — who is 18 years or older — to fill out the submission form to enter the contest.
Other important stuff
Our judges will select a middle school and high school grand prize winner. The grand prize includes a certificate and trophy, and a visit from the NPR Ed team, who will interview you and your teacher for a story on NPR programs, such as Morning Edition or All Things Considered.
In previous years, many of our other finalists and honorable mention podcasts, including some of our fourth graders, have aired on various NPR programs, including podcasts like Up First, Code Switch or Short Wave. They've also received additional recognition from their schools or school districts, and many have been interviewed by local media.
All that to say, it's a great opportunity to share your story and get a lot of people to listen to it.
Some "Sound Advice" from the contest team
Before you hit the record button, check out our podcasting resources. We have (1) a starting out guide for student podcasters and (2) a curriculum guide for educators.
In them, we cover everything from how to tell a good story, how to sound like yourself on mic to how to use music in your podcast, among other topics. Even, and we're serious about this: how making a pillow fort can make you sound better!
There are other good resources out there too: Check out this audio storytelling toolkit and recording tutorial from PBS News Student Reporting Labs. Or The Student Podcast Playbook, a four-week podcasting curriculum created by our friends at The Bell.
You can find more tips and tricks on The Students' Podcast, which our team created to help you make a good podcast. We also encourage you to get a feel for what we're looking for by listening to last year's high school winner and middle school winner, and previous years' winning entries.
Quick FAQ
Here are a few questions we get over and over again each year. For any other questions, don't hesitate to reach out to us at studentpodcastchallenge@npr.org.
What's an appropriate way teachers and adults can be involved?
All eligible contest entries must be written, recorded and produced by students. We welcome teachers and educators to incorporate podcasting into their class curriculum and walk students through the basics of audio recording and editing. And as a part of this process, we understand that students may be getting feedback from the adults involved. Bottom line, we ask the adults to provide coaching and guidance, but to make sure that the podcasts submitted are original work by the students.
And, of course, that goes for the use of AI in your podcasts as well! Here's NPR's policy on the use of artificial intelligence for our journalists. While students these days may be using AI tools in gathering information or conducting research, we're going to add a box on our application form asking you to acknowledge that you didn't use AI in the writing or performance of your podcast.
Am I allowed to use this song or sound effect in my podcast?
Here's an excerpt from our rules page that discusses music and copyrighted audio:
"Pre-recorded music may not be used. Entrants may include live performances of public domain songs or non-copyrightable rhythm elements if it is relevant to the story. For avoidance of doubt, for the purposes of these Official Rules, "public domain" does not mean "publicly available"; it means that copyright has expired and the material is no longer under copyright protection. We encourage Entrants to err on the side of excluding music if the Entrant is not sure whether the music is copyrighted or not."
You can use your own audio, interviews, field recordings or natural sound, music or sound effects you recorded for the podcast. We advise not using audio if the student isn't sure about copyright.
On our entry form, we ask you to confirm that any music in your podcast is either copyright free, or self-produced.
Can I submit more than one podcast?
Yes! You can submit as many entries as you'd like. Just make sure that each of your podcast entries are (1) between three and eight minutes in length and (2) don't use copyrighted audio. We wouldn't want any of your work to be disqualified.
And we really do listen to every single entry. So whether it's you and your friend's podcast, a class assignment or a passion project you're finally putting together, we're excited to hear from you and listen to whatever you got for us.
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 newsletter. Students, we can't wait to hear your stories. Good luck!
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