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 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 â 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.
