Winners of Our Third Annual Podcast Contest
We invited teenagers to create an original audio program, five minutes or less, about anything they wanted. Over 1,300 students participated. Here are our favorites. A personal conversation between a daughter and her deceased father, who had died by suicide. A one-act play written and performed by teenagers, via Zoom. A first-person account by a student sharing what it was like to experience homelessness. These are just a few of the winners from our , in which we invited teenagers to create an original audio program, five minutes or less, about anything they wanted. We received over 1,300 submissions this year, and for the first time, we added a category specifically for middle school students. Whats on teenagers minds? Well, this years podcast submissions showed us how teenagers think about social media, climate change, family, migration, music and race. Students elevated voices from their communities: The founders of a soccer camp for Muslim girls shared their story, and a transgender Bollywood dancer shared his journey to finding gender-inclusive choreography. And throughout all of the podcast submissions, there was one recurring theme: the ways in which teenagers have been affected by, and are learning from, the coronavirus pandemic. Some students leaned into that reality and interviewed their family members, while others spoke directly to what stay-at-home orders had meant for them. One student reflected on how she had coped with post-traumatic stress disorder since being at home full-time. Here we showcase eight winners, 11 runners-up and 16 honorable mentions, selected from nearly 900 entries in the high school category. In addition, we highlight three winners, four runners-up and seven honorable mentions chosen from nearly 450 middle school submissions. You can listen to all of the finalists for yourself below. Congratulations to our winners, and thanks to everyone for participating! In the meantime, dont forget our , which runs from June 12 to Aug. 21. 17, Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass. (shown at the top of this post) 16, Lubbock High School, Lubbock, Texas 17, Renton High School, Renton Wash. all 17, Loomis Chaffee School, Windsor, Conn. both 17, Holmdel High School, Holmdel, N.J. , 16, Providence Day School, Charlotte, N.C. 17, Turlock High School, Turlock, Calif. 19, Issaquah High School, Issaquah, Wash. 12, Hyatts Middle School, Powell, Ohio 13, 826 Valencia, San Francisco, Calif. 14, British International School, Lagos, Nigeria by Rushil Roy, 16, Monte Vista High School, Danville, Calif. by Jacob Jarrett, 16, John T. Hoggard High School, Wilmington, N.C. by Ayesha Z. Mohammed 17, Redmond High School, Redmond, Wash. by Rachel Dang, 17, and Roseanne Gabrielle De Guzman, 18, Cerritos High School, Cerritos, Calif. by Isabelle Harvey, 15, Marblehead High School, Marblehead, Mass. by Julia Ortiz, 15, and Cougar Miller, 17, City High School, Tucson, Ariz. by Iman Flenory, 17, City High School, Tucson, Ariz. by Jadenne Radoc Cabahug, 17, Kentridge High School, Kent, Wash. by Dedeepya Guthikonda, 16, Edina High School, Edina, Minn. by Alex Soto, 17, City High School, Tucson, Ariz. by Ryan Jung, 16, Portola High School, Irvine, Calif. by Anushka Chakraborty, 12, Lionville Middle School, Exton, Pa. by Meredith Cloutier, 14, Greely Middle School, Cumberland, Maine by Nipun Nagendra, 12, Ernest Lawrence Highly Gifted Middle School, Chatsworth, Calif. by Rachel Choi, 17, Centreville High School, Clifton, Va. by Lola-May Williamson, 16, Homeschool, Marblehead, Mass. by Isaac Hanley, 18, Kings Way Christian High School, Vancouver, Wash. by Mariam Abdelhalim, 16, Homewood High School, Homewood, Ala. by Ishita Shah, 16, Allen High School, Allen, Texas by Adeline Daab, 16, Walter Payton College Prep, Chicago, Ill. by Maxine Kirsten Magtoto, 17, Manila, Philippines by Anna Kilpatrick, 16, John T. Hoggard High School, Wilmington, N.C. by Trinity Lee, 17, University Liggett School, Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich. by Yejin Suh, 17, Glen Rock High School, Glen Rock, N.J. by Matthew Tengtrakool, 16, Burlington High School, Burlington, Mass. by Jade Personna, 15, E.C. Glass High School, Lynchburg, Va. by Jusung Park, 17, Chapel Hill High School, Chapel Hill, N.C. by Joshua Wolk, 16, Ladue Horton Watkins High School, St. Louis, Mo. by Gabrielle du Vair, 15, and Alexis Resch, 13, D.C. Everest Idea School, Weston, Wis. by Scarlett Langley, 14, Fiona Robinson, 14, and Geneva Thaxter, 14, Sebastopol Charter School, Sebastopol, Calif. by Sanaz Zaman, 13, and Hong Yeju, 13, UCSI International School, Selangor, Malaysia by Aram Kim, 13, Surbiton High School, Surrey, England by Ananyaa Sultania, 12, and Shaurya Sultania, 10, Eager Readers, Hyderabad, India by Maddie Yates, 13, Greely Middle School, Cumberland, Maine by Natalie Dyck, 13, Colonial Middle School, Plymouth Meeting, Pa. by Evan Ratliff, 14, Lakeside School, Seattle, Wash. : Annie Brown, Elaine Chen, Kelly Prime and Jack Wheeler. : Nicole Daniels, Shannon Doyne, Jeremy Engle, Ross Flatt, Michael Gonchar, Rachel Manley, John Otis and Natalie Proulx. : Erica Ayisi, Theresa Walsh Giarrusso, Nadia Murray Goodman, Caroline Gilpin, Morgan Givens, Megan Leder, Victoria Marin, Rose Ricci Mullen, Melissa Slater, Joshua Smith and Laura Winnick.