New York Times Audio Stories Podcast Contest
New York Times Audio Stories Podcast Contest invites students to create an original podcast to inform or entertain in 5 minutes or less.
Interested in the competition?
Competition Overview
Students who are 13-19
Eligibility
Free
Entry fee
April 16 to May 14, 2025
Competition Timeline
2 months after the contest has closed
Winners Announcement
Competition Details
Produce a podcast of five minutes or less that informs or entertains.
You can create a podcast on any topic you like and in any format you prefer, whether that’s an interview with an expert, an informal conversation with a friend, a journalistic investigation, or a fictional story.
Ensure that whatever you produce is a complete listening experience with a clear beginning, middle, and end. Your submission can be an excerpt from a longer podcast, as long as you demonstrate thoughtfulness about time management. The beginning should provide context for your listeners, and the ending can either conclude the podcast or transition to a segment in a longer episode.
Submission Details
1. Sound Usage
Use non-copyrighted sound effects or music, with a few exceptions. Ensure you only use material you have permission to include and that doesn’t violate any intellectual property rights. If you use any music or sound effects, please list the sources in the designated field of the submission form.
2. Submission Guidance
The competition suggests uploading your podcast to SoundCloud for easy access by our judges. Make sure the track settings are set to “public.” Other acceptable platforms are Podomatic, Buzzsprout, Anchor, Spreaker, and Podbean.
Note: New York Times do not accept entries on Google Drive.
3. Submission Checklist
- Contact information
- Your submission with a title
- Your written reflection
- Works cited (if applicable): List of sources for any ideas, quotes, or facts used that are not your own
- Contact information for an adult sponsor (required for all participants)
- Parent/guardian consent (required if under 13 years old).
