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The Students' Podcast

Author: NPR

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Teachers and students, got something to say? Put on your headphones and get ready to hit record! The folks behind NPR's Student Podcast Challenge made this handy guide on how to make a podcast in the classroom. We'll talk about how to gather good sound, ask great questions and conduct smart interviews. Plus, we'll hear from the contest's judges, last year's winners and feature some pretty inspiring stories of students and teachers. It's everything you need to make an amazing podcast!
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Teachers and students, got something to say? Put on your headphones and get ready to hit record! The folks behind NPR's Student Podcast Challenge made this handy guide on how to make a podcast in the classroom. With new episodes every Sunday, we'll cover everything you need to make an amazing podcast!
Podcasting is hard work. First you've gotta pick a topic, find a recording space and then, somehow, edit down the hours of audio! Last year's winners of the NPR Student Podcast Challenge had to learn all those things on the fly while making their podcast, "Ssh! Periods." Now, the ladies of Bronx Prep Middle School have some advice for students and teachers who are making a podcast for this year's challenge.
The saying goes that rules are meant to be broken — well, not these rules. Actually, following the official rules of the Student Podcast Challenge is the only way to win. But rules can be complicated. So in this week's episode, we put together a guide with some important things you need to know about the contest. We'll also answer some of your questions and make sure you're on the right path.
You don't need a fancy studio to make a podcast. All you need are a few tricks — and a LOT of pillows — and no one will ever guess that you recorded in your classroom.
Finding Your Voice

Finding Your Voice

2020-02-0908:501

You wouldn't play an instrument without practicing scales and you wouldn't play a basketball game without stretching – so why would you record a podcast without warming up your voice? NPR vocal coach Jessica Hansen has stretches, breathing exercises and vocal drills you can do to make sure that you sound natural when you press record.
Music can be a powerful tool in storytelling. It can set an emotional backdrop or give a sense of rhythm and tone to a story. Music can be that final piece of the puzzle, the piece that ties everything together. But too often, music isn't used at the right time or place in the story – or the music is all wrong for the moment. Composer and podcast host Ramtin Arablouei shows us when to use music in your podcast.
Banjo or drum? Keyboard or cowbell? Once you've figured out where you want to add music to your podcast, you've got to decide WHAT kind of music fits with your story. Since the Student Podcast Challenge only allows music that is written and performed by students, we invited composer Ramtin Arablouei back to show us how to make music without any fancy equipment.
Teachers across the country are ditching the traditional idea of assigning research papers or book reports, and asking their students to make podcasts instead. It turns out, students are having fun and learning new skills at the same time.
What makes a good interview? For starters, asking good questions! But there's so much more to it than asking who, what, where, when and why. On this episode, the art of the interview. We'll cover how to prepare for an interview and give tips for asking good questions and telling good stories.
If you've spent hours recording interviews your podcast but now you feel like you're drowning in sound, don't worry — you are not alone! We've got some science-based techniques for picking the very best bits of audio for your podcast. **Deadline Alert** The deadline for NPR's Student Podcast Challenge has been extended. Check our website, npr.org/studentpodcastchallenge for more information.
We know, the world feels pretty crazy right now. Think of this podcast as a little break from all of that. This week, we're featuring a bunch of student podcasts that delighted us, made us laugh, inspired us and made us all feel more connected as humans.
Despite a global pandemic and nation-wide school closures, we received more than 2,300 podcast submissions for the 2020 NPR Student Podcast Challenge. This episode, meet the students behind the winning podcasts. Plus, what to look forward to next year.
What makes you want to keep listening to a podcast? Most often, a really good story. But even once you have a good story you have to make sure you tell it well. In podcasting, we're lucky enough to have a script to guide us. Last year's finalists from St. Helena, Calif. told us a really good story in their podcast "Popo the Clown," so we wanted to hear how they did it.
If you want your podcast to be filled with amazing voices and emotional stories, you've got to nail your interviews! In this episode, the students of the CV19 Podcast explain how they leveled up to become expert interviewers.
Interviewing 101

Interviewing 101

2020-12-1310:321

What makes a good interview? For starters, asking good questions! But there's so much more to it than asking who, what, where, when and why. On this episode, the art of the interview. We'll cover how to prepare for an interview and give tips for asking good questions and telling good stories.
Some people love emotional conversations, some people avoid them. But for journalists and podcasters, they're part of the job. Sometimes you have to interview people about their saddest moments. It's hard, but if you can tell the story well, it means a lot: to them, and to your audience.Every year some of our best entries in the Student Podcast Challenge are moving, emotional narratives. For this week's episode of The Students' Podcast, Elissa Nadworny talked with Samuel Meneses—one of last year's finalists— who told the story of a tragic kayaking accident in his podcast Life and Death in the Amazon.
Too Much Tape?

Too Much Tape?

2020-12-2710:41

Once you've finished the interview — there's still a lot of hard work ahead. Some questions work, some don't. Did the interview run too long? You'll have to cut it down. Remember, entries for the student podcast challenge must be eight minutes or less. So here are some great ideas for how to wade through ALL that audio. Today you'll learn how from Planet Money's Sarah Gonzalez how trim away all the extra stuff, and just leave the good parts in an episode from earlier this year.
Let's Investigate!

Let's Investigate!

2021-01-0313:05

Ever wonder if that local legend has some truth to it? At the Student Podcast Challenge we love to hear a good mystery, so pull out your magnifying glasses and start investigating! We talk with last year's finalist Daniel Wang about his 4 month investigation into a hometown history. He gives advice all about how he made his entry "How A Small Town Discovered The Universe."
You don't need a fancy studio to make a podcast. All you need are a few tricks — and a LOT of pillows — and no one will ever guess that you recorded in your bedroom.
Soundproofing and studios and microphones, oh my! When you listen to a professional podcast you can hear the difference. Unfortunately, not everyone has access to that kind of recording set up, but the thing is ... you don't need it. This week on The Students' Podcast we talked to Aaron and Alex Morgan about how they made their podcast sound so good. Their entry "Why Instagram Is Like A Cocaine-Laced Brownie" was one of our finalists last year and had some of the best production in the competition!
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