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June 27, 2025

Dear Reader,

A fictional radio broadcast from post-apocalyptic America. The true-life tales of animals on trial in 16th-century Europe. An intimate look at an older brother’s schizophrenia.

These are just a few of the many fascinating topics and compelling stories the 10 winners, 12 runners-up and 15 honorable mentions from our 8th Annual Student Podcast Contest explore.

We invite you to listen to the winners and runners-up. As you do, you might consider the stories you would want to tell, and how you would like to bring them to life.

Congratulations to all of the finalists and thank you to everyone who participated and shared their voices with us.

Sincerely,
The Learning Network

P.S. Week 4 of our Summer Reading Contest begins today.

RESOURCES FOR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS

William Schluep Contests The Winners of Our 8th Annual Student Podcast Contest We invited teenagers to create an original five-minute podcast about almost anything. Listen to some of the winning podcasts selected from over 1,600 submissions. By The Learning Network

Shuran Huang for The New York Times Contests Summer Reading Contest, Week 4: What Got Your Attention in The Times This Week? To participate, submit your response here by July 4 at 9 a.m. Eastern. This week’s winners will be announced by July 15. By The Learning Network

Ben Hickey Contests Our 16th Annual Summer Reading Contest Students are invited to tell us what they’re reading in The Times and why, this year in writing OR via a 90-second video. Contest dates: June 6 to Aug. 15, 2025. By The Learning Network

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VOCABULARY RESOURCES

Cindy Lozito Word of the day Word of the Day: exogenous This word has appeared in five articles on NYTimes.com in the past year. Can you use it in a sentence? By The Learning Network

Cindy Lozito Word of the day Word of the Day: retrench This word has appeared in 16 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year. Can you use it in a sentence? By The Learning Network

Cindy Lozito Word of the day Word of the Day: ornithologist This word has appeared in 18 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year. Can you use it in a sentence? By The Learning Network

Cindy Lozito Word of the day Word of the Day: tchotchke This word has appeared in five articles on NYTimes.com in the past year. Can you use it in a sentence? By The Learning Network

Cindy Lozito Word of the day Word of the Day: spectral This word has appeared in 78 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year. Can you use it in a sentence? By The Learning Network

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