Appendix B: Best Podcasts of the Year, Podcast Competitions, Jobs, Other

Podcast Competitions for Students

• NPR’s Student Podcast Challenge (middle & high school competition & college edition)
• Society of Professional Journalists (Mark of Excellence Awards for college podcasts)
• BEA Festival of Media Arts 2026 competitions
• The New York Times Student Podcast Competition (for middle and high school students)
• RTDNA Student Murrow Awards (podcast and audio stories)
• Hearst Student Journalism Awards (college podcast)

Jobs in Podcasting/Journalism

• Podjobs.net, jobs in podcasting from Podnews.
• Jobs Board (Sounds Profitable)
• Society of Professional Journalists Job Board
• RTDNA Jobs (Radio, Television Digital News Association)
• JournalismJobs.com
• Mediabistro.com
• AIR is the Association of Independents in Radio is a network of audio industry professionals – podcasters, journalists, story editors, audio producers, documentarians, engineers, sound designers, and media entrepreneurs across 47 states and 30 countries. They publish a Code of Fair Practices for working with audio professionals as well as AIR Rate Guides for services.
• Podwires (paid service for podcast job listings)
• ProBlogger (good for freelance jobs)
• Poynter.org (media jobs)
• LinkedIn jobs
• Indeed.com (job listings)
• ZipRecruiter (job listings)
• Freelance Writing Jobs 
• Look at local newspapers, TV, radio stations, nonprofits, universities, religious, and professional associations
• Grants for Creatives (website for grant and funding opportunities, a free and paid version)

Selected How-To Videos/Audio

• Spotify: How to Start a Podcast
• Buzzsprout Podcast Channel
• How to Start a Podcast – Beginner (Pat Flynn)
• Riverside Video Podcast Channel (from beginner to publish)
• Short videos from The Podcast Host on a variety of topics from tech to names to interviewing; How to create attention-getting podcast artwork (video 23:24), How to name your podcast episodes for SEO & grab eyeballs (10:20 video), How to upload a podcast to any directory (video 22:28) Microphone Polar Patterns (video 16:26), Podcast Promotion (video 44:48)
• Three tips for training your voice (video 9:12 from NPR).
• Everything you need to know about music in your podcast (audio 8:00 from NPR)
• Squadcast YouTube Channel has short videos on a variety of topics; as well as longer webinars on topics such as Show Notes: The simple template to match your podcast findable (59:00), Understanding echo in remote recording and how to avoid it (7:05).

Diversity, Ethnicity & Race in Podcasting

• AIR (Association of Independents in Radio), runs a New Voices program that supports under-represented early-career audio creators.
• AIR Amplify program is a marketing accelerator for podcasters that already have a show.
• BBPC (Black & Brown Podcast Collective) has a micro-grant program for podcasters of color.
• Our Greatness (Matriarch Digital Media) has micro-grants for independent women of color podcasters.
• Urban One launched a podcast network for BIPOC Audiences.
• BIPOC Podcast Creators is a paid directory for freelancers and small businesses who provide services of Black, Indigenous, and POC who provide services in audio and podcasting “all of whom have been vetted by the BIPOC Podcast Creators Team.”
• Curated list of 300+ Asian American Podcasts for AAPI Heritage Month, Podnews.
• Podluck: An Asian American Podcast Collective features the Asian American community.
• The Black Podcasters Association is for creatives and professionals redefining the podcast landscape.
• WOC (Women of Color Podcasters) is a community to connect podcasters, audio creators, and professionals to share resources.

Fiction Podcasts:

• How to Write a Fiction Podcast, Electric Lit.
• How to Make a Fiction Podcast, The Podcast Host Academy.
• Sound Storytelling: The Art of Making a Fiction Podcast, A Sound Effect.
• Script Writing for Narrative Podcasts, Learning Solutions.
• The OnWriting Guide to Crafting Scripted Podcasts by the Writers Guild of America, East.
• Tricks of the Trade: Writing for Audio Fiction offers tips from writers from the Austin Film Festival.
• Why Characters and Storyline Aren’t Just For Fiction Podcasts, The Podcast Host.

Legal resources:

• Center For Media & Social Impact, American University.
• Fair use, Stanford University.
• Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.