A podcast created by two Washington University in St. Louis students was among 10 finalists in the “College Podcast Challenge” from National Public Radio.
NPR released its list of finalists April 2, after sorting through entries from 37 states and the District of Columbia. Two WashU sophomores in Arts & Sciences, Jared Adelman and Olivia Poolos, who collaborated on a short podcast titled “Nameless Faceless Monster,” made the cut.
Adelmen, a political science major, first came across the contest last year when he was developing his own independent podcast, “Contested Politics.” However, the competition’s rules required a new project, so he reached out to Poolos, who is majoring in philosophy-neuroscience-psychology, to work on this collaboration.
The podcast focuses on reliving an event which took place in Poolos’ high school, where several Jewish teachers received antisemitic hate mail following the 2018 Tree of Life Synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh. She went back to talk to the ex-teacher responsible for the incident to determine his motives and how the event ultimately affected his life.
As finalists, the pair received a $500 reward, and their work was featured on the NPR website.
