Most college students spend all semester juggling school, work, extracurriculars, and (hopefully) a social life. With so much going on day-to-day, it can seem pretty much impossible to keep up with what’s going on in the world as a whole.
But even so, as voters, it’s important to understand current events so that we can make informed choices come election day. Whether you consider yourself a journalism junkie, an occasional watcher, or a total news newbie, hopefully you’ll enjoy some of my favorite sources for easy-to-digest, factual, and informative daily news sources.
- NPR News Now
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I listen to this podcast at least twice a day! Every hour on the hour, it updates with a new 3-5 minute episode summarizing the daily news, focusing mostly on politics, world events, and finances. I get my morning news in before I even finished my first cup of coffee.
- The Journal
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The Wall Street Journal podcast’s episodes are a little longer (about 15-20 minutes) because each one goes a little more in-depth on a particular current issue. It’s perfect for when you find a topic that’s really important to you that you want to learn more about! Check this one out on your daily drive, walk, or ride to class.
- BBC Minute
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This one is a lot of fun. Similar to NPR News Now, this podcast updates hourly, but each episode is only a minute long! Each one is a quick little snippet of today’s news, and they somehow manage to cover everything, from world events to celebrities to sports.
- The Skimm
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If podcasts aren’t really your jam, you might want to check out The Skimm. I like to think of it as a daily newspaper for the social media age. Every weekday morning, the reporters at The Skimm release a written summary of the latest events. My favorite thing about it is the way it’s written. The stories are short and sweet, but still provide enough background to understand what’s going on, even if you haven’t been following the news.
You can subscribe to their daily newsletter for free on their website, and they’ll send the stories right to your inbox every day. You can also find Skimm “Guides” and podcasts on their website for free, which go more in-depth on the topics in their newsletter. If you want all of the above and more all in one place on your smartphone, you can subscribe to their premium app for $2.99 per month or $29.99 per year.
Hope you found at least one new podcast or website on this list! No matter what your favorite news sources are, good luck finding time between classes to read, listen, and watch.