Every summer for the past seven decades, 50 high school seniors—one from every state—descend on Mobile, Alabama to take part in one of the country’s most lucrative scholarship competitions for teen girls. 

The Competition takes you behind the scenes of the Distinguished Young Women (DYW) program, and follows seven girls as they experience the highs and lows of competing for two weeks, away from home and under the most high-stress circumstances. Some girls enter for the money, some for prestige. All of them are used to being the best and the brightest. But only one will walk away with the top prize.

Host Shima Oliaee (Dolly Parton’s America, Pink Card) was Nevada’s contestant in 2001. More than 20 years later, she returns to Alabama as a judge. What can two weeks with 50 of the country’s most ambitious teens tell us about girlhood in America?

Listen to The Competition on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge all episodes early and ad-free right now on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App or on Apple Podcasts. Start your free trial by visiting Wondery.fm/The_Competition now.

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Nikki’s boyfriend needs a haircut but all the barbershops are closed. So Nikki decides to give it a go. Only problem is she’s never cut hair, so she calls a virtual stylist for lessons — how hard could it be?

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A boy in New York sees a girl across the way and wants to meet her. But first, the boy has to find a way to connect. With everyone sheltering-in-place, it will require a lot of ingenuity.

Jeremy Cohen’s TikTok and Instagram

Sports Commentator Nick Heath

Tell us what’s making you smile! Send a voice memo to [email protected] 

Our theme song is “Smile” by Ryan Innes

You can binge all episodes of The Daily Smile exclusively and ad-free on Wondery+. Find Wondery+ in the Wondery App or on Apple Podcasts

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Daily Smile premieres May 18th.

You can binge all episodes of The Daily Smile exclusively and ad-free on Wondery+. Find Wondery+ in the Wondery App or on Apple Podcasts

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.