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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(Screaming like a howler monkey) OH MY GOD! IT’S THE SEASON 2 FINALE OF WILL & GRACE! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?! Sean & Eric actually can’t believe they’ve reached the end of the season, and they also can’t believe how much was cut for syndication from the original one-hour version. They talk about powder blue Shetland ponies, The Odd Couple, the magic of Gregory Hines’ monologue, and wonder if this episode painted the show into enough of a corner. Then, they welcome their pal Jim Colucci, Will & Grace expert and author of Will & Grace: Fabulously Uncensored, to talk about the end of Season 2 and to quiz them on what they remember! That’s a filthy note. But also tender and gentle in spots.

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Pretty Sure I Can Fly is a humorous exploration of things that had never been done, until someone did them. It’s a series of weekly conversations about what it takes to break through the barrier of “impossible” and set new standards for human limitation. Pretty Sure I Can Fly is like going to history class, except your teachers are actor, stuntman, and outlaw radio DJ Johnny Knoxville and long-time This American Life contributor Elna Baker. And each week they bring a new guest to tell you all about how they “grabbed the bull by the bunglesteen” or “really hogwrenched that spatooly.”

Listen to Pretty Sure I Can Fly: Wondery.fm/PSICF

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