NHI taps into podcast popularity with new, energized, youth-led series of episodes

If you’re subscribed to the NHI Podcasts feed, you may have noticed some new developments over the last few months: 

A series of five episodes released since September, including one on the Collegiate World Series (CWS), which went live earlier this week. 

A new logo, courtesy of Diego Garcia. 

A new theme song, courtesy of Zaiden Worley. 

And curation provided by Isabella Matamoros, a freshman at the University of Georgia whose NHI career includes being valedictorian at the 2024 Texas CWS, who is making the podcast newly relevant and vibrant for NHI students. 

“Podcasts are becoming more and more popular,” Matamoros said, a point underscored by a Pew Research Center poll from last September showing that more than half of U.S. adults have listened to a podcast in the previous 12 months, and 67% of those ages 18 to 29 have listened to one in the same time frame. 

While there’s not as much data available on high-school-age listeners, Edison Research noted in a 2025 presentation that 73% of Americans 12 and above have either listened to or watched a podcast at least once, and 55% of Americans 12 and above reporting at least monthly podcast consumption. 

“I know that a lot of other people enjoy listening to podcasts, and I see it as a way to increase NHI outreach,” Matamoros said. “It’s another way that people can learn about NHI and about what we do outside of traditional outreach methods like recruitment and social media.” 

She sees the podcasts serving a dual audience — those already invested in the work that NHI is doing, and those who are curious about taking part for the first time. 

“Part of it is to help attract prospective students,” Matamoros said regarding NHI’s current approach to podcasting. “If they find an NHI podcast, or a recruiter says, ‘Hey, listen to our podcast; you can hear more about what we do” — they can find out that way.” 

But she also sees it connecting NHI alumni “who might be interested in how the programs are doing, or what are some new initiatives, or who’s getting involved,” she added. “It’s a good way to keep people in the loop about what NHI is doing as well. I see it as a two-pronged strategy, being able to recruit new people and have a new audience, but also staying engaged with our current NHI members and alumni.” 

Since September, Matamoros has spearheaded efforts to get out five podcasts: 

The first, Recruitment 101, featured her and Samuel Molloy as guests, with Isabella Sada Nieto, Director of the Texas 4-Day Great Debates, in a hosting role to discuss how NHIers bring new students into the fold. 

The second, on Emerging Communities, brings Matamoros into the hosting role to talk to Cruz Ramos, Camila Castro, and Diego Gomez Zamora on developing NHI’s outreach in Omaha, Nebraska, and to Manuel Treviño and Ana Paula Rosales Visoso about their groundbreaking efforts bringing teams from Mexico to four-day Great Debate programs.

Next, Matamoros hosts a podcast on the Great Debate experience, bringing in Emma Wulff to discuss her experience as an Oratory finalist at the 2025 Northeast Great Debate at Saint Francis University in Loretto, Penn., and with Andrew Mefrige, Jacob Suarez, and Sophia Tabuenca, who all took part in the 2025 Texas Great Debate hosted by Austin College in Sherman, Texas. 

Then, she turned her hosting attention to Education Directors, discussing what it takes to lead a program with NHI Trustee and Texas Collegiate World Series (CWS) Education Director Angela Masciale, and Texas Lorenzo de Zavala Youth Legislative Session (LDZ) Education Director George Nicolas Rodriguez. 

Finally, the CWS episode, which debuted on Monday, included conversations between Matamoros and Mia Aguinaga, a first-year student at Augustana College, as well as with Emmanuel Gutierrez and Maulid Sanchez Carmona, who told of their experiences being coached by NHI College Register member schools George Washington University and Bucknell University.

As her studies at UGA intensify, Matamoros has been working on growing the podcasting team to incorporate more hosts and editors to shoulder the load — and to help more people develop their skills. The newly-expanded team is on the lookout for new stories; if you are interested in sharing your story, reach out to Isabella Sada Nieto via email.