NPR News Now

NPR News Now is the fastest way to get a news fix that still counts as real journalism. Five minutes. That's it. A new episode drops every hour, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, giving you the absolute latest headlines from NPR's newsroom whenever you press play. No other major podcast matches that refresh rate. The format is essentially a traditional radio news bulletin translated to podcast form -- a single anchor reads through the top stories with brief correspondent clips mixed in. There's no analysis, no interviews, no deep context. Just the facts, clearly delivered, in five minutes flat. That extreme brevity is a feature, not a limitation. It makes NPR News Now the perfect podcast for moments when you need information and nothing else. Waiting for coffee to brew? Five minutes. Walking from the parking lot to the office? Five minutes. The hourly updates mean you're never listening to stale news -- if something breaks at 2 p.m., the 3 p.m. edition will have it. Compare that to daily shows that record once and might be outdated by afternoon. The production is minimal and professional. Clean audio, clear enunciation, no music stings or transition effects. It sounds like what it is: a well-run newsroom delivering the news. The show draws from NPR's full correspondent network, so international stories get the same attention as domestic ones. For people who want headlines without commentary, this is the purest version of that idea. Many listeners pair it with a longer morning show for the quick facts they can build on later.