NPR Transcripts FAQ

What are NPR transcripts?
Where are NPR transcripts available?
Which transcripts are available at NPR.org?
How do I find a transcript at NPR.org?
What if I find a mistake while I'm reading a transcript?
When are new transcripts available?
I still have questions. Help!

What are NPR transcripts?

NPR transcripts are written records of the spoken stories you hear on air. They’re created by outside contractors working on rush deadlines. Unlike a script, which is created in advance, a transcript is intended to capture exactly what was said on-air.

Where are NPR transcripts available?

Transcripts dating from mid-2005 are available at our website, npr.org. The research databases LexisNexis, ProQuest, EBSCO, Gale, Factiva, NewsBank and Thompson Reuters are other resources for finding NPR transcripts.

Which transcripts are available at NPR.org?

We offer transcripts for all NPR-produced programs: Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Talk of the Nation, Tell Me More, Weekend Edition Saturday, Weekend Edition Sunday, Weekends All Things Considered (Saturday and Sunday) and starting March 2013, TED Radio Hour. We also offer transcripts for some programs produced by member stations, including Fresh Air, Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me, and Ask Me Another.

Note: Some member stations maintain their own archives of transcripts for programs they produce. In these cases, transcript requests must be handled directly by the program in question. A list of public radio programs is available here http://www.npr.org/programs/index.html.

How do I find a transcript at NPR.org?

If you know the date the story aired and which NPR program you heard it on, it’s easy! Go to npr.org and click on the “programs” tab at the top of the homepage. Then click on the name of the program you’re interested in. (If you need more tips for locating a story, click here)

When the program screen appears, choose the month, date and year from the pull-down menus and hit “go.” Here’s what you’ll see next:

We call this the rundown. It’s the list of all the stories that aired during a specific program, on a specific day.

See the three options listed at the right of each story box? Click on the third option.

If the third option is “Transcript,” the link will take you directly to the transcript.

If the third option is “Full Story,” the link will take you to what we call the buildout.
 

That’s the web story that might be similar to the story you heard on air, but not an exact match. Once on that page, click “Transcript.”

Note: If the third option says “Summary” instead of “Transcript” or “Full Story,” that usually means the transcript isn’t available yet. If the "Summary" option is still displaying a few days after a story has aired, a glitch is temporarily blocking the transcript from being viewed. Please let us know.

What if I find a mistake while I'm reading a transcript?

Our transcripts are produced on a rush deadline, and they’re available for viewing before NPR’s transcript coordinators have had the opportunity to check them. Due to staffing constraints as well as the volume of work, we’re unable to proofread every transcript. In other words, mistakes are inevitable!

When are new transcripts available?

Transcripts are usually available about six hours after a program finishes airing in all time zones.

I still have questions. Help!

For help finding a transcript or for general questions not covered in this FAQ, please contact NPR Services or call 202-513-3232 for additional assistance.

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