Picks of the week
The Competition
All episodes now on Wondery+, widely available from Monday
When Shima Oliaee was a teenager, she flew to Mobile, Alabama, to compete for a lucrative scholarship. She didn’t win. More than 20 years later, she returns as a judge and goes behind the scenes of the tough two-week event, which sees one girl crowned Distinguished Young Woman of America and win a $40k education. It’s a harsh, competitive tale that Oliaee tells so well. Hannah Verdier
