This episode contains references to mental health challenges, including eating disorders.Joanna Lopez, the high school senior we met in our first episode of Odessa, has turned inward: staying in her bedroom, ghosting friends and avoiding band p

Part 3: The Band Bus Quarantine

1 Apr 9th, 2021 36m 22s

Last fall, as Odessa High School brought some students back to campus with hybrid instruction, school officials insisted mask wearing, social distancing and campus contact tracing would keep students and faculty safe. And at the beginning of th

Part 2: Friday Night Lights

1 Mar 12th, 2021 43m 59s

In 1988, a high school football team in Odessa, Texas, was so good that it became the inspiration for a book, movie and, eventually, the television series “Friday Night Lights.” And in the decades since, as West Texas has weathered the unsettli

Part 1: The School Year Begins

1 Feb 26th, 2021 38m 25s

Odessa is a four-part audio documentary series about one West Texas high school reopening during the pandemic — and the teachers, students and nurses affected in the process.For the past six months, The New York Times has documented students’ r

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