Pittsburgh Listener Wins NPR Puzzle Prize

Deborah Freedman of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, won the latest prize for the NPR Sunday Puzzle segment. The victory recognized her correct answer to a challenge posed in the previous broadcast cycle. The segment, distributed via Connecticut Public Television on November 1, 2026, highlights the ongoing format of the show where listeners compete for a spot on the air.

The winning puzzle required participants to identify two well-known companies with specific logo characteristics. The prompt noted that the commercial name iPhone starts with a lowercase i and contains a capital P. Listeners had to find two other brands whose logos also began with lowercase letters and each contained a capital B inside the design. The correct answers were eBay and jetBlue.

The current broadcast presents a new set of challenges for the audience. The main feature asks solvers to identify 13 two-word names of U.S. places, such as cities, states, rivers, or mountains. Each clue uses initial letters that match the initial letters of the answer. For example, the clue Florida Locale leads to Fort Lauderdale. Other prompts include Northeast Haven, Pioneers Pinnacle, and Hydroelectric Development.

A separate three-word answer is required for the final spot in the list. The clue provided is Minnesota Sizable Population. This section of the puzzle tests geographic and demographic knowledge across the United States.

A secondary challenge asks listeners to solve a word insertion problem. Participants must identify a three-letter part of the human body and insert it into a four-letter part of the body to create a supermarket brand name. Listeners who know the answers can submit them by Thursday, November 5, at 3 p.m. ET.

Submissions require a phone number where the producers can reach the listener. Winners of this round will have the chance to play the on-air puzzle in the following broadcast.