diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index 9ddc529a..d656d53d 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -169,7 +169,6 @@
         }
       ],
       "license": "MIT",
-      "peer": true,
       "engines": {
         "node": ">=18"
       },
@@ -192,7 +191,6 @@
         }
       ],
       "license": "MIT",
-      "peer": true,
       "engines": {
         "node": ">=18"
       }
@@ -802,7 +800,6 @@
     "node_modules/@opentelemetry/api": {
       "version": "1.8.0",
       "license": "Apache-2.0",
-      "peer": true,
       "engines": {
         "node": ">=8.0.0"
       }
@@ -830,7 +827,6 @@
     "node_modules/@opentelemetry/core": {
       "version": "1.24.1",
       "license": "Apache-2.0",
-      "peer": true,
       "dependencies": {
         "@opentelemetry/semantic-conventions": "1.24.1"
       },
@@ -844,7 +840,6 @@
     "node_modules/@opentelemetry/instrumentation": {
       "version": "0.51.1",
       "license": "Apache-2.0",
-      "peer": true,
       "dependencies": {
         "@opentelemetry/api-logs": "0.51.1",
         "@types/shimmer": "^1.0.2",
@@ -1221,7 +1216,6 @@
     "node_modules/@opentelemetry/semantic-conventions": {
       "version": "1.24.1",
       "license": "Apache-2.0",
-      "peer": true,
       "engines": {
         "node": ">=14"
       }
@@ -1608,7 +1602,6 @@
     "node_modules/@sentry/node/node_modules/@opentelemetry/api": {
       "version": "1.9.0",
       "license": "Apache-2.0",
-      "peer": true,
       "engines": {
         "node": ">=8.0.0"
       }
@@ -2053,7 +2046,6 @@
       "integrity": "sha512-n1H6IcDhmmUEG7TNVSspGmiHHutt7iVKtZwRppD7e04wha5MrkV1h3pti9xQLcCMt6YWsncpoT0HMjkH1FNwWQ==",
       "dev": true,
       "license": "MIT",
-      "peer": true,
       "dependencies": {
         "@typescript-eslint/scope-manager": "8.46.0",
         "@typescript-eslint/types": "8.46.0",
@@ -2423,7 +2415,6 @@
     "node_modules/acorn": {
       "version": "8.11.3",
       "license": "MIT",
-      "peer": true,
       "bin": {
         "acorn": "bin/acorn"
       },
@@ -3019,7 +3010,6 @@
       "version": "8.57.1",
       "dev": true,
       "license": "MIT",
-      "peer": true,
       "dependencies": {
         "@eslint-community/eslint-utils": "^4.2.0",
         "@eslint-community/regexpp": "^4.6.1",
@@ -5207,7 +5197,6 @@
       "integrity": "sha512-5gTmgEY/sqK6gFXLIsQNH19lWb4ebPDLA4SdLP7dsWkIXHWlG66oPuVvXSGFPppYZz8ZDZq0dYYrbHfBCVUb1Q==",
       "dev": true,
       "license": "MIT",
-      "peer": true,
       "engines": {
         "node": ">=12"
       },
@@ -5370,7 +5359,6 @@
       "version": "5.6.2",
       "dev": true,
       "license": "Apache-2.0",
-      "peer": true,
       "bin": {
         "tsc": "bin/tsc",
         "tsserver": "bin/tsserver"
@@ -5456,7 +5444,6 @@
       "integrity": "sha512-4nVGliEpxmhCL8DslSAUdxlB6+SMrhB0a1v5ijlh1xB1nEPuy1mxaHxysVucLHuWryAxLWg6a5ei+U4TLn/rFg==",
       "dev": true,
       "license": "MIT",
-      "peer": true,
       "dependencies": {
         "esbuild": "^0.25.0",
         "fdir": "^6.5.0",
@@ -5573,7 +5560,6 @@
       "integrity": "sha512-5gTmgEY/sqK6gFXLIsQNH19lWb4ebPDLA4SdLP7dsWkIXHWlG66oPuVvXSGFPppYZz8ZDZq0dYYrbHfBCVUb1Q==",
       "dev": true,
       "license": "MIT",
-      "peer": true,
       "engines": {
         "node": ">=12"
       },
diff --git a/scripts/smoke-test.sh b/scripts/smoke-test.sh
index bd1344d7..05bc160f 100755
--- a/scripts/smoke-test.sh
+++ b/scripts/smoke-test.sh
@@ -39,6 +39,15 @@ for route in $(curl -s localhost:3000/v1/routes | jq -r '.[].path'); do
       # we can run these, because they're ICS, not GCal
       ;;
 
+    "/v1/news/named/stolaf" | "/v1/news/named/krlx")
+      # Validate news endpoints with Zod schema
+      echo "validating $route with Zod schema"
+      RESPONSE=$(curl --silent --fail "localhost:3000$route")
+      # Validate against the Zod schema
+      echo "$RESPONSE" | node dist/scripts/validate-schema.js "$route"
+      continue
+      ;;
+
     "/v1/calendar/"* | "/v1/convos/upcoming")
       echo "skip because we don't have authorization during smoke tests"
       continue
diff --git a/scripts/validate-schema.ts b/scripts/validate-schema.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..78733697
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/validate-schema.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,80 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env node
+/**
+ * Script to validate JSON responses against Zod schemas
+ * Usage: node dist/scripts/validate-schema.js <schema-path> <json-data>
+ *
+ * Example:
+ *   echo '{"title": "test"}' | node dist/scripts/validate-schema.js feeds/types FeedItemSchema
+ */
+
+import {readFileSync} from 'fs'
+import {z} from 'zod'
+
+// Schema registry - maps endpoint patterns to their schemas
+const SCHEMA_REGISTRY: Record<string, {module: string; schema: string; isArray?: boolean}> = {
+	'/v1/news/named/stolaf': {module: 'feeds/types', schema: 'FeedItemSchema', isArray: true},
+	'/v1/news/named/mess': {module: 'feeds/types', schema: 'FeedItemSchema', isArray: true},
+	'/v1/news/named/krlx': {module: 'feeds/types', schema: 'FeedItemSchema', isArray: true},
+	'/v1/news/named/oleville': {module: 'feeds/types', schema: 'FeedItemSchema', isArray: true},
+}
+
+async function main() {
+	const endpoint = process.argv[2]
+	const jsonInput = process.argv[3] ?? readFileSync(0, 'utf-8') // Read from stdin if not provided
+
+	if (!endpoint) {
+		console.error('Usage: validate-schema <endpoint> [json-data]')
+		console.error('If json-data is not provided, reads from stdin')
+		process.exit(1)
+	}
+
+	const schemaInfo = SCHEMA_REGISTRY[endpoint]
+	if (!schemaInfo) {
+		console.error(`No schema registered for endpoint: ${endpoint}`)
+		console.error(`Registered endpoints: ${Object.keys(SCHEMA_REGISTRY).join(', ')}`)
+		process.exit(1)
+	}
+
+	try {
+		// Dynamically import the schema module
+		const modulePath = `../source/${schemaInfo.module}.js`
+		// eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-unsafe-assignment
+		const module = await import(modulePath)
+
+		// eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-unsafe-assignment, @typescript-eslint/no-unsafe-member-access
+		let schema = module[schemaInfo.schema]
+		if (!schema) {
+			console.error(`Schema ${schemaInfo.schema} not found in module ${schemaInfo.module}`)
+			process.exit(1)
+		}
+
+		// Wrap in array if needed
+		if (schemaInfo.isArray) {
+			// eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-unsafe-assignment
+			schema = z.array(schema)
+		}
+
+		// Parse the JSON input
+		// eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-unsafe-assignment
+		const data = JSON.parse(jsonInput)
+
+		// Validate against schema
+		// eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-unsafe-call, @typescript-eslint/no-unsafe-member-access
+		schema.parse(data)
+
+		console.log('✓ Validation successful')
+		process.exit(0)
+	} catch (error) {
+		if (error instanceof z.ZodError) {
+			console.error('✗ Schema validation failed:')
+			console.error(JSON.stringify(error.errors, null, 2))
+		} else if (error instanceof SyntaxError) {
+			console.error('✗ Invalid JSON input')
+		} else {
+			console.error('✗ Validation error:', error)
+		}
+		process.exit(1)
+	}
+}
+
+void main()
diff --git a/source/ccci-carleton-college/v1/menu.test.ts b/source/ccci-carleton-college/v1/menu.test.ts
index 2aff92b9..f30bfbce 100644
--- a/source/ccci-carleton-college/v1/menu.test.ts
+++ b/source/ccci-carleton-college/v1/menu.test.ts
@@ -31,13 +31,17 @@ const cafeMenuFunctions: Record<keyof typeof menu.CAFE_URLS, (c: Context) => Pro
 } as const
 
 for (const cafe of keysOf(menu.CAFE_URLS)) {
-	test(`${cafe} cafe endpoint should return a BamcoCafeInfo struct`, async () => {
-		const ctx = {cacheControl: noop, body: null} as Context
-		await cafeInfoFunctions[cafe](ctx)
-		expect(() => CafeInfoResponseSchema.parse(ctx.body)).not.toThrow()
-	})
+	test(
+		`${cafe} cafe endpoint should return a BamcoCafeInfo struct`,
+		{timeout: 15_000},
+		async () => {
+			const ctx = {cacheControl: noop, body: null} as Context
+			await cafeInfoFunctions[cafe](ctx)
+			expect(() => CafeInfoResponseSchema.parse(ctx.body)).not.toThrow()
+		},
+	)
 
-	test(`${cafe} menu endpoint should return a CafeMenu struct`, async () => {
+	test(`${cafe} menu endpoint should return a CafeMenu struct`, {timeout: 15_000}, async () => {
 		const ctx = {cacheControl: noop, body: null} as Context
 		await cafeMenuFunctions[cafe](ctx)
 		expect(() => CafeMenuResponseSchema.parse(ctx.body)).not.toThrow()
diff --git a/source/ccci-stolaf-college/v1/menu.test.ts b/source/ccci-stolaf-college/v1/menu.test.ts
index 2aff92b9..f30bfbce 100644
--- a/source/ccci-stolaf-college/v1/menu.test.ts
+++ b/source/ccci-stolaf-college/v1/menu.test.ts
@@ -31,13 +31,17 @@ const cafeMenuFunctions: Record<keyof typeof menu.CAFE_URLS, (c: Context) => Pro
 } as const
 
 for (const cafe of keysOf(menu.CAFE_URLS)) {
-	test(`${cafe} cafe endpoint should return a BamcoCafeInfo struct`, async () => {
-		const ctx = {cacheControl: noop, body: null} as Context
-		await cafeInfoFunctions[cafe](ctx)
-		expect(() => CafeInfoResponseSchema.parse(ctx.body)).not.toThrow()
-	})
+	test(
+		`${cafe} cafe endpoint should return a BamcoCafeInfo struct`,
+		{timeout: 15_000},
+		async () => {
+			const ctx = {cacheControl: noop, body: null} as Context
+			await cafeInfoFunctions[cafe](ctx)
+			expect(() => CafeInfoResponseSchema.parse(ctx.body)).not.toThrow()
+		},
+	)
 
-	test(`${cafe} menu endpoint should return a CafeMenu struct`, async () => {
+	test(`${cafe} menu endpoint should return a CafeMenu struct`, {timeout: 15_000}, async () => {
 		const ctx = {cacheControl: noop, body: null} as Context
 		await cafeMenuFunctions[cafe](ctx)
 		expect(() => CafeMenuResponseSchema.parse(ctx.body)).not.toThrow()
diff --git a/source/feeds/wp-json.test.ts b/source/feeds/wp-json.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..639f13ab
--- /dev/null
+++ b/source/feeds/wp-json.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,190 @@
+import {test, expect} from 'vitest'
+import {
+	convertWpJsonItemToStory,
+	WpJsonFeedEntrySchema,
+	type WpJsonFeedEntryType,
+} from './wp-json.js'
+
+test('WpJsonFeedEntrySchema should parse items with missing featuredmedia fields', () => {
+	const itemWithMissingFields = {
+		_embedded: {
+			author: [{id: 1, name: 'Test Author'}],
+			'wp:featuredmedia': [
+				{
+					id: 123,
+					// missing media_type, media_details, and source_url
+				},
+			],
+			'wp:term': [[{taxonomy: 'category', name: 'News'}]],
+		},
+		author: 1,
+		featured_media: 123,
+		content: {rendered: '<p>Test content</p>'},
+		excerpt: {rendered: '<p>Test excerpt</p>'},
+		title: {rendered: 'Test Title'},
+		date_gmt: '2024-01-01T12:00:00',
+		link: 'https://example.com/post',
+	}
+
+	expect(() => WpJsonFeedEntrySchema.parse(itemWithMissingFields)).not.toThrow()
+})
+
+test('WpJsonFeedEntrySchema should parse items with complete featuredmedia fields', () => {
+	const itemWithCompleteFields = {
+		_embedded: {
+			author: [{id: 1, name: 'Test Author'}],
+			'wp:featuredmedia': [
+				{
+					id: 123,
+					media_type: 'image',
+					media_details: {
+						sizes: {
+							medium_large: {
+								source_url: 'https://example.com/image-medium.jpg',
+							},
+						},
+					},
+					source_url: 'https://example.com/image.jpg',
+				},
+			],
+			'wp:term': [[{taxonomy: 'category', name: 'News'}]],
+		},
+		author: 1,
+		featured_media: 123,
+		content: {rendered: '<p>Test content</p>'},
+		excerpt: {rendered: '<p>Test excerpt</p>'},
+		title: {rendered: 'Test Title'},
+		date_gmt: '2024-01-01T12:00:00',
+		link: 'https://example.com/post',
+	}
+
+	expect(() => WpJsonFeedEntrySchema.parse(itemWithCompleteFields)).not.toThrow()
+})
+
+test('WpJsonFeedEntrySchema should parse items with null wp:featuredmedia', () => {
+	const itemWithNullFeaturedMedia = {
+		_embedded: {
+			author: [{id: 1, name: 'Test Author'}],
+			'wp:featuredmedia': null,
+			'wp:term': [[{taxonomy: 'category', name: 'News'}]],
+		},
+		author: 1,
+		content: {rendered: '<p>Test content</p>'},
+		excerpt: {rendered: '<p>Test excerpt</p>'},
+		title: {rendered: 'Test Title'},
+		date_gmt: '2024-01-01T12:00:00',
+		link: 'https://example.com/post',
+	}
+
+	expect(() => WpJsonFeedEntrySchema.parse(itemWithNullFeaturedMedia)).not.toThrow()
+})
+
+test('convertWpJsonItemToStory should handle missing featuredmedia fields', () => {
+	const itemWithMissingFields: WpJsonFeedEntryType = {
+		_embedded: {
+			author: [{id: 1, name: 'Test Author'}],
+			'wp:featuredmedia': [
+				{
+					id: 123,
+					// missing media_type, media_details, and source_url
+				},
+			],
+			'wp:term': [[{taxonomy: 'category', name: 'News'}]],
+		},
+		author: 1,
+		featured_media: 123,
+		content: {rendered: '<p>Test content</p>'},
+		excerpt: {rendered: '<p>Test excerpt</p>'},
+		title: {rendered: 'Test Title'},
+		date_gmt: '2024-01-01T12:00:00',
+		link: 'https://example.com/post',
+	}
+
+	// Should not throw and featuredImage should be null when fields are missing
+	const result = convertWpJsonItemToStory(itemWithMissingFields)
+	expect(result.featuredImage).toBe(null)
+})
+
+test('convertWpJsonItemToStory should handle complete featuredmedia fields', () => {
+	const itemWithCompleteFields: WpJsonFeedEntryType = {
+		_embedded: {
+			author: [{id: 1, name: 'Test Author'}],
+			'wp:featuredmedia': [
+				{
+					id: 123,
+					media_type: 'image',
+					media_details: {
+						sizes: {
+							medium_large: {
+								source_url: 'https://example.com/image-medium.jpg',
+							},
+						},
+					},
+					source_url: 'https://example.com/image.jpg',
+				},
+			],
+			'wp:term': [[{taxonomy: 'category', name: 'News'}]],
+		},
+		author: 1,
+		featured_media: 123,
+		content: {rendered: '<p>Test content</p>'},
+		excerpt: {rendered: '<p>Test excerpt</p>'},
+		title: {rendered: 'Test Title'},
+		date_gmt: '2024-01-01T12:00:00',
+		link: 'https://example.com/post',
+	}
+
+	const result = convertWpJsonItemToStory(itemWithCompleteFields)
+	expect(result.featuredImage).toBe('https://example.com/image-medium.jpg')
+})
+
+test('convertWpJsonItemToStory should handle null wp:featuredmedia', () => {
+	const itemWithNullFeaturedMedia: WpJsonFeedEntryType = {
+		_embedded: {
+			author: [{id: 1, name: 'Test Author'}],
+			'wp:featuredmedia': null,
+			'wp:term': [[{taxonomy: 'category', name: 'News'}]],
+		},
+		author: 1,
+		content: {rendered: '<p>Test content</p>'},
+		excerpt: {rendered: '<p>Test excerpt</p>'},
+		title: {rendered: 'Test Title'},
+		date_gmt: '2024-01-01T12:00:00',
+		link: 'https://example.com/post',
+	}
+
+	const result = convertWpJsonItemToStory(itemWithNullFeaturedMedia)
+	expect(result.featuredImage).toBe(null)
+})
+
+test('WpJsonFeedEntrySchema parsing should work with real-world incomplete data', () => {
+	// This simulates what WordPress might return when a featured media
+	// entry exists but has incomplete information
+	const incompleteData = {
+		_embedded: {
+			author: [{id: 1, name: 'Test Author'}],
+			'wp:featuredmedia': [
+				{
+					id: 123,
+					// All other fields missing
+				},
+			],
+			'wp:term': [[{taxonomy: 'category', name: 'News'}]],
+		},
+		author: 1,
+		featured_media: 123,
+		content: {rendered: '<p>Test content</p>'},
+		excerpt: {rendered: '<p>Test excerpt</p>'},
+		title: {rendered: 'Test Title'},
+		date_gmt: '2024-01-01T12:00:00',
+		link: 'https://example.com/post',
+	}
+
+	// Should parse without error
+	const parsed = WpJsonFeedEntrySchema.parse(incompleteData)
+	expect(parsed).toBeDefined()
+
+	// Convert should also work and return null for featuredImage
+	const converted = convertWpJsonItemToStory(parsed)
+	expect(converted.featuredImage).toBe(null)
+})
diff --git a/source/feeds/wp-json.ts b/source/feeds/wp-json.ts
index 174f0a11..a5490b78 100644
--- a/source/feeds/wp-json.ts
+++ b/source/feeds/wp-json.ts
@@ -5,8 +5,8 @@ import type {SearchParamsOption} from 'ky'
 import {z} from 'zod'
 import moment from 'moment'
 
-type WpJsonFeedEntryType = z.infer<typeof WpJsonFeedEntrySchema>
-const WpJsonFeedEntrySchema = z.object({
+export type WpJsonFeedEntryType = z.infer<typeof WpJsonFeedEntrySchema>
+export const WpJsonFeedEntrySchema = z.object({
 	_embedded: z.optional(
 		z.object({
 			author: z.array(z.object({id: z.unknown(), name: z.string().or(z.undefined())})).optional(),
@@ -14,11 +14,13 @@ const WpJsonFeedEntrySchema = z.object({
 				.array(
 					z.object({
 						id: z.unknown(),
-						media_type: z.union([z.literal('image'), z.string()]),
-						media_details: z.object({
-							sizes: z.optional(z.record(z.object({source_url: z.string().url()}))),
-						}),
-						source_url: z.string().url(),
+						media_type: z.union([z.literal('image'), z.string()]).optional(),
+						media_details: z
+							.object({
+								sizes: z.optional(z.record(z.object({source_url: z.string().url()}))),
+							})
+							.optional(),
+						source_url: z.string().url().optional(),
 					}),
 				)
 				.nullable()
@@ -62,8 +64,9 @@ export function convertWpJsonItemToStory(item: WpJsonFeedEntryType) {
 
 		if (featuredMediaInfo) {
 			featuredImage =
-				featuredMediaInfo.media_details.sizes?.['medium_large']?.source_url ??
-				featuredMediaInfo.source_url
+				featuredMediaInfo.media_details?.sizes?.['medium_large']?.source_url ??
+				featuredMediaInfo.source_url ??
+				null
 		}
 	}