Saturday mornings are made for Weekend Edition Saturday, the program wraps up the week's news and offers a mix of analysis and features on a wide range of topics, including arts, sports, entertainment, and human interest stories. The two-hour program is hosted by NPR's Peabody Award-winning Scott Simon.
Drawing on his experience in covering 10 wars and stories in all 50 states and seven continents, Simon brings a humorous, sophisticated and often moving perspective to each show. He is as comfortable having a conversation with a major world leader as he is talking with a Hollywood celebrity or the guy next door.
Weekend Edition Saturday has a unique and entertaining roster of other regular contributors. Marin Alsop, conductor of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, talks about music. Daniel Pinkwater, one of the biggest names in children's literature, talks about and reads stories with Simon. Financial journalist Joe Nocera follows the economy. Howard Bryant of EPSN.com and NPR's Tom Goldman chime in on sports. Keith Devlin, of Stanford University, unravels the mystery of math, and Will Grozier, a London cabbie, talks about good books that have just been released, and what well-read people leave in the back of his taxi. Simon contributes his own award-winning essays, which are sometimes humorous, sometimes poignant.
Weekend Edition Saturday is heard on NPR Member stations across the United States, and around the globe on NPR Worldwide. The conversation between the audience and the program staff continues throughout the social media world.
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On this week's StoryCorps' Military Voices Initiative, Marine Staff Sergeant Nick Bennett talks about his desire to be deployed to the field after running the internet cafe on base.
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The heat bore down on Palestinians living in tents and aid groups working in the sun. UNRWA reported several heat injuries among its staff, and at least one 18-year-old Palestinian died from the heat.
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The Oklahoma Legislature passed a bill that would allow local law enforcement to arrest undocumented immigrants — joining other states attempting to take on what's been a federal role.
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A survivor of the then-unprecedented school shooting in Colorado struggled for years to understand her own response to trauma and now helps others learn to feel safe. (First aired on ATC on 04/15.)
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NPR's Scott Simon speaks to Masoud Mostajabi, deputy director of the Middle East Programs at the Atlantic Council, about Iran's military strategy with its proxies in the region as well as Israel.
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A church rents apartments for asylum seekers, who pay the church back after an initial buffer period. (This story first aired on All Things Considered on April 16, 2024.)
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NPR's Scott Simon remarks on the long career of John Sterling, the New York Yankees' play-by-play announcer, who is retiring at the age of 85.
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NPR's Scott Simon speaks with reporter Pavni Mittal about the Indian elections which began this week and will end in June. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking a third term.
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Children are among the hundreds of thousands displaced by fighting on the Lebanon-Israel border. In south Lebanon, an arts program is trying to restore some normalcy to their lives.
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Some teachers have found a way to combat classroom burnout: stand up comedy. In Oregon, the Teacher Show features professors, preschool teachers and everyone in between joking about their day jobs.