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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Eden Golan, Israel's representative for this year's Eurovision contest is not having an easy time because of the war in Gaza. She will compete in the finals on Saturday.
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The White House says it will withhold military aid if Israel conducts a major ground operation in Rafah. Red lines are often set for enemies, but how do they work with one of America's closest allies?
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A group of House Democrats sent a letter to President Biden urging him to take action on the US southern border. NPR's Scott Simon talks with one of the signatories, Rep. Mike Levin of California.
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Washington's ferry system is the biggest in the U.S., but after decades of chronic underfunding, it's breaking down and short-staffed: a serious problem for the people who depend on it.
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One of Chile's indigenous peoples is working to revive their primary language, which was declared extinct decades ago.
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Arkansas unveiled one of its new statues at the US Capitol's Statuary Hall this week: Civil Rights leader Daisy Bates. Another sculpture of a famous Arkansan, Johnny Cash, will soon join her there.
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The Just-In-Time Recreation bowling alley in Lewiston, Maine reopens 6 months after a gunman's rampage.
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Beyond former President Trump's actual criminal trial, witnesses this week have revealed a world of money exchanged for potentially damaging stories.
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Bedouin citizens of Israel are forbidden from building rocket shelters in their homes. The recent wars have made that policy deadly.
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India is almost halfway through its six-week-long election season. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is attempting to win a third consecutive term by promising his brand of Hindu nationalism.