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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NPR's Scott Simon speaks to ICU doctor Nahreen Ahmed about her time visiting hospitals in Gaza.
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NPR's Scott Simon talks with Yale historian Timothy Snyder about what another 6-year presidential term for Russian leader Vladimir Putin might mean for Ukraine and the West.
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NPR's Scott Simon speaks with Michael Lockshin, director of "The Master and Margarita," an immensely popular film in Russia but one that's also been attacked by pro-Kremlin bloggers.
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Russian media say gunmen killed several dozens of people at a concert hall on the outskirts of Moscow. An ISIS terrorist group has claimed responsibility.
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Messages of sadness and support flood London after the Princess of Wales reveals she's undergoing chemotherapy for cancer. The announcement comes as King Charles is getting cancer treatment as well.
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The joyous Jewish holiday celebrates Jews' escape from annihilation as told in the Book of Esther. A lesser-known end to the story takes on new meaning during this time of war in the Middle East.
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Orlando Capote has been engaged in a two-decade struggle against developers and the city of Coral Gables to save his family's home. But his success comes with a price.
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NPR's Scott Simon muses on his family's life with animals — a dog, a foster cat, a hamster in a hamster ball — and all that entails.
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Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approves a plan to invade the heavily populated city of Rafah in southern Gaza. Plus, the first food aid to arrive by sea.
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About 150 of Washington, D.C.'s famous cherry trees near the National Mall will be removed this spring in order to repair a crumbling sea wall. But only after the upcoming cherry blossom festival.