
Will Shortz
NPR's Puzzlemaster Will Shortz has appeared on Weekend Edition Sunday since the program's start in 1987. He's also the crossword editor of The New York Times, the former editor of Games magazine, and the founder and director of the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament (since 1978).
Will sold his first puzzle professionally when he was 14 — to Venture, a denominational youth magazine. At 16 he became a regular contributor to Dell puzzle publications. He is the only person in the world to hold a college degree in Enigmatology, the study of puzzles, which he earned from Indiana University in 1974.
Born in 1952 and raised on an Arabian horse farm in Indiana, Will now lives near New York City in a Tudor-style house filled with books and Arts and Crafts furniture. When he's not at work, he enjoys bicycling, movies, reading, travel, and collecting antique puzzle books and magazines.
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NPR's Ayesha Rascoe plays the puzzle with WESA listener Alice Doolittle of Pittsburgh, PA and puzzlemaster Will Shortz.
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NPR's Ayesha Rascoe plays the puzzle with KUOP listener Kevin Hicks and puzzlemaster Will Shortz.
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NPR'S Ayesha Rascoe plays the puzzle with KPBS listener Nancy Wooton and puzzlemaster Will Shortz.
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NPR's Ayesha Rascoe plays the puzzle with Jeff Forster of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and puzzlemaster Will Shortz.
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NPR's Eyder Peralta plays the puzzle with Paula Cerrone from Hershey, PA, and puzzlemaster Will Shortz.
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NPR's Ayesha Rascoe plays the puzzle with NPR One listener Mary Butler and puzzle master Will Shortz.
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NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer plays the puzzle with KCRW listener Mark Powell of Tujunga, California and puzzlemaster Will Shortz.
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NPR's Ayesha Rascoe plays the puzzle with listener Jean Kendrick and puzzlemaster Will Shortz.
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NPR's Ayesha Rascoe plays the puzzle with listener Kendra Armer, of San Carlos, California, along with Weekend Edition puzzlemaster Will Shortz.
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NPR's Ayesha Rascoe plays the puzzle with winner Nancy Tolisano and puzzlemaster Will Shortz