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.
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We remember Ai, a highly intelligent chimpanzee who lived at the Primate Research Institute of Kyoto University for most of her life, except the time she escaped and walked around campus.
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According to polling, both President Trump and his policies are widely unpopular as he marks a year in office.
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"Alright, Alright, Alright!" Film actor Matthew McConaughey has trademarked his voice and image in a bid to combat AI fakes.
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Protests against a surge of federal immigration officers into the city are continuing, while the threat of President Trump invoking the Insurrection Act hangs in the air.
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NPR's Scott Simon asks Grace and Manuel Rojas about their popular foam hats, a riff on the cheese-shaped hats Green Bay Packers fans wear.
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Many residents in Kyiv are suffering through freezing temperatures with no heat or electricity after Russian strikes on energy infrastructure.
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NPR's Scott Simon speaks with roots and folk musician Langhorne Slim about his turn toward rock on the album "The Dreamin' Kind."
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NPR's Scott Simon asks sports reporter Michele Steele about the NFL playoffs and a ski jumping gambling scandal.
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NPR's Scott Simon speaks with A., an Iranian who recently left the country after participating in several days of protests.
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NPR's Scott Simon talks to sportswriter Howard Bryant about Bryant's latest book "Kings and Pawns."