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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Amy Allen has written songs for some of today's biggest stars. But now she's stepping into the spotlight with her self-titled debut album.
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NPR's Scott Simon speaks with author Rachel Kushner about her new spy novel, "Creation Lake."
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The spacecraft landed in New Mexico early Saturday morning leaving two astronauts behind on the International Space Station. The crew members will return to earth in February aboard a SpaceX craft.
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Christmas starts early in a lot of retail stores, but in Venezuela it's starting Oct. 1. NPR's Scott Simon explains.
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Sister Theresa Kane, a champion for women's ordination in the Catholic church, has died. She even spoke directly to Pope John Paul II about the issue during his visit to the U.S. in 1979.
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One of America's oldest drive-in movie theaters is still treasured in a small Colorado town. But the woman who has worked there since childhood is getting worn out.
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Palestinian children in Gaza will have access to polio vaccines this weekend as the UN rushes to reach families displaced and without access to healthcare following the detection of the virus in wastewater flowing through its war-ravaged streets.
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A new version of the 1977 classic STAR WARS movie opens in Minnesota Theaters. And "the force be with you" will sound different. The dubbed-over version is in Ojibwe, the indigenous language of one of the largest Native American tribes in the United States.
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Las Vegas police are refusing to comply with the NFL’s new plan to use facial recognition technology for stadium employees during games. Even though police often use facial recognition to identify suspects, they say giving their biometric data to an unaccountable company crosses a line.
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Passengers on battered red double-decker bus weaving through Dhaka, Bangladesh, talk about their hopes after protests toppled their autocratic leader.