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.
-
NPR's Scott Simon explains why The Pogues' "Fairytale of New York" is a holiday song for those who have troubles and heartache. -
NPR's Scott Simon speaks to retired Gen. James Hoyer of the West Virginia National Guard following Wednesday's shooting that left one guardsperson dead and another critically injured.
-
Authorities say the suspect who shot two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, drove from his home in Bellingham, Washington, to carry out the attack. Here's how that city is reacting.
-
Afghans seeking asylum say they're stuck in a hellish limbo as all migration suspended to the U.S.
-
Aviation regulators have ordered urgent inspections of the Airbus A320 family of jets. The order follows a JetBlue plane's experience of an uncontrolled "pitch down" event last month.
-
We look at the latest on the horrific fire that tore through a high-rise in Hong Kong, killing at least 128 people, with many still unaccounted for.
-
Landline telephones can be a lifeline when disaster strikes remote towns. NPR's Scott Simon speaks with Yue Stella Yu, a reporter for CalMatters, about why landlines remain important in California.
-
We meet a man who serenades tourists in a Boston park with songs of their homeland in their native language. He's got a song for almost any nation.
-
Meteorologists are surprised that the weather model that did the best job forecasting hurricanes this year was a new one, introduced by Google. AI may be the beginning of a new era of forecasting. -
Nostalgia is rising in Congo for Mobutu Sese Seko — the kleptocratic strongman as a new museum exhibit glorifying him draws crowds in Kinshasa.
