Whether revealing events in small-town America or overseas, or profiling notable personalities, Weekend Edition from NPR News appreciates the extraordinary details that make up every story. This two-hour morning newsmagazine covers hard news, a wide variety of newsmakers, and cultural stories with care, accuracy, and a wink of humor, courtesy of hosts Scott Simon and Liane Hansen.
On Saturdays, Simon's award-winning commentaries sum up an idea or event related to the week's news. There are fresh reports from a cross-section of NPR correspondents on topics from religion to health to food to politics. Simon's interviews with key artists, authors, performers and personalities are always memorable.
On Sundays, Weekend Edition combines the news with colorful arts and human-interest features, appealing to the curious and eclectic. With a nod to traditional Sunday habits, the program offers a fix for diehard crossword addicts-word games and brainteasers with The Puzzlemaster, a.k.a. Will Shortz, puzzle editor of The New York Times. With Hansen on the sidelines, a caller plays the latest word game on the air while listeners compete silently at home. The NPR mailbag is proof that the competition to go head-to-head with Shortz is rather vigorous.
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Chanel Miller talks about her new book for children, "Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All." Set in New York City, it's about a little girl and her friend who reunite people with their lost socks.
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The Tennessee drag law that was struck down last year was written so broadly that it would have forbidden any public performance where actors impersonate someone of another gender.
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NPR's Ayesha Rascoe asks New York Magazine writer Tirhakah Love about the ongoing feud between Drake, Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, and other rappers.
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NPR's Ayesha Rascoe talks to sports columnist Jason Gay of the Wall Street Journal about the explosion of sports gambling and all the scandals that come with that growth.
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Marjane Satrapi, author of "Persepolis," collaborates with others on a new graphic novel about Iran's "Women, Life, Freedom" protest movement.
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Speaker Mike Johnson pushes military aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan through the House, plus a measure on TikTok.
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President Biden has called for more tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum. Both Democrats and Republicans have adopted more protectionist policies in the run-up to the November election.
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NPR's Ayesha Rascoe speaks with area ecologist Kate Wollen about Forestry England's efforts to save dormice. And yes, the rodents are terrifically cute.
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NPR's Ayesha Rascoe speaks to Nick Clegg, president of global affairs at Meta about the company's new virtual reality headsets and Meta's plans to have the headsets used in classrooms.
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NPR's Ayesha Rascoe speaks with Clyde Francks, a geneticist in the Netherlands, about the latest research into what makes people left or right-handed.