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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NPR's Ayesha Rascoe speaks with Glory Dolphin Hammes, CEO of IQAir North America, about the difficulties of tracking wildfire smoke.
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NPR's Ayesha Rascoe asks Bloomberg AI infrastructure reporter Dina Bass about concerns over circular financing in the AI sector.
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NPR's Ayesha Rascoe speaks to Ariane Tabatabai of the the Chicago Council on Global Affairs about potential offramps from the war available to the U.S. and Iran.
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Germany's Langenscheidt dictionary publisher awards an annual prize for best new word or phrase as voted by teenagers. This year, the phrase "du bist gut genug"(you are good enough), from a song that went viral, is on the shortlist. It's better known as "doobie scoot canoe."
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Frozen yogurt, or froyo, has had waves of popularity, starting in the 1980s. NPR's Ayesha Rascoe talks to journalist Rachel Kurzius, who says we're in the midst of a "third wave froyo renaissance."
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NPR's Ayesha Rascoe speaks with Shaboozey, whose new album, "The Outlaw Cherie Lee and Other Western Tales," tells a tale of revenge in the Wild West.
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NPR's Books We Love is back with some staff recommendations for novels.
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NPR's Ayesha Rascoe discusses America's declining trust in public health officials with Marianne Udow-Phillips, a lecturer at the School of Public Health at the University of Michigan.
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NPR's Lakshmi Singh reports on how volunteers at a Maryland senior living community are bringing back the art of letter writing with a unique pen pal program. (This story first aired on All Things Considered on July 29, 2026.)
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As part of our series on breakfasts from around the world, we take a look at Vegemite, the iconic salty, yeasty spread popular in Australia.
