Scott Simon hosts Saturday Edition - Saturday Edition Homepage: Click Here
Ayesha Rascoe hosts Sunday Edition - Sunday Edition Homepage: Click Here
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 Sunday features interviews with newsmakers, artists, scientists, politicians, musicians, writers, theologians and historians. The program has covered news events from Nelson Mandela's 1990 release from a South African prison to the capture of Saddam Hussein.
Weekend Edition Sunday debuted on January 18, 1987, with host Susan Stamberg. Two years later, Liane Hansen took over the host chair, a position she held for 22 years. In that time, Hansen interviewed movers and shakers in politics, science, business and the arts. Her reporting travels took her from the slums of Cairo to the iron mines of Michigan's Upper Peninsula; from the oyster beds on the bayou in Houma, La., to Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park; and from the kitchens of Colonial Williamsburg, Va., to the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated.
In 2022, Ayesha Rascoe was named the host of Weekend Edition Sunday. Rascoe was previously a White House correspondent for NPR. Her White House coverage has included a number of high profile foreign trips, including President Trump's 2019 summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi, Vietnam, and President Obama's final NATO summit in Warsaw, Poland in 2016. As a part of the White House team, she's also a regular on the NPR Politics Podcast.
Prior to joining NPR, Rascoe covered the White House for Reuters, chronicling Obama's final year in office and the early days of the Trump administration. Rascoe began her reporting career at Reuters, covering energy and environmental policy news, such as the 2010 BP oil spill and the U.S. response to the Fukushima nuclear crisis in 2011. She also spent a year covering energy legal issues and court cases. She graduated from Howard University in 2007 with a B.A. in journalism.
Weekend Edition 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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New Zealand's unique birds are at risk of extinction, like the kiwi. So the country is trying to eradicate the invasive species that prey on them. Everyday people are lining up to help. -
Author and illustrator Andrea Cáceres has changed careers, moved countries and built a new home — all alongside her 15-year-old pup, Tobi. Now, he's the main character of her new children's book, Hello, Tobi!, which celebrates their walks in the park. -
We look at the latest in the case against Tyler Robinson, the young man authorities believe is responsible for the assassination of conservative youth leader Charlie Kirk last week in Utah.
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We look at recent upheaval in Nepal, where Gen Z protesters toppled the government, and put the country's first female prime minister in power.
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NPR's Ayesha Rascoe talks to University of Michigan economist Justin Wolfers about the Federal Reserve meeting this week and what the expected interest rate cut could mean for the economy.
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The Trump administration's document about children's health and chronic disease doesn't mention the word "nicotine" once. Tobacco remains the top cause of preventable death in the U.S. -
NPR's Ayesha Rascoe asks Amanda Pascali about her new album, full of her interpretations of traditional Balkan and Mediterranean tunes. It's called "Roses and Basil."
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NPR's Ayesha Rascoe plays the puzzle with WLRN listener Christopher Hoffman, of Wellington, Florida, along with Weekend Edition Puzzle Master Will Shortz. -
Responding to "exploding" demand, a college in Denver now offers a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mariachi music. Students learn music and culture, but also business skills to build viable careers.
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We look at the U.S. strike on a Venezuelan boat earlier this month, which has riled lawmakers, even Republican ones, who say the strike did not follow standard practices and policies.
