From civil wars in Bosnia and El Salvador, to hospital rooms, police stations, and America's backyards, National Public Radio's Peabody Award-winning correspondent Scott Simon brings a well-traveled perspective to his role as host of Weekend Edition Saturday.
Recent Stories
Evan Ratliff eschewed his identity and picked up a new one, challenging Wired readers to find him in 30 days in a contest sponsored by the magazine. Lured by a cash price, readers mobilized online in a mad dash to locate Ratliff — who got a little too cocksure for his own good.
Last weekend, NPR Music gave its followers two days to write and produce a song: any kind, any length, any genre. More than 150 submissions poured in, including one from composer Brad Mossman. Here, he speaks with Scott Simon.
Brazil's ghettos are poverty stricken and violent. But there are people fighting against the odds to turn things around for the poor children of Rio de Janeiro. Among them is an unusual apostle: a Rio socialite who founded a school for slum-dwelling children and views education as an equalizer.
Any short list of important young American playwrights would have to include Sarah Ruhl, who at age 35 has had work performed at major theaters around the country. She made her Broadway debut Nov. 19, with a period drama called In the Next Room, or The Vibrator Play. But as Jeff Lunden reports, it's as much about intimacy and honesty as about sexuality.
As part of StoryCorps' National Day of Listening project, Simon explains how he responds when asked, "Where did I come from?" by his 6-year-old daughter, Elise. NDOL encourages people to sit down with a loved one the day after Thanksgiving and record a meaningful conversation.
On Nov. 14, Hafez Nazeri will headline at Carnegie Hall. The young Iranian musician has been attracting attention for "Sounds of Peace," an East-meets-West program inspired by a progressive political vision. Or is it?
Veterans of the war in Iraq experience effects that are not always obvious. Sometimes their problems are only visible to doctors like Natalie Mariano, who for the past five years has worked at the Veteran Affairs Primary Care Center in Hyannis, Mass.
More than 63 million people play the Facebook game called "Farmville" every month, and some even shell out real money to get ahead in the virtual reality. Host Scott Simon speaks to Dean Takahashi, who writes about gaming for the technology news blog VentureBeat, about why the game is so popular.
When Wes Anderson set out to make an animated film, he says, the first thing that crossed his mind was a favorite book by Roald Dahl that he's had since childhood. And for his lush, witty interpretation of Fantastic Mr. Fox, Anderson works again with some of his favorite actors: Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman — and his own brother Eric.
This week saw charges for the man alleged to have gone on a shooting rampage at Ft. Hood. President Obama headed to Asia and the House passed health care legislation. Host Scott Simon reviews the week in the news with NPR Senior News Analyst Dan Schorr.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar revealed some difficult news this week. The Hall of Fame basketball star disclosed that almost one year ago he was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia. He talks to host Scott Simon about his decision to go public with the news.
One year ago, 170 people were murdered when 10 terrorists set off a barrage of gunfire and grenades in Mumbai, India, at two hotels, a railroad station and a Jewish center. Those harrowing hours are recounted in a new HBO documentary called Terror in Mumbai. Host Scott Simon speaks with CNN host and Newsweek international editor, Fareed Zakaria, who narrates the new documentary.
President Obama is vowing to strengthen U.S. ties to Asia in an effort to address global challenges such as climate change and the spread of nuclear weapons. Speaking in Tokyo Saturday, Obama also tried to sell renewed relations with Asia as a key to U.S. job growth.
The college football regular season will close out soon, and that means the Bowl Championship Series bids are starting to shape up. Who do we expect to see? Who are the surprises? Plus, the NBA season is in full swing. Who's hot and who's not? Host Scott Simon talks with our man in the stands, Howard Bryant.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other suspects in the Sept. 11 attacks are to be transferred from Guantanamo Bay to New York for prosecution. The city may be prepared to tackle the security and logistics of the trial, but emotions will present a challenge.
