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
For nearly 90 years, the NFL has sold hats, jerseys and other gear for male fans, but the game is changing. Realizing that women — who make up more than 40 percent of the NFL's 200 million fans — are an untapped market, the NFL is rolling out downsized apparel, from jerseys to handbags to a dress signed by the Arizona Cardinals.
The Obama presidential campaign rewrote the playbook for raising campaign cash in 2008. The Supreme Court may change it again before 2010: An upcoming decision could potentially curb the growing influence of small donors in favor of corporate America.
At the Ocean Charter School near Marina del Rey, Calif., 40 percent of the 2008 kindergarten class received vaccination exemptions. Author Michael Specter says the parents in this upscale enclave are prime examples of what he calls "denialism."
Deployments are usually hard on families. Spouses must become single parents for months on end, managing households with little outside help. These challenges become even more daunting for families with special needs children.
Actor Philip Glenister relishes his role as a fast-talking, chauvinistic boss in Life on Mars. The classic British sci-fi series features a detective who is hit by a car in 2006 and awakens to find himself in 1973.
The National Socialist Movement, a neo-Nazi group, is holding two rallies Saturday to demonstrate against illegal immigration. Similar rallies in Riverside, Calif., have led to violent clashes with counter-demonstrators. A recent rally there attracted about 24 neo-Nazis and about 700 counter-protesters.
Bruce Bueno de Mesquita knows what will happen in the future on a host of critical questions. Will Iran develop a nuclear bomb? Will North Korea? What major companies or economies will merge, grow or fall apart? De Mesquita has been predicting the future for 30 years — to a reported 90 percent success rate. Host Scott Simon talks to him about the new book that reveals how his secret: The Predictioneer's Game: Using the Logic of Brazen Self-Interest to See and Shape the Future.
The U.S. House of Representatives this morning finally opens debate on its health care overhaul bill, the centerpiece of President Obama's domestic agenda. Host Scott Simon talks to NPR's Julie Rovner about the debate and where the legislation stands.
A 10.2 percent unemployment rate is like a gut punch. It's just such a big number, a level of joblessness we haven't experienced here in the U.S. since the early '80s. This, even as the economy is actually growing again. But many employers just aren't ready to start hiring yet.
Hundreds gathered Friday night at Fort Hood's football stadium for a candlelight vigil for the 43 people killed and wounded Thursday.
In November, Weekend Edition Saturday will air a series of stories focused on the impact of war on people thousands of miles from the battlefield — the parents, spouses and children struggling to cope. Host Scott Simon gets a preview from the project's supervising editor, Danyell Irby.
Military families around the country say they urgently need the government to give them a different kind of support. They need help taking care of relatives who were severely wounded in the wars — relatives who now are living at home. Host Scott Simon speaks with NPR's Daniel Zwerdling about how a recently discussed bill in Congress could help.
Host Scott Simon shares listener letters about sexual exploitation in modern day Moldova as well as in 17th-century Italy. He also reads a letter reacting to a piece on brain injury among professional football players.
This week saw the largest mass shooting ever at a military base in the U.S.; unemployment climbed into the double digits and the run-off election in Afghanistan was called off. Host Scott Simon reviews the week in the news with NPR Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr.
In the West Bank, Palestinian relatives of the alleged Fort Hood shooter are shocked and saddened by the mass killings in Texas. Born in Virginia, Nidal Malik Hasan made his first visit to the Palestinian territories a dozen years ago, and had been in touch with relatives in the town of El Bireh on numerous occasions since then.
