Weekend Edition on WAMC HD2

Saturdays, 10am - 11am; Sundays, 11am - 2pm

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.

Weekend Edition Sunday premiered on January 18, 1987, and was the last of NPR's major newsmagazines to hit the air. Since then, Weekend Edition Sunday has covered newsmakers, artists, scientists, politicans, musicians, writers, thinkers, theologians and all manner of news events. Originally hosted by Susan Stamberg, the show has been anchored by Liane Hansen since 1989.

Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr and Puzzlemaster Will Shortz have been with the program from the beginning, and a wide variety of commentators and essayists help round out the weekly offerings: humorist Andy Borowitz slings satirical arrows at big-shots, celebrities, and politicans of all stripes; Diane Roberts takes a sometimes hilarious, sometimes poignant view of life in the South; and transplanted Brit Tim Brookes offers his impressions of life on these shores. 

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U.S.
5:13 am
Sat May 18, 2013

When Alcohol Takes The Wheel: What's Your Limit?

This week, the National Transportation Safety Board recommended lowering the legal limit of blood alcohol content for drivers to .05 or even lower. Currently, it's illegal to drive in all states with a BAC of .08 or higher. Host Scott Simon speaks with Dr. Anthony Liguori of Wake Forest School of Medicine about alcohol's impact on driving ability.

Sports
5:13 am
Sat May 18, 2013

Sports: Playoffs, Hard Hits, Soccer Kicks

Host Scott Simon talks to ESPN's Howard Bryant about the NBA playoffs, Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper's collision with a wall, and David Beckham's retirement from soccer.

Politics
5:13 am
Sat May 18, 2013

What A Week: White House Rattled By Controversy

Originally published on Sat May 18, 2013 7:23 am

NPR's Ari Shapiro joins host Scott Simon to talk about the Obama administration's week. The president was buffeted by revelations that the IRS had targeted Tea Party groups seeking tax-exempt status and that the Justice Department had subpoenaed reporter phone records. On top of that, Republicans continue to allege that the White House engaged in a cover-up of talking points about the attack in Benghazi, Libya.

Media
5:13 am
Sat May 18, 2013

Media Covers Itself In Privacy Debacles

Host Scott Simon talks to NPR's David Folkenflik about the Justice Department's seizure of phone records of Associated Press reporters and editors, and Bloomberg's secret monitoring of its sources' and customers' activities.

Music Interviews
2:03 am
Sat May 18, 2013

Audra McDonald, A Broadway Star Gone Roaming, Comes Home

Credit Autumn de Wilde / Courtesy of the artist
Audra McDonald's new album, Go Back Home, marks a return to her roots in musical theater.

Originally published on Sat May 18, 2013 5:19 am

In the seven years since her last album, Audra McDonald has kept busy. She spent several years in Hollywood, filming the television series Private Practice. She's gotten divorced and remarried, absorbed the shock of losing her father in a plane crash and watched her daughter, Zoe, grow up from a kindergartener to a middle-schooler.

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The Two-Way
9:47 am
Sat May 11, 2013

Pakistanis 'Defy Violence' To Vote In Landmark Election

Credit T. Mughal / EPA /LANDOV
Pakistani men lined up to vote in Rawalpindi on Saturday. Men and women cast ballots separately as millions went to the poll.

Originally published on Sat May 11, 2013 11:17 pm

Despite attacks in the days and weeks leading up to Saturday's voting — and deadly bombings and other attacks on the very day they're going to the polls — Pakistanis are showing they're willing to "defy the violence," NPR's Julie McCarthy reports from Lahore.

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Simon Says
9:20 am
Sat May 11, 2013

Mom's X-Ray Vision Also Sees The Best In Us

Credit iStockphoto.com
Mothers somehow know when we've been bad, but when times are tough, they also have our back.

Originally published on Sat May 11, 2013 2:10 pm

Mothers have eyes in the back of their heads. They may not show up on X-rays, but they're there.

Like a lot of youngsters, I used to get my mother to turn her head so I could search through her hair for the eyeballs she claimed to have back there, telling her, "No you don't! No you don't!" But when I'd scamper off to another part of the apartment and pick up an ashtray or fiddle with the window blinds, I'd hear my mother's voice ring out, "I can see you! I know what you're up to!"

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The Two-Way
9:11 am
Sat May 11, 2013

Schools? How About A Science Laureate At The Super Bowl?

Credit Michael DeMocker / The Times-Picayune /Landov
Beyonce took the stage at this year's Super Bowl halftime show. Imagine a scientist instead. Perhaps dressed differently.

Originally published on Sat May 11, 2013 10:11 am

The same scientist who famously "killed Pluto" (as a planet, that is) says it's "brilliant" that there's an effort underway in Congress to name a science laureate.

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NPR Story
5:30 am
Sat May 11, 2013

The Philosophy, Economics Behind Sourcing Retail

Originally published on Sat May 11, 2013 10:11 am

Host Scott Simon talks to Michael Preysman, founder and CEO of Everlane, an online clothing retailer based in San Francisco that provides information to consumers about where its products are made.

NPR Story
5:30 am
Sat May 11, 2013

Ala. Juke Joint Shuttered After More Than 50 Years

Originally published on Sat May 11, 2013 10:11 am

Longtime blues joint Gip's Place, in Bessemer, Ala., has been forced to close its doors. Weekend Edition profiled the place two years ago. Host Scott Simon takes note of the closing.

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