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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Middle East
7:29 am
Sat June 30, 2012

Egypt's New President Officially Sworn In

Originally published on Sat June 30, 2012 7:32 am

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Of course, Egypt has a new president - an Islamist from the once-banned Muslim Brotherhood. Mohamed Morsi took the oath of office in Cairo today, a day after appearing at Tahrir Square to proclaim that the people are the real source of power, not the generals and the supreme military council. NPR's Peter Kenyon reports from Cairo that despite the swearing-in ceremony, Mr. Morsi may not have really taken hold of the reins of power.

PRESIDENT MOHAMED MORSI: (Foreign language spoken)

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Education
5:55 am
Sat June 30, 2012

The Flip Side Of The Federal Student Loans Deal

Credit Jewel Samad / AFP/Getty Images
College students surrounded President Obama earlier this month when he called on Congress to stop student loan interest rates from doubling. Congress agreed on a deal to prevent the hike on Friday.

Originally published on Sat June 30, 2012 3:26 pm

It came down to the wire, but finally, Republicans and Democrats agreed on a deal that keeps the interest rate on government-backed student loans from doubling. It will save the average borrower about $1,000 a year, but the compromise is likely to cost students a lot more than that over the long term.

The agreement that lawmakers passed Friday will keep interest rates at 3.4 percent for another year. Anthony DeLaRosa, a 23-year-old University of Colorado graduate, says it's a big victory.

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Author Interviews
5:54 am
Sat June 30, 2012

In 'Gold,' Olympic Rivalry Is Personal, Professional

Originally published on Sat June 30, 2012 7:32 am

More than 10,000 athletes are headed to London this summer to run, swim, cycle, shoot, fence and compete in the events of the Olympic Games. Each of them has a story — what they've won, what they've lost and what they've sacrificed just to get their chance to get there.

Chris Cleave's latest novel, Gold, tells the stories of three world-ranked cyclists — Zoe, Jack and Kate — who are training for their last chance at Olympic gold. Zoe and Kate are friends as well as rivals; Jack and Kate are raising an 8-year-old who suffers from leukemia.

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Latin America
5:53 am
Sat June 30, 2012

Youthful Candiate Favored To Be Mexico's President

Originally published on Sat June 30, 2012 7:26 pm

As Mexicans prepare to elect a new president Sunday, the clear front-runner is Enrique Pena Nieto, who is seeking to return his PRI party to power after 12 years.

The PRI, or Institutional Revolutionary Party, ruled Mexico for more than 70 years before being ousted in 2000. Most polls show Pena Nieto with a comfortable double-digit lead in the race.

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Movies
12:03 am
Sat June 30, 2012

Eugene Levy Stays Smart, Even In The Cheapest Gag

Originally published on Sat June 30, 2012 7:32 am

George Needleman is the chief bean counter of an investment bank who, in Madea's Witness Protection, is too consumed with family problems to realize he's being set up to take the fall for a Ponzi scheme. When he grasps what's going on, he's placed in witness protection — at Madea's house.

Tyler Perry, who wrote and directed the movie, plays Madea, as well as most other members of her family. Needleman, the latest fussy, funny, bushy-eyebrowed, precise and put-upon man, is portrayed by Eugene Levy.

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Music Interviews
6:27 pm
Fri June 29, 2012

A Lone Trumpeter Serenades The National Mall

Credit Devon Kodzis / NPR
Trumpeter John Thornton plays at the corner of 7th Street and Constitution Avenue in Washington, D.C., just a few blocks from NPR's headquarters.

Originally published on Fri August 24, 2012 4:23 pm

This summer, Weekend Edition Saturday is listening to the sounds of music al fresco. Today, we present an audio postcard of a trumpeter we recently heard blowing "The Star-Spangled Banner" just down the street from NPR.

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Music News
4:54 pm
Fri June 29, 2012

After Two Years, Gifted Classical Students Leave The Nest

Credit Stephanie Berger / Getty Images
Nathan Schram (back row, third from left) performs with his students from PS 75 in Brooklyn.

Originally published on Sat June 30, 2012 8:48 am

The odds of making it in the classical music business are long, but for the past two years, 25-year-old viola player Nathan Schram has received a stipend, health insurance, lots of amazing performance opportunities and a real-world education teaching violin students at an inner-city elementary school in Brooklyn. Now, Schram and his colleagues have to say goodbye to The Academy.

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Simon Says
8:09 am
Sat June 23, 2012

Behind A Wave Of Asian Immigration, Stories Of Struggle

Credit Justin Sullivan / Getty Images
A Pew Research Center study shows Asian-Americans are the fastest-growing immigrant group in the U.S., but that doesn't make theirs a success story.

Originally published on Sat June 23, 2012 1:43 pm

The Pew Research Center says Asian-Americans are now the fastest-growing ethnic and immigrant group in the United States: 18 million Americans, almost 6 percent of the population. Pew says Asian-Americans also tend to be the most educated and prosperous.

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Europe
7:58 am
Sat June 23, 2012

Euro Mini-Summit Takes New Focus

Originally published on Sat June 23, 2012 11:07 am

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Scott Simon. With the eurozone crisis well into its third year, the leaders of the four major eurozone countries tried once again in Rome to reach agreement on how to try to salvage the single currency. For the first time, the focus shifted away from austerity to growth and job creation. But as NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports, agreement was not reached on how to end the sovereign debt crisis.

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Sports
7:58 am
Sat June 23, 2012

Soccer Fails To Give Greeks Much-Needed Boost

Originally published on Sat June 23, 2012 11:07 am

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

The soccer game - they call it football - between Greece in Germany in Poland yesterday was always about more than just sport. Of course, there's friction between these two countries because of that eurozone crisis and both sides said they'd try to set aside politics for the day just to enjoy the entertainment. Now, of course, as has been widely reported, Germany won the game. They head to the semi-finals of the European championship. NPR's Philip Reeves was there and he sends us this account of an unusual day.

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