Weekend Edition Saturday

Saturday, 5:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. on KUOW
Scott Simon

The program Weekend Edition Saturday 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.

Pages

Europe
2:22 am
Sat December 29, 2012

Same-Sex Marriage And Adoption: Unresolved Issues In France

Originally published on Sat December 29, 2012 5:14 pm

France is known as a tolerant country on many social issues, yet the country is embroiled in a debate about same-sex marriage and adoption.

President Francois Hollande is following through on a campaign promise to bring full rights to gay couples. France legalized civil unions more than a decade ago, though same-sex couples must still go abroad to marry or adopt.

But opposition to Hollande's measure has been unexpectedly fierce, something the Socialist government wasn't expecting.

Read more
It's All Politics
2:21 am
Sat December 29, 2012

Obama: 'The American People Are Watching What We Do Here'

Credit Evan Vucci / AP
"I'm optimistic we may still be able to reach an agreement that can pass both houses in time," the president said after meeting with congressional leaders at the White House on Friday.

Originally published on Sat December 29, 2012 2:38 pm

We have reached the last weekend of the year, and Washington still has not reached a deal to avert the big tax hikes and spending cuts known as the fiscal cliff.

President Obama met with top congressional leaders at the White House on Friday afternoon: John Boehner and Nancy Pelosi from the House, and Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell from the Senate.

Read more
Music Interviews
11:03 pm
Fri December 28, 2012

Johnny Cash's Boyhood Home Tells The Story Of A Town

Originally published on Sat December 29, 2012 2:38 pm

It's been almost a decade since Johnny Cash died, but fans still travel from around the world to see the place the music legend often described as key to his development: his boyhood home in the eastern Arkansas town of Dyess. The small house will soon serve as a museum — not only as a tribute to Johnny Cash, but also to tell the history of the town.

Read more
Best Books Of 2012
4:11 pm
Fri December 28, 2012

Short Stories To Savor On A Winter Weekend

Credit Nishant Choksi

Originally published on Sat December 29, 2012 2:38 pm

Hortense Calisher, a virtuoso of the form, once called the short story "an apocalypse in a teacup." It's a definition that suits the remarkable stories published this year by three literary superstars, and two dazzling newcomers with voices so distinctive we're likely to be hearing from them again. These stories are intense, evocative delights to be devoured singly when you have only a sliver of time, or savored in batches, at leisure, on a winter weekend.

Read more
Commentary
6:48 am
Sat December 22, 2012

The Mayan Apocalypse: Worthwhile, In Hindsight

Credit Pedro Pardo / AFP/Getty Images
Visitors at the Chichen Itza archaeological park in Yucatan state, Mexico, celebrate the end of the Mayan calendar cycle. Even a failed apocalypse has value, in reminding us that life is fragile and unpredictable.

Originally published on Wed December 26, 2012 8:40 am

Yesterday came and went, but I never finished Ulysses. I never took up skydiving. Come to think of it, I didn't even really finish cleaning up my closet before the "Mayan Apocalypse," which did not occur yesterday, Dec. 21.

I remember thinking,"Finally, I get a Friday off — but there's an apocalypse."

Read more
Politics
3:44 am
Sat December 22, 2012

After 'Plan B' Fizzles, What's Boehner's Next Move?

Originally published on Wed December 26, 2012 8:40 am

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

As we've just heard, this breakdown in negotiations within the Republican Party is troubling for Speaker Boehner. It also stifles negotiations to avert the combination of deep spending cuts and tax increases. That will come without a bipartisan agreement.

We're joined by Norm Ornstein, an experienced observer of Congress and politics. He's resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. Thanks for being with us.

NORM ORNSTEIN: Oh, it's always a pleasure, Scott.

Read more
Asia
3:44 am
Sat December 22, 2012

Rape In India Triggers Widespread Public Anger

Originally published on Wed December 26, 2012 8:40 am

An update on last weekend's rape of a student in New Delhi, an incident which provoked widespread outrage, and calls for a crackdown on sexual violence in India. Weekend Edition Saturday host Scott Simon talks with NPR's Julie McCarthy in India.

Analysis
3:44 am
Sat December 22, 2012

Making The Case For More Guns And More Gun Control

Originally published on Sat December 22, 2012 7:16 am

Weekend Edition Saturday host Scott Simon talks with Atlantic correspondent Jeffrey Goldberg about the massacre in Newtown, Conn. He wrote the cover story in this month's issue, titled "The Case For More Guns — And More Gun Control." In it, Goldberg posits that it's impossible to reduce gun crime with the number of guns already on the street, and that maybe the answer is to allow more people to carry them.

Deceptive Cadence
2:56 am
Sat December 22, 2012

Marin Alsop: A Utopian Musical Dream From South America

Credit Desiree Furoni
Marin Alsop conducted the Sao Paulo Symphony Orchestra in a beachfront concert Sunday for 20,000 people in Santos, Brazil.

Originally published on Sat December 22, 2012 9:05 am

Discovering Brazil has been a series of wonderful revelations for me. As principal conductor of the Sao Paulo Symphony Orchestra for the past year, I have been deeply moved and even changed by my exposure to this culture of passion and positivity.

Brazil's inherent societal belief that music improves quality of life, contributes to improved social behavior, and is an important vehicle to establish a peaceful society filled with tolerance and respect is a philosophy I once thought existed only in my utopian dreams.

Read more
The Record
2:56 am
Sat December 22, 2012

'Kuduro,' The Dance That Keeps Angola Going

Credit courtesy of Os Kuduristas
Dancer Fogo de Deus, who is part of the Os Kuduristas project of traveling kuduro artists.

Originally published on Wed December 26, 2012 8:40 am

Pages