On Sundays, Weekend Edition combines the news with colorful arts and human-interest features, appealing to the curious and eclectic. With a nod to traditional Sunday habits, the program offers a fix for diehard crossword addicts-word games and brainteasers with The Puzzlemaster, a.k.a. Will Shortz, puzzle editor of The New York Times. With Hansen on the sidelines, a caller plays the latest word game on the air while listeners compete silently at home. The NPR mailbag is proof that the competition to go head-to-head with Shortz is rather vigorous.
Another trademark of Sunday's program is "Voices in the News," a montage of sound bites from the past week, poignant in its simplicity. Hansen also engages listeners in her discussions with regular contributors, who cover a wide range of national and international issues.
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The two major party presidential candidates are very well known, but millions of dollars are still being spent on ads to try to persuade voters. (Story first aired on Morning Edition on April 18.)
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NPR's Ayesha Rascoe talks to sports columnist Jason Gay of the Wall Street Journal about the explosion of sports gambling and all the scandals that come with that growth.
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Speaker Mike Johnson pushes military aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan through the House, plus a measure on TikTok.
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President Biden has called for more tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum. Both Democrats and Republicans have adopted more protectionist policies in the run-up to the November election.
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NPR's Ayesha Rascoe speaks with area ecologist Kate Wollen about Forestry England's efforts to save dormice. And yes, the rodents are terrifically cute.
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NPR's Ayesha Rascoe speaks to Nick Clegg, president of global affairs at Meta about the company's new virtual reality headsets and Meta's plans to have the headsets used in classrooms.
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The voluntary industry guidelines come amid a dramatic rise in accidental pediatric ingestions of melatonin. At the same time, more and more kids are using melatonin on purpose as a sleep aid.
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Among the themes of Passover is freedom from captivity. For many Jews this year, the holiday brings up the pain of knowledge that hostages are still captive after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel.
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NPR's Ayesha Rascoe talks with Ali Vaez of the International Crisis Group about Iran's objectives in launching what Tehran said was a retaliatory drone and missile strike against Israel.
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NPR's Ayesha Rascoe talks with the Brookings Institution's Natan Sachs about how Israel's possible responses to the overnight attack by hundreds of Iranian drones and missiles.