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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Chanel Miller talks about her new book for children, "Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All." Set in New York City, it's about a little girl and her friend who reunite people with their lost socks.
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The Tennessee drag law that was struck down last year was written so broadly that it would have forbidden any public performance where actors impersonate someone of another gender.
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NPR's Ayesha Rascoe asks New York Magazine writer Tirhakah Love about the ongoing feud between Drake, Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, and other rappers.
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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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Marjane Satrapi, author of "Persepolis," collaborates with others on a new graphic novel about Iran's "Women, Life, Freedom" protest movement.
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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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NPR's Ayesha Rascoe speaks with Clyde Francks, a geneticist in the Netherlands, about the latest research into what makes people left or right-handed.