weekend edition saturday

Oakland, Calif., has named its first Poet Laureate. Dr. Ayodele Nzinga — also known as WordSlanger — will serve a two-year term aimed at making poetry more accessible to Oaklanders.

Scott Simon recounts some of the lives lost to gun violence in the past weeks, in and out of the spotlight.

New York and IBM created a smart phone app that can display a persons coronavirus vaccine or recent testing status. It's for use at venues with larger crowds.

Myanmar's security forces have cracked down on new protests as the leaders of its military junta marked Armed Forces Day. Dozens of protesters are believed to be dead.

NPR's Scott Simon speaks to Egyptian-American author Mona El-Tahawy about the legacy of Egyptian feminist Nawal el-Sadawi who passed away last week.

The gun used in the Boulder, Colorado mass killing looked like an assault-style rifle, but it's actually a pistol. That complicates the firearm definitions as lawmakers try to pass gun control laws.

We discuss the highly anticipated games in March Madness, as well as the continued player-driven protest movement against the inequities in college basketball.

NPR's Scott Simon speaks to Israeli musician Noga Erez about her new album, KIDS.

Larry McMurtry, novelist who chronicled the American West, died this week at the age of 84.

This week, President Joe Biden held his first press conference. Ron Elving, NPR's Senior Washington Correspondent, tells us how he did.