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.

HBO's documentary on Tina Turner is presented as the 81-year-old singer's final word on her expansive life and career — a history she finds difficult to talk about.

Scientists have launched a study of college students to find out whether people who are vaccinated against COVID-19 can still spread the virus. That's a big unanswered question about the vaccine.

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

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

NPR's Scott Simon speaks to Jason Forshaw, an aerospace engineer at Astroscale, about ELSA-d, a machine used to clean up junk in space.

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.

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

During the pandemic, a growing number of utility customers are having their power shut off for lack of payment. This spring, a dozen states lift their winter ban on electric shut-offs.