Weekend Edition Sunday features interviews with newsmakers, artists, scientists, politicians, musicians, writers, theologians and historians. The program has covered news events from Nelson Mandela's 1990 release from a South African prison to the capture of Saddam Hussein.
Weekend Edition Sunday debuted on January 18, 1987, with host Susan Stamberg. Two years later, Liane Hansen took over the host chair, a position she held for 22 years. In that time, Hansen interviewed movers and shakers in politics, science, business and the arts. Her reporting travels took her from the slums of Cairo to the iron mines of Michigan's Upper Peninsula; from the oyster beds on the bayou in Houma, La., to Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park; and from the kitchens of Colonial Williamsburg, Va., to the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated.
In January 2012, Rachel Martin began hosting the program. Previously she served as NPR National Security Correspondent and was part of the team that launched NPR's experimental morning news show, The Bryant Park Project. She has also been the NPR religion correspondent and foreign correspondent based in Berlin.
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"Consciousness is under siege," says author Michael Pollan. His new book, A World Appears, explores consciousness on both a personal and technological level. -
Anthropic is one of the world's most powerful AI firms. New Yorker writer Gideon Lewis-Kraus explains how they're trying to make chatbot Claude more ethical, and the implications of AI's widening use.
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Chris Hemsworth stars as a virtuoso jewel thief, and Mark Ruffalo plays the detective tracking him down in Crime 101. This thriller is a deliberate throwback — and also a lot of fun. -
Loubna Mrie grew up in Syria, where her father was allegedly an assassin for the regime. She joined the Syrian revolution first as a protester and then as a photojournalist. Her memoir is Defiance.
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Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Jon Meacham talks about Trump's impact on democracy. Meacham's latest book is a collection of speeches, letters and other original texts from 1619 to the present.
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Legal scholar Dorothy Roberts reexamines her own family story. Critic David Bianculli recommends TV to watch. Author Heather McGhee says Martin Luther King Jr. would be inspired by today's activism. -
Peplowski, who died Feb. 2, started playing clarinet professionally at age 10 and went on to perform with the Benny Goodman Orchestra and to record on his own. Originally broadcast July 7, 1999.
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Saadiq helped shape modern R&B and soul in Tony! Toni! Toné! and as a solo artist. Now he's up for an Oscar for his song, "I Lied to You" from the film Sinners. Originally broadcast July 8, 2025.
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Emerald Fennell's extravagant adaptation of Emily Brontë's classic cares little for subtlety. Ultimately, this love affair is more photogenic than it is deeply moving. -
Miller joined Fresh Air as an intern in 1978 and retired at the end of 2025. He led the show through many changes, like going national and editing digitally.
