Weekend Edition Saturday

The scandal that has collapsed the British tabloid, News of the World, and rocked the News Corp empire, brings into question the pervasive influence of Rupert Murdoch's media holdings on British media and politics. NPR's David Folkenflik examines the extent of Murdoch's influence and his cozy relationships with politicians.

We begin with reaction to host Scott Simon's essay last week about Mark Halperin's profane reference to President Obama. Also last week, we heard we heard from Gwen Thompkins about her return home to New Orleans and the reassurance she felt hearing the croaks of dozens of frogs who had also returned. Host Scott Simon reads listener comments about these stories and more.

Elaine Paige is known as the "First Lady of Musical Theater" and recently celebrated 40 years on the stage. For more than six years, she has also been hosting a radio show on BBC Radio 2, on which she interviews people from the theater world. Host Scott Simon speaks with Paige about her radio show and her favorite musical roles.

There is an experiment aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis: an osmotic bag to turn urine into something drinkable. Host Scott Simon has more.

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, host: This is Weekend Edition from NPR News. I'm Scott Simon.

Comedians don't like to talk about comedy any more than magicians like to talk about their tricks. Comedy isn't chemistry. You can't put laughs together like some kind of recipe. Sometimes, you can do everything that seems right and fall flat or do everything wrong, but still win a laugh.