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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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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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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The Chattanooga sister trio Call Me Spinster talks about how new identities as parents and partners shape their music, particularly their song "Feet Are Dirty."
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NPR's Ayesha Rascoe plays the puzzle with Milo Fett of New Carlisle, Ohio and puzzle master Will Shortz.
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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.
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Another huge patch of seaweed from the Sargasso Sea is floating towards Caribbean and South Florida beaches. Scientists are trying to predict where and when it will reach the shore.
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The jury is now selected and oral statements begin Monday in the hush money criminal trial of former President Donald Trump.
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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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Delays in military aid have cost Ukraine's forces lives, time, and territory. Passage yesterday of nearly 61 billion dollars in US funding has Ukrainians relieved, but uncertain about the future.