This week, we look at two scientists working to open up the heavily guarded technology behind the mRNA COVID vaccines. Plus, how to deal with pesky crushes.
Scott’s weekly weigh-in
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A good weekend to you. What distinguishes a “classic” movie from a very memorable one?
Two of our guests “kind of liked” the film once they saw it; at least it made them laugh. Another found it more or less as appalling as she’d feared.
I’d always liked The Big Lebowski. But this time, I squirmed to see the scene where a character draws a gun in a bowling alley. After all the mass shootings America has seen since Columbine in 1999, it’s just hard to see a gun pulled in a public place played for comedy. But differing reactions made the film worth talking about all over again.
Interestingly, this week we also interviewed Ron Shelton on the memoir he’s written about the making of his 1988 film, Bull Durham. I rewatched the film (“I like your homework,” one of my daughters said), and loved it all over again. Certainly, some scenes feel slightly dated. But you feel rewarded at the end to have gotten to know characters who you want to stay with you. Maybe the difference between classic and popular is that basic.
This week’s essay is about a cricket scam worthy of the franchise of the Ocean’s (11, 12, and 8) heist films. But this story might be called Indian Ocean’s.
Scott Simon is one of NPR's most renowned news anchors. He is the host of Weekend Edition Saturday and one of the hosts of the morning news podcast Up First. Be sure to listen to him every Saturday on your local NPR station, and follow him on Twitter.
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Two Brazilian scientists — and best friends! — are working to make a new mRNA COVID vaccine as a gift to the world. Patricia Neves and Ana Paula Ano Bom have teamed up to open up the secrets of mRNA technology to any vaccine manufacturer, especially in low- and middle-income nations, after Pfizer and Moderna refused to divulge details of how their shots are made. They’re already making headway.
The Delaware court that will decide the Twitter-Musk suit has a peculiar history. The social media company sued Elon Musk in the Delaware Court of Chancery — a hub of high-profile litigation that’s more than two centuries old. It’s not the billionaire’s first tangle with the court, which considers itself a “court of equity.” Here’s what that means.
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