A good weekend to you. Even at NPR, we can be reminded that one of the most powerful instruments of expression we can bring you is the human voice.
Yes, we bring you voices every day. But many are politicians, pundits, and experts with a message to get out. They don’t want to be spontaneous or surprising.
That’s why it was nice to be reminded this week that there’s joy in conversations that aren’t pre-planned, and that veer and astonish. Like our interview with Kerry Condon, who was nominated for an Oscar for The Banshees of Inisherin. I’m sure there are PR handlers to tell her how to best promote the film, but she was engaging, hilarious, off-script and interesting from our sound-check.
Kerry has been a professional actor from age 19, a generation ago, but says, “(A) little part of me is reluctant to dole out advice because, I’m like, well, I had to learn it the hard way so, unless you’re paying me, I’m not giving it out for free!” Full interview here — for free.
In another direction entirely, I was engrossed by the interview of Morning Edition colleague Leila Fadel with Assalah Shikhani, a Syrian woman living with her two daughters in Antakya, Turkey, when this week’s earthquake struck. “Antakya is a ghost city," she says. Her voice is at once strong and shattered, broken and brave.
Our show also reached Elif Shafrak, the great Turkish novelist, who spoke with emotion — in her pauses as much as her eloquent words — about how she feels political corruption has exacerbated the destruction we see.
All of which made our conversation with 108-year-old (that’s no typo) Edith Renfrow Smith especially welcome. She was not “in the news.” But she is something more — a part of history.
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.
Newsletter continues after sponsor message
Stories you may have missed
Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Cryptologists found and decoded more than 50 long-lost letters that Mary, Queen of Scots wrote during her time in captivity. A historian calls them the most important new findings about her in 100 years.
President Biden wished congressional Republicans "lots of luck in your senior year" during his State of the Union speech, a taunt that had a lot of people — even some linguists — wondering what he meant. Here's our best explanation.
When you buy a car, you may think it's yours. But odds are good that the paperwork contained legal language saying the sale may not really be final — allowing the dealer to "yo-yo" you and take it back.
A multimillion-dollar ad campaign, funded by Hobby Lobby's founder and others, aims to shift negative perceptions of Christianity. The producers are using the theme "He Gets Us" — "he" being Jesus Christ — and they're just getting started.
Before you go
Alexis Ayala/Wild Bird Fund
A New York City pigeon that was dyed pink — likely for a gender-reveal party — was rescued and gained a loyal following but died soon after, presumably from toxins in the dye.
Google's new AI chatbot, Bard, made a costly mistake when it gave a factually incorrect answer to a query. Parent company Alphabet's market value plummeted $100 billion.
An exterminator was called to a California home for a worm problem. He found 700 pounds of acorns in the walls — stashed away by some ambitious woodpeckers. "Bird was a bit of a hoarder," he joked.
Workers at a nursing home on Long Island pronounced an 82-year-old woman dead — but nearly three hours later, staff at a funeral home discovered the woman was still alive and breathing.
Listen to your local NPR station.
Visit NPR.org to hear live radio from WUFT 89.1 (edit station).
You received this message because you're subscribed to Best of NPR emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002
No comments:
Post a Comment