A Shostakovich opera plucked from the Soviet composer's trash gets its world premier this weekend at the Los Angeles Philharmonic's Disney Hall. We hear from Gerard McBurney, the composer charged with fleshing out Shostakovich's lost work, Orango.
GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain has been dogged by allegations that he sexually harassed several women. This week, an Atlanta woman claimed she and Cain had a 13-year affair that ended earlier this year. Now Cain has scheduled an event Saturday afternoon, where he is expected to announce the future of his candidacy. Host Scott Simon talks with NPR's Don Gonyea.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has just completed a trip to Asia, including a historic visit to Myanmar. That country, also known as Burma, has been subjected to international isolation for many years because of its brutal military dictatorship. Now there are signs that a new civilian regime is loosening the generals' grip. NPR's Michele Kelemen accompanied Clinton on her visit, and filed this Reporter's Notebook.
European leaders meet in Brussels next week with an urgent mission: Agree on a plan that to keep debt-ridden countries like Greece and Spain from default and save the euro. NPR's Eric Westervelt has the latest on efforts by European leaders.
The current world economic crisis has raised hard questions about the assessments made by the big three ratings firms, S&P, Moody's and Fitch. It's also brought charges that they not only missed the onset of financial crisis, but helped fuel it with faulty judgments. Host Scott Simon talks with Roben Farzad, a senior writer for Bloomberg-Businessweek.
The NBA comes back on Christmas, and the NFL marches on to week 13. Will Americans tune in to basketball late, and will the Packers reach the end of the season without a loss? Scott Simon talks with ESPN's Howard Bryant about the week's sports.
The U.S. Postal Service has waived its rule banning someone from being honored on a stamp until he or she has been dead for at least five years. Host Scott Simon reports the Postal Service has received thousands of nominations from the public for new stamps to honor more recent celebrities, ranging from Billy Graham to Lady Gaga.
People who are lucky enough to have jobs could still see a cut in their paychecks next month unless Congress votes to extend a payroll tax cut. NPR's Scott Horlsey and Tamara Keith join host Scott Simon to talk about the status of the cut.
Jon Klassen's latest book, I Want My Hat Back, is the delightful story about a bear who loses, and then finds, his hat. Scott talks with Weekend Edition's ambassador to the world of children's literature, Daniel Pinkwater, about the story and the importance of art in children's books.
We received hundreds of comments on our segment last week on predictive policing, which uses statistics and algorithms to deploy police where crimes are most likely to occur. Also, many listeners wrote to thank us for our chat with Doris Day. Host Scott Simon reads listeners' comments.
