Scott Simon | |
|---|---|
 Simon in 2010 | |
| Born | March 16, 1952 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Occupation | Radio presenter |
| Years active | 1977–present |
| Employer | National Public Radio |
| Notable credit | Weekend Edition Saturday |
| Spouse | Caroline Richard (m. 2000) |
| Children | 2 |
| Website | ScottSimonBooks.com |
Scott Simon (born March 16, 1952) [1] [2] is an American journalist and the host of Weekend Edition Saturday on NPR.
Simon was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of comedian Ernie Simon and actress Patricia Lyons. [3] [4] [5] He had a sister who died at a young age. [6] [7] He grew up in major cities across the United States and Canada, including Chicago; New York City; San Francisco; Los Angeles; Montreal; Cleveland; and Washington, D.C. [4]
Simon's father was Jewish and his mother was Irish Catholic. [8] His father died when Scott was 16, [9] and his mother later married former minor league baseball player Ralph G. Newman, an American Civil War scholar and author who ran the Abraham Lincoln Bookshop in Chicago. [10]
Simon graduated from Nicholas Senn High School in 1970.
Simon has been with NPR for over four decades, beginning in 1977 as Chicago bureau chief. [8] His career also encompasses writing and television. He has hosted the Saturday edition of Weekend Edition since its inception in 1985, excepting a period in 1992 and 1993 when Alex Chadwick hosted the show.
His books include My Cubs: A Love Story (2017); Home and Away: Memoir of a Fan (2000); Jackie Robinson and the Integration of Baseball (2002); Baby, We Were Meant for Each Other: In Praise of Adoption (2010), about his experiences adopting two daughters; and the novels Pretty Birds (2005) and Windy City: A Novel of Politics (2008). [11] In 2023, he published the audiobook, Swingtime for Hitler, about the Nazis' use of jazz as a propaganda tool during World War II. [12]
Simon has hosted television series and specials, including PBS's Need to Know in 2011–13. [13] He guest-hosted BBC World News America , filling in for Matt Frei,[ citation needed ] and anchored NBC's Weekend Today in 1992–93.
On the November 15, 2014, episode of Weekend Edition Saturday, Simon interviewed Bill Cosby and his wife Camille about a 62-piece art collection they had loaned to the National Museum of African Art. At the end of the interview, Simon offered Cosby an opportunity to comment on the accusations of sexual assault against him. As narrated by Simon, Cosby refused to comment, only shaking his head no when prompted. [14]
After the September 11 attacks, Simon spoke and wrote in support of the "war on terror", publishing an op-ed in the October 11, 2001, Wall Street Journal titled "Even Pacifists Must Support This War." [15] He questioned nonviolence at greater length in the Quaker publication Friends Journal in December 2001, [16] provoking many angry letters, to which he replied in the May 2003 issue. [17] In 2004, Simon criticized the film Fahrenheit 9/11 for perceived inaccuracies and what he characterized as an unfairly harsh depiction of the U.S. forces. [18]
On December 15, 2018, Simon said of the death of Jakelin Caal, "I do not doubt that U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents did all they could to try to save the life of Jakelin Caal Maquin, a 7-year-old girl from Guatemala, who died in the custody of the United States." [19] Journalist Jon Schwarz from The Intercept criticized Simon on Twitter, referencing his comments on Fahrenheit 9/11 to accuse his journalism of allocating excessive benefit of the doubt to the U.S. government. [20]
Simon has won Peabody and Emmy awards, and received many honorary degrees. [13]
In May 2010, he was conferred Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters by Willamette University, where he was that year's commencement speaker. [21]
Simon is a laureate of The Lincoln Academy of Illinois, receiving the state's highest honor, the Order of Lincoln from the Governor of Illinois in 2016 in the field of Business, Industry & Communications. [22]
As of 2009 [update] , Simon lives in Washington, D.C. [23] He has been married to French documentary filmmaker Caroline Richard since September 2000. [1] They have two daughters, both adopted as babies from China. [24] [25] [26] [27] They consider themselves a Jewish family (Simon's father was Jewish and his mother was Catholic). [8] [25]
In 2006 Simon and his wife were contacted by police as part of the Alexander Litvinenko poisoning investigation. The family was staying at a hotel near the restaurant at the center of the poisoning incident, and had bought food there for one of their daughters. The health of the family was not affected. [28]
In July 2013 Simon began tweeting his emotions and conversations with his mother during the last days of her life. "I just realized: she once had to let me go into the big wide world. Now I have to let her go the same way", read one tweet. In March 2015, he published a memoir about her titled Unforgettable: A Son, a Mother, and the Lessons of a Lifetime. [29]
Jack Brickhouse, a Chicago broadcaster (1916–1998), is Simon's godfather, whom he refers to as an uncle. [30]
William Henry Cosby Jr. is an American comedian, actor, spokesman, and media personality. He has made significant contributions to American and African-American culture, and gained a reputation as "America's Dad" for his portrayal of Cliff Huxtable on The Cosby Show (1984–1992). He has received numerous awards and honorary degrees throughout his career, many of which were revoked following sexual assault allegations made against him in 2014.
All Things Considered (ATC) is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio (NPR). It was the first news program on NPR, premiering on May 3, 1971. It is broadcast live on NPR affiliated stations in the United States, and worldwide through several different outlets, formerly including the NPR Berlin station in Germany. All Things Considered and Morning Edition were the highest rated public radio programs in the United States in 2002 and 2005. The show combines news, analysis, commentary, interviews, and special features, and its segments vary in length and style. ATC airs weekdays from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time (live) or Pacific Time or from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Central Time. A weekend version of ATC, Weekend All Things Considered, airs on Saturdays and Sundays.
Lakeview, also spelled Lake View, is one of the 77 community areas of Chicago, Illinois. Lakeview is located in the city's North Side. It is bordered by West Diversey Parkway on the south, West Irving Park Road on the north, North Ravenswood Avenue on the west, and the shore of Lake Michigan on the east. The Uptown community area is to Lakeview's north, Lincoln Square to its northwest, North Center to its west, and Lincoln Park to its south. The 2020 population of Lakeview was 103,050 residents, making it the second-largest Chicago community area by population.
Robert Alan Edwards is an American broadcast journalist, a Peabody Award-winning member of the National Radio Hall of Fame. He hosted both of National Public Radio's flagship news programs, the afternoon All Things Considered, and Morning Edition, where he was the first and longest serving host in the latter program's history. Starting in 2004, Edwards then was the host of The Bob Edwards Show on Sirius XM Radio and Bob Edwards Weekend distributed by Public Radio International to more than 150 public radio stations. Those programs ended in September 2015. Edwards currently hosts a podcast for AARP.
Ramsey Emmanuel Lewis Jr. was an American jazz pianist, composer, and radio personality. Lewis recorded over 80 albums and received five gold records and three Grammy Awards in his career. His album The In Crowd earned Lewis critical praise and the 1965 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Performance. His best known singles include "The 'In' Crowd", "Wade in the Water", and "Sun Goddess". Until 2009, he was the host of the Ramsey Lewis Morning Show on the Chicago radio station WNUA.
Paula Ann Zahn is an American journalist and newscaster who has been an anchor at ABC News, CBS News, Fox News, and CNN. She currently produces and hosts the true crime documentary series On the Case with Paula Zahn on the Investigation Discovery channel.
Michael Richard Beschloss is an American historian specializing in the United States presidency. He is the author of nine books on the presidency.
David Salzer Broder was an American journalist, writing for The Washington Post for over 40 years. He was also an author, television news show pundit, and university lecturer.
John Beasley Brickhouse was an American sportscaster. Known primarily for his play-by-play coverage of Chicago Cubs games on WGN-TV from 1948 to 1981, he received the Ford C. Frick Award from the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1983. In 1985, Brickhouse was inducted into the American Sportscasters Association Hall of Fame along with the Voice of the Yankees Mel Allen and Red Sox Voice Curt Gowdy. Brickhouse served as the organization's Secretary/Treasurer and was a member of its board of directors.
Weekend Edition is a set of American radio news magazine programs produced and distributed by National Public Radio (NPR). It is the weekend counterpart to the NPR radio program Morning Edition. It consists of Weekend Edition Saturday and Weekend Edition Sunday, each of which airs for two hours, from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Eastern time, with refeeds until 2:00 p.m. Weekend Edition Saturday is hosted by Scott Simon. Weekend Edition Sunday is hosted by Ayesha Rascoe.
Seth Adam Meyers is an American comedian, television host, actor, writer, producer, and podcaster. He currently hosts Late Night with Seth Meyers, a late-night talk show on NBC. Prior to Late Night, Meyers was a cast member on NBC's sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 2001 to 2014, and served as the show's head writer and anchor of their news parody segment, Weekend Update, from 2006 until his departure.
Kenneth Dale Holtzman is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from 1965 through 1979 for the Chicago Cubs, Oakland Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, and New York Yankees.
Michel McQueen Martin is an American journalist and correspondent for National Public Radio and WNET. After ten years in print journalism, Martin has become best known for her radio and television news broadcasting on national topics.
Susan Stamberg is an American radio journalist. Stamberg was co-host of NPR's flagship program All Things Considered from 1972. In that role Stamberg was the first female host of a national news broadcast. She's considered one of NPR's "Founding Mothers" along with Nina Totenberg, Linda Wertheimer and the late Cokie Roberts. After nearly 50 years at the network, Stamberg is a Special Correspondent and her reports appear weekly on NPR's Morning Edition.
Ralph Geoffrey Newman was an American writer and well known Abraham Lincoln scholar. He owned the Abraham Lincoln Book Shop in Chicago, Illinois, and hosted a monthly gathering known as the Civil War Round Table. He was an expert in Civil War-related manuscripts.
National Public Radio is an American non-profit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national syndicator to a network of over 1,000 public radio stations in the United States. It differs from other non-profit membership media organizations, such as the Associated Press, in that it was established by an act of Congress.
Tamara Dawnell Keith is an American journalist. She is the White House correspondent for NPR and co-hosts the NPR Politics Podcast with Scott Detrow. She regularly appears on the PBS NewsHour weekly segment "Politics Monday". Keith is on the board of the White House Correspondents' Association, of which she is also the president.
Up First is a daily news podcast by the American media organization NPR, which releases an episode every weekday at 6 a.m. ET, and Saturdays and Sundays by 8 a.m ET. Up First gives a brief overview of each news item in its weekday and Saturday episodes, unlike some of NPR's other popular news podcasts which provide a deep exploration of each story. The Sunday edition of the podcast varies between originally produced content for the feed and showcasing previously published episodes for NPR's various long-form journalism podcasts.
Jakelin Amei Rosmery Caal Maquin and Felipe Gómez Alonzo were Guatemalan immigrant children who died, in separate incidents, while in the custody of the United States Border Patrol in December 2018, after having entered the country, by crossing the border between Mexico and the United States.
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