Weekend Edition Saturday on Classical

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

If you take a trip to see autumn foliage in Western Massachusetts this weekend, beware: local moose do not offer photo ops. Pete Brown, who's a logger, learned this last month when he saw a moose while he worked in the woods. He tried to get a picture. Instead, Mr. Brown, who has two hip replacements, got the run of his life. Pete Brown joins us from his home in Belchertown, Massachusetts. Thanks for being with us.

PETE BROWN: Oh, it's my pleasure, Scott.

SIMON: So, you saw a moose, and then what?

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

This is WEEKEND EDITION, from NPR News. I'm Scott Simon. Time for sports.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

SIMON: The San Francisco Giants live to play again, thanks to a pitcher thought to be past his prime. He was sure blue-ribbon last night. Lance Armstrong got a standing O last night but also heard from a few folks who might want their money back, just as major corporate sponsors might. And more NHL games are put on ice - or is that none are on the ice? NPR's Tom Goldman joins us. Morning, Tom.

TOM GOLDMAN, BYLINE: Hi, Scott.

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

No need to tweet this, it's hardly news: the use of social media has exploded this election season. There were some 7.2 million tweets sent during this week's presidential debate, compared to just half a million over the course of all four debates of 2008. And while hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent by the Obama and Romney campaigns to reach voters by TV advertising, they pay attention to social media, too.

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Placido Domingo is one of the most influential people in classical music. During a 50-year career, he's played more than 140 roles, conducted more than 450 operas, and won just about every award that a human being can win in opera and life.

Weekend Edition host Scott Simon talks with filmmaker Till Schauder and basketball player Kevin Sheppard. Schauder's new film goes behind the scenes in Iran, where Sheppard played professionally for a time. The film is called The Iran Job.

One day after the only vice presidential debate, Rep. Paul Ryan and Vice President Joe Biden took to the campaign trail. NPR's Ari Shapiro reports.

Weekend Edition host Scott Simon talks with NPR's Peter Kenyon and NPR's Kelly McEvers about the latest news in Turkey and Syria, where fighting from Syria's internal conflict has spilled across the border the two nations share.

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Transcript

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Scott Simon. The jobless rate fell sharply to 7.8 percent in September, which happens to be exactly where it was when President Obama took office. That's according to the U.S. Labor Department's latest monthly jobs report. But even though the unemployment rate dropped, the Labor Department's payroll survey reveals that businesses did not significantly hire new people. NPR's Yuki Noguchi has this report on how experts are interpreting the numbers.

Nov. 6 is 32 days away, but for millions of Americans, there is no longer an Election Day.

Thirty-two states and the District of Columbia now have early voting, which is under way even now in eight states. Hundreds of thousands of votes have already been cast, most before this week's presidential debates or Friday's jobs report, and all ahead of the three future debates and any unforeseen October event that might test the mettle of a candidate.

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Scott Simon. Time for sports.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

SIMON: Major League Baseball premiered its new high-stakes, single game wild-card playoff round last night. But a controversial call involving a famously vague old rule is at the center of attention today. The - eh-eh - defending world champion St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Atlanta Braves in that game. The Baltimore Orioles put away the Texas Rangers. NPR sports correspondent Tom Goldman joins us now. Morning, Tom.

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Nearly two-dozen states are watching for new cases of a rare kind of meningitis, caused by fungal contamination in injections for back pain. Officials say the shots were custom made by a Massachusetts pharmacy that shipped about 17,000 doses to states from New York to California. While the disease cannot spread from person-to-person, at least five people have died and dozens more are sick. The outbreak first showed up in Tennessee as we hear from Daniel Potter of member station WPLN.

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Among the 23 recipients of the MacArthur "genius" grants this past week: an economist, a mathematician, a photographer, a neuroscientist, and a Boston-based stringed instrument bow maker.

Benoit Rolland acknowledges that the violin reigns supreme as the star of the strings, capable of fetching millions of dollars at auction. But what about the bow? "A violin with no bow is not a violin, that's clear," says Rolland.