SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
Forty years ago this weekend...
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SIMON: I'm Scott Simon, and we're glad you're with us for this, our first program, on Saturday, November 2, 1985.
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SIMON: ...A new show took off on NPR, and we're still here and with you. We've brought you stories of crises, breakthroughs, upheavals, tragedies and works of art, even bad ones.
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UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER #1: Oh, I think we can - it's safe to say there's nothing pretty about this movie, Scott. It's just stupid.
SIMON: We've been with you through the fall of the Berlin Wall.
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SIMON: The East German government is preparing to open three more border crossings this weekend, permitting thousands more people to surge across the border.
We've covered the explosion at Chernobyl, Hurricane Katrina, space shuttle disasters, the dot-com boom and bust, the attacks of 9/11, trials, crimes and celebrations, the invasion of Kuwait...
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UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER #2: This morning, Kuwait radio broadcast a message by the new Iraqi-installed government.
SIMON: ...Conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, Crimea and Ukraine, worldwide epidemics and now, the rise of robotics. We've interviewed politicians, artists, actors, singers, farmers, writers, scientists and lots of citizens speaking out from all over America and the world.
This weekly get-together is fun, and it's an honor. As I got to say at the Radio Hall of Fame ceremonies this week, public broadcasting is owned by the American people. We have a business plan, but we also have a purpose - to bring information, entertainment and the light of laughter within reach of everyone in this country. There is more to come. Stay tuned. And, of course, through all the tumult over the last 40 years, one thing has remained constant.
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SIMON: BJ Leiderman does our theme music.
(SOUNDBITE OF CYMANIDE'S "SWEEDEN") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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