Weekend Edition Sunday on NPR & Classical Music

Colorado Springs Learns To Live With Fire

KUNC-FM: Kirk Siegler — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 11:38:00 +0000

Transcript

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Colorado is often the site of devastating forest fires, but the city of Colorado Springs has been hit particularly hard as of late. In the span of just one year, more than 800 homes have been destroyed from wildfires in and around the city. This time last year, it was the Waldo Canyon fire, and now it's the Black Forest fire. NPR's Kirk Siegler spent the week in Colorado Springs and sent this report.

KIRK SIEGLER, BYLINE: For the second year in a row, the Colorado Springs area has been beset by large, destructive wildfires.

Syria, Economy Top The G8 Agenda

editor — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 11:38:00 +0000

Transcript

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Rachel Martin.

President Obama leaves tonight on a quick trip to Europe. He'll attend a G8 Summit of industrialized nations in Northern Ireland. He'll also pay a visit to Germany, where his plans include a public speech at the historic Brandenburg Gate.

NPR's Scott Horsley will be traveling with the president. He joins us now. Hi, Scott.

SCOTT HORSLEY, BYLINE: Good to be with you, Rachel.

MARTIN: So, one big topic at the G8 meeting is going to be Syria.

Putting Up A Good Front For The G8

editor — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 11:38:00 +0000

County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland is hosting this year's G8 Summit. To spruce up the recession-hit area, the county has created some fake storefronts. Host Rachel Martin speaks with District Council member Brendan Hegarty.

Will The NSA Rethink Its Data Collection System?

editor — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 11:38:00 +0000

Transcript

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

We've started hearing from some of the Internet companies implicated in the NSA data collection scandal. On Friday, Facebook and Microsoft disclosed for the first time that last year they received thousands of requests from the government to hand over information about their users. Meanwhile, the National Security Agency is still on the defensive. The agency's head spoke on Capitol Hill last week in an effort to reassure lawmakers that the NSA is not spying on Americans.

Joel Brenner was the inspector general for the NSA from 2002 to 2006.

Baghdad Businessman Reflects On Violence In Iraq

editor — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 11:38:00 +0000

Weekend Edition Sunday Host Rachel Martin talks to Baghdad businessman Haider al-Jumaili about the growing violence in Iraq, where more than a thousand people died in May.

Bringing Extreme WIFI To Remote Places

editor — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 11:38:00 +0000

Google scientists have been testing a way to link computers to the internet in rural, war torn or disaster areas where high speed internet does not exist. We hear from Steven Levy, a senior writer with Wired magazine who was embedded with the Google team.

Economy Was Key In Iranian Election

editor — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 11:38:00 +0000

Weekend Edition Sunday Host Rachel Martin speaks with Karim Sadjadpour, a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, to learn more about new Iran's president-elect, cleric Hassan Rouhani.

The Tragedy Of The Pina Colada

editor — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 11:38:00 +0000

Transcript

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

There are a lot of things that get a bad rap and then will never shake said bad rap no matter what: canned beanie-weanies come to mind, for example. They're never going to be thought of as high cuisine, let's face it. The song "Escape" by Rupert Holmes - though it has a kicking chorus - probably will not become a better song with time.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ESCAPE")

RUPERT HOLMES: (Singing) If you like pina colada, getting caught in the rain. If you're not into yoga, if you have half a brain.

Will America Need Boots On The Ground In Syria?

editor — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 11:22:00 +0000

Middle East analyst Andrew Tabler talks to Weekend Edition Sunday Host Rachel Martin about the U.S.'s decision this week to arm the Syrian rebels.

Police Clear Protesters In Istanbul Park

editor — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 11:22:00 +0000

Transcript

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

The political standoff in Turkey is intensifying. Riot police there are firing teargas to prevent anti-government protesters from massing in Istanbul's Taksim Square. There were clashes with demonstrators through much of last night. Security forces sealed off the square and the adjacent Gezi Park, parts of the city that have been the focus of the protests over the last 19 days. Now, authorities say the park is off-limits to the public but many protestors say the crackdown has only strengthened their determination to return.