Weekend Edition Saturday

Pandemic social distancing has made candidates for New York mayor both more and less accessible.

The new movie Cherry follows an Iraq war vet who gets addicted to heroin and starts robbing banks. It's based on a semi-autobiographical novel by Nico Walker, who was just released from prison.

NPR's Scott Simon asks Pete Pattisson of The Guardianabout his reporting on migrant worker deaths in Qatar, including those who died while constructing venues for FIFA's 2022 World Cup.

Araceli Gonzalez-Burkle was hit hard by the pandemic. She lost her job and was hospitalized with COVID-19. She's had to rely on food banks, public assistance, and her mother while she recovers.

By releasing intelligence tying Saudi Arabia's crown prince to the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, President Biden is toughening U.S. posture toward the kingdom.

The committee voted 22 to nothing in favor of the new vaccine.

After taking a two-year step back from the spotlight, Julien Baker returns with a self-produced album titled Little Oblivions.

NPR's Scott Simon speaks with Larry Wilmore about his new Netflix docu-series, Amend: The Fight for America," about the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

NPR's Scott Simon asks journalist Jennifer Chen about the surge in violence against Asian-Americans.

Lawrence Ferlinghetti, who died Feb. 22 at age 101, wrote a string of verses called "What is Poetry." We remember him by excerpting some lines.

Viet Thanh Nguyen's Pulitzer Prize-winning spy novel The Sympathizertold the story of a communist double agent just after the Vietnam War — his quest for revolution resumes in The Committed.

The Saudi crown prince may escape punishment for his order to kill a columnist. A pandemic relief package is moving through Congress. Donald Trump remains popular with conservative activists.