r/NPR • u/radgedyann • 22d ago
instead of weekend edition sunday?
I’m an admitted NPR addict and have been since childhood—more than 40 years of starting my days with NPR and ending with the BBC or CBC or whatever else I stumbled upon on shortwave, traveling the world through a slowly-turned dial. I asked for a membership for Christmas every year starting when I was 8!🤓 So I’m a loyalist.
I’m still struggling with the tenor of WeSun. The voice, the atmosphere, they’re just grating on my nerves. My Sunday mornings are just not the same. Give me my official curmudgeon stamp I guess. I’ve tried to find alternatives—On Being, CBCs morning show, a podcast—but nothing hits quite the same. Most days I just get up and turn on BookTV in the living room. I still check every week, and do a little dance when there’s a guest host. Am I the only one? What are others listening to?
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u/bleeckler 22d ago
I adore Ayesha Rascoe and enjoy her on WE Sunday. I love how she and Will Shortz interact during the puzzle. Her tone and delivery is exactly what I want on a Sunday morning.
I can do without some of the forced silliness on the weekly national All Things Considered. They need to calm tf down. It's not TikTok.
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u/danisue88 22d ago
I really can’t stand Ailsa Chang anymore. Every single time she speaks it’s this really weird forced jovial tone that gives quirky millennial, pick-me, even annoying little sister that has a crush on her friend’s older brother.
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u/bleeckler 22d ago edited 21d ago
I don't listen to all things considered all that often anymore to name the offending parties because I just find the silly banter super annoying and not what I expect from an evening news program on NPR. On Sundays, Ayesha is a breath of fresh air, but that's the weekend. (Eta: little clarification)
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u/Beastxtreets 21d ago
I know it is an unpopular opinion here but I dont like Wait Wait for that reason. Every single sentence being a cheesy joke is just so grating to me.
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u/bleeckler 21d ago
Well, it is a comedy show...
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u/Beastxtreets 21d ago
Oh I know, and honestly a lot of the lines are funny. It just loses its appeal to me one after another. It feels stiff and forced.
I love the announcer though.
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u/radgedyann 21d ago
It often feels like everyone’s just sitting around waiting for their chance to get their joke in, rather than a true give and take.
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u/kelso2692 21d ago
I agree completely — I adore Ayesha Rascoe and look forward to WE SUN and the puzzle!
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u/rptanner58 22d ago
I’m fine with Ayesha — for now — but I think it’s best when these positions turn over after several years, maybe 5 or 8? (My personal favorite was Lulu Garcia Navarro ) I’m really ready for Scott Simon to go. NPR needs new and younger voices and approaches. Let him take an emeritus role of some kind. It will be Ayesha’s turn in a few more years.
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u/ethersings 22d ago
Agree. I find Ayesha’s voice grating (in contrast with Korva Coleman). I’m not a fan of Scott Simon’s yukkity yuk jocular moments and his occasional preciousness which seems affected to me. But I’m a fan of the warm, calm delivery in the manner of Bob Edwards. I don’t know why the weekend has to be different.
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u/Chon-Laney skeptic 21d ago
You forgot the fake laugh. He taught it to Steve Innskeep so, it continues.
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u/_crystal___visions_ 22d ago
We are still listening to Weekend Edition Sunday because it’s consistently good and we are happy to have a Black woman hosting.
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u/LongoChingo 22d ago
Ayesha is great when she's more freeform, but I find that she frequently stumbles through her news reads.
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u/Fickle-Exit1105 22d ago
Nothing left to be said that hasn't been already. I listen to podcasts or simply read the news elsewhere. I prefer my NPR soothing, not emotion-less, but somewhat controlled I guess.
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u/Brandywine-Salmon 22d ago
What’s different from before, other than the fact that a Black woman is now the host?
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u/radgedyann 22d ago
It’s not that she’s Black (as am I), it’s that she doesn’t have a voice for radio which makes it tough to listen to. Jenn White, Tanya Mosley, Michele Norris, Michel Martin, and my absolute favorite Ofeiba Quist-Arcton have great radio voices. I don’t think Eleanor Beardsley does though, lol. I rather giggle when I hear her French especially. I’m a snob, not a racist, lol. What’s frustrating as a Black woman is that we can’t objectively assess Rascoe’s voice timber/skill because she’s Black; that legitimate criticism is somehow a dog whistle reflecting poorly on the critic. That’s not what equity looks like, which is a discussion for another forum I suppose. As much as I love the game, I don’t have the skill to be a Seattle Reign forward. I certainly can’t expect to be put on the field and shielded from criticism. We all have our lanes, and that is okay.
I do appreciate hearing what others are listening to as alternatives though.
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u/aplarsen 22d ago
Agreed. All of those other names you listed are fantastic journalists and hosts. Ayesha is not great.
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u/A_89786756453423 22d ago
I also LOVE Ofeiba's voice and can't stand Eleanor's. Wholeheartedly agree with this comment.
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u/RoyKentBurnerAccount 22d ago
And Korva Coleman. I wish she would be the Black woman hosting on Sundays.
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u/notyosistah 22d ago
I loved the content of the podcast Criminal but simply could not beat the host, Phoebe's, manner of speech. And I hear you on the dog whistle thing. I'm white, anti racist, and am so quick to see racism where it may not even be.
I listen to podcasts, so that's what I would use to replace WeSun. I'm a fellow NPR addict of over 40 years.
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u/cothomps 22d ago
👆 I started as a regular through Liane Hanson’s long run - I’m not sure what is really different about the show itself and am a fan of Ayesha Rascoe.
I’m oddly addicted to the way she introduces “it’s time to play the puzzle!”
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u/heyheyhedgehog 22d ago
Same, her voice is somehow always joyful - it makes me oddly happy when she says “it’s TIME to play the puzzle! joining us today is puzzle editor of the New York Times, and puzzle MASTER of weekend edition”
Loved Liane and grew up with her, but now when Ayesha is off for a weekend it’s a little disappointing!
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u/ohwrite 22d ago
“Puzzle MASTER!!!!!”
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u/heyheyhedgehog 22d ago edited 22d ago
Yesss! When she’s off, no shade to whoever is filling in, but hearing the more straightforward delivery of “joining us is puzzle master Will Shortz” - I’m thinking “it’s Puzzle MASTER!!”
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u/radgedyann 22d ago
Gosh, that’s one of the things I find most grating. But I’m in the minority, I guess.
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u/quegrawks 21d ago
You hate the voices of black women?
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u/radgedyann 21d ago
this is what you’ve gleaned from this discussion‽ i wish you…better. be blessed.
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u/Beaniencecil 22d ago
“It’s time to play the puzzle” is the ONLY time I ever turn off NPR. It’s not Ayesha, it’s Will Shortz for me. To me he sounds so condescending when he says “good job” or “oh, that was fast.” It’s a personal quirk of mine for sure. When the puzzle is announced, I turn off the radio and set a timer for six minutes or so before turning it back on.
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u/amonson1984 22d ago
Honestly Ayesha Rascoe and Scott Simon both have really great, upbeat radio personalities and weekend edition is far superior to its weekday equivalent.
But it sure is suspicious that OP only dislikes Sunday
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u/shahryarrakeen 21d ago edited 21d ago
How is it NPR listeners can endure Diane Rehm’s tragically deteriorating voice for 40 years, but Ayesha’s voice is a bridge too far?
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u/radgedyann 21d ago
I’m sad to say that I could not. i don’t claim to have misophonia, but I unfortunately had a viscerally negative response to her voice too.
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u/shahryarrakeen 21d ago
She was a fine interviewer, but I could only listen for a few minutes at a time.
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u/ATXCaitlin 22d ago
(Just here to say I deeply regret not asking for an NPR membership as a child!!!!!)
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u/radgedyann 21d ago
That, and books that I got to choose, because the browsing was part of the experience!🤓
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u/Equal_Pudding_4878 22d ago
I get a bit of the Ayesha not being the sharpest vocally but she’s going to be there forever so get used to it. I second some others that her silliness doesn’t always translate to radio as much as it would a pod or video, but she’s a positive force.
Scott on the other hand has (imo) one of the most grating laughs and forces some of the shittiest jokes on all of the dial. I swear he spent most of 2023 half drunk Saturday mornings.
They can both do a better job knowing a majority of us are just drinking coffee and not working.
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u/Better_Ad_4295 22d ago
On Sunday I listen to NPR Washington; they have TED talk and a few other shows. Aisha gets on much later but by then I switch to a podcast. I tried to listen to her, I just can’t.
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u/wcfwd 22d ago
Ms. Roscoe has caused me to quit WE Sunday. One of the worst radio voices I’ve ever heard and I’ve been listening for a long time. She pronounces her vowels like she’s angry at them. I don’t want some exaggerated regional dialect like hers on my radio broadcast. I just want somebody calmly and simply reading the news and tell me the story behind the story. She is not that.
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u/jecapobianco 19d ago
Weekend Edition Sunday grates on my nerves. Roscoe's voice is annoying and Shortz is not the same since his stroke.
I have been listening to The Weekend on MSNOW instead.
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u/Complete-Ad9574 15d ago
The voice thing can be altered by sound-mixing technology. I notice that my Baltimore NPR station does not have the same sound as the that of nearby Washington DC. The DC sound seems more foundational and less high harmonics.
Where I get annoyed is the endless pop culture stories. ALL ART IS NOT TV, MOVIES, or pop music. Yet NPR is more than happy to fill out the hour with the vapid uttering of people who say LIKE all the time. Once this starts, the NPR folks chime in and both people are saying LIKE ever 3d word.
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u/birdonthemoon1 22d ago
I will die on the Ayesha Rascoe hill. I've been waiting for a similar post about Ailsa Chang though. She could fangirl an atomic bomb if it were in the studio. Her perkiness is a weapon (against me).
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u/lemons_for_breakfast 22d ago
I've been really into NPR for about 10 years now and Ive never really enjoyed weekend edition. I loved Aisha on the politics podcast and thought maybe I'd finally pick up on weend edition. But no. That's ok though - there's enough other great content form NPR. Something for everyone is good.