Scott Simon
Encyclopedia
Scott Simon is an American
journalist
and the host of Weekend Edition Saturday
on National Public Radio.
, including Chicago, New York
, San Francisco, Los Angeles
, Montreal
, Cleveland, and Washington, D.C.
After his father died, his mother married Ralph G. Newman, a former minor league baseball player and American Civil War
scholar and author who ran the Abraham Lincoln Bookshop in Chicago.
Simon's first book, Home and Away: Memoir of a Fan, was published in the spring of 2000, and his second, Jackie Robinson and the Integration of Baseball, was published in 2002. Simon has written a book – Baby, We Were Meant for Each Other: In Praise of Adoption – about his family's experiences. He is also the author of two novels: Pretty Birds (2005) and Windy City: A Novel of Politics (2008).
Simon has hosted BBC World News America
, filling in for Matt Frei
.[Authentication required.]
In May 2010, Simon was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Willamette University
where he was the keynote speaker for that year's commencement exercises.
After September 11, 2001, Simon spoke and wrote in support of the "war on terror."
Simon wrote an op-ed
for the October 11, 2001 Wall Street Journal, "Even Pacifists Must Support This War." Simon questioned nonviolence
at greater length in the Quaker publication Friends Journal in December 2001, provoking many angry letters, to which Simon replied in the May 2003 edition.
documentary filmmaker Caroline Richard during an NPR interview in 2000. They married September 10, 2000, in a mixed faith (Methodist, Quaker, and Jewish) service in Ridgefield, Connecticut
, at the home of fashion designer Alexander Julian
. They have two daughters, both adopted
as babies from China
; the first, Elise, in 2004, and the second, Lina, in 2007. They consider themselves a Jewish family (Simon's father was Jewish and his mother was of Irish Catholic background).
Simon and his wife were contacted by police as part of the Alexander Litvinenko poisoning
. The family was staying at a hotel near the restaurant at the center of the poisoning incident, and had twice bought food there for their young daughter. The health of the family was not affected.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and the host of Weekend Edition Saturday
Weekend Edition
Weekend Edition is the name given to a set of American radio news magazines produced and distributed by National Public Radio . It is the weekend counterpart to Morning Edition. It consists of Weekend Edition Saturday and Weekend Edition Sunday , each of which airs for two hours, from 8 a.m. to 10...
on National Public Radio.
Life and career
Simon was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of comedian Ernie Simon and actress Patricia Lyons, and brother to a sister who died at a young age. He grew up in major cities across the United States and CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, including Chicago, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, San Francisco, Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Cleveland, and Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
After his father died, his mother married Ralph G. Newman, a former minor league baseball player and American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
scholar and author who ran the Abraham Lincoln Bookshop in Chicago.
Simon's first book, Home and Away: Memoir of a Fan, was published in the spring of 2000, and his second, Jackie Robinson and the Integration of Baseball, was published in 2002. Simon has written a book – Baby, We Were Meant for Each Other: In Praise of Adoption – about his family's experiences. He is also the author of two novels: Pretty Birds (2005) and Windy City: A Novel of Politics (2008).
Simon has hosted BBC World News America
BBC World News America
BBC World News America is a current affairs news programme produced by BBC World News to be shown initially for American audiences. It's presented by Katty Kay, who was announced the main anchor in September 2011....
, filling in for Matt Frei
Matt Frei
Matthias Frei better known as Matt Frei is a German-born British television news journalist and writer, presently the Washington, D.C. correspondent for Channel 4 News.-Personal life:...
.[Authentication required.]
In May 2010, Simon was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Willamette University
Willamette University
Willamette University is an American private institution of higher learning located in Salem, Oregon. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest university in the Western United States. Willamette is a member of the Annapolis Group of colleges, and is made up of an undergraduate College of Liberal Arts and...
where he was the keynote speaker for that year's commencement exercises.
After September 11, 2001, Simon spoke and wrote in support of the "war on terror."
War on Terror
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
Simon wrote an op-ed
Op-ed
An op-ed, abbreviated from opposite the editorial page , is a newspaper article that expresses the opinions of a named writer who is usually unaffiliated with the newspaper's editorial board...
for the October 11, 2001 Wall Street Journal, "Even Pacifists Must Support This War." Simon questioned nonviolence
Nonviolence
Nonviolence has two meanings. It can refer, first, to a general philosophy of abstention from violence because of moral or religious principle It can refer to the behaviour of people using nonviolent action Nonviolence has two (closely related) meanings. (1) It can refer, first, to a general...
at greater length in the Quaker publication Friends Journal in December 2001, provoking many angry letters, to which Simon replied in the May 2003 edition.
Family
Simon met FrenchFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
documentary filmmaker Caroline Richard during an NPR interview in 2000. They married September 10, 2000, in a mixed faith (Methodist, Quaker, and Jewish) service in Ridgefield, Connecticut
Ridgefield, Connecticut
Ridgefield is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. Situated in the foothills of the Berkshire Mountains, the 300-year-old community had a population of 24,638 at the 2010 census. The town center, which was formerly a borough, is defined by the U.S...
, at the home of fashion designer Alexander Julian
Alexander Julian
Alexander Julian is an American clothing designer. He is most notable for his Colours clothing brand.-Early life:Born to Mary Brady and Maurice S. Julian, Julian was raised in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, a childhood playmate of James Taylor. His father, Maurice S. Julian , was a clothier who...
. They have two daughters, both adopted
International adoption
International adoption is a type of adoption in which an individual or couple becomes the legal and permanent parents of a child that is a national of a different country...
as babies from China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
; the first, Elise, in 2004, and the second, Lina, in 2007. They consider themselves a Jewish family (Simon's father was Jewish and his mother was of Irish Catholic background).
Simon and his wife were contacted by police as part of the Alexander Litvinenko poisoning
Alexander Litvinenko poisoning
Alexander Litvinenko was a former officer of the Russian Federal Security Service, FSB and KGB, who escaped prosecution in Russia and received political asylum in the United Kingdom...
. The family was staying at a hotel near the restaurant at the center of the poisoning incident, and had twice bought food there for their young daughter. The health of the family was not affected.