SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
A bit more than two years ago, I got a new assignment - hosting ALL THINGS CONSIDERED on the weekend. A lot has happened since then. So many big stories broke on Saturdays and Sundays in recent years, and we covered them all, from the October 7 attacks that launched the ongoing war in Gaza...
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DETROW: Israel says it is at war after the Palestinian group Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on its territory.
...To the assassination attempt against President Trump...
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DETROW: I'm Scott Detrow. We are bringing you some breaking news right now. Former President Donald Trump was just rushed off the stage during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
...To countless other big breaking weekend stories. At the same time, we worked hard to make this a show that felt like a weekend show where you could tune in to hear what life is like inside a spaceship...
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CHRISTINA KOCH: It's a lot bigger in 3D, when you can float around. That's what I'm telling myself.
DETROW: Yeah.
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DETROW: ...Or step back in time.
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KEITH TAILLON: And we're standing in the shadow of what is thought to be the oldest tree still standing in Manhattan.
DETROW: And as often happens when a group of people find themselves working in a mostly empty building on weekends, sometimes we got fun and weird.
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DETROW: What is your response to microwaved mulled wine?
PAUL CLARKE: Yeah. Don't do that. That's a terrible idea.
DETROW: Can you expand (laughter)?
CLARKE: (Laughter).
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DETROW: All right, people.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: All right.
DETROW: It's wine time.
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DETROW: This is my last weekend show on ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm not going far. Starting soon, I will be hosting the show on the weekdays. But I will miss a lot about WATC, as we call the show internally at NPR, like our ongoing staff argument over whether Frodo or Sam is the true hero of "Lord Of The Rings," or our show catchphrase - yabba dabba news. Don't ask how it started.
Thank you, especially, to the production team who regularly gives up their Saturdays and Sundays to give you the news, including Avery Keatley, Gabriel Sanchez, Tinbete Ermyas, Adam Rainey, Sarah Robbins, Neil Tevault and Valentina Rodríguez Sánchez.
And thank you to my family, Natalie, Josh and especially Laura, because it is not always fun for someone to be off at work on weekends when the house is filled with the wonderful chaos of little kids. I have mentioned on previous shows that sometimes my son, Josh, would give me words to sneak into the show as a secret sign. Sometimes the words were not so subtle and hard for me to pull off, but I will sign off for now with Josh's requests for the week, which are time travel, Harry Potter, Hogwarts, Fred and George.
Starting next week, you will be hearing from a broad mix of talented NPR voices on this show, who will continue to bring you the weird, the wonderful and plus, of course, all of the reporting that helps you understand the world. For now, yabba dabba news, and I will talk to you soon on the weekdays. You're listening to ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News.
(SOUNDBITE OF JASON ISBELL SONG, "LAST OF MY KIND") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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