A good weekend to you. I am blessed to be able to do a short essay on our show each week, and am often asked, “How do you come up with a topic?” I tell people, “We live in a world of such rich possibilities. And it’s on my mind every waking moment of the week, why did you have to ask, aaarrrgh!”
Oh, sorry.
But I have developed a few ideas. Some weeks, the essay must be about something in the news, and other weeks, it should have nothing to do with the news. Some weeks, there is an overwhelming event that demands attention. We shouldn’t duck.
The world loses people of value every day. Yet the essay could — but should not always — be an obituary.
Sometimes, you can just tell a nice story. Sometimes I try a poem or song.
You can be serious one or two weeks in a row, but not three, or you’ll sound like a scold. You can be humorous a week or two in a row, but not three, or you’ll be dismissed as a clown (which happens to me anyway).
You can be totally personal now and then. If it’s where your heart leads, it can mean something to others. But only now and then (a source of great relief to our daughters).
If you listen carefully, you’ll see I never really take a position on an issue, except for baseball, animals, and food.
Some weeks are harder than others. And sometimes, the topics which you have to stretch to find make you think the most.
Of course, most of all my weekly essays have to be about 2 minutes and 30 seconds long.
This week’s essay is an area of study that may be often overlooked but is still urgently important.
Scott Simon is one of NPR's most renowned news anchors. He is the host of Weekend Edition Saturday and one of the hosts of the morning news podcast Up First. Be sure to listen to him every Saturday on your local NPR station, and follow him on Twitter.
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