One of America’s most admired writers and broadcasters, National Public Radio’s Scott Simon has reported from all 50 states and every continent. He has covered 10 wars, hundreds of campaigns, sieges, natural disasters, civil wars, scandals — and his fair share of sporting events. The host of “Weekend Edition Saturday” and a lifelong fan of the Chicago Cubs, Simon joins the Chautauqua Lecture Series on Independence Day to reflect on what the stories of touchstone moments in the world of sports have meant in American history, and how sports can bring people together.

Simon is the author of three books about America’s pastime: Home and Away: Memoir of a Fan; Jackie Robinson and the Integration of Baseball; and My Cubs: A Love Story. Other works include the young adult book Sunnyside Plaza; Pretty Birds; Windy City; Baby, We Were Meant for Each Other; Just Getting Started, written with Tony Bennett; and Unforgettable: A Son, a Mother, and the Lessons of a Lifetime.

Simon has been with NPR for over four decades; over the course of his career he has won every major award in broadcasting, including the Peabody, the Emmy, the Columbia-DuPont, the Ohio State Award, the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award, and the Sidney Hillman Award. Simon has also received the Presidential End Hunger Award for his coverage of the Ethiopian civil war and famine, the Barry M. Goldwater Award from the Human Rights Fund, the Studs Terkel Award, and the Charles Osgood Lifetime Achievement Award. Most recently, Simon was honored with the 2022 W.M. Kiplinger Distinguished Contributions to Journalism Award.

A native of Chicago, Simon has thrown out the first pitch at Wrigley Field (low and outside), and in 2016, was awarded the Order of Lincoln from the Lincoln Academy of Illinois — the highest honor an Illinoisan can receive.

This program is made possible by Week Two Presenting Sponsors Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield and AHN Westfield Hospital and by The Ethel Paris and Theodore Albert Viehe Lectureship.