When Anousheh Ansari was a little girl in Tehran, she used to sleep on her family's balcony, and look up at the stars, twinkling over Mt. Damavand. Her family was having tough times: her parent's marriage was breaking up, while Iran's clerical revolution had closed her school, and seemingly ended her dream of becoming a scientist. The stars were Anousheh Ansari's refuge.

She and her family were able to get out of Iran and come to the United States. She studied electrical engineering and computer science. She and her husband, Hamid, reconditioned and sold used cars, but eventually founded a telecom company that made them a fortune. And in 2006, Anoush Ansari bought a ticket to the stars: she got a seat on a Soyuz mission, and became the first self-funded woman to fly on the International Space Station, and the first Muslim woman in outer space.

But don't call her a space tourist. She's not a fan of that label.

"You got through the same training as the astronauts, so I don't think it's a fair terminology," she told Scott this week.

While in space, she conducted experiments, kept a blog, and sent videos back to earth. Here, she calls her trip a "spiritual" experience:

Ansari and her family are the sponsors the Ansari X-Prize, a competition that offered ten million dollars to the first non-government group to launch a craft into space twice in two weeks.

It is hard to believe I have been in public broadcasting for twenty years. I began in public radio as a reporter at KUNM in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1991 and began working at NPR News in 1993, after attending a diversity initiative funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in Washington D.C. At the time, NPR Producer Doug Mitchell was on the Advisory Board and had seen my application. Doug insisted I be given a chance.

I took a risk and moved to Washington from Albuquerque in June of 1993 with the assurance of two weeks' worth of temp work on Weekend Edition Saturday. The following year, Robert Malesky of Weekend Edition Sunday hired me as a Production Assistant.

For the next few years, I roamed the NPR Headquarters, like a novice naqqal (Persian storyteller) in awe of everyone around me. Watching Producers Cindy Carpien, Walter Ray Watson, Ned Wharton and Fred Wasser in action reminded me of the carpet weavers I had seen in Iran designing an intricate Persian carpet. The way the producers listened for sound, the way they made edit marks on analog tape, rocking the tape back and forth ever so conscious of the rhythm and narrative of the story they were editing, was simply a marvel to listen to and captivating to watch.

Over time, I mastered the rhythm of sound in the essence of the stories I produced. I learned from my architect father that images along with SOUND activate the sublime. He would say Stravinsky does it but so does a shepherd with his reed flute by the power of breathing life or his soul into his instrument. I loved the idea of sculpting sound images and fortifying the sense of birth and rebirth through sound.

It was at NPR that the creative conscience within me actualized. Working with Liane Hansen, Scott Simon, Jacki Lyden, Daniel Zwerdling, Steve Inskeep and Renee Montagne, I spent countless days and nights logging tape, listening back to interviews, editing sound files, being a skeptic, testing, experimenting, failing sometimes and getting right back up and trying again. From them I have learned to be a tenacious journalist and to listen for the mystery of a story. Eventually, no story for me was simple, it had to have an arch, a reason for being, a narrative, a sound portrait of that slice of life.

 

I leave the edit booths of NPR at a time of great transition in journalism, but I will not go far. I plan to stay in citizen journalism and social media, with an emphasis on innovation and diversity. The secret to great radio conversations has been to close your eyes and pretend you are talking to one person — social media shatters that image — instead you actively engage and seek out hundreds of listeners. You work to build a relationship with them - ask for their ideas and feedback - you get them on the program and make them a part of what you are creating. As public broadcasting reboots, those of us in the field who have a proven record in integrating new media platforms with traditional forms of journalism have an added responsibility to empower a new generation of journalists and to broaden our reach to a more inclusive and diverse audience.

Like my mother and her mother before her, I am a romantic idealist. My mother, ever the Sufi says, "One can always succeed if only one has the will to do so. For when the will dies, the soul dies, and without a soul to appreciate the beauties of life, it is not worth being alive. The secret is to live and let live."

Having worked for seventeen years on the weekends or the overnight shift, I will also have more time to spend with my family. My partner of seven years, John Oliver Smith, will support me as I test the digital landscape outside of NPR. John is an inspiration. One of his favorite sayings is from Teddy Roosevelt: "Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory or defeat."

My oldest son Saied is an entrepreneur who often reminds me of Steve Jobs and his fortitude. "Mom," Saied says, "stay hungry, stay foolish," that's a phrase Jobs used in a Stanford commencement address. My daughter Samira has always been so supportive, she says, "You will have NPR withdrawal symptoms!" My son Aman is excited but anxious that I won't be able to "provide." My son Amir is gleaming as his mother will be working from home for awhile.

So farewell to you NPR listeners and NPR and Weekend Edition colleagues and friends. To the Staff of Weekend Edition you are one of the best teams in broadcasting and it has been an honor navigating you these past few years. I look forward to streaming WYPR Live on my iPhone while sipping my morning coffee sitting at home on the edge of the Severn River just outside Annapolis, Maryland. Send me a tweet @idavar.

As many of you know, Weekend Edition has been on Twitter for more than a year. We've now come up with some tips on how we use the social networking site in our newsroom. To remind you, our radio program's Twitter name is @nprweekend, Scott is @nprscottsimon and Liane is @nprliane.

1) It's a two-way relationship: We try to reply to at least a few messages each day. If our followers can find a few seconds for us, we can find a few seconds for them. And we have chosen a variety of newsmakers, interesting people or groups to follow ourselves. For example, Weekend Edition follows @newtgingrich @ariannahuff @kasuradio @latinousa @mindyfinn @TheRevAl @badbanana @tucsonweekly @radioopensource among some 700 others.

2) Editorial responsibility: Tweets like, "Sarah Palin writing key words on her palm—had an aunt who did that, too," are fine. So is, "President Obama made a very effective presentation of his views at gov's conference." But saying, "I wouldn't vote for XXX if you paid me," ruins our trustworthiness as journalists.

 

3) Breaking news: We monitored harrowing tweets from Iranians after the June 12th disputed election and from Haitians, immediately after the devastating earthquake in January. In this way, Twitter has proven to be a critical tool for getting first-hand information, in real time, during a crisis. The key is to verify that the tweets are authentic. In most cases, we are able to do so by looking at the person's previous tweets or by getting in touch with them and calling them on the ground.

4) Connect with sources: If NPR has confirmed a story, we CAN tweet and ask to see if anyone has more information or is close to the story in anyway. We can also follow beat reporters following a breaking news story. For example, after a power plant explosion in Connecticut we sent out tweets asking if anyone had heard the blast or had stories to share about it.

5) Behind the scenes: Tweets like, "Tom Jones shook hands with everyone in the control room," or "Didn't expect to see Senator XXXX show up in blue jeans," are interesting. But, "The Congressman broke wind after sipping some green tea," or, "I can't believe we're interviewing this moron again," will amuse people for only a few seconds, and earn us a reputation for being unprofessional and indiscreet.

6) Microblogging with NPR member stations: Several member station colleagues are on Twitter early Saturday and Sunday mornings. It is great to engage with them and at times do business with them by answering questions about the rundown or any other elements in the shows.

7) News ideas or questions for guests: We have done this many times successfully, such as when Scott interviewed singer Tom Jones or Liane interviewed jazz guitarist Charlie Hunter. The suggested questions were surprising and creative. We have also asked our followers to contribute to news stories like nominating interesting Boy Scouts to interview.

8) Twitter and promotion?: Twitter is potentially a powerful advertising medium, but it becomes useless if we just send out Tweets trying to hard-sell shows, stories, and our work. People will not look for our Tweets if they know that every one is just another ad. On the other hand: people are following us because they're interested in our work. We will let our followers know when something of note is coming up. And if we are sending a link to npr.org we make sure to use a URL shortener.

9) Search Twitter: Occasionally, we search Weekend Edition NPR on search.twitter.com. We have been surprised to find what folks are saying about the show. That's how we met @davelawrence, the local Weekend Edition Host at Hawaii Public Radio.

10) Tweet fun: A Tweet as simple as, "Happy Valentine's Day to all, especially my mother," is appreciated, and not just by your mother. We aren't afraid to show emotion (as in humor).

Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled his latest uber-gadget, the iPad, this week. Jobs' long history of showmanship and salesmanship can be traced back to this quaint video introducing the Macintosh in 1984.

The latest issue of V Magazine features women of different sizes and shapes wearing designer clothes such as Versace and Dolce and Gabbana. Weekend Edition speaks with one of the first curvy models to be featured in high-end fashion magazines, Emme, along with V features editor Christopher Bartley in an interview Sunday with Liane Hansen. They raise an important question: do high-end fashion magazines fuel unnatural and unhealthy desires to become super-thin, like the size 0 models on the pages of their magazines? We'd like to hear your thoughts.

 

Thank you for all the thousands of messages of concern. The surgery seems to have been brilliantly successful — for the first time in two years, my limbs are without pain and I feel so nimble I may learn how to play the harp. I am grateful to all of our friends, listeners and the Cleveland Clinic.

Here I am with my daughter Elise having spaghetti and pesto in the cafeteria.

Thank you for all of your kind and encouraging messages. I am undergoing my second day of pre-op testing here at the Cleveland Clinic, and look forward to the arrival of my wife, my children, and my mother Tuesday night. I undergo surgery on Wednesday. I am told that after I awake from surgery, my neck will be in a brace and I may find it difficult to speak for a couple of days. So this is a golden opportunity for my family and friends to finally work a word in edgewise! And I can finally see The View. I feel lucky to be receiving the best possible care at this extraordinary place. Cervical spinal surgery is demanding, but as a doctor told me yesterday, "We have a saying in neurology. 'Hey, it's not brain surgery.'" With thanks for all of your best wishes.

Erin Lancer was one of the Americans in Haiti this week during the earthquake. She was there to visit a 3-year-old boy that she and her husband, Michael, have adopted. She didn't want to leave the country without Geoffrey, their newly adopted son, but the boy doesn't have a passport yet. Friends and family set up a Facebook group dedicated to bringing Erin and Geoffrey home.

 

According to the State Department (via MSNBC), more than 200 families are currently in line to adopt Haitian children.

Erin and Michael are on the show this morning. She evacuated Haiti on an Air Force plane and arrived at the Buffalo, New York airport last night. Michael is optimistic that they will be able to bring Geoffrey home soon, but for the time being, Erin had to leave him behind with friends.

"I had to do it," Erin says. "It was not easy, but I know he's with our friends."

The couple is optimistic that the situation will be resolved soon.

"We have been very blessed throughout this process," Michael says. "But we don't want our story to overshadow that of the people that are in Haiti and suffering."

Ke$ha, pronounced Kesh-ah, is the pop star of the moment and Scott Simon managed to pin her down, not literally, this week and talk to her about her debut album, "Animal." An album that Rolling Stone magazine called "repulsive, obnoxious and ridiculously catchy." I have to admit that after I watched the video to Ke$ha's song, "Tik Tok" and listened to some of her CD, I thought that maybe she would have a bit of an "animalistic" side.

But there's more to this girl than raunchy clothes and, at times, explicit lyrics. Ke$ha is not the type of girl who will let a bad word or two get her down. In fact, she doesn't seem to let much get her down, not failed relationships or even "backstabbers." If she's ever feeling vulnerable she says she writes a song about it, calling it, "the best revenge."

 

What was also very revealing about this 22-year-old pop-rapper-singer is that she will be performing at this year's resurrection of Lilith Fair, a music festival that celebrates women in music. And who would have thought that one of Ke$ha's favorite albums is Bob Dylan's "Nashville Skyline."

This girl who grew up in Nashville not only has musical talent but has brains and brashness, and you could say a somewhat mischievous side. She admits to sneaking into the house of Prince himself. She says the house wasn't hard to find because the driveway is lined with "purple velvet." She snuck under the gate but got stuck and had to be helped by the gardener, but even after that, she managed to navigate her way into the house. She says she saw Prince rehearsing. Before she was discovered and booted out of the house, she dropped off her CD for him and even tied a purple ribbon - purple being Prince's favorite color - around it. But Prince never called her. Ke$ha has a great defense for her actions. She says it's advice that comes from her mother: "If you want something, then you go take it. You can't depend on anybody else."

If there's one thing that I've learned this week, it's that I should never judge a girl by her cover. Have a listen below to find out what Ke$ha listens to in her spare time.

Thanks to the 7,200+ listeners who participated in our social media survey. Your feedback and suggestions have been extremely helpful. The results give us solid evidence that engaging more directly with our loyal audience is important and that it is possible to combine different communication platforms and build new relationships with you - our audience.

We live in times when the architecture of news is shattering. For the past year, we have been experimenting and tearing down traditional barriers and building new virtual platforms. We have enjoyed having a more personalized experience with you. Although we have always believed that radio is an intimate medium, we now know that radio alone is not enough - we need to continue fostering the new media paradigm.

Here is what some of you said:

 

"I always enjoy getting somewhat behind-the-scenes glimpses of hosts... and both Scott and Liane come across as very enjoyable and "real people" on Twitter — which matches my feelings about their on-air personalities." — Male, age 25

"I'm consistently impressed by what it takes to produce Weekend Edition, but with the addition of Facebook feed, it makes the work of the work of staff in addition to Ms. Hansen and Mr. Simon all the more visible. I like that." — Female, age 58

"It's nice to have a Facebook newsfeed in case I miss a story that would interest me." — Female, Age 37

"Following Scott on Twitter makes me feel more involved in real time. Scott actually responded to one of my tweets!" - Female, age 40

"Because Weekend Edition integrates Facebook, email, the web and other social media into the program, it makes me have more respect for it and makes me feel like Weekend Edition is more forward looking that conventional network media and I feel more connected to the hosts and people behind the scenes." - Male, age 54

The survey revealed that following Weekend Edition through social media is a relatively new experience for most of the 7,000 respondents, but one they engage in frequently. Listeners say that initially they became Weekend Edition followers because they wanted to receive updates and additional information. But they've continued to be followers because it has been a way for them to get to know the hosts as and interact with them.

And we learned that over time, the longer listeners follow Weekend Edition on Facebook and/or Twitter, the more positive their opinions of the show (Weekend Saturday and Sunday) and NPR become and they listen more.

The listeners who responded to this survey came from a mix of sources: the NPR Listens national online listener panel, on-air call outs during Weekend Edition on December 19th & 20th, Facebook postings from Weekend Edition, as well as tweets from Liane Hansen, Scott Simon, myself and other Weekend Edition staff.

On our show today, we brought you Liane Hansen's chat with Chef Frank Clark of Colonial Williamsburg's Historic Foodways. I was part of the Weekend Edition team that traveled with Liane.

For those of you who love desserts, here is a little treat to sweeten your holiday. It's a video I produced of Liane and Frank, as they prepared the colonial dessert syllabub from an authentic 18th-century recipe.

Happy Holidays! And remember: Do try this at home.

UPDATE:

You asked for a Syllabubs recipe, and here it is!

TO MAKE SOLID SYLLABUBS

One pint of cream, half a pint of wine, the juice and grated peel of one lemon, sweetened to your taste; put it in a wide-mouthed bottle, shake it for ten minutes, then pour it into your glasses. It must be made the evening before it is to be used.

Rutledge, Sarah. The Carolina housewife.

Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1979 p.149

Big Bad Boo is an animation company that makes cartoons aimed at educating children about the many rich and diverse cultures in America. Its first cartoon, about a young Iranian boy living in America, was called "Babak and Friends." The success of Babak paved the way for a series called "Mixed Nutz," which teaches children to be proud of their cultural roots. But selling multi-cultural cartoons to big television networks has not been easy. Scott Simon speaks with Shabnam Rezaei, co-founder of Big Bad Boo. The company's latest production, based on the folk tales "1001 Nights," will be broadcast on 27 PBS channels in the New Year, but you can have a sneak peek below. Enjoy!

On the show today, we're going to bring you three reports on human rights cases in strategically important countries. You will hear about dissidents in China, Russia and Iran.

Kian Tajbakhsh

Iran has detained thousands of people since the June 12th election — including this professor who holds both Iranian and American citizenship. Tajbakhsh, 47, is a Columbia University scholar who was sentenced to 15 years in prison for espionage. He moved back to Iran in October 2001 and started a family (below). The Iranian government alleges he is part of a conspiracy to undermine the regime — the "velvet revolution.' Listen to our profile and read the full transcript

Free Kian is a group that follows news about Tajbakhsh and campaigns for his release.

Sergei Magnitsky

Magnitsky, a 37-year-old lawyer, died in a Moscow prison after being denied medical treatment. Previously, Magnitsky worked for a British-born investor who fell out of favor with Russian authorities and was barred from entering the country in 2005. Listen to this story and read the full transcript

Check out this AP article on the letters Magnitsky wrote from prison before his death.

Liu Xiaobo

One of China's most prominent dissidents is expected to be put on trial for subversion as early as next month. Liu, a former professor of literature, was the man behind the Charter 08 petition, which called for greater democracy and freedom in China. Listen to this story and read the full transcript

The Pen American Center is tracking news about Liu and petitioning for his release.

Santa makes a guest appearance on Weekend Edition Sunday to read our puzzle prizes:

After last week's installment of "Calling All Chefs" — Weekend Edition's recurring recipe contest — many of you wrote in asking for more information about a recipe for ginger snaps, which we mentioned only in passing on the air.

You can now find Patty Morgan's recipe for chewy ginger snaps below, along with the recipes for all four finalists here on our site. Morgan notes that she tried for years to recreate her parents' cookies. But her mother never told her the last secret until she was "literally on her deathbed."

And so, by popular demand, here is Patty Morgan's recipe:

Winnie & Jerry's Chewy Ginger Snaps

Ingredients:
— 0.75 cup shortening
— 0.5 cup brown sugar
— 0.5 cup sugar
— 0.25 cup molasses (plus a little extra)
— 1 egg
— 2.25 cups sifted all-purpose flour
— 2 teaspoons baking soda
— 0.5 teaspoon salt
— 1 teaspoon ground ginger*
— 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
— 0.5 teaspoon ground cloves

*For more ginger flavor, you can add crystallized ginger.

Directions:

— Cream shortening, sugar, molasses and egg until fluffy
— Sift together flour, soda, salt, and spices
— Stir into molasses mixture
— Form into balls and roll in bowl of sugar
— Place on greased cookie sheet
— Bake in 375 degree oven and remove before they look done

Again, thanks to all who submitted recipes. We've picked our winners, but there were so many excellent entries. If you'd like to keep sharing your ginger recipes, please do! Post your recipes below.