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NPR source and close friend Yuli Wexler dies at 74

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Yuli Wexler, a friend of NPR, has died at the age of 74. If you've heard us say in recent months, Russian media reports, there's a chance that's because Yuli Wexler had passed along something he read or heard in his daily news consumption. He was married for more than 40 years to Martha Wexler, an editor at NPR. And we remember meeting Yuli as a man who'd brim with good humor and bubble with a breathtaking assortment of facts he'd discovered while inhaling books.

Yuli had been a refusenik in the old Soviet Union, a Jew refused permission to emigrate, whose family used to have to buy holiday matzo on the black market. Yuli finally got permission to emigrate, became an economist. Martha remembers how he took particular pleasure going to work for an international communications company and sitting across a conference table from Soviet officials, a refusenik to whom they had to listen. He was an utterly devoted father who watched operas with their daughters, Judith and Rebecca, while Martha worked the overnight shift, and would hear the next day how whatever Yuli had cooked set off smoke detectors. Yuli loved Bach and Glenn Gould's renditions, which he called musical X-rays, and he lived to find freedom, family, fulfillment and happiness. Our friend Martha Wexler told us, so that's a full life, right? Right.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

Scott Simon is one of America's most admired writers and broadcasters. He is the host of Weekend Edition Saturday and is one of the hosts of NPR's morning news podcast Up First. He has reported from all fifty states, five continents, and ten wars, from El Salvador to Sarajevo to Afghanistan and Iraq. His books have chronicled character and characters, in war and peace, sports and art, tragedy and comedy.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.