August 9, 2025 - PBS News Weekend full episode

Saturday in Atlanta, Jen Pawol took the field as the first woman to umpire a regular-season game in Major League Baseball’s nearly 150-year history. She was on the bases this afternoon for both games of a doubleheader between the Miami Marlins and Atlanta Braves. John Yang speaks with The Washington Post’s national baseball writer Chelsea Janes for more.

The Gifford Fire in Southern California has reached “megafire” status, burning an area bigger than Atlanta. Megafires, which burn more than 100,000 acres, have become increasingly common in recent years. A new book, “When It All Burns: Fighting Fire in a Transformed World,” is the first-hand account of a season with a team of elite firefighters. John Yang speaks with author Jordan Thomas for more.

In Geneva, negotiators from 175 nations are trying to hammer out the first-ever legally binding treaty on plastic pollution. The urgency of the talks was underscored this week by a new study published in The Lancet. It calls plastics a “grave, growing and under-recognized danger to human and planetary health.” John Yang speaks with Tracey Woodruff, one of the study’s authors, to learn more.