Fresh Air Weekend highlights some of the best interviews and reviews from past weeks, and new program elements specially paced for weekends. Our weekend show emphasizes interviews with writers, filmmakers, actors, and musicians, and often includes excerpts from live in-studio concerts. This week:

The longtime spokesman of the fast-food chain Chick-fil-A has died.

The Atlanta-based company released a statement Friday announcing the death of Don Perry, 60.

"Don was a member of our Chick-fil-A family for nearly 29 years. For many of you in the media, he was the spokesperson for Chick-fil-A. He was a well-respected and well-liked media executive in the Atlanta and University of Georgia communities, and we will all miss him."

Paul Krugman — a professor at Princeton, an op-ed columnist for The New York Times and author of many books — has been called "the Mick Jagger of political/economic punditry."

Krugman is known for his direct style, so we don't think he'd do terribly well in the delicate art of diplomatic gift giving. We've invited him to play a game called "Well, it's a nice gift but we're going to invade your country and take your stuff." Three questions about diplomatic gifts.

Mitt Romney flies to Israel this weekend on the second leg of his overseas tour. He'll meet with top Israeli officials as well as the Palestinian prime minister.

Romney's supporters in Israel say the Republican presidential candidate is using the trip to court the Jewish vote, which went overwhelmingly for Barack Obama in 2008.

Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A has long stood by its Bible-based roots, keeping stores closed on Sundays and donating millions to Christian causes. But when its president, Dan Cathy, went public to defend his company's stance against gay marriage, he set off a considerable controversy that has everyone from politicians to puppets weighing in.

When Ruben Bermudez, 31, found out that he had HIV more than a decade ago, he didn't want to take his medicine. He went on treatment for a few weeks, but said the intensive pill regimen made him feel dizzy.

He stopped treatment and tried to ignore the diagnosis, moving to Florida from Washington in pursuit of sunshine. In 2008, he learned that one of his best friends died of a brain tumor that couldn't be treated because his immune system has been debilitated by AIDS. Bermudez realized that his only chance at a relatively healthy life would depend on taking pills daily.

Transcript

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

All this week, we've been hearing from parts of Syria that are controlled by the Free Syrian Army. NPR's Kelly McEvers recently returned from a weeklong trip there. And because such reporting is so rare these days, we've heard stories on both MORNING EDITION and on this program.