For the past few weeks, fans of the NPR show “Weekend Edition Sunday” have felt a notable absence from the airways.

Their beloved contributor, Will Shortz, has been missing for a while, leaving many questioning his whereabouts. This weekend, in the March 3rd edition of the show, we finally learned the answer – and it's sad news. The veteran editor released a short audio clip that explained his current health situation. It turns out that Shortz had a stroke on February 4th.

This is a massive blow, not just for fans but for NPR more generally. Will is a true veteran of the industry and an absolute legend in the world of puzzles. In case you weren’t aware, he has been NPR’s puzzle master for over three decades, first appearing in 1987. He is also the long-running editor for the New York Times crossword puzzle. He’s been checking the clues and maintaining those high standards since 1993, and no one can touch him.

His career stretches back to his teenage years when he contributed to Dell puzzle publications and designed his own college degree in enigmatology at Indiana University. Only a few years later he became the director of the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, and the rest truly is history. He really has been a giant of the industry his whole life, and it would be heartbreaking to lose him.

The good news out of all of this is that Shortz is making great progress, and the prognosis is good. In the clip shared by host Ayesha Rascoe, he talked about how he’s been in rehabilitation since the medical episode last month, which explains his long absence. He said the recovery is going well and that he looks forward to rejoining the show with new puzzles soon.

It's great to hear his voice, knowing how a stroke can affect speech and cognitive function, and the message makes us all optimistic for his return sooner rather than later. Fans aren’t ready for this extraordinary career to come to an end.

Rascoe added her own sentiments to the message, stating that everyone at the show has a great love for Will and that they are “rooting for him, and...so hopeful and know that he will feel better soon.” This is a feeling that all fans can get behind, and hopefully, it isn’t long before he is fit and well again and continuing his run as NPR’s greatest Puzzlemaster.