Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! - Best of WWDTM July 2021

Episode Date: July 10, 2021

WWDTM presents some favorite segments to remind everyone what shows with actual audiences sound like, with Leslie Odom, Jr., Regina King, and Laird Hamilton. We also feature some moments with our panelists, some of which have not been aired before.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

From NPR and WBEZ Chicago, this is Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, the NPR News Quiz. Hey, worried about the heavy hand of the government? I gotcha, baby. I'm your Bill of Rights, Bill Curtis. And here is your host, a man who insists the country's real birthday is the day they invented the endless pasta bowl, Peter Sagal. Thank you, Bill. The 4th of July is a time to reflect on our history. But this week, we're not looking back 245 years.

No, we are reveling in the far-off days of 16 months ago when we were doing shows in front of actual humans. In just a month, we're going to be doing it again. And there's so much we've forgotten. of 16 months ago when we were doing shows in front of actual humans. In just a month, we're going to be doing it again. And there's so much we've forgotten. For example, audiences make so many interesting sounds. Which ones indicate they're happy? That's why we are reviewing our notes and getting ready for the big day when we'll finally see other people again. Now, we're starting with a man who's an expert on seeing the people he's performing for,

the star of Hamilton on Broadway, Leslie Odom Jr. Leslie Odom Jr., welcome to Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Thank you so much. Hamilton, of course, is a phenomenon like I've never seen after a lifetime of like enjoying the theater. How often do you get approached on the street by people who come up and immediately start

doing a number from the show with you? Well, David put it better than anyone I'd ever heard. He said, outside the stage door on 46th Street, you were a beetle for a block. It was like, once you cross 8th Avenue, it gets a little less. I said that to say, it depends on where I am. Right.

You know, if I happen to be in a place where there are a lot of theater people, I'm going to get recognized. And the people are always lovely, but if I'm sort of like in a place where it's not a theater town, really, you know, I'm more likely to be recognized from like a nationwide commercial. Sure. town, really, you know, I'm more likely to be recognized from like a nationwide commercial. Sure. Did you guys know when you started working in the show with Lin-Manuel, I'm not even sure where it was, where it was first put on its feet. Did you have any idea what it would become eventually? I knew what I felt about it. I knew that it touched and moved me, but I didn't know that it would connect with America. You know, I didn't know that it would connect with America. You know, I didn't know that, like, that it would reach people so far and wide.

I couldn't have known that. Yeah, I mean, and what was it like when all of a sudden that happened, when the crowd started showing up in front of the theater and waiting for you outside the theater, when all of a sudden, for example, a parade of celebrities came to see your show? I remember Beyonce came. Yeah, it was a trip. It was living a dream. I think that the trifecta, I think, for art,

in my book anyways, like something that is culturally relevant, artistically fulfilling, and commercially successful, you very, very rarely get all three of those things. You're lucky if you get one or two of them. And Hamilton was all three. Have you ever been back to see it since you left the show? Oh, yeah.

I saw it in Puerto Rico. I saw Lynn do it in Puerto Rico. I saw it in Chicago. I saw it in L.A. I've seen it a couple times. And do you become one of those very annoying people who I've seen it with who just sit there and sing along the whole time? Yeah, I'm sorry about that.

It's all right. We have to ask you, we heard you saw Shonda Rhimes almost fight Art Garfunkel in the audience at Hamilton. Here we go. What? Is this true? It wasn't quite a fight. It was not quite a fight. Shonda is more classy than that.

But she... Explain, please. Art is a legend. Art is a a legend he was being rather disruptive you know he was he was talking and he was unwrapping candy and you know our older audience members can sometimes do and i happened to be watching the show that night and yes shonda you know let art garfunkel know that he needed to be quiet while she was watching her Hamilton. So the guy who wrote Sound of Silence wouldn't... Yeah. Technically, he sang it.

The other guy wrote it, but... Wait a minute. Hello, Tic Tacs, my old friend. Hang on. Hang on. You said something interesting. You said that you happened to be in the audience that night. Right. So do you mean that you were taking the night off from performing

and you chose to spend that night off watching the show? I wanted to see the show. I had never seen the show, and I heard it was so great. I had heard so much about it. And so, yeah yeah I had a ticket They made me They made me buy a ticket By the way

What? Did they really? Stand by Stand by They're like Oh Mr. Odom How nice to see you That will be $4,000

I should say Congratulations That you are of course Not just a Broadway star You were a Tony winning Broadway star And among the people You beat out

For your Tony Was Lin-Manuel Miranda. Did that, like, was that okay with him? Did it add a little piquancy to the next night's duel? What happened? Well, Lin won two other Tonys that same night. Yeah. So I think he's okay.

Yeah, I think he's all right. He was always so generous and gracious. Part of the reason why so many of us were recognized on Tony night is because of Lynn's generosity. You know, he doesn't he doesn't hoard the great materials just for himself. Well, that's very nice. And we probably said, well, that's great. Enjoy it, Leslie. I'll just go home and polish my MacArthur grant. You just. Well, Leslie Odom Jr., we have invited you here to play a game we're calling... Ben Franklin, you dog, you.

So you played Aaron Burr, but the question is, what do you know about one of the founding fathers who didn't make the cut in the musical Hamilton, specifically Benjamin Franklin? We're going to ask you three questions about the Sage of Philadelphia. Answer correctly, and you'll win our prize for one of our listeners. Bill, who is Leslie Odom Jr. playing for? Sarah Wood of Los Angeles, California. All right. Ready to play? I'm ready. All right. First up, Franklin nearly died at the age of 42 when what happened? A, he electrocuted himself trying to cook a turkey with lightning. B, he was demonstrating his latest invention,

stiletto heels, and tripped down a stairway, or C, he was visiting his girlfriend when her husband, George Washington, came home. Well, it is a well-known fact that Franklin was, like, all about Thanksgiving. And so I think he was trying to cook that turkey. Yes, he was, Leslie. That's exactly what he was doing.

He set up this whole thing. He was going to fry the turkey, and instead it fried himself. But he was fine. Benjamin Franklin, of course, was a polymath. He was an inventor. He was also a visionary. He once wrote an essay defending doing what? A, singing along while in the audience of shows.

B, farting. Or C, blarping. What's the last one? Blarping. Oh, well, just as we know about his love of Thanksgiving, we also know that the guy loves to toot. So,

farting is mine. The fact... He wrote a scientific treatise on it. He did. It was called, the essay which he submitted to a scholarly journal in Europe was called Fart Proudly. You know so much about this, I'm beginning to think there was like a whole third act of Hamilton that got cut.

All right. You could be as perfect in this as you are in everything else. So let's see. Franklin lived in London as the U.S. ambassador. We know that. When people recently renovated his former home in London, what did they find? A, his abandoned invention, a wooden microwave oven.

B, 1,200 human bones. Or C, 400 volumes of erotic engravings stuck in a sock drawer. The man loved Thanksgiving. He loved to fart. And he was a big old freak. They found the erotic writing. He was a big old freak. But that's not what they found.

They found 1,200 human bones. Bro, he's a serial human bones He's a serial killer Who knew? He seemed so friendly Bill, how did Leslie Odom Jr. do on our quiz? He won with two out of three Congratulations How does this feel next to winning the Tony?

Hands down, this win. There you are. You are, sir, a superb actor. Leslie Odom Jr. is an actor, author, and musician. His new album, Mister, is available now. Leslie Odom, thank you so much for being with us. Thank you, guys. What a pleasure to talk to you.

What a pleasure to talk to you. Here's something that only our live audience has heard because it's never been broadcast before. Guest host Helen Hong posed this question to our panelists at the Chase Bank Auditorium back in 2018. Paula, there's yoga. There's meditation. Now a group in New York is offering a new form of wellness activity, cuddling with what? Can you give me a hint? Yes. I can give you a hint. If you cuddle too hard, they'll ask you to move over.

Oh, cuddling with cows? Yes, cows. Oh, yeah. It's cow cuddling, y'all. From the same people that brought you goat yoga, which in turn brought you hoof and mouth disease, Mountain Horse Farm in upstate New York is offering the horse and cow experience,

which, quote, brings relaxation, healing, and awareness via cow cuddling. The trick is deciding Who's the little spoon And who's the big spoon I didn't write that Wow That one I didn't write

You distanced yourself from that real quick Cow cuddling sounds so nice Because most farmers I know Just want to leave right after. You know, when I drive by cows, as I want to do, they are rarely cuddling. They seem to like hanging out at a safe distance, even from each other. So did anybody get consent, is what I'm asking? This is what really kicked off the Me Moo movement.

The farm promises that the cows, quote, will read you subtly with intent, just like they would read any other herd member. They will pick up on what's going on inside and sense if you're happy, sad, feel lost, anxious, or excited, and they will respond to that without judgment, ego, or agenda. Can you eat the cow after? Let's...

When we come back, we'll have more than a thousand people together in one room. Well, not really a room. It's more like a shed. Well, not everybody was in the shed. Some people were outside. It's complicated. Just stay tuned. We'll be back in a minute with more of Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me from NPR.

Comedian Tiffany Haddish is busy. She's acting, producing, but she says she's not just doing it for herself. How much generational wealth are you creating when you get to tell a story and give other people opportunity to tell that story with you? Tiffany Haddish on her power in Hollywood. Listen now to the It's Been a Minute podcast from NPR. From NPR and WBEZ Chicago, this is Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, the NPR News Quiz. I'm Bill Curtis, and here is your host, who likes to celebrate the Fourth of July by letting people know that technically America's birthday is June 21st, 1788, the day the Constitution was ratified. Peter Sagal.

Thank you, Bill. So we here at Wade Wade are getting ready to do our shows in front of an audience again, and we are worried that we have forgotten how. How are they supposed to hear us anyway? Does everybody bring a tiny radio? On August 26th, we're going back to Tanglewood in western Massachusetts to do our show in front of as many as 5,000 people. I had forgotten that that many other people even existed. To reduce the shock, let's listen to a part of our last show at Tanglewood from June 2018. It's our Bluff the Listener game with Faith Saley, Mo Rocca, and Alonzo Bowden.

Hi, you were on Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Hi, Peter. This is Ryan Quinn from Fargo, North Dakota. Fargo? How are things in Fargo? Things are good. It's finally warm. Is that like the Fargo Chamber of Commerce slogan? Things are good. More or less. Actually, it's north of normal. Yes, that's what I've heard. Well, Ryan, it's nice to have you with us. You're going to play our game in which you have to tell truth from fiction. Bill, what is Ryan's topic? Let's spice things up. Everybody wants to spice up their love life, but a warning, if you use actual spices, do not use cayenne.

This week, we read about a new way couples can keep things interesting. Our panelists are going to tell you about it. Pick the real one, and you'll win our prize. Any voice from our show you might choose doing your voicemail. First up, let's hear from Alonzo Bowden. Yes, it's true. Americans think soccer is dull, but if you want to blow on the fading ember of your relationship, sit down on the couch and watch the World Cup. According to researcher Melanie Dodson, couples are reporting spikes in sexual activity right after World Cup matches, even the boring ones, which, let's face it, is most of them. She says, quote, to start with,

it's a shared activity, which is always good for couples. But beyond that, men and women react to the game in very different ways. She said the men are revved up by the excitement and the competition. This raises their testosterone levels. On the other hand, women see an elaborate spectacle of nonviolent cooperation among teammates, which inspires their feminine yearning for an emotional connection. Although Dotson admits the totally hot male bods and the grunting doesn't hurt either. Dotson says that she's been unable to discern why more common sports like basketball and football don't inspire the same reaction.

Quote, I believe it's because these sports are routine and familiar while soccer is exotic. Plus, few American men go out to bars to watch soccer, so chances are better they'll both be in the same room after the game ends. She says, I have one couple, and they say they'd like to do it soccer style, meaning no hands allowed. Turns out, watching soccer, as incomprehensible as it may be, might be good for you and your love life. Next, let's hear from Mo Rocca.

It's being hailed as a landmark study. 281 institutions from all around the world coming together over the course of three years to determine what differentiates people with active love lives from those with less active love lives. The findings varied wildly. Those with active love lives tended to set their own work hours if they worked at all, take dates to Michelin star restaurants, have their hair cut by Frederick Fakai, have a positive relationship with the butler, drive a Bentley. Those with less active love lives tend to work three or more jobs,

insist on going Dutch, cut their own hair, take the bus, have a strained relationship with a 28-year-old son still living at home, the same one who insists on going along on the dates because the refrigerator is empty. Quote, we've only begun to analyze the findings, says Professor Vinivius Starr, a top researcher at MIT. A deep dive may be needed to see if there's any connection among these data points. The study was commissioned by Money Magazine. It turns out the rich are different from you and me in that way too. Your last story of a bedroom boost comes from Faith Saley. We all know that a nature walk can make us feel better, but new research reveals that just looking at nature

can make us feel better naked. The study asked subjects to view a short film of a walk through city streets, followed by another short film of a beautiful river. Participants' body appreciation scores improved by 66% after looking at the nature images. And since scientists say people who love their birthday suits have more sex, this means if you just sit around eating pita chips staring at rainforests,

you're probably going to want to get it on. The study's author, Professor Viran Swamy from Cambridge's Anglia Ruskin University, explains natural environments effortlessly hold your attention, a process known as soft fascination. This is often accompanied by feelings of pleasure, such as when you are drawn to the sight of a setting sun. So settle into that sofa, turn on a nature documentary, and ask your viewing partner, is that a giant redwood?

Or did your fascination just get a little less soft? All right. A new study promises a way to improve your love life. Is it from Alonzo Bowden, just watch soccer together, from Mo Rocca, become extremely rich, or from Faith Saley, just watch nature documentaries. Oh, boy. Oh, boy.

Well, I'm going to go with Faith's story about nature documentaries. You are? Any particular reason? Yeah. It's just what stuck out to me. As it were. Oh, wow. Here at Tanglewood, they agree with you, and I should say, we're in nature, and I have

no idea what they're doing in the back of the lawn. Your choice, then, is faith story. Well, to bring you the truth, we actually spoke to the person who actually led this study about human behavior. What we found was that watching the film of a walk in nature had a positive impact on body image. watching the film of a walk in nature had a positive impact on body image. That was Viren Swamy, lead author of the study about nature documentaries.

Congratulations, you got it right. Faith was, of course, telling the truth. Thank you. We really appreciate you playing. You've won a point for, of course, Faith, and you've won our prize for yourself, the voice of any of us you may choose on your voicemail. Thank you so much for playing. Thanks, Peter. Thank you so much for playing. Thanks, Peter.

Thank you. Bye-bye. Eventually, we don't know when, we will return to our home theater in Chicago, a small, intimate space where the audience is so close we can smell them. A lovely bouquet with notes of hybrid cars and Patagonia fleece zip-ups and just a hint of plant-based meat products. Here's a show we recorded at the Chase from 2019 with special guest Regina King. She went on to get an Oscar nomination for directing One Night in Miami, but at the time she was starring in HBO's comic book show, Watchmen. Peter asked her if she enjoyed

putting aside serious drama and kicking gnats instead. Oh my gosh, yes. It was so much fun. And like, I get to do this because I don't have superpowers. I have super skills on this show. Yeah, you're kind of like a Liam Neeson in Taken type of thing.

You have certain skills. Wait, can I just say, I just realized that Regina means queen. So you're like super royal. Yeah. Queen, king. That was no mistake. Really? Yeah.

So your parents, I presume Mr. and Mrs. King, they decided that they would name their daughter Regina to just emphasize that aspect. Yeah, they took it even a step further. My sister, who's four years younger than me, they named her Raina, which also means queen. Right, that's right. I understand.

There you go. I mean, you've done it, but still, was it hard to live up to? I'll be honest, I didn't, but still, was it hard to live up to? I'll be honest. I didn't really know what I was living up to until I started taking Spanish. And yeah, it kind of took me to junior high until I went like, oh, yeah. OK. There's some big stuff here. Yeah, I know.

And I want to talk a little bit about Watchmen because it's weird. Because this is based on a very famous comic book that came out some time ago that's very, very popular to comic book nerds. And I know, as you know, that comic book nerds are the most relaxed, forgiving people. So have you had like any encounters yet? Have you been down to like Comic-Con to deal with it yet? I have. And you know what?

What? So far, so good. We got a standing O at our screenings. Really? You know? Well, do you hope that you can move on this to be like in Marvel movies and just make the superhero thing work for you as the rest of your career? You know what?

Right now, I'm just hoping I just see one or two people this Halloween dressed like me. Oh, that would be awesome. Well, that's the measure. That's the metric. That. That.

What does your character wear? Oh, my God. It is amazing. They kind of wanted to give a nod to the superhero cape. So instead of a cape, I have like this skirt that flows like a cape. So when I walk, it just billows out.

And it's all leather. It's all black. It has a hood. And I spray paint my mask on. Oh, yeah. I'm better than that. You tag your own face. So we heard that you have

a pretty interesting celebrity crush that you've admitted to, at least. Is it Sam Elliott? It is Sam Elliott. Yeah. How did you develop a crush on Sam Elliott? Did any of the ladies out there, did you see Roadhouse?

So some of the men, did you see Roadhouse? There's of the men, did you see Roadhouse? There's something about when he has that rubber band in his mouth and he's pulling his hair back and he's about to whoop some ass. It was just sexy to this little girl. You travel in pretty... Turn on the AC in here. I know. You travel in pretty A-list circles.

Have you run into Mr. Elliott at any time? Oh, my God, and I had to let him know. You travel in pretty A-list circles. Have you run into Mr. Elliot at any time? Oh my God, and I had to let him know. Did you really? Did you just blurt it out? Like, hi, Sam Elliot, I'm Regina King. I've had a crush on you forever. Something like that. Really? Who do you think is the hottest person on NPR?

Wow. Carrie Gross. There, she's right No game saying that What did Sam Elliott say When you told him that you had a crush on him Or have You know what I think he blushed

Really I think he did You can see that behind the mustache I think he did Well Regina King it is an absolute pleasure to talk to you. We've invited you here to play a game that we're calling... I'm not a watchman. I'm a watchman. So you're starring in Watchmen,

so we thought we'd ask you about watchmen, specifically the people who collect luxury watches. So we read a wonderful piece by Gary Steingart in The New Yorker about his obsession with watches, and we're going to ask you three questions about this particular obsession. Get two right, you win our prize. You ready to play? Okay, yeah.

Choki, who is Regina King playing for? Benjamin Bruning of Davis, California. Alright, here we go. First question, which are these is a real term for something that collectors look for in a desirable watch. Is it A, emotional complications, B, nimble phalanges, or C, thick, beefy lugs?

Oh. Or if you like, which of these things would you want to see on a Sam Elliott? I was going to say. The thick, beefy lugs. You're going to go for that? That's right. Very good. Thick, beefy lugs.

I like thick, beefy lugs. Lugs are the part of the watch that the wristband attaches to, and you want thick, beefy ones. That's what... Nice. Okay. Someone wants thick, beefy ones. Somebody wants want thick beefy ones that's what nice okay all right somebody wants thick beefy ones somebody wants that next question you've probably seen those watches with the really enormous faces like the size of tea saucers that were popular just a few years ago what do watch aficionados call those watches a l'horloge de un jeu levure, or French for hubcap watch.

B, penis extenders. Or C, UWOs for unidentified wrist objects. The word penis is fun, so I'm going to go with penis extenders. You're right. That's what they call them. What? That's what they call them. What? According to Mr. Steingart, the true watch aficionado does not care

for those overly large watches and believes they are an expression of male insecurity. I don't see the relationship between the two. Like, you look at somebody who's got a big watch and that tells you what? Well, I think it might tell you that they're making up for something else. I think that's the idea. Like, you look at somebody who's got a big watch and that tells you what? Well, I think it might tell you that they're making up for something else.

I think that's the idea. Really? For a short second hand. That gives me chills. All right, so you're doing really well here, Virginia. You have one more. Luxury watches,

unlike, you know, common watches, are made you know, common watches, are made by hand by craftsmen. At one factory in Germany, the watchmakers work under stringent rules, including which of these? A, they're not allowed to drink ever. B, they cannot eat Tic Tacs

because they could be confused with Tic Tocs. Or C, they're not allowed to eat any roughage because it's believed intestinal gas harms the mechanism. Oh, that last one felt fun. But I'm going to go with A. You're right again. They're not allowed to drink. It is believed by these German watchmakers

that any drinking at all makes the hands shake, and you don't want that in your luxury watchmaker. I would like to buy a watch that's made by a drunk person. Me too. You would? Yeah, that'd be fun. You'll always be late wherever you're supposed to go. Or early.

It would be an original. It would be. Jokey, how did Regina King do on our show? Regina King is a superhero with an Oscar. She got all three right. That's true. Hey, Regina, can I ask you a question? This is Paula.

I knew it was. I knew it was. I love you, girl. That's so sweet of you. When you were at the Academy Awards, and obviously you didn't know if you were going to win or not, but they put that camera right beside your head when they're saying the nominees. Did you know, had you already decided on what face you would make if you didn't win?

You know what? I did not think that far ahead. So thank God it didn't go that way. I know. That would be hard to think about. I'm going to ask you one last question, too, before I let you go. Did you do your own stunts for Watchmen when you're a superhero beating people up? It's a perfect combination of me and my stunt double.

She's a gymnast. I am not. Right. So usually the punching and violence stuff, yeah, that's me. All right. So here's the question. If you had to, could you kick somebody's ass right now?

That would be a yes. Yes! Regina King is starring in Watchmen. It premieres on HBO October 20th. It's coming up soon. Tick-tock. Regina King, thank you so much for joining us. I'm wait, wait, don't tell me.

Such a pleasure to talk to you. Congratulations on everything. We look forward to more things coming. Bye-bye. Thank you, bye. Bye-bye, thanks. When we come back, it's a wild time in Philadelphia, plus the real most interesting man in the world.

Me? Okay, the second most interesting man in the world. We'll be back in a minute with more of Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me from NPR. This message comes from NPR sponsor Indeed, the job site that makes hiring incredibly simple. Just attract, interview, and hire. Indeed's hiring tools help you cut through the noise to hire faster and smarter. In fact, Indeed Instant Match provides a list of quality candidates

whose resumes are on Indeed the moment you post a sponsored job. Get started with a free $75 sponsored job credit to upgrade your job post at Indeed.com slash wait. Terms and conditions apply. From NPR and WBEZ Chicago, this is Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, the NPR News Quiz. Wait, wait, don't tell me the NPR News Quiz. I'm Bill Curtis, and here's your host, who loves to point out that both Alexander Hamilton and James Madison were also under five feet, seven inches tall, Peter Sagal. Thank you, Bill. We are getting ready to perform to a crowd again by reviewing what life was like back when we did it all the time.

Our post-pandemic debut will be at the Mann Center in Philadelphia on August 5th, so let's listen to part of our last visit there. I hope when we go back, we have the same panelists and the same 3,000 people in the audience in exactly the same seats. Otherwise, it'll be too disorienting. Luke, people wear AirPods everywhere these days. This week we learned that people even wear them while doing what? Having sex.

Exactly right, Luke. I'm a little worried how confident you were in saying that. My reputation precedes me. It apparently does. I love a little Eric Clapton to get myself in the mood. You are exactly right. According to a new survey, 17% of AirPod users have worn them during sex, which isn't surprising because 100% of AirPod users are the worst.

17%? 17, 17. There was never really a worse time to say, sorry, mom, got to call you back. According to Maxim Magazine, that leading journal of the social sciences, quote, for those who still care for their partner, despite musical differences, modern technology may come in handy. Because nothing says, I care for you, like, what'd you say? I'm sorry, I was listening to Hamilton again. Oh, oh, this was, wait, this was people having sex with other people.

Oh, that's totally different. Oh, yeah. Wow. That's so you would have, I would think that both partners would have to have them in or else you're, that's really a mismatch, right? I mean, if you're having sex with someone and your, your is wide open and your partner's is closed, that feels like you're not very connected. Are we still talking about ears? Yeah. Yes. Oh yeah Oh yeah Do you got a pair of headphones, headphones Do you want to share a ringtone, ringtone Oh yeah Right now, panel, it's time for a new game that we are calling

Can You Ever Forgive Us? In spite of our best efforts every week to give you the scrupulously professional journalism you expect from this show, from time to time we say something inaccurate or offensive. I know, we're surprised too. Well, we did both last week, and we've made those complaints into a quiz. Pick the right answer. You each get a point. Here we go. Roxanne, this week, listeners took issue with a story we discussed about a nudist in Australia who was attacked by an eagle who thought his man bits were turtle eggs. I've had that happen. I know. But we missed one detail of that story that some listeners pointed out to us. What was it? A, the eagle attacked the man,

thinking his bits were actually field mice. B, rather than fighting the eagle off, the man kind of enjoyed it. Or C, the entire story was a fake and we fell for it. I'm going to go with C. Yes, that's what happened. Yeah. Sorry. We should have seen that, but what can I say? We just didn't want to live in a world where that wasn't true.

Tom, this week listeners also wrote in saying we were way too mean to Mitch McConnell. What was the specific insult our listeners were upset by? Was it A, Mitch McConnell looks like a thumb with glasses? B, Mitch McConnell looks like a Mr. Potato Head if the potato had been mashed? Or C, as a young man, Mitch McConnell didn't beat polio. It was that polio left his body because it couldn't stand being there anymore. Oh. Oh.

You know, I think he did have polio as a child. Is it that one? No, it was actually a trick question. Oh, thank God. Because it wasn't any of those. I feel like we wouldn't be on the radio this week if it was any of those. We said Mitch McConnell looks like a chinless owl. Oh, that's right.

To our credit, we also didn't say... No, we didn't say these, so people had no reason to complain. We didn't say Mitch McConnell looks like a jack-o'-lantern that was left out on the porch till March. McConnell looks like a jack-o'-lantern that was left out on the porch till March. We certainly didn't say that Mitch McConnell looks like someone dropped a bunch of facial features into a bowl of butterscotch pudding. We absolutely did not say. And thank God. That, you know, when somebody pulls out their belly skin to show you how much weight they

lost, that looks like Mitch McConnell's face. they lost. That looks like Mitch McConnell's face. And we certainly never stooped to saying that Mitch McConnell's face was bleeding badly from a facelift. We would never do that. Too low even for us. Luke, listeners also wrote in, it was a good week, to tell us that we misidentified Prince Harry. Remember him, Prince Harry? Yeah. UK. We misidentified Prince Harry's line of succession to the throne. What was our mistake? Was it, we said he was third in line, but he's really fifth. We said he's fourth, but he's second. We said he's fifth, but he's fourth. We said he's seventh, but he's eighth. We said he's fourth, but he's seventh. We said he's seventh, but he's eighth. We said he's fourth, but he's seventh.

We said he's sixth, but he's third. Or we said he's fourth, but he's tenth. I know this one. I'm going to go with the first thing you said, because that's the last thing I remember. That's a good guess, but the correct answer is who cares? I know what it is. We know who cares.

We fought a revolution, so we do not have to care about this stuff. There you have it. We're ashamed of ourselves. We sincerely apologize. We mean it. Charles're ashamed of ourselves. We sincerely apologize. We mean it. Charles William George Charlotte Harry. Fifth. Are those the names of your cats?

Yeah. Lastly, we figured one more way to get used to being outside would be to listen to a man who spends most of his time outside, although I'm not sure we want to take it to his extremes. Surfer and adventurer Laird Hamilton called in from whatever ocean he happened to be traversing in April 2019. Peter started at the beginning. We understand that it's not surprising you've spent your life on the water because you were actually born in water. Well, that's it. I was born using a bathysphere,

which was actually almost like a hairdresser's vacuum that went over my mother's stomach and relieved the pressure on the abdomen. So I wasn't birthed in a tub, but I did have a unique birthing process, let's just put it that way. Yeah. Do you think that ended up sort of steering the course of your life? Well, I would like to say it didn't affect me, but other people disagree. So I'm going to ask you a basic question.

What is your job, Laird Hamilton? You know, I would say an innovator. I like innovation. And, you know, I mean, I've made a career as an athlete. I've subsidized my surfing with a lot of different things. Laird, when you surf, like, for a living, who pays you? Well, just sponsors. And how do they know to do that?

I mean, you're a guy with a surfboard and you go to the beach and there's a wave and you surf it and then somebody runs over and gives you a check? Yeah, well, no, you ride a giant wave, somebody takes a picture, they put it on the cover of National Geographic and then a company says, you know, we'd love to give you some money and try to get on National Geographic again.

And that, I just want to make it clear to Paul and everybody else, that actually happened, right? Yes. Yes. So what do you think, in your estimation, is sort of the craziest or riskiest or maybe even most foolish thing you've ever done because you wanted to? You know, there's a long list. We don't have enough time, but, you know, I've done some crazy paddles between islands. I paddled from Corsica to Italy one time, and we were kind of lost at night paddling around in the middle of the Mediterranean. And, you know, I've had some other, I've been, I was in Russia and I fell through a glacier when I was helicopter snowboarding

in some military helicopters. And I mean, I, you know, wait a minute, hold on. That happened to you too? You got a ride, you got a ride on a Russian military helicopter to a glacier in Russia. Yes. And then you went snowboarding down the glacier. Yes. And then you went snowboarding down the glacier. Yeah, but I fell through a cornice at one point. We had been riding most of the day, and I was hiking behind one of my partners, and I fell through a cornice that, had I been in the wrong a couple feet over, I might not be on this phone call right now.

So, first of all, was it hard to get the Russian military to let you do that? Or they were like, Laird Hamilton, we love your shorts. No, it wasn't anything about Laird. It was more like, you know, money for vodka. Yeah, okay. And there was a couple bullet holes in it, you know, in the bird. And you still got in? There was a pilot.

He was flying it. A pilot you paid with vodka. That's a very low bar. It's refreshing to hear an American that has no problem admitting that the Russians helped him. Yeah. I guess. So let's take one of those instances. You've fallen through a glacier and you're in a big hole in the ice.

Or you are somewhere between Corsica and Italy. You're on a paddle board or a surfboard on that particular trip? Uh, paddleboard. So you're standing there on a board in the middle of the ocean. It's dark. You don't know where you are. Has there ever been a point where you said, oh man, I screwed this up now? Or have you, do you just not ever like lose your faith?

No, there's been a lot of those. Really? Yeah. Really? You're like, oh man. More than once. Yeah. Wow.

I think you get kind of good at it actually. You're like, oh, here I am again. Yeah. Really? You're like, oh, man. More than once, yeah. Wow. I think you get kind of good at it, actually. You're like, oh, here I am again. Yeah? I hope I make it out of this one. You're somebody other people admire so much, and I'm just wondering if you've ever found yourself in a moment going, man, I wish I'd become a CPA like Mom wanted. Well, yeah, never that.

Let's not go crazy. Let me get this straight. You snowboard glaciers, but the most terrifying thing is being a CPA? Well, I understand that one of the things that you're doing is you have a really rigorous, I don't know, exercise program is not sufficient, right? It's kind of a training program you offer to people? Yeah, we have an experience called an XPT, which kind of stands for exploring performance training. But it really is a lifestyle program, and it's really about recovery, move, and breathe. I don't know how accurate this is, but somebody told me, oh, yes, that's the program where you have to go underwater and lift weights while holding your breath.

There is that part. So that's part of the recovery. Would you call that the recovery? That's part of recovery and not just killing you like a normal weight program might make you go into a gym and lift weights, but you, because you're more generous to people, make them go underwater? Yes, actually. We use the weights to hold us down and we do a lot of explosive jumping.

You use the weights to hold you down in the bottom of the pool? Yes. How many clients have you lost? None that we know of. Alright. But I haven't looked in the pool today. Well, Laird Hamilton, it is a pleasure to talk to you.

We've invited you here today to play a game we're calling... Championship Channel Surfing. You, of course, are a big wave surfer, but from everything we know, you're probably not very good at America's favorite kind of surfing, channel surfing. We're going to ask you three questions about terrible moments in television history. If you answer two out of three questions correctly, you'll win a prize from one of our listeners,

the voice of their choice on their answering machine. Bill, who is Laird Hamilton playing for? Evan Hansen of Princeton, New Jersey. And they've got a big surf scene there, so I'm sure he's a fan. All right, here we go. First question. There was once a failed cable channel called Genesis Storytime. Didn't last very long.

It was created just for kids. What programming did Genesis Storytime offer? Was it A, it reenacted other cable TV shows like The Sopranos and Homeland, but with puppets and clean language? B, it was just a series of still images of pages from children's books so that a parent could sit and read the TV to their kid, or C, it purported to teach kids, quote, real life skills, such as

asking people out on dates and cures for hangovers. I think I'll go with B. You're going to go with B. You're right, Laird. You nailed that. Great word idea. You'd turn it on. There'd be a page of a kid's picture book. You'd read the page, and after a short period of time,

it would switch to the next page, and you'd read that page. Oh, that's awful. Didn't last long. All right. They make books, yeah. Yeah, that's true. They have those. You don't have to plug them in.

Next question. There are some shows that have come and gone very, very quickly, as in which of these? Which of these shows appeared only to disappear almost instantly? A, Fox's Who's Your Daddy, a game show in which an adult who had been given up for adoption guesses which of the 25 men on the set is their father. B, PBS's trigonometry teaching educational comedy show, Cosine Feld. comedy show Cosine Feld? Or C,

NBC's crossover experiment Law and Order and Frasier? I'll have to go with B again. You're going to go with the trigonometry teaching educational

comedy show Cosine Feld. What's the deal with hypotenuse? No, I'll go with A. You're going to go with A. You're right, of course. And this is all true.

If you guessed right, you got $100,000, at which point your dad suddenly took an interest in you again. All right, last question. If you sit there and channel surf long enough,

you'll end up on the home shopping channel. Yes. That can make make sometimes for unexpectedly memorable viewing which of these actually happened on the home shopping channel. Was it A, after a host whacked the blade of a samurai sword on the counter to show its strength, the blade snapped and stabbed him in the chest? B, a man showed off a photo of a moth

taken by the camera he was selling, but then for a full minute referred to the moth as a horse. Or C, a woman selling jumper cables decided to show what happens when you switch the cables on the car battery, setting the battery on fire. I just, I'm excited. I'm going samurai. You're going to go with the samurai sword.

You're right, but then again, all of them really happened. And you thought the Home Shopping Channel was dull. You know, I felt like they all could have, but somehow I just kind of liked it. Yeah, me too. I have to say. Out of the three of them, that's the one that I would be most likely to do. So, yeah, I agree with you.

Bill, how did Laird Hamilton do in our quiz? He got them all right. Of course he did. He's Laird Hamilton. Good Lord. Laird Hamilton is a legend of surfing and many, many other things. His new book, Life Rider, is out now. Laird Hamilton, thank you so much for joining us on Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. A pleasure to talk to you. Thank you. Laird Hamilton, thank you so much for joining us on Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. A pleasure to talk to you.

That's it for our getting ready to emerge into the sunlight edition. And remember, if you want to see how pale we have gotten after a year indoors, join us at the Mann Center in Philly on August 5th or Tanglewood in Western Massachusetts on August 26th. Find out how at waitwait.npr.org. Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me is a production of NPR and WBEZ Chicago in association with Urgent Haircut Productions, Doug Berman, Benevolent Overlord. Philip Godeka writes our Lundrick, so our public address announcer is Paul Friedman. Our social media superstar is Emma Choi, and our web guru is Beth Novy. BJ Litterman composed our theme. Our program is produced by Jennifer Mills, Miles Dornbos, and Lillian King. Our black market fireworks dealer is Peter Gwynn. Technical direction is from Lorna White.

Our business and ops manager is Colin Miller. Our production manager is Robert Newhouse. Our senior producer is Ian Chilog. And the executive producer of Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me is Mike Danforth. Thanks to everybody you heard this week, all our panelists, our special guests, and of course, Bill Curtis.

Thanks to all of you for listening. We will meet you outside just as soon as we finish our chores. I don't know why we waited till now. I'm Peter Sagal. We'll be back with a new show next week. This is NPR.