Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! - We ask Peter about the guest who's most surprised him, plus other listener questions

Episode Date: December 16, 2025

It's another Peter AMA (Ask Me Anything)! Wait Wait visual host Emma Choi puts your questions to the big man himself -- Peter Sagal. If he had to listen to one song for the rest of his life what would it be? What actor would Peter cast to play him in a Wait Wait movie? What does Peter listen to when he runs? We get answers to those and other questions, including one about Peter's role in the making of "Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights." This normally would be a bonus episode just for Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!+ listeners. With this being the season of giving, we're sharing this one with everyone! To hear part 2 of Peter's AMA, make sure you're signed up for Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!+. You also get regular episodes sponsor-free and support the work of NPR. For more details, go to plus.npr.org/waitwait. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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Hey, it's Peter Sagal. Real quick before we get things started, this is a special bonus podcast for fans of Wait Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Now, usually this would only be for our Wait, Wait, Plus supporters. But in this season of giving, we are sharing this with everybody right here in the feed, just to give you a sense of some of the things we do in our bonus episodes. So if you're already a Plus supporter, thank you so much. It means a lot. If you're not yet, we hope this might entice you to consider joining. It's a great way to support NPR and public media. Just go to plus.npr.npr.org slash Wait, wait, wait. Okay, here is the bonus podcast.

This message comes from Wise, the app for using money around the globe. When you manage your money with Wise, you'll always get the mid-market exchange rate with no hidden fees. Join millions of customers and visit Wise.com. T's and C's Apply. It's been a fantastic year for movies, and we know you can't see them all. So we're recommending some great films that might have flown under the radar to add to your watch list. Listen to Pop Culture Happy Hour in the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, it's Emma Choi, visual host at Wait Wait, here with Peter Seagull. Hey, Peter.

Hello, Emma. How are you? I'm good. I'm excited because we're here for another Peter AMA. Ask Me Anything. Yes, not Peter American Medical Association, which I thought it was the first time we did it, and I was excited for my late mother. But anyway, we've got it all cleared up.

It's Ask Me Anything, so that would be me, the me reference, so let's go. Okay. So we asked you, our listeners, if we were questions for Peter about anything, and we got a ton of them. Thanks to everyone who loved a voicemail or submitted a question through Instagram. Some of them are about the show, some are personal, and some of them are just kind of fun and weird, but it's going to be great. Fun and weird. Okay, let's do it. So in no particular order, this is the first one.

This question came through Instagram from at Polypocket Kid. Question is, if you had to listen to one song only for the rest of your life, what would it be? Wow. What's funny is that that is almost literally true right now because my three-year-old, almost three-year-old, loves wheels on the bus. That's a classic. It is a classic. And it's gotten to the point where he's very musical. He loves music of all kinds and he likes to go to music class. And I'm always saying to him, hey, let's listen to some music. And I'm putting on all kinds of music hoping that he'll bounce and he'll yell, no, wheels on the bus. So I can say that I am both living that dream slash nightmare and that the answer to the question is anything from wheels on the bus. I don't know.

I've never thought about that. I have like a lot of favorite songs that I love, some of famous, some obscure, but I can't imagine having to only listen to one for the rest of my life. It doesn't have to be the song, Peter, just a song. What's a song? A song. A song. A song. Here's a song that I love that not many people know of.

about, so I'm just going to say it so people go listen to it, even though I think that if I listen to it all the time, I would get sick of it. Yeah. It's called a little bit of everything by the band Dawes, D-A-W-E-S. Can I say one more thing? And I say, yeah, sure. Like, the song that right now I cannot get enough of, like, literally, like, if it comes on, I will stop and listen to the whole thing and often end up with tears in my eyes. You ready for this? Golden from K-pop Demon Hunters. Everyone loves that song. It's a great song. It is like, to me, it's like, to me, it's like the defying gravity of 2025. It is like, it is like a song for all the nerds and losers like I, let's just say it was, and I just think it's great. Well, I'm so happy for you,

Peter. Thank you. We can put that as a joint, a joint choice. It's a good choice. Okay, next question, okay? Yes. This question comes from Brooke Glass, Clow. And the question is, which guest has surprised you in the most good or bad way? One of the great things about what we do, and Emma, you should know this as well as anybody because you help us do it, is when we get something surprising. We always want to get something surprising from our guests. And sometimes that's as simple as hearing them express something about themselves that you didn't expect. I love it when very serious people show up and have a sense of humor. That makes me really happy because, you know, it's nice to know that.

I'm trying to think of like the most surprising thing that anybody has got. Oh, I have to think of something, Emma, that you were absolutely key to, which was when, not so much when they surprised us, but when we surprised them. And that's when we had Rizza. If I'm not mistaken, it was Rizzo. Oh, I knew you're going to see Rizzo. This was truly one of the great moments in our history. And I think, if I may be so bold in Emma's career, when we had Rizza from Wutang Clan, you know, musical genius, right? And we were asking him about the usual things you might talk to Rizza about, which is, you know, Staten Island and hip hop and so on and so forth.

And I said to him, we heard, I mean, you were into so many things and so good of many of them. But we did hear you have an, I will say, an unexpected enthusiasm. Tell me if it's true, for HGTV. You know, who told you that? I have a very talented producer whose job it is is to research our guests. And until this very moment, I thought she was pranking me. No, that's like me and my white favorite pastime, you know? And I love it when, like, they say something about themselves that nobody knew

because they didn't know that anybody else knew it. And that always makes me happy. Just so weird because it was on People's Magazine 10 Things You Don't Know. That's my favorite source when I'm doing guest research. Really? Just on People Magazine. And I heard that I'm like, Rizzo, you've said this before. I have a feeling that when you're talking, when you're like, somebody like Rizzo

who's as famous as he is, has been for as long as he has been, he's kind of forgotten what he's confessed, which nonetheless makes it just as delightful when we get him to confess it again. Next question. This one's from Edwin McGovern. What do you feel has changed the most about the show over the years? Thankfully, not me. Well, although I have in my own way. No. You've grown. I've grown. I think I've grown. I've matured. The way it's changed quite seriously is the fact that we have wonderful newer people on the show, including yourself, Emma, who I can never get over,

is actually younger than the show, which... Only a year. I know, only a year, but still. And as well as other producers on the show and panelists on the show who are so great at knowing things and seeing things and saying things that I simply can't know or see or say. And I honestly believe that if this show was just me, God forbid, it would have faded away long ago because, you know, I've only got so many things to say. But having these people come in especially thanks to, you know, the producer's group of guests and our producer, Jennifer Mills, who's always looking for new talent for our panel, you know, it is great. It is a wonderful feeling for me when I'm on stage to look to my left and see some amazing new talented person who I don't know.

well yet, but I can be confident that is going to be surprising and weird and funny. And I am usually just as delighted and surprised by them as we hope our audiences. So that's the thing that's changed, as I think we've expanded without any, you know, just to our, you know, OG panelists, many of whom still are on the show, like Tom Baudette, the week we're speaking, it's always great to like hear from these new people who are generally awesome. Yeah, I think so too. That's nice. All right, next question.

Here's a question from Ashley VDL. What hobby or sport did you try but fail miserably at? Oh, God, we don't have enough time. I know. I was going to say, you told me some of these stories. Because I am, I am, what's the word, both athletically and artistically limited and also I have terrible ADHD, so I will get very enthusiastic about something for a little while and then and then just like immediately give it up. My garage is filled with like sports

equipment for stuff. I didn't pursue. And gosh, things that I have tried over the years but gave up on. I was a bread baker for a while. I haven't done that in a long time. I don't know that. Yeah. Was that during the pandemic? No, actually. I was a bread baker long before the pandemic. I was already failed at that by the time the pandemic came around. I've tried surfing. I've tried soccer and, you know, I've tried golf. God help me. And none of those things have stuck. Running stuck. Running stuck. And it's interesting to me, like, out of all the things I've tried in my whole life,

especially in terms of athletics, which I was never very good at, but one thing I've been consistent at is running. And I'm not quite sure why. I think it's because, you know, maybe there's a phrase, actually, which I use in the book I wrote about running, which is like, those who can't play sports run. Those who can't run long. And that's basically it.

It's the great athletic pursuit for people with no athletic talent. Yeah, that's true. One of the great things about running is you don't have to apply yourself mentally, which I might have also said, I have difficulty with. So you just get up and go. Okay. Well, speaking of running, this question came through Instagram through Megan Saves the Day. When you run, do you listen to music, podcasts, or adjust your thoughts? And don't say, wait, wait, don't tell me. In the book I wrote about running, I will reference it again, I write rather passionately that I think people should not be listening to anything when they run, which more than anything else I said in the book, including my call for the sacrifice of firstborn to the god ball, brought back a lot of pushback. People like, I have to listen to something. It's so boring.

And my argument has been like, we spend our days, we spend all of our days pumping. other people's thoughts into our heads. Somebody listening to this right now is doing that. And believe me, I am not saying this from a position of superiority. I do it all the time. And so I argue and generally believe that it's important to take a moment of the day and running is a good time to do it to just be alone with your thoughts. See what's been in there. See if anything comes out rather than constantly blocking the exits by pumping things in if you follow the metaphor. So that's what I argue. That's what I believe. And when I do that, I benefit from it in just the way that I recommend. My thoughts flow. I sometimes come up with interesting or creative ideas or

perspectives or I just end up more relaxed than I otherwise were. Do I still sometimes run with headphones and listen to the day's news podcast or whatever? Yes, because I am like everybody else. I'm sort of an addict for distraction. I mentioned the ADHD. But I will say that the times when I do put them away and run with just the air in my ears, it's always better. And maybe what I need to do is listen to this once it's edited and recorded and put in the podcast feed to remind myself of that, but of course not listen to it while running. Yeah, if you're listening to this right now and you're running, turn it off or stop running, do one. People a lot of times say to me, they say, Peter, I read your book and I think you're right about, and I'm sorry to say that I do listen to things when I'm running, I listen to your show. And I say, well, you have special dispensation.

You were allowed to listen to that. Yeah, literally. Yes. Don't listen to anything except for it's our show. Listen to our show. Don't forget to like and subscribe. And if it's a long run and it extends beyond the show, listen to it again for the nuance. Exactly.

Okay, Peter. This one came in through the voicemail inbox. This is Butch from Phoenix, Arizona. Okay. If you had to catch yourself in a Hollywood movie about the history of wait, wait, don't tell me, What actor working in Hollywood today would you cast as yourself? Thanks. Oh.

I love this question. It depends. Let me think. So if like these days I should be played depending on like how I'm doing in life and in physical health, I would be played either by Stanley Tucci if I'm doing well or Jason Alexander, if not so much, okay? All my life. You can just choose bald men, dude. Well, you know, I mean, it is true.

They can do hair pieces. I think if you were going to do, like, the early days, I don't know. Who's like, I mean, like, you know, Josh Gad is too old now, maybe. Do you have hair in the early days? I had, I had, this is actually kind of funny. I've been balding for pretty much my entire life since I turned like 19 or so. Okay. But for many years, I would bawled just from, there's more than anybody wanted to know.

I balded like a lot of men do from the middle of the back of my head outward. meaning sort of like a monk's tunchure naturally grew. Yeah, I was about to say. Leaving, and this is the key thing, a little fringe of hair at the front, a little bit. And I know. And because of that, when I looked in the mirror, because I can't see the back of my head, I would see some hair, not a lot, but some. But the thing was to everybody else, I looked ridiculous because I was bald,

except for those little tuft or two tufts of hair. And your friend and mine, Doug Berman, used to make fun of me for this. He's our founder and benevolent. And has a great head of hair. And has a great head of hair. Urgent Haircut Productions, he calls his company. And one day, he actually gave me as a present a college t-shirt.

What's the college tufts? Oh. And I have this very vivid memory. I know that's been completely off topic of the answer to the question. I have this very vivid memory. It was around 2003 or four, right? So I'm not that long into the show, but it'd been going on. And we were in Las Vegas.

And I just, I realized he was right, that I was fooling myself. It was time to embrace who I am. And I went to a barber and I said, I would like you to remove these tufts, please. And just, you know, cut the hair back and just let me be finally admit what I am and who I am. And I remember the barber saying to me, it's going to be fine. he knew he knew that it was a good thing for me to do but an emotional thing for me to do but getting back to the question who would I cast it myself I don't know man I mean if I was casting it you know Tom Cruise maybe no I was going to say I was going to say the same thing

I know thank you I was going to ask you Emma but I'm just terrified of the answer so I don't know Well, I was going to say, you know, if we, I think we have the technology now to combine Jason Alexander. To, like, one sort of composite, ethnic, bald guy. Yeah. Exactly. Next question. Oh, actually. Before I do this question, I just want to say a fun fact about you, which is my favorite fun fact about you.

Okay. Which is that you were, you were the writer of Dirty Dancing 2, Dirty Dancing Havana Nights. Yes. The original writer, the original writer, who was massively rewritten. to make the cinematic masterpiece that we all know and love. Which is incredible. I think about this fact, I think, once every two weeks. So this is a fact about you.

That's more often than I think about it. But okay, go on. M. Brung 98 wants to know where and when would Dirty Dancing 3 be set if you wrote the script. Here's the funny thing. First of all, I can't answer the question because what everybody needs to know about that if they're interested is when I wrote the first draft of the movie that, then became Dirty Dancing 2 Havana Nights. I did not know I was doing it. I was writing completely...

Well, what I mean to say is I was commissioned, this is a long time ago, by a Hollywood producer, to write a movie and the movie we came up with, again, too long to get into, was set in Cuba at the eve of the Cuban Revolution, which it turns out was like an incredibly interesting time and place that's never been adequately told and should be a movie that's not dirty dance. Oh, yeah, it was an absolute drama. It was centered as Dirty Dancing 2 eventually was on the experience of a 15-year-old girl

or late teenage, who the model for the story was 15 at the time. But be that as it may, a young American girl living in Havana who has a romance with a young Cuban guy who turns out to be involved in the revolution. And my screenplay was based as best as I could in the actual events and personalities of the time and the amazing story that transpired, blah, blah, blah. And then it was put on the shelf like most scripts are. And then it was taken down and transformed into Dirty Dancing 2 basically as a money-making opportunity because they had the rights to, dirty dancing too. And somebody said to the producer who had hired me to write that screenplay, hey, you've got that screenplay about the Cuban Revolution, early 2000s. Everybody loves Cuban music. Let's take that screenplay, take out all the history, all the politics, all the

drama, make it about dancing and romance, and call it dirty dancing too. And so that's what happened. Without, by the way, any of my... Oh, my God. Yeah. Here's a weird thing, though, about that, if people are interested. Like I said, every line of dialogue I wrote, almost every plot point, absolutely removed, you know, in favor of stuff that made it dirty dancing, too. But if you do see the movie, and I don't know if I can recommend that, there is a scene toward the beginning in which the protagonist, the female lead, attends a class at a real place. It was called the ABC School. It was a private school for the children of Americans, British people, and Canadians in

Havana, English school, right? And there's a scene in which a teacher remonstrates with the lead for not paying attention or something. And that actor had that part in the movie because I wrote that part for myself. When I was writing the movie, I was a young guy. I assumed I'd be on the set, right? And I had also had some acting experience. So I wrote myself a cameo. And I described the character as I looked at the time, balding guy, early 30s, nerdy. And I assumed, again, I'd be on the set hanging out with the director, you know, giving thoughts. And then I would play this role. Well, obviously, I wasn't. But somebody got to play the role. So there is an act. in Puerto Rico, I assume, where the movie was filmed, who owes his, you know, his residual check to my ego. Well, that's who would play you in the movie. That's a good idea. I never thought of that. I should look them up. But the answer to the question is, I don't know because I didn't mean to write dirty dancing to.

It wasn't my idea. But they should know that I do believe that there is going to be an actual sequel to Dirty Dancing written by the original writer of Dirty Dancing, a woman named Eleanor Bergstrom, who wrote that movie about her own experience as a young woman in the 60s going to going to one of these Jewish summer camps, summer resorts. So it might be coming your way and you'll find out. That's amazing. Isn't it true? Wow. What a story. It's amazing. Okay. Awesome. Well, I have one last question for today. Yes. It's from Dan the Fancy Man. And if you want to know, what is your favorite underdog condiment, one that never receives top billing but should. An underdog condiment?

It's a great question. Oh, here it is. Ready? Harissa. Harissa. Oh, interesting. You know, Horissa? When I was in, I got to live in France very briefly in the 90s. I got this writing fellowship in the South of France. It was glorious. It was amazing. And I wasn't wealthy. I was, you know, I was a starving writer who got to go live in France. So we ate street food a lot. And one of the best things to get was a Murgese sandwich, Sandwich Merges, with Harissa, which was, and we're in the South of France, which is a huge North African influence, especially like in street food. And it's this deliciously spicy paste from, I believe, Algeria, that's certainly North African, that is just amazing and tasty. And in the 30 years since I was there, maybe more, I have looked around in America for a brand of ERISA that may be even close to what I enjoyed. And I've come to realize that it wasn't specifically, it may not have been specifically the brand of ERISA they were using at those street stalls. but the fact that I was in the south of France that actually made it taste that good. But yeah, there you go.

I had an answer for that one. Horissa, everybody. If you can find good stuff, it's great. Okay. Well, if you find something good, send Peter's way. Please. If there's a good herrissa out there, I want to try it. Yes, you do.

Okay, cool. Well, that's all the time we have for this bonus episode. But like I said, we have a bunch of questions for you, so we're going to have you answer some more of them in our next bonus episode in two weeks. Oh, I can't wait. It'll be Peter AMA Part 2. Yeah, it'll be awesome. Just make sure you're signed up for Wait, Wait, Plus, to hear it.

But for now, thank you for your questions, everyone. And Peter, thank for hanging out. Oh, it's always a pleasure, Emma. Yeah, it really is. Well, thanks, Peter. I'm Emma Choi, and thanks for listening to and supporting. Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me from NPR.