Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! - We celebrate a bomb and dig deep with Margo Price

Episode Date: October 10, 2026

This week, guest host Negin Farsad welcomes singer-songwriter Margo Price to the show. Plus, panelists Joyelle Nicole Johnson, Katie Nolan, and Mo Rocca dig deep into Digger and lie about billionaires. Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes, the chance to be a contestant in those bonus episodes(!), and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

From NPR and WBEZ Chicago, this is Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, the NPR News Quiz. I'm Alzo Slade, the winner of the 2026 Nobel Prize for Judge and Scorekeepering. And here's your host at the Studio Baker Theater at the Fine Arts Building in Chicago, Illinois. Filling in for Peter Sagle, it's Nagine Farsai. Peter Sagle needed the week off because his sexy Will Shorts Halloween costume isn't going to make itself. Later on, the incredibly talented country music, Phenom Margo, Price will join us to play our games, but first, it's your turn. The number is 1-888-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-24.

Now let's welcome our first listener-contestant. Hi, you're on, wait, wait, wait, don't tell me. It's Paula calling from Washington, D.C. Hi, Paula. What do you do in Washington? I'm a radiation oncology nurse. rising number of fans of the radiation oncology nurse profession. That's actually the biggest clap I've ever seen for a single profession in the history of this show.

Cool. Well, Paula, are you ready to play? I'm ready. Well, first, I'm going to introduce you to our panel. First up, we have the Emmy Award-winning host of the podcast casuals and the daily live call-in radio show fan service on Sirius XM. It's Katie Nolan. Hi, Paula. Hi.

Next, he's a correspondent for CBS Sunday morning. It's Mo Rocca. A comedian whose album is Yell Joy. Her special is Lovejoy. It's Joyelle Nicole. So welcome to the show, Paul. You're going to play Who's Alzo this time. Alzo Slade is going to read three quotes from this week's news,

and if you know two of them, you'll win our prize, which is the voice of anyone on our show on your voicemail. Are you ready? I'm ready. Let's do it. All right. Here's your first quote. Let them take out Los Angeles. Let them take out San Diego. That's a very small price to pay.

That was Donald Trump in a stump speech this week saying who could have L.A. and San Diego if they want. Iran. That's right, Iran. The Greek president and 25th Amendment case study Donald Trump said Iran could take out L.A. and San Diego. To be clear, he didn't say it like they could take out L.A. It was like, you could take out L.A. Like, be my guest. Like, honestly, I get it.

California Governor Gavin Newsom said he was appalled by the president's comments because if you're going to lose a city in California, it's Sacramento. Everybody knows that. So the ideas that the Iranians could take out L.A., how would they even make it up the 405? No, look, he's supposed to be this great dealmaker. right? And he's going to start by offering Los Angeles.

Like, dude, start with Hartford, Connecticut, and then work your way up. But on the bright side, if we do lose L.A., everyone else raises one number in hotness, right? All the sevens become eights. Who's clapping? Sevens and eights? Or fives and sixes? Here's your next quote from the Boston Globe. Zero out of four stars, the worst movie of his career. That was one of many, many movie critics, saying the new movie Digger is the biggest flop of whose career?

Tom Cruise. That's right, Tom Cruise. Movie of Tom Cruise's career set to lose $250 million at the box office. When people say Americans don't go to the movies anymore, they're specifically talking about Digger. Yeah. I just think that, okay, like, I judge books by their covers, and on behalf of me and Alzo and the other two black people that are here, we don't like the title. Oh. I see that.

I don't like that hard R, all right? I don't want no diggers. I don't even want to dig up. I concur. I concur. and when you say the name of the movie, please pronounce the D very strongly. Very strongly.

Should we just say the D word? Just the D word. I like how vague they made the trailer, enough people were like, is this a musical? This feels spiritually like a musical. And they had to come out and say, no, it's not a, please come see our movie.

It's definitely not a musical. And part of the problem is that Tom Cruise is in fat, old man makeup in the movie, and that's not the, like, Tom Cruise that we want to see. But weirdly, it is exactly what Tom Cruise would look like if Scientology had let him age. When I first moved to L.A. as a young pursuer of entertainment, I did go to the Scientology Center.

Yeah, and they sat me down, and they told me about the Tatans. And I sat there, and I was like, can I have a snack? And they said, no, so I left. I thought you were going to say, and they got me, and I'm actually 82 years old, and I look this good. Snacks is the easiest way to get somebody in the door. How do you not have snacks on the end? No popcorn, no cookies? Come on, man.

How am I going to dedicate myself to this God? A God with no snacks is whacked. All right. Here's your last quote. It's from someone who just installed a new special door in their house. The toilet paper, the paper towels, the detergent. It's easy to push it all right through. According to the Washington Post, homeowners are putting in a new door for all the bulk purchases they bring home from where?

Costco. It's called a Costco door, and it lets you take all your purchases from your garage and shove them right into your pantry. The fact that we're renovating our homes to accommodate the stuff we're buying from Costco, really makes you say, you know what, why stop at Los Angeles and Sandy Able? Right? So I don't understand the door, but what if your pantry is nowhere near your garage? Move it. You have to, yeah.

You need to, like, prioritize your Costco bulk items. I have a question as a millennial. What's a homeowner? Next question is also, what is a Costco membership? Absolutely. I represent two demographics that have no idea what's going on. A New Yorker and a childless person. Well, one builder installing Costco doors told the Washington Post,

quote, when you tell someone it's roughly $1,000 to put one in, they're like, yeah, that's a no-brainer. Dude, if you have a thousand bucks to spend on a door, why are you saving $0.00 rolls of toilet paper at a time? Look, I think on its face it makes me go, Ew, how foolish. But then it's like, it is kind of convenient to just open the mouth of your kitchen and shove the food into it. It's easier than I assume getting your kids to come out and help you bring the groceries in. This way you can just... Yeah, I mean, speaking of which, it's funny,

because I always thought Costco door was what I called my mouth when I was shoving in all the free samples at Costco. But, I mean, honestly, I say forget about the Costco door. I have an IKEA window where I toss out pieces that don't seem to fit anywhere. Just the extra leg that you're like, this doesn't... I'm done, though. What's this? All right, Alzo, how did Paula do?

Paula did great. Perfect score three out of three. Thank you. Thanks so much for joining us. Right now, panel, time for you to answer some questions about this week's news. Mo, it's been debated for years, but this week a doctor declared once and for all that doing what is? actually okay.

Ooh. There could be so many different things. So many things, yeah. It's not going to be smoking. Like, doing what? You've got to give me a clue. All right, here's a clue. Go back for as much guacamole as you want.

Overeating. What? Oh, oh. Like you're in a party setting, so you like keep going back for guacamole. Oh, double dipping. Double dipping. Double dipping. Article that goes to great links to describe what double dipping is.

A doctor posits that it's gross, but not actually that gross. I don't love that the doctor then says, and you know what else? I don't wash my hands before surgery. Who has the time? Is it supposed to build immunity or something? Well, okay, so the doctor says, like, we get caught up worrying about mouth bacteria when it's not any grosser than other bacteria. So now that we're talking about mouth bacteria, who's got a big hankering for guacamole?

Does anyone have that's such a crazy argument. I'm somebody who, I mean, truly makes sure to be the first person at a party so that I can eat the food before anyone else has exhaled on it. I don't go to parties that don't have a sneeze gone. Well, if you're still worried about it, like just make sure that your chip is wearing an N95 mask before it approaches the salsa. So the only logic is everything's gross. Oh. That's their defense is that everything's gross. So might as well lick.

somebody you're at a party with. I don't like it. That's science. Yeah. That's science. Brutal. You just go to a party. You just see somebody drinking out of the punch bowl with this.

With this. The ladle? Right in their Costco. Exactly. But I think the thing that's like that no one really wants to say that we're all too afraid to talk about is that chips are too big. If you didn't make chips so big, you wouldn't need to double dip. Look at that.

And that's why I'm running for presidents. But, Nguin, inversely, if the chip is too small, then my fingers and hand is going to the dip. Ah, yes, that is a great point. Look, it's an engineering challenge, but we've sent people to the moon. We can do this. At Nigeen's party, she has crumb chips. I only invite people with dainty fingers. That's what I do at my parties.

Coming up, a billionaire gets busted in our bluff the listener game. Call 1-8-88-Wait-Wait-Wait to play. We'll be back in a minute with more of Wait-Way-W-W-T-L-Me from NPR. From NPR and WBEZ Chicago, this is Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. The NPR News Quiz. I'm Alzo Slade. We're playing this week with Joel Nicole Johnson, Katie Nolan, and Mo Rocca. And here again is your host at the Student Baker Theater in Chicago, Illinois,

Nguine Farsad. Wait, don't tell me. Bluff the listener game. Call 1-88-8-8-8-wait to play our game on air. Hi, you're on Way, wait, don't tell me. Hi, this is Alex from Boston, Michigan. Hi, Alex, what do you do in Michigan? I am a

barista at a local coffee roaster called Sabbath, and I am a dad to two adorable little kids. Oh, I love that. Wait, so as a barista, how much like psychological counsel do you have to give customers on a regular basis? That's actually like the first requirement for the job. The coffee just kind of like keeps us going through the day. Well, thanks so much for joining us, Alex.

In this game, our panelists will each share a story, but only one of them is true. You have to figure out which one. What's the topic, Alzo? Bad billionaire. Bad, bad, bad. Now look, we all think. think of billionaires as people improving our society with good works and charity. But, and I hope you're sitting down, sometimes they do bad things. Our panelists are going to tell you about one

such malfeasance this week. Pick the one who's telling the truth and you'll win the wait-waiter of your choice on your voicemail. Are you ready to play? Oh boy, let's go. All right. First up, it's Joyelle Nicole Johnson. Billionaires, they're just like us. They purchase daily necessities like groceries, gas, and elections. They bust seams on their pants, moves on the dance floor, and unions. And of course, they crowd into elevators, situation rooms, and immersible submarines in search of the Titanic. Insert Amar Rahman, a Pakistani billionaire who has a new special interest. His new obsession is spending some of his disposable income in search of the Titanic submersible.

That's right. He's building the Titanic submersible submersible, which is a submersible build to look for the Titanic submersible. And while they're only in the testing phase, they have already sunk five submersible submersibles. When asked for a comment, his wife said, he can go down there if he want to, but he ain't taking his diamond wedding ring.

That's a woman who knows her husband's affairs are in order. about the new Titanic submersible from Joyelle Nicole Johnson. Your next story of billionaires behaving badly comes from Mo Rocca. When the Youngstown, Ohio Museum of Art announced that it would be closing after 125

years, Homeboy turned tech billionaire Jim Margolis came to the rescue with a $250 million bequest on a single condition that each room of the museum contain at least one of his collection of prized psychedelic black light

posters displayed optimally, which means no light sources other than the black UV light that shows off gems like his scenes of neon mushrooms. As a result, all other works of art are virtually impossible to see now. The newly renamed Youngstown Museum of Glow in the Dark Art has resorted to adding black velvet flocking to its most prized pieces, a Rembrandt, two Pollux, and a Gilbert Stewart portrait of George Washington, which, to be fair, looks pretty trippy now. And all museum goers need to wear a black light vest in order to avoid running into each other. Museum goer Leslie Goldman says the museum is a great place to visit if you've always wondered what the weird stoner kid from your college would do with a bunch of money.

Museum that highlights black light art from Mo Rocca. Your last story of bad billionaire behavior comes from Katie Nolan. Ninety-four-year-old billionaire Barryside is certainly not the first old man to enjoy feeding the critters at his local park. He may, however, be the first to use his fortune to fund an operation so extensive it's fueling a rat infestation. Chicago officials say Barryside is paying a group of people to regularly scatter piles of expensive imported nuts macadamia, Brazil, etc. All over Lincoln Park, in what is the most impressive case of nut spreading since any man sat down on public transportation. When it comes to things old billionaire men can do with their nuts, this certainly is not the

worst, but the rats it's attracting are causing property damage that the city says may end up costing taxpayers. While they have fined side repeatedly, he always pays those fines in full and on time and then continues to drop nuts. In fact, the more they find him, the more nuts he drops. I guess it's true you can't put a price on chasing your dream, even if that dream is to become some sort of reverse pied piper who sucks. We've got a Titanic submersible tour from Joyelle Nicole Johnson, a billionaire blacklight fan from Mo Rocca,

and from Katie Nolan, a billionaire feeding the hungry rats. Which one is real? I don't know. I wouldn't doubt any of them, but the one that sounds like it's actively doing the most harm is the rat problem. So I'm going to say that's probably the most likely one. All right. Well, now the correct answer, we spoke to a reporter covering the real story. When neighbors and park staffers have asked the nut spreaders why they're doing it, they've gotten cursed out.

Xio Chicago reporter Monica Eng talking about the billionaire rat infestation and using the term nut spreader in a journalistic. capacity. Congratulations, Alex. You got it right. But you've won our prize, the voice of your choice on your voicemail. Thanks so much for calling us today. Thanks. Where big names do something for which they're utterly unprepared. It's not my job. Margot Price has built an impressive career in country music, putting out six albums and performing all over the world. On the side, she does duets with Willie Nelson and Joan Baez, is on the board of farm aid and even wrote an autobiography. She's in town performing in the 80 years of John

Prine celebration, and we somehow managed to convince her to lower her standards and come hang out with us. Margot Price, welcome to Way Way, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Hello. I'm excited to talk to you, and especially, can you tell us why you're here in Chicago? Yes, we are celebrating 80 years of John Prine and his wonderful music. And, yeah, great. A lot of people don't know that John grew up in Maywood, Illinois. So it's good to be here and celebrate. So did you ever, like, did you ever get to work with him or meet him? Yes, I met him actually on his 70th birthday, and we forged a great friendship.

I got to sing with him on stage, tour with him. We even did a duet of his song Unwad Fathers and donated the proceeds to the ACLU. Like a favorite memory of John Prime? Let's see. One time we got really drunk together. And I almost missed my flight because he was partying harder than we were. It was like a 6 a.m. flight. But we hung out with John until about 4 in the morning. It was good time. Wow. Like the second I turned like 35, I can stay up past 8, so I'm very impressed. So you had a specific moment in your life when you realized that you should be a musician. Can you walk us through that? Let's see, are you talking about a mushroom trip that I had? Okay, yeah, yeah. I ate a lot of mushrooms, and I was about 19 years old.

And during this psychedelic experience, I was just realizing that I did not want to major in communications and that I decided I was going to move to Nashville and pursue my dream of writing songs. It was quite intense. will say, I thought maybe I was never coming back from it because they said you have to eat like, I don't know, you know, a lot of them, but they ate too much. Can I? Can I, so was it, was it an all you can eat? Yes. I'm a clean team. So I've actually never done mushrooms. Do you

how do you prepare them? Like you cook them? You saute them and a little reduced balsamic. You know, they taste a lot better if he did that. They really taste like garbush. And I just usually eat some of them and then choke down some peanut butter. Do you use a debt? No, no dip. So there's no doubt. Some people put them on pizza. I put mine at applesauce.

I like that. Okay, perfect. Perfect. We'll get along. We'll get along, right. These are tips that NPR audiences will never use. I don't know. I think you'd be surprised.

I think so. I mean, they regrow your brain and they connect new neural pathways. So, I don't know. I'm all about that over big alcohol. And then it's all things considered. Yes. Well, I mean, there's a couple of interesting things about your first album. And one of them is that, I mean, I don't know.

I heard that if this is true, that you pawned your wedding ring to finance your first album. Is that true? Yes, that's true. And what did your husband say that? He was way down with it. He actually sold our car. So he was more in than me. He was like, you've got to make this record.

And so, yeah, he pawned. Did you think of like 50 other things you could pawn before the wedding ring? Or were you like, yes? I don't know. Well, we sold guitars. We sold microphones. So it was like everything must go, all of our eggs in one basket. To make the album.

To make the album. So basically, you're in the studio, but naked. Yeah. Yep. Yeah. We went to Memphis and recorded it at Sun Studios. And, yeah. Cool.

Is there a song on the album? about you pawning your ring to make the album? Yeah, there is. The last song is called World's Greatest Loser. He was talking about we'd lose all the things, you know, except for our love for each other. Oh, wait, that's so sweet. It's really lovely.

23 years later. Well, you know, the other interesting thing about that album is that it was released by Jack White's third man records. Thanks. But you only got that deal after 30 years. rejections. Now, when that album blew up and you were nominated for Grammys, did you go on a revenge tour of those 30 rejections? Actually, I was accepting an award at the Ryman for the Americana Music Association, and I saw a lot of people who had passed on my record, and so I thanked all the people

who told me now. Yes. Yeah. You know, you've got to thank your haters. Yes. Turn up. That's right. Margo. Can I ask who your country top five is. Ooh, I like that. Okay, well, I'm going to go with John Prine is going to be in there. Yeah. Give a shout out to Dolly Parton.

Speaking of Dolly Parton, like, she famously only followed, like, 67 people on social media, and you were one of them. Did you guys ever DM? And what was that about? She was very supportive. I got to sing at her. 50th anniversary

at the Grand Ole Opry. We took a photo together. It was kind of like meeting the Queen of England or something. And we got there and our dresses got stuck together. Like my sequins got stuck on her rhinestone. I got all gougly-eyed and I was like,

I don't know, I might have to just stay here with you. Oh, wait. So hold on. How long did it take to pry away sequence from rhinestone? It really took quite a minute because she had on this extravagant outfit

with lots of chains and gold rhinestones and things on it. So, yeah, we were stuck there for a minute. And please tell me that has turned into a country song. That seems to be, right? It sounds like a Jambayas song. Yeah. Well, Margot, it's been so great talking to you, but we've asked you here to play a game we're calling...

From Days of Unrest to Nights of Unrest. Your new album is called Days of Unrest, so we decided to ask you about nights of unrest or sleepwalking. Answer two out of three questions correctly, and you'll win our prize for one of our listeners. Alza, who's Margo playing for? Janelle Thomas of Cleveland, Ohio. All right. Thanks.

Here's your first question. Cincinnati Reds pitcher Brock Burke is a, quote, lifetime sleepwalker. So it wasn't great for his roommates back in the minors when he did what? Was it A, stand up, yell grenade, make an explosion sound, and get right back into bed. Or B, sit bowl, upright, say, I am a robot, and then make beeping noises for half an hour. Or was it C, lean over his roommate's bed and start loudly arguing ball and strike calls. Ooh. That's tough, but I think I'm going to go with C.

Would you really go with C? Should I? I mean, I'm just saying, like, if you had another choice, what would that other choice? Okay. I mean, I think you should think of a, of, very explosive choice. Okay, yeah. A. Oh, A? Oh, okay. Wow. So smart. Awesome. Thanks. You know everything. I was really nervous about this today.

That's right. He yelled a grenade. Here is your next question. Another famous sleepwalkers, Keith Richards, who says he was sleepwalking when he did what? Was it A, wrote and recorded the main guitar riff for satisfaction? Was it B, bought two kilograms of cocaine? or was it C, called his manager and agreed to do a solo album? I'm going to say B. I read life by...

B is cool, but it's not satisfying. Oh. All right. A, satisfaction. What? Yes. Wow. What?

Sleeping when he recorded the riff and when he played the tape back in the morning, it was just that iconic song and then like 40 minutes of snoring. All right. Marco, here's your last question. Sleep talking can be just as weird. One woman reported on Reddit that her husband stayed in bed but did spend an entire night repeatedly doing what. Was it A, playing the main guitar riff from satisfaction?

Was it B, celebrating his recent election as the mayor of Pumpkin Town? Or was it C, complaining that his pillory? was quote being a little stinker. B. That's right. I was going to guess B anyway. We shall call it Pumpkin Town and gave his wife his watch

like it was the key to the city and then murmured, I'm the mayor of Pumpkin Town throughout the rest of the night. And that's how that went down. Alzo, how did Margo do on our quiz? She did a great job. All on her own. She got three out of three.

So good. So good. Thank you. Thank you. Oh, my God. It's all about collaboration. That's right. So impressive. Singer, songwriter, who's part of the 80 years of John Pryne, tribute concert in Chicago.

Her new album, Days of Unrest, is out now. Margo Price, thank you so much for joining us on Wait Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Next up, we sidle up to the salad bar in our listener Limerick Challenge game. Call 1-88 Wait-W-W-W-W-W-T to join us on air. Stay tuned for more Way Way-Way Don't Tell Me from NPR. From NPR and WBEZ Chicago, this is Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. The NPR News Quiz. I'm Alzo Slade.

We're playing this week with Mo Rocca, Joyal Nicole Johnson, and Katie Nolan. And here again is your host at the Studio Breakers Theater in Chicago, Illinois, Nagine Farside. Just a minute, one of America's top ten unfinished limerick-based games. It's the listener Limerick Challenge. If you'd like to play, give us a call at 1-8-88-Wait, wait, wait, that's 1-8-8-9-19, 248-924, but first, we have some more questions for the panel. Joyelle, yes. The new electric Mazda has an external speaker that sends preset warning messages

to pedestrians who are about to cross the street. But drivers have found that you can also use the speaker to tell pedestrians what. Oh, Lord. Back up off me. You know what? I'm going to give that to you, to basically to F right off. Because the new Mazda just launched in Australia plays preset messages like,

look up from your phone or please proceed first. But you can type in anything for it to say. What? So right. It's so soon. The cars were telling pedestrians, look up from your effing phone and walk faster, dirtbag.

Those are funny, but it could be more effective. Like, can you imagine walking in front of a car right as it says, Lord, forgive me for what I'm about to do. That's crazy. Why would you let your car talk? Anything I type, it's going to say? Did you ever watch Night Rider?

I know. I've always wanted a talking car. Well, I feel like, Night Rider's talking to you. This is just to pedestrians. I love it. Wait, what would you have your car say? I don't like your outfit. I don't know that like the first pedestrian to experience this thing

is going to be absolutely misified. Like, um, did that hatchbag just call me a bitch? Katie, there's a new Halloween trend this year. Instead of giving out candy to trick-or-treaters, some houses are giving out what? Oh, boy. Yeah. Um, is it finally the drugs they've been telling us

they sneak into their candy? Um, let's say dental floss. Let me give you a hint. Perfect. So not close. They're, they're calls. it, and this is true, tricker reading. Books? Books. That's right. Candy is a great way to both spread the joy of reading and make absolutely sure your little free library gets vandalized later that

night. Like, what do you even say? Here you go, kid. Take this copy of infinite jest. It's fun size. This is where kids are like, mm, candy corn ain't so bad at all. Behave or I'm giving you the power broker for Halloween. I don't think it's the best way to convince kids to read books by taking away their expected candy and replacing it with a book. I don't think they're going to go, yes. It's new levels of lane. I love this. I'm going to say I was that nerd, though.

Like, if you had gave me the babysitters club, oh, I'd have been sitting outside your house like a straight cat. It's also so hard to read when your mask keeps slipping down. There's a lot of costumes that it would not be easy to read a book in. Yeah. Oh, that's why the KKK read? I was a ghost, not a plans man. That Halloween. Let it go, Toyell.

Coming up, it's lightning fill in the blank, but first, it's the game where you have to listen for the rhyme. If you want to play on air, you can call or leave a message at 1-888-wait. That's 1-8-8-24-8924. you can see us most weeks right here at the Sudebaker Theater in downtown Chicago, and join us on the road. We'll be in Kalamazoo, Michigan, coming up on October 22nd, and in normal Illinois on November 12th. For tickets and information to all our live events, go to nprpresents.org.

Hi, you're on. Wait, wait, don't tell me. Hi, this is Parker Webster calling from Minneapolis, Minnesota. What are you doing Minneapolis? Spend time at the river. Take my dogs to the dog park. This sounds like a good regular dude. Yeah, you're pretty zen over there in Minneapolis. Exactly.

Well, welcome to the show, Parker. Also Slade is going to read three news-related limericks with the last word or phrase missing from each. If you can fill in that last word or phrase correctly on two limericks, you win. Here's your first limerick. The insidious makers say, needo, will make puffy treats with extra heel. Perveyors of horror turn snack food explorers with the scary, spiced hot flaming Cheeto. That's right, Cheeto.

For incredibly popular horror movies and TV shows, Blumhouse Studios announced a new collaboration just in time for Halloween. The flavor of fear spicy Cheetos. And the scariest part, when you eat them in the dark, you won't need to lick your fingers because you'll feel someone else licking them for you. The flavor of your Cheetos are coated with a sweet phantom heat that'll quote, tingle and fizz before leaving your mouth numb. And that proves the name is dead on because nothing in this world would scare me more

than putting a Cheeto in my mouth and having it fizz. I just settled for pop rocks. Remember those? Yes. Not Cheetos, just pop rocks. Yeah, yeah, pop rocks. Would you guys eat any skis? scary snacks? Are you putting a pachito fizz up in that mouth?

Well, when you say it like that. All right, here's your next limerick. To drinking odd shots, I'm confessing. But I do get a full vegan blessing. With cilantro and chives, I feel fully alive. I am knocking back green goddess. Trust him. That's right.

I took author on a book tour, handed out samples of vegan green goddess salad dress. and notice people were knocking them back like shots. So she decided to add vodka, and now they're calling it the Swampy Mary, which is like a great way to ruin vodka while also ruining your salad dressing. I would drink it. The salad dressing or the Swampy Mary?

Both. I often eat a tasted dressing, and I go, I wish it was socially acceptable, take a sip of this. of this. And now, with vodka in it, it is. So you're at home by yourself just knocking down like balsamic vinaigrette.

Uh-huh. It's, yeah, usually like a, or sometimes you get a nice ranch that's watery in the right way. And you're like, I could really swirl that, take a shot. Yeah, you see like Katie in her in her apartment, like, you know, passed out with like Paul Newman's bottles all over her body.

It sounds delicious. All right, here's your last limerick. These chirps are completely absurd. They're so loud that my vision is blurred. Big beaks that are wide will get under my hide. I am finding the world's loudest bird. That's right. The scientists announced they're getting closer to figuring out

what is the loudest bird. Finally. One of the contenders is the red-legged seriama of South America. an obvious choice. But the North American loudest bird might be the Canadian goose. I don't know about the loudest, but despite being from Canada, it definitely is the biggest jerk. You guys have any like contenders for loudest bird out there?

Yeah, Megan Kelly. I was going to say, give me a couple of those swampy marys. I'll be the world's loudest bird. Alzo, how did Parker do? Three out of three, perfect score. Congratulations. Thanks a much, guys. Thank you.

Goodbye. On to our final game, lightning fill in the blank. Each of our players will have 60 seconds in which to answer as many fill-in-the-blank questions as they can. Each correct answer is worth two points. Alzo, can you give us the scores? Of course, Joyelle and Moe are tied up at two, and Katie has the lead with three. Okay. So, Jol and Moe, because you're tied, I'm going to randomly choose.

Choose Joyelle to go first. Here we go. The clock will start when I begin your first question. Fill in the blank. On Wednesday, the CDC said it was monitoring people traveling to the U.S. from Siberia after a lab worker there died from the blank. Ooh, the plague. Right.

This week, Tropical Storm Isaiah intensified into the first blank of the Atlantic storm season. Hurricane. Right. According to a new report, donations to the Kennedy Center fell by approximately blank percent after Trump's name was added. Oh, a lot of percent. That's correct. That's right, 100%.

This weekend in Ohio was jailed for sending blank to a state senator. Ooh, his dirty panties. Close. A picture of a shark's penis. On Wednesday, the CDC confirmed that Pennsylvania had suppressed 1,000 blank cases. Measles because people are stupid and not vaccinating their kids. Right. On Thursday, poet Anne Carson won the blank prize in literature.

Nobel? Right. This week, a teacher in Iowa was fired after her school discovered she was offering extra credit to any student who blanked. To, um, I did really good on a test. Any student who gave her money for her vacation funds. The teacher was fired after administrator's discovered she was offering extra credit to any student who gave her cash for her trip to Ecuador.

Staff at the school argued that it was unfair to her students, but ask any kid if they'd rather write a 10-page paper or give five bucks to their teacher, and you'll see there was no crime here. It's crazy. Also, how did Joyelle do? She got five right for 10 more points, total of 12. Good job, Joyelle. I did it.

Good job. Mo, you're up next. Fill in the blank. According to new data by 2030, Kabul could become the first major city to run out of blank. Water. Right. This week, election officials warned that the postal service may delay mail in blanks. Ballets.

Right. As a Senate race between Ken Paxson and James Tala Rico, Titans Trump held a campaign rally in blank. Texas. Right. This week, the state of California asked a startup to please stop staging fights between blanks and blanks. Between sharks and jets. No, that's New York. Bloods and Crips.

Between robots and YouTubers. On Wednesday, the WHO released the first global guidelines for measuring childhood blank. Obesity. Right. On Monday, Blank announced they were again raising ticket prices for their theme parks. Oh, Disney. Right. This week, fishing boats off the Florida Keys say they keep reeling in what they call square grouper, which is their name for blank.

Oh, which is the one that has square patties? Is that Wendy's? This is rapid filling the best. Yeah. Oh, take your time, though. Take your time. Keep it going. Discarded Wendy's patties.

Nice. So close. Bricks of cocaine. Oh, my God. According to fishermen, reeling up plastic-wrapped bricks of drugs floating off the Florida Keys is actually pretty common. Authorities are reminding fishers to always practice catch and release,

gently returning the brick back to the water to help maintain a healthy cocaine population. Alzo, how did Mo do? Five right, ten more points, total of 12, still tied with Joyelle. Good job, Mom. Hey. Katie needs to win. She needs five to win.

All right. Katie, this is for the game. On Monday, Donald Trump's an executive order aimed at lowering blank prices. Gas? Right. On Tuesday, Paramount finalized their merger with blank. Warner Brothers? Right. This week, the White House told blank agents to increase their daily arrests. Ice? Right. On Wednesday, McDonald's was sued for using a blank tool to adjust prices. AI? Right. This week, police in North Carolina pulled over two men who were caught driving blank on a public roadway.

lawnmowers? A couch set on top of two electric scooters. What? You got to do what you got to do. Despite market uncertainty, AI giant blank is still expected to hold an IPO in November. Oh, what are these stupid companies called? Do Pixit.

That's the one. On Thursday, Joe Rogan renewed his massive podcast deal with music streamer blank. Spotify? Right. This weekend, a woman who, was caught posing as a substitute teacher at a high school in Milwaukee said she only did it because she loves blank so much. Well, is it learning? Because she loves yelling at kids so much. The woman got through three full periods just yelling at the kids before someone figured out

she wasn't a real teacher. Hook three periods, that's two whole periods of students being like, Yeah, this situation really makes sense. Also, how did Katie do? Did she do well enough to win? Katie needed five to win. She got five right for two more points. And the win. Congratulations, Katie.

Thank you. Thank you. In just a minute, we'll ask our panelists to predict after Digger what'll be the next big Hollywood flop. But first, let me tell you that. Wait, Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me is a production of NPR and WBE. EZ Chicago in association with urgent haircut productions, Doug Berman Benevolent Overlord. Philip Godica writes our limericks.

Our public address announcer is Paul Friedman. Our ops manager is Jazeera Vardek. Thanks to the staff and crew at the Studebaker Theater. B.J. Leaterman composed our theme. Our program is produced by Jennifer Mills, Miles Dornboss, and Lillian King. Special thanks to Mohanid, El Shaky, Janie Hoffman, and Dom Banyas. Regular thanks to Peter Gwyn. Emma Choi is our vibe curator.

Technical direction, Lorna White. Our CFO is Colin Miller. Our production manager is Robert Newhouse. Our senior producer is Ian Chilag. The executive producer of Way Way Don't Tell Me is Mike Danforth. Now panel, what will be the next big Hollywood flop? Katie Nolan. It's called You Can't See Anything.

And it's a documentary about the Youngstown Museum of Glow in the Dark Art, but they forget to buy the black light. Mo Rocca. To redeem himself, Tom Cruise will star in a remake of Waterworld. Joy and Nicole Johnson. We usually know him as Medea, but what happens when he puts on stilettos, a scowl, and whiteface? It's Tyler Perry's Melania. Any of that happens, we'll ask you about it on Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me.

Thanks to all of you for listening. I'm Nguyen Farsad, filling in for Peter Sagle, and we'll see you next week. This is NPR.