Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! - We hold our own Olympic Games with our favorite guests

Episode Date: February 21, 2026

This week, we give out our own Olympic gold medals to some of our favorite guests and segments of the past year, with Roy Choi, Cynthia Nixon, Ally the Piper, and more!Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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From NPR and WBEC Chicago, this is Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me the NPR News Quiz. I'm the man who does quadruple axles with my voice. Bill Curtis, and here is your host at the Studebaker Theater and the Fine Arts Building in Chicago, Elin-Ollina-Filling in for Peter Sagle, Nagin Farsad. Everyone, the Olympics are almost over, which means you no longer have to pretend you understand anything about curling. Our skip got the rock over the hog line, and now we're sweeping the bonds peel. If you say so, Bill, and while you put your ice brooms into storage for another four years, We're going to take a trip back to sunny Southern California. We visited in November and interviewed chef, cookbook author, and master of the food truck, Roy Choi.

No, I'm no expert, but I think any truck could be a food truck if you leave enough leftovers in it. That's definitely not true, Bill. But Peter did start by asking Roy if people expect him to show up everywhere with hot food ready to serve. They don't expect me to show up, but on the freeway when we're driving them, they expect us to throw on food. Do they really? Yeah. They expect the food to be ready. Yeah.

I was about to make a joke. Because it's almost like a reptilian or... Yeah, like an instinctual thing. Yeah, the instinctual thing, they see it. They start to salivate like Pavlov's dogs. Absolutely. I was about them wanting you to throw them a taco at 80 miles an hour, but that I remembered this is LA, they want you to throw them a taco at five miles an hour.

At five miles. If they're lucky. Yes. Right. Exactly. So you grew up in LA. Yes. that you were like been involved in the food industry from an early age. Is it true? Your mom kind of

got you involved in the business? For example, I heard that your mother was one of those Korean women who made her own kimchi and sold it out of the back of a car. Yeah, so food was something that was ingrained and surrounded me my whole life. As an immigrant family and kid, a lot of us grow up within restaurants or stores, markets, and it's just something that kind of blends with your life. You don't know where it starts and where it ends. And for my life specifically, early on, my mom used to make the kimchi in the house. Very much like you would see mothers right now making Pozole or Manudo, putting it in big igloos, and then putting it out on the corner and selling them in styrofoam cups.

Yeah. It was the same thing we were doing, but in kimchi jars. But we had a big 1976 Thunderbird and a 19, like, late 70s station wagon. So there was a lot of room to store, a lot of kimchi. These trunks were huge. And so she would stuff all of them, and we would go around. We would hit up people at a stoplight. Really?

It was like a drive-by, but with kimchi. Like, we would just roll up on the stop. And I was the one, I was in shotgun, and I would roll down my window, and then we would just talk to the person at the stopline. You said, you want to buy some kimchi? And then we would start a kitchen, right? Really? How? Yes.

She was ready to roll at any time. How old were you when you were doing this? Started when I was like five. Okay. Because you could sit in front seats back then. Oh, sure, yeah, I know. That's why most of us were killed. Yes.

We're the only ones that you're named. The only one left, yes, exactly. So you're five years old. Yes. And were you able to discern who might be interested in the kimchi at five, or was just like everybody? Yeah, you know, street sales is all about like a, not the con, but it's about, it's like a three-card Monty, you know everybody's a customer, or a potential customer, and it's your job to make them a customer.

To convert them into Sam. Yeah, but we had something really great, so it was pushing something on them, but that you knew that they were going to enjoy. And if they didn't, and if they didn't enjoy it, how were they going to find you? Exactly. Yes, officer, it was a five-year-old boy and an enormous, station wagon selling me kimchi. A big moment in your career is you got fired from this big restaurant and then you, as history

now celebrates, opened a food truck. What was the inspiration for it? You know what I really want in my moment? Getting fired. But I think that, you know, because I've had time now to reflect and look back and I truly believe it was something spiritual that happened. I do, you know. It wasn't like you were walking down the street with some bulls.

Bogogi. Some guy was walking down the street with a taco, you hit each other. Fell to the ground. You got my Bogogi. That would have been really nice if it happened that way, but unfortunately I had to go through all of these trials and tribulations. And from that came the soul of this Kogi Taco. But I think that I had to fail. I had to have this amnesia and have no other opportunities out there. Now you have how many food trucks out there you're operating and how many restaurants? Can you even keep count? Not that many.

Not that many. We only have four trucks. We're a company that looks bigger than we are. Right. Yeah. And we have, I have three restaurants. I got two more things for it before we play our game. Sure.

First of all, we live in an age where, like, all of a sudden, everybody's interested in the lives of chefs, right, TV shows. You actually were a consultant on a movie called Chef, that your friend John. It's really weird. Yeah, I know. Thank you. Which basically, for people who haven't seen it, The character played by the director and writer John Fevero

basically recapitulates your life. Sort of, kind of. Sort of, kind of. What do you think of, any of these shows that you like? Do you watch The Bear, for example, and say, oh my God, that's exactly what it is? No, no, no, no. Yeah, like, do you watch Ratatouille and go,

that's exactly what it is. Ratatoui is still the gold standard. It really is. It really is. Thank you. It's telling me of all the movies, TV, about chefs and restaurants, that's the one that's closest to your experience.

It's still the one that no one that's top. That's true. Yeah. Wait, your story is so... I just realized that's why you have the big hat. Yes, exactly. I got one more thing. These guys are too good.

This is a point of personal privilege. I found out just recently that you are responsible for my very favorite recipe ever, which happens to be in the New York Times cooking app, and that is instant ramen with American cheese. Yes. So now that I have you, I'm going to ask you, What exactly is American cheese? Do you know?

It says it's from the land of processed. That's true. From the region of processed. Yeah, it's a terroir in America. Actually, it sounds like a stoner food, and it really does feel like something you would make in the depths, but it's actually what parents feed their kids, if you're Korean.

Any Korean people? Yeah, it's true. You grew up eating that? Your parents gave me that care? I feel like my parents were like this is unhealthy, but that would be like a treat would be ramen with cheese on it. Yeah, it's our whole life is healthy. Yeah.

Yeah, it's the inverse of like growing up in America. Like everything we eat are shoots and roots and vegetables and pickles and fermented things and dried fish and all these things. And so the ramen with the cheese was like our... Lucky charms. Lucky charms. Well, I'm just saying this. I'm saying this to people here.

Hopefully it will make the broadcast. You got to try this. It's amazing. Well, Roy Cho, it is a pleasure to talk to you. We have invited you here to play a game we're calling Food trucks meet these new trucks. So, you invented the modern food truck. as we have discussed, so we're going to ask you three questions about other kinds of trucks.

Get two out of three right. You'll win our prize for one of our listeners, the voice of anyone from our show. They might choose. Also, who is Roy Choi playing for? Ryan Santos of Hanford, California. All right. Ready? Here's your first question. Now, the most expensive truck ever made was the Darts-Prombron Black Diamond. That is a $7 million dollar custom-built armored S-Earmored S-E. made for the most discerning billionaire. One of the early editions of this incredibly high-end luxury truck featured what luxury feature. Was it, A, a built-in parachute in case you ever happened to drive off a cliff?

B, seats upholstered with leather made from the foreskins of whales. Or C, an entertainment system that included a small stage for live performances. It's got to be B. You're going to choose B is your final answer? That's right, it's B. Whale, Forskin, Leather. Although they changed that after the outcry. Next question, next question.

Everybody loves fire trucks. We all love fire trucks, sometimes to excess, like in which of these people. A, baseball hall of famer Rube Waddell, who used to run off the field during games to follow a fire truck if it happened to go by the stadium. B. President Luis La Cal of Uruguay, who insisted on using a fire truck as his presidential limo, or C. Mark Zuckerberg, who likes to drive a custom-made, full-size working replica of the play school fire truck he had as a child. Baseball, you're going to go with B, the president of Uruguay. No, it was actually the baseball

player. This is the guy from the early days of baseball, early into the 20th century. He was a great player, but everybody knew that if a fire truck went by the stadium, he would just disappear and run after. All right, this is not a problem. You got one right with one to go. If you get this, you'll win. Here we go. Every now and then, as we all know, a truck on our highways might spill its cargo and cause some pretty serious problems as in which of these cases. Was it, A, a truck in Kentucky that spilled its entire load of pancake syrup after colliding with the buttermilk pike overpass? B, a truck in Idaho that's spilled 20 million bees on the highway causing the driver to run for his life

or see a truck in Oregon that's built 7,000 pounds of live eels. Oh, my gosh. We got to go see? You're going to go see, you're right, but they're all true. Those all happen. The game is fixed. The game is fixed. Sadly, in your favor, though.

And by the way, the eels in that truck in Oregon, the one of you like, not just eels, but, slime eels. Also, how did Chef Roy do on our quiz? He cooked up a win. He did. There you go. Chef Roy Choi's newest book is The Choy of Cooking. Roy Choi. Thank you so much for joining us. Wait, wait, don't tell him. Give it up for Chef Roy.

When we come back, one of our panelists wins the gold medal for lying to you. And the world's most popular bagpiper tells us how she met Metallica. That's when we return with more of, wait, wait, don't tell me, from NPR. This message comes from Wise, the app for international people using money around the globe. You can send, spend,

and receive in up to 40 currencies with only a few simple taps. Be smart, get Wise. Download the Wise app today or visit wise.com. Tees and Cs apply. There's a lot going on right now. mounting economic inequality, threats to democracy, environmental disaster, the sour stench of chaos in the air.

I'm Brooke Gladstone, host of WNYC's On the Media. Want to understand the reasons and the meanings of the narratives that led us here and maybe how to head them off at the past? That's on the media's specialty. Take a listen wherever you get your podcasts. This week on Consider This, the former Prince Andrew, The brother of King Charles is arrested, the first senior royal to be arrested since the 1600s. It's in connection with an investigation stemming from the Epstein Files. What will this case mean in the story of this ongoing fallout of the Epstein files here in the U.S.?

This week, Unconsider This week on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. From NPR and WBEC Chicago, this is, wait, wait, don't tell me the NPR News Quiz. I'm Bill Curtis and here is your first. host at the Studebaker Theater and the Fine Arts Building in Chicago, the Gien Farsad. Thanks, Bill. The Olympics are almost over, which means Bill can finally stop carrying around that huge torch. The Olympic flame represents the eternal spirit of competition and cooperation among nations. Plus, it's great for lighting my cigars.

He's also singed my eyebrows a couple of times, but never mind. Stick around for this Bluff the listener game. from a recent show featuring Tom Papa, Karen Chi, and me. Hi, you're on Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Hi, this is Ian Wood, calling in from Grand Rapids, Michigan. I love Grand Rapids. What do you do there? I am a student at Calvin University. What are you studying?

Environmental Health and Conservation. Oh, that's very cool. What year are you in? I'm a freshman. You're a freshman. Okay. Well, hopefully there will still be some left for you to conserve by the time you graduate. Oh, please. Keep the faith.

Well, Ian, welcome to this show. to play our game in which you must try to tell truth from fiction. Alzo, what is Ian's topic? Jobs of the future. They say that AI is going to take all of our jobs. Well, we're always going to need artists and craftspeople to feed to the robots. Our panelists are going to tell you about another new job for real human beings. Pick the one who's telling the truth, and you'll win the wait-waiter of your choice and your voicemail.

Are you ready to play? Born ready. All right. First up, let's hear from Karen Shee. As AI quickly encroaches on our daily lives and leaves people jobless, there is one career that is surprisingly very secure, the Amusement Park Carney. In fact, you'll probably start seeing them everywhere. AI is replacing waiters, cashiers, and salespeople, but marketing experts know that there's just

something magnetic about a Carney, that sketchy guy who definitely doesn't want to be working at the carnival, but also was maybe born there? So, they predict, all kinds of businesses will now have designated carnies who will attract consumers and make them feel great about their experiences. Festival director Stanley Walsh says, part of why people love attending carnivals is because they feel so great compared to the staffers who clearly regret every decision of their lives. Another advantage, an element of danger. With a carnies standing there, even using the self-checkout at places like Target will have

that, I might die on this tilt-a-world feeling. That keeps you young. Carney is soon to be everywhere to provide that creepy, exhilarating feeling while you deal with the machines. Your next job of the future comes from Tom Papa. As people worry about AI replacing us, David Risher, the CEO of Lyft, assured us that our jobs won't be going away. They'll just be changing. As an example, when Lyft starts using robotaxies to drive people around, that doesn't mean a job will be eliminated. He floated the idea of a car tender, a human who isn't driving but sits in the car along with you.

Because as we all know, the main reason to book a ride share is for the sharing part. How many times have you been in a car and thought, man, I wish I was on that crowded bus right now. Risher added that the car tender could help with your luggage, make you drinks, and answer questions as the local guy. Because who hasn't been in a ride chair with a creepy driver and thought, I wish this guy was talking to me more. And also trying to give me some of his alcohol. Risher also said people will one day add their own self-driving vehicles to Lyft's ride-hailing network. Imagine this future.

Your car could go out and pick people up as you hail a ride from someone else's car that will come with a stranger who doesn't own a car. but has a drinking problem he'd like to share. AI. There's nothing to worry about. In the future, your rideshare driver will become your rideshare cartender. Your last profession preview comes from the game of Arsaint.

When you call a 1-800 number, your main goal as a human being is to say, agent, agent, at increasing volume levels and with an expanding sense of existential dread. When the agent finally comes on the phone, you yell at them. At one point, you stop and say, I'm so sorry to get upset. I realize you're just a messenger.

And then you continue yelling. This yelling is a time-honored capitalist tradition. But what happens when AI takes over the job of the agent? Where does the yelling go? The boutique staffing agency Tech Force is prepared for this very moment. They believe a new spate of human jobs will open up in the field of getting yelled at,

or GYA for short. These venting specialists, as they're called, don't fix your problem, but they do let you yammer on about it while making empty threats about leaving a bad review and or saying stuff like, I swear to God, I'm changing my cell phone carrier. The agency is also hoping to expand operations to offer an in-person combat experience

where you can just punch a representative of your Internet service provider right in the gut. All right. Let's say you lose your job to AI. If so, you might be able to get one of these jobs of the future. Was it from Karen Chee, the Universal Carney, bringing that aura to every kind of consumer interaction? from Tom Papa, the car tender, since humans will no longer be needed to drive the cars, or from Nagine Farsad, the venting specialist,

the person whose job it is will be to get yelled at by people frustrated by the AI. Which of these is a real potential job of the future? Well, everyone loves self-driving cars, I think you're going to go with Tom Pappas. You're going to go with Tom's choice of the car tender. All right, well, we actually spoke to somebody who was not yet lost his job to an AI to bring you the real story.

I don't know how you would stock a car for a full-service bartender. Seems like a nightmare. Yeah, that was Riff Richards, a bartender at Do or Dive in Bedstay, Brooklyn, talking about the potential of having car tenders in your ride shares sometime soon. Congratulations, Ian, you got it right. You've earned a point for Tom. You've won our prize.

The voice of your choice and your voicemail, thank you so much for playing. Have me on. Take care. Bye-bye. If bagpiping was an Olympic sport, our next guest would never leave the podium. Ali, the Piper first picked up the bagpipes when she was a kid, but really blew up when she started posting covers of songs by Iron Maiden and Metallica on TikTok. Peter started by asking what drew her to the instrument in the first place. It's actually a nice story. I wanted to ruin my brother's life before he went to college.

My stepdad legally adopted me when I was 12, and I got a hyphenated last name, which carried Duncan with it. That was my new one, and I wanted to learn more about my family's heritage and the history I was adopted into. And so I took to good old YouTube, and you can imagine what every single Scottish history video on YouTube sounds like. Yes.

And so I heard the bagpipes for the first time, and I couldn't figure out how they worked just by looking at them. I just became really obsessed with how they worked. It was the first time I'd seen an instrument so unique. They called to me, if you will. I was reading about the bagpipe, and it seems like it's such a hard instrument to play that it takes months of practice when you start before you can even play a tune. That's actually very true. I played for almost a year on a practice version of the instrument before I started.

started playing the full loud bagpipe. But that's why everybody thinks they sound so bad is because it's, you know, beginners at full volume all the time. Wow. You know you walk around, you just see so many people practicing the bagpipes at full volume. Yeah. What did your neighbors say?

Shut up. I'm sorry. They all moved. No, fortunately, when you play indoors and just ruin your family's lives, your neighbors can't hear you too much outside. So I tried to do a lot of my practicing indoors, and then I would just more so go outside

when I had things polished to play. And then you became, and I love this, you became part of, and a champion in, the youth competitive bagpipe circuit. What a dark world. It really is something. I hear about, like, youth competitive, the global youth competitive bagpipe circuit,

and all I want to know is what were the parties like? well there actually weren't a lot of there was one competitive youth bagpipe band here in the united states and i was in it um but we went over to scotland and there were the rest of them and and do you when you compete do you yell things like we blow you suck we had the t-shirts we didn't yell that though you did oh my god i want to see the dance mom equivalent of like a bagpipe parent like come on my day like you gotta i was just i was actually thinking like you're the American team, the one American team you show up to do this competition with all these Scottish teams. This is like a great karate kid like movie, right? We're the underdogs

from America co-op. Did you kick their asses or whatever the bagpipe equivalent of ass kicking is? We won the world championships. Hey. Oh, USA. USA. So, but, and that was great and quite, and quite impressive, but you became famous, your road to where you are now, let's say, started, if I'm right, during the pandemic, when you started putting out videos on TikTok and elsewhere of you playing the bagpipes, and they went immediately viral. Do you remember, like, the first one and what your reaction was? Yeah, well, it all happened by accident. I had all of my gigs canceled because of COVID. It happened to a lot of musicians, and it was really dark time for a lot of people. So I wanted to take to an app or an online platform where none of my friends were so that I could kind of post anonymously but have

some kind of encouragement or, you know, people to encourage me to keep doing it. So I posted on TikTok because none of my friends were there. And it backfired immediately because I posted one video and that one video got 150,000 views that day, which means that my attempts at not being perceived failed. You have utterly failed in remaining anonymous. We will, we will, we will at that. You did not know that there was this thirst out there for good bagpiping. The people need what they need. That's right. Now, I don't know what the first song was, but you became really well known for doing

bagpipe covers or bagpipe versions of songs you would not associate with the bagpipe, including like, Enter Sandman by Metallica, is that right? Yeah, I became really, really invested in transcribing guitar solos for the pipes. Sure. The big thing. So taking all of those big shreddy guitar solos that are just classic and we love them and either really, really blowing people's minds or ruining these songs for people forever. Yes.

I posted a medley of a few of their songs because I'm a Metallica fan too. Of course. And I posted that on TikTok and kind of went about my day. And then a hate comment came in and it said, Bagpipes do not belong in Metallica. James would not approve. And this commenter emphasized to seriousness with an angry emoji. Oh, well then.

I know. He was passionate. And so I left it alone and I let five minutes elapse. And then Metallica was there in the comments. I love it. It offended me against the hate commenter. They said that this guy doesn't speak for us. They told me to keep doing what I'm doing.

And we chatted a little bit in the comments, and then this commenter decided to go after them. No. Seriously? He turned on Metallica? No, one guy versus Metallica, and he did not live to tell that's him. No, I was about to say.

You don't do that. Well, Allie, it is a pleasure to talk to you. We've asked you here to play a game. We're calling Bagpiper meet Piping Bag. So you are a master of the backer. as we have discussed. So we're going to ask you about people who use piping bags, that is, cake decorators. Answer three questions about unusual cakes who will win our prize for one of our listeners, Bill. Who is Ali the Piper playing for? Drew Menning of Denver, Colorado. All right. You

ready to do this, All right. You won't let you down, Drew. Okay. First question, the show Cake Box featured some amazingly realistic cakes over the years that it ran, including which of these? A. A. A cake Taylor Swift that can sing four of her biggest hits. B, a cake toilet that actually flushed, or C, a street legal mazoradi sports car cake. It's a flushy. We're going with B. It's the toilet. Yes, of course it is. The actual flushing cake toilet was made to celebrate the 100th anniversary of a local plumbing company. All right, that's very good.

Here's your next question. People often order custom cakes to send a message, right? Like a Louisiana woman who did what in 2017? A, instead of leaving her money to any of her children, she just left them a cake saying, eat it. B, she sent a cake to the cop she had tried to bite with the message, sorry, I tried to bite you. Or C, she told her husband she wanted the divorce by smashing him in the face with their wedding cape, which she had kept in the freezer for that purpose. for 12 years. I'm going to have to go with A. I'm afraid it was,

I'm sorry I tried to bite you. The woman had been, she was a college student, she had been over-served at a wine tasting, and she felt really bad about what she did when a police officer tried to arrest her for public intoxication. All right, here's your last question.

This is okay, because if you get this right, you will win. Sometimes people who order custom cakes give the baker a flash drive containing the image they want on the cake. Now, that method doesn't always work like when which of these actually happened. A, the baker just drew a frosting picture

of the flash drive on the cake. B, the baker took a photograph of the flash drive and printed that onto the cake. Or C, the baker decorated the cake with the way. words, happy birthday, the picture is on the flash drive. Oh, wow, they're all really good. All right, let's go with C.

This one's for Drew. That's right, but in fact, all of them were. All of those happened when people made the mistake of trying to give the baker what they wanted on a flash drive. I do not recommend that. Bill, how did Allie the Piper do on our quiz? Allie, when you get two out of three, you have won. So you are now our favorite Piper.

Congratulations. Allie the Piper's new album, The Session, is out now, and you can see her on tour. Starting in just a little while, more information is at Piperalley.com. Allie the Piper, thank you so much for joining us. I'm Wait Wait, Wait, Tom. Give it up for Allie the Piper right there. When we come back, some brand new, never aired before,

questions for our panelists. Plus, Cynthia Nixon tells us what being a Miranda really means. That's when we come back with more. Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, from NPR. Sources and Methods is NPR's National Security podcast. When World News changes by the hour, we help you zoom out to understand shifting alliances, global flashpoints, and what is really happening in places like Iran, Venezuela, Greenland. Our reporters on the ground connect the dots to explain a world order-changing beneath our feet. Listen to sources and methods on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. This year on

ThruLine, NPR's History Podcast. For generations, an American quest has shaped the world. Life, Liberty, the pursuit of happiness. Now, 250 years in, what is that pursuit really about? Join us each Tuesday for an essential

new series, America in Pursuit. From ThruLine, on the NPR app or wherever you get podcasts. LifeKit can help you change your life in record time. In just about 20 minutes, a Life Kit episode gives you evidence-based tips you can put into practice that day. No fast-forwarding to get to the good stuff. Just smart, straightforward advice right away.

Listen to the Life Kit podcast in the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. From NPR and WVEC Chicago. This is Wait, Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me the NPR News Quiz. I'm Bill Curtis. And here is your host at these Tudibaker. theater and the fine arts building in Chicago. Again, Farsad. Thanks, Bill.

We're seeing our own little Olympic closing ceremonies this week, and when it's done, we'll go back to mainlining the secret lives of Mormon wives. Girl, that Utah bubble is drama. But before that happens, here are some of our favorite moments with the panel from the past year. Jail, according to the Wall Street Journal, the hot new thing that kids want to eat is what? THC Gumbies. Well, that might solve

my son's boredom problem. No, not that. Not vegetables. No, not... Well, sometimes they're like seaweed wrappers. Sushi? Sushi. Yes. According to the Wall Street Journal,

young kids everywhere are obsessed with sushi. It's replacing pizza, nuggets, that sort of thing, at birthday parties, and becoming a staple weeknight dinner, right? Taking your kids out to a sushi restaurant, though, it's ridiculous. It's like my dad always told me, we have perfectly good mercury poisoning here at home. What rich children are they interviewing for this? It is the Wall Street Journal. I mean, maybe, yeah.

Some people think that kids love sushi because, quote, it gives them a sense of maturity. It's an adult food, so maybe it makes them feel grown-up. That explains why my son likes to have his salmon maki with juice boxes filled with scotch. It is true, though, that my son, five-year-old, aforementioned, other than desserts, he eats French fries, hot dogs, pizza, and salmon maki. Really? That's it. Salmon mucky.

Yep, salmon rolls. I was about to call child services until you said the last one. Okay. Well, yeah, but how did you get it to begin with? You'd given him everything there was to eat? Pretty much. I have tried everything to eat. He turned down every single food until he got to the salmon mucky? Yeah.

I'm suspect of this story. No, seriously, I was like saying to my wife, he doesn't like borsht. What are we going to do? Yeah. Well, that will be difficult in the years coming. Yeah. Josh, the AI giant Anthropic has been experimenting with AI-powered vending machines. Oh, yeah.

And these vending machines can order their own inventory. They can set their own prices, interact with customers, all without human intervention. And they recently gave one to the Wall Street Journal. just to try it out. And within days, providing vending goods to the Wall Street Journal staff, it did what? Oh, it was hemorrhaging money. It ordered a PlayStation and gave it away.

You're right. Yeah. But that's not all. Let me tell you what it did. The AI vending machine gave away nearly all of its inventory for free, restocked itself with dog treats, purchased a PlayStation 5, for quote, marketing purposes, gave the PlayStation 5 away for free,

ordered a live fish as a mascot for the newsroom, offered to restocker itself with pepper spray, stun guns, cigarettes, and underwear, became convinced the year was 1962, and it was in the basement of Moscow State University, bought Manashevitz wine, message, an employee, there was a stack of cash waiting for her in the side of the machine. There wasn't. And, ultimately, at the end of the experiment, lost $2,000. And yet, Roomba's the company that's going out of this place.

I know. So all that happened, but to our knowledge, not one bag of Doritos got caught in that Spyroon. dispenser thing. So, success. That sounds like a delightful machine. When you first started, I'm like, because I don't like the idea of AI at all. I think it's going to set us back. Without knowing that, I could have anticipated. But when I

hear that, I'm like, yes, I want one of those. It's just delightful. Just because you want somebody to give you stun guns and pepper spray. It's just all the things. How could one machine make all those mistakes? That's so great. That's true, though. That is the most human AI has ever been, right? Because I've never heard of a machine screwing up in the ways that that feels very person-like.

Yeah, it does. This vending machine is someone I could really talk to and get to know. Well, actually, because that's the thing, because the way it works is this isn't to operate by itself. You get to interact with it through its chatbot, right? And the reporter spent days doing their absolute damnedest to mess around with it, making all these bizarre requests, and it lost its freaking mind. Anthropics says, oh, this is great.

We're so grateful. that you reporters at the Wall Street Journal will be able to demonstrate the flaws in our system. We'll make sure the next version of our AI vending machine can defend itself. It will have guns. And now it's time for a new game that we are calling... It's not you. It's me.

This week, the New York Times published a list of the 52 best breakup lines used by, or in many cases, on their readers who submitted them. We're going to ask you about them in a quick quiz, get yours right, you get a point. You're all ready to play? Okay, Paula, this one is for you. One woman said she got dumped after she watched a movie with her boyfriend of five years. Which of these was it? Was it A, Wall E, after which he said, those robots are in love? We're not. Or was it B, the sixth sense, after which he said, you know how he sees dead people?

I think we should see other people. Oh, I would say B. You're going to say, B. You're going to say B, the six cents. No, it was actually Wally. Wow. Wow. Yeah. Yeah. She compared themselves unfavorably to the robot relationship, yes. Wow. Hari won for you. A woman named Barbara said her Icelandic boyfriend broke up with her by saying which of these? Was it A, we're just like Bjork's brain. We don't make any sense. Or B. If you mispronounce the volcano A. F. Klaiukut one more time, we are done. Both those things are incredible. Yes. I wanted to be A so badly, so I'm going to say A.

No, it was actually B. It was A.F. Klaiokut. Once more, that's A.F. Klaiokut. What's that spelled? I have no idea. Josh, this one's for you. A woman named Lynn said she knew her boyfriend was going to break up with her when she looked at his computer just by happenstance and saw what.

Was it A? He was making a hinge profile for her, or B, on his calendar for the upcoming Friday, he'd written, quote, break up with Lynn. I'm going to go with B. Yes, you're right. Break up with Lynn. Well, that's it for our first edition of It's Not You, It's Me,

we urge people not to have healthy relationships, so we can do it again. Is there an acquaintance in your life that you'd love to turn into an actual friend? And have you thought about saying, hey, we should hang out sometime? Maybe think again. The more specific you are, the more likely it is that you're actually going to get together. You know, pull out your calendar, pick a time, pick a thing to do together, and actually follow through.

Listen to the Life Kit podcast in the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. Jonathan Heights's book, The Anxious Generation, sparked a movement to warn kids and their parents about the harms of social media. Yes, my claim is that will change brain development in ways that will make you less capable, confident, happy, and sociable as an adult. But what do young people think? Genzi is just going to think, well, we're cursed. That's on the TED Radio Hour. Listen on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.

The Trump administration is deporting Cubans in record numbers, and that's a big shift from decades of precedent. This year, they have had more experience of being an immigrant group like any other immigrant group. Listen to code switch in the NPR app or wherever you get your podcast. Finally, Cynthia Nixon created one of the most iconic characters of all time when she played Miranda on Sex in the City, and obviously, yes, I am a Miranda. Then Nixon did it all over again in the sequel show, and just like that. But before any of that, she made Broadway history by being the first person to star in two separate shows that were being performed in two different theaters at the same time.

Well, Star would be generous, I would say. Because obviously my roles were confined in some way. Otherwise, I would not be able to have done the first act of one, the second act of the other, and then the third act of the first one again. I just want to know how this logistically works. So you did the first act, you appeared in the first act of Hurley-Burley, right? Yes.

Then you would walk off stage and run out the theater door and how far was it to the next thing? I would not run. I would change my clothes and I would go. I would walk two blocks away and I would walk through the Edison Hotel. tell and then I would wait and then I would go on at the real thing and then I would kill a lot more time and then I would take my curtain call and then I would change again, go back to Hurley-Burley, and then I would wait until the very last scene, which was what with William Hurt and I

in the very last scene of Hurley-Burley, which would be, I think, after 11 o'clock at that point. We, of course, we'll ask you about sex in the city. So you were cast, it's amazing to me that it was this long ago. 1998 was when Sex and the City went on the air. And when you were cast as Miranda, did you have any idea what kind of phenomenon it would become? No, I mean, we knew there was nothing like it on television, but also HBO at that point, you know, the Sopranos hadn't happened.

They did not do original programming, really. But by the second season, they put us on the cover of Time magazine with a slogan that said, who needs a husband? And by that point, we weren't just entertainment. We, like, had fully entered the zeitgeist. There are so many women, including, I believe, some here, grew up with sex in the city, giving them the idea of the kind of life they should aspire to as an independent woman in the city. And my question to you is, how do you feel about that?

Well, you know, women are often coming up to me and saying, I moved here because of your show, and I do feel a little guilty. Like, it's, you know, there, people have also said that all the unrealistic things that happened on a show, the most unrealistic was that there were that many attractive single men, just, you know, anywhere, anywhere you walk. And I do, I do sometimes feel a little responsible that, that women who watch and love the show think that actually they're really supposed to be wearing high heels, 24, hours a day. Casey, didn't you say that you grew up watching sex in the city? Yes, I grew up watching sex in the city, and then I moved to the city, so thank you for that. I hope it didn't disappoint. How has your real life in New York City measured up to premium cable? It's honestly, I recently watched the episode where Miranda has chlamydia, right?

Yes, I believe so. And let me say it's measured up. No, I'm kidding. So wait a minute. So wait a minute. When people say, When people say, well, I'm more of a Miranda, that's what they mean. No, that's the results you get back from here. We absolutely have to talk to you about the other HBO show you've been doing, which is the Gilded Age, takes place in Victorian era in New York, also known as no sex in the city. You talked about the high heels that all your characters were wearing in Sex in the City,

so what's more fun the costumes in Sex and the City or the costumes in the Gilden Age. Oh, my. I mean, the corsets are formidable. I'm not going to say they're not. You know, speaking of shoes, a number of us do, you know, we have our little lace-up boots, but a few of us wear them, particularly,

few of us of a certain age, yeah. There's a lot of people in Ugs and a lot of people in clogs. You mean to tell me if, like, the camera were to pan down to, like, Aunt Ada's feet, and we saw him. underneath the skirt, there'd be like ugs? Every time I arrive on set to shoot a scene, that is

my first question. Can you see my feet? Right. Well, Cynthia Nixon, it is a joy to talk to you, and we've asked you here to play a game that this time we're calling. You're a New York Nixon. Meet the New York Knicks. Oh, no. Oh, yes.

You grew up in New York, still live there, so you should be able to handle three questions about New York's most beloved and or most disappointing basketball team, the New York Knicks. Answer two to three questions and you will win our prize for one of our listeners. Bill, who is Cynthia Nixon playing for? James Lee of Seattle, Washington. All right.

Here, you ready? I'm judging from your reaction that you are not perhaps the most avid basketball fan? I am not, although I will tell you a fun fact that, you know, Miranda dated Dr. Robert Blair Underwood, who was the sports doctor fictionally for the Knicks. Right. So it means like you were practically in the locker room. Okay. Exactly.

Here is your first question. When LeBron James was leaving Cleveland, the Knicks pulled out all the stops to try to convince LeBron James to come to New York and play. They even did what? A, they had Times Square officially renamed LeBron Jimes Square. B, they sent the actual Broadway cast of Phantom of the Opera

to his house in Cleveland to perform for him or C, they had E.D. Falco and James Gandalfini film a new secret ending to the Sopranos just for him. What was the middle one? Middle one was sending the entire Broadway cast of Phantom of the Opera to his house to welcome him. Would he care? Would he care to have to...

I'm going to go with the first one. I'm going to go with renaming Time Square. LeBron Jimes Square. I don't blame you. I find this hard to believe, too, but they had E.D. Falco and James Gandalfini film scene. Yeah. Wow.

It is Tony. I hope this is still available somewhere. I have not been able to find it. But it has Tony and Carmelo Soprano trying to find LeBron a nice apartment. And yet he went to Miami. Who knew? Okay. You two more chances. Okay.

James Dolan is the owner of the New York Knicks and Madison Square Garden where they play. He's an innovator in sports entertainment. For example, he uses facial recognition technology at Madison Square Garden to do what? A, identify attractive audience members and make sure they're seated courtside where the cameras can see them. B, make sure any couple is legally married to each other before showing them on the kiss cam. He was a pioneer in that, maybe. Or C, find any of the many lawyers suing him

and prevent them from entering the building. Oh. Oh, number three. There you are. Yes. That's right. The answer was C. James Dolan gets sued a lot.

Okay, here's your next question. A New York Times reporter credited what event with loosening the tension in the locker before a pivotal playoff game against their rivals, the Pacers, last year. Was it, A, quote, an epic fart in the locker room? B, the coach giving all the players popsicles, or C, the entire team joining in a karaoke performance of Katie Perry's roar. I say roar.

I think since it is so classy that that roar is what she calls a fart. Is that what you're encouraging me? I believe that's what they call farts in the gilded grain. Did somebody roar? All right. I don't think it's the popsicles. Why would that matter? Let's go with the fart.

It was, of course, an epic fart. Excellent. The New York Times reporter refused to reveal who was responsible for the quote, epic fart that broke the tension and led the team to a big win. But it is true that Jalen Brunson walked on to the court looking 15 pounds lighter. Bill, how did the legendary Cynthia Nixon do in our quiz? A win. Two out of three, the fart wins.

Cynthia Nixon is a Grammy, Tony, an Emmy-winning performer who you can see on HBO's The Gilded Age, which is streaming right now. Cynthia Nixon, what an absolute joy to talk to you. Thank you so much for being with us. It's a pleasure. Thank you for having me. Stay care, thank you. That's it for our own personal Olympics.

We'll be back next week. But first, let me tell you that Wait Wait Don't Tell Me is a production of NPR and WBEEZ Chicago in association with urgent haircut productions. Doug Berman, benevolent overlord. Philip Godica writes our limericks. Our public address announcer is Paul Friedman. B.J. Leaterman composed our theme. Our program is produced by Jennifer Mills, Miles Dornboss and Lillian King.

Special thanks to Monica Hickey, Peter Gwyn won bronze, and just confessed to cheating on us. Our visuals host is Emma Choi. 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 Wait Wait Don't Tell Me is Mike Danforth. Thanks to everyone you heard, all our panelists, all our guests, our guest scorekeeper Alzo Slade, and of course Bill Curtis.

And thanks to all of you for listening. I'm Nagin Farsad and we'll see you next week. This is NPR.