Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! - We skip the salad bar and have a banana instead

Episode Date: July 18, 2026

This week, special guest Vicki Peterson joins panelists Alonzo Bodden, Helen Hong, and Dulcé SloanSee 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, and I'll be making this place a judgment full zone. Here's your host at the Sudebaker Theater at the Fine Arts Building in Chicago, Illinois, Tom Papa. Thanks, everybody. I'm Tom Papa and for Peter Sagle, who took the week off to fulfill one of his lifelong dreams, smoking cigarettes in the woods in Canada. Later on, we'll be joined by Vicki Peterson, legendary rock guitarist from the Bengals.

But first, it's your turn to call in and play our games. The number is 1-88-wait-wait-wait-wait-wait. That's 1-88-9-24-8-9-24. Now let's welcome our first listener-contestant. Hi, you're on Wait, Wait, Don't tell me. Hi, Tom. This is Luke from Memphis, Tennessee. Hi, Luke.

What do you do down there? Well, I guess my official title is principle of digital communication. and experience solutions for a major sweets and snacks company. Oh, that's a very long title. Okay, now Luke, let's introduce you to our panel. First up, a comedian you can see on Saturday, July 18th, at Zanies in Chicago, and July 23rd through the 25th in Houston, Texas. It's Dulcee Sloan.

Next, you can see him at the punchline in Irving, Texas, July 30th through August First and Flappers Comedy Club in Burbank, August 6th. It's Alonzo Bowden. Hello, Luke. A comedian who hosts the public radio trivia game show, Go Fact Yourself, and the Animal Mythology podcast framed by Fables, it's Helen Hong. Hey, hello.

So welcome to the show, Luke. You're going to play Who's Alzo this time. Alzo Slade is going to read you three quotes from this week's news. if you can correctly identify or explain two of them, you'll win our prize, any voice from our show you choose on your voicemail. Are you ready? Absolutely. All right, good luck.

Your first quote is an expert on the today show describing cyclospora and illness spreading around the U.S. this week. The main symptom rhymes with Diamaria. The current outbreak of cyclospora is, caused by eating what? Lettuce? Yes, bag, salad and produce. Yes, there's an explosive diarrhea outbreak.

And heads up, this is one explosion you do not look cool walking away from in slow-mo. Epidemiologists warn that the microbes spreads through raw lettuce and berries. One victim blamed the salad he had four days earlier. If you can remember a salad you had four days ago, you are already a mess. All I got to say is the last big outbreak was COVID. And if you think you didn't want someone with COVID over your house. Oh, what's the bubble for this? We don't want, do.

There'll be no visitors now. You can't. And, you know, the thing is, the guy whose job it was to keep an eye on this, you know, he was fired as part of the Doge thing. He's the only guy sitting at home just laughing. Like, yeah, I wasn't necessary. They didn't need me. Yeah, okay.

This outbreak has really given me an appreciation for the word explosive. Like, it's just so evocative, isn't it? It really... It kind of makes you want to get it. And just so you know, the explosions start. seven days after you eat the produce, so yes, America, you already have it. But if it's seven days after, how you know it was that salad? Well, you don't. Welcome to it.

Enjoy your time at the pool. Once you reach the level of explosive, I don't think where it came from is your big concern. All right, Luke, your next quote about a very prominent couple sleeping in separate bedrooms. He's determined to have the better bedroom. That's from the new book regime change about what couple fighting over who has the better room? Can I have a hint? Yes, you can. The bedrooms are in the White House. Great hints. Hold on, let's see if he gets it. Yes, Trump and Melania. The president of Melania have

separate bedrooms. We all figured this. The only surprising fact is that they're in the same building. Bedrooms are they? Like, it's, what's the competition? Because wouldn't he be in the presidential suite? He's the president, right? Yeah, but

there's someone more powerful. Melania got the bigger, fancier presidential bedroom with all the nice furniture while Trump sleeps in what is basically the living room next door. Imagine because you're so in love, it distracts you from running the country. Trump is reportedly obsessed with trying to make his bedroom better than Melania's,

so much so that he has started stealing stuff from other parts of the White House to make his bedroom fancier. This is true. He's taking furniture, lamps, artwork, and carrying it into the room himself. Imagine being a White House staffer, working an all-nighter, and you see Trump in his pajamas sneaking by holding a bust of FDR. I don't think anyone knew she slept at the White House.

Yeah, I'm surprised she's there. The first term she lived in New York, right? In Florida, why is she even in there? Maybe it's just to piss him off. My wife and I started sleeping in separate bedrooms. We don't start off that way. like she snores a lot so I don't

I don't know her I'm an angel I'm so I'm like a little puppy just sleep are you are your are the separate beds in the same room like leave it the beaver no and we start off in the same bed like there's going to be no problem

and that around three o'clock in the morning one of us kicks the other one in the shins and leaves in a rage Tom what I love is after this airs and you're sleeping out back with the dog thinking, you know, I thought the snoring bit was funny. And I'm sneaking in down the hallway, stealing stuff from my new room. All right, Luke, here's your last quote. Is this the next pumpkin spice?

That's the New York Times reporting that what is the next it flavor? I'm going to have to ask for another hint. Well, I'll give it to you gladly. Just pick up the peels so you don't slip. Banana? Yes, banana. Look around. Banana flavor is in everything right now.

The trend is red hot while also turning brown. I think you got Dolce with that one. There are banana M&M, Starbucks banana cold foam, Dunkin Banana Lates, plus there's fancy banana protein puddings that have all the coolest people asking, wait, am I just eating baby food? Can I say on behalf of everybody, girl, ugh. Because here's the thing, banana is like great, right? So like great flavor don't taste like great, great tastes like purple.

Go on. Banana flavor don't taste like the actual fruit. Tana tastes like yellow. Yeah. So we're not dealing with real fruit situations right here. This is real blue raspberry campaign. You think pumpkin spice was real? Hey, hey, hey, I'm black.

I don't know nothing about no pumpkin. I will say it's, I feel like it's audacious of banana to not even need spice. Ooh. Right? Like banana was like, you know what? I can handle this solo. But banana had to split. Banana's been around so much longer than pumpkin.

You know what I mean? Banana's like, I got this. Yeah, I'm back. I don't need no help. Just so you all know, Alonzo is sponsored by Chiquita. That's right, baby. I'm getting paid. I'm getting that big banana money.

Alzo, how did Luke do? Luke did great. Three out of three. Congratulations. Nice job, Luke. Awesome. Thanks, Tom. All right.

fun than most on news. Thanks, buddy. Right now, panel, time for you to answer some questions about this week's news. Oh, no. Alonzo, yes, it's pretty hot this summer, but there's a big trend of people saying now is the time to stop doing what? Air conditioning? No. Do you like a hint?

Yeah, I think so. My secret is I'm sure this is happening to a large degree. Yeah. Also, old spice. The people who want privacy when using their phones in public have given up deodorant. That's right, wearing deodorant. What better way to be alone on a phone call? Americans are giving up deodorant in probably the worst week of the year to do that.

Most deodorant skippers say they don't need it. because they shower a lot, which is true, as long as that means you shower every 15 minutes. There have been days where I've forgotten deodorant, not on purpose, and I'm just like, my high fives are real low, like down to the waist, you know. Is there a difference between not going with deodorant and going with deodorant that is just made natural? Yeah, like those, aren't there crystal rocks? Yeah.

You're supposed to rub in your pits. Right. It doesn't have aluminum in it. There are some people who don't need the aluminum. And there are some people who should be wrapped in Reynolds' rest. How to liven up that funeral in our bluff the listener game. Call 1-88-Wait-Wait-to-Play. We'll be back in a minute with more of Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me from NPR.

Hey, folks, is Alzo Slade. A quick message before we get back to the show. This weekend marks one year since Congress voted to eliminate federal funding for public media. That funding, more than a billion dollars, is gone. But wait, wait, is still here, poking fun at the news and ourselves and bringing some levity to your week. Financial support from you, the public, makes our work and the work of the NPR network possible. If you're already an NPR Plus supporter, thank you. If not, you can join the community of people who power public media at plus.npr.org.

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 Alonzo Bowden, Helen Hong, and Dose Sloan. And here again is your host at the Student Baker Theater in Chicago, Illinois, Tom Papa. Thanks, Alzo. Right now it's time for the Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, Bluff the listener game. Call 1-88-Wait-Wate to play our game on air. Hi, you're on Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me.

Hi, this is Brendan calling from Exeter, New Hampshire. Oh, nice to meet you, Brandon. What do you do there in New Hampshire? I run a hardware and craft store, and in my free time, I fly drones and take care of my three cats. Oh, where do you fly your drones? Up the river. What? I love how we still have modern technology, but it still sounds very New Hampshire. It's like I've got a high-tech drone going up the river.

Well, it's nice to have you with us, Brendan. you're going to play our game in which you must try and tell truth from fiction. What's the topic, Alzo? Let's put the fun in funeral. Something should never change about funerals. Nobody wants to go to open casket where they're like, we thought we just show you the legs this time. But sometimes change is good,

and this week we heard about something new in the funeral biz. Our panelists are going to tell you about it. 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? I'm ready to play. All right. First up, it's Alonzo Bowden.

Remember when Uncle Frank was wrong? Nope, because he had clean memories. When life ends, clean memory service removes all bad decisions from the internet. Compromising club pictures, browser history, that only fans account that you use just that one time, it all goes when you go. Lexi Gardell, who works for clean memories, explains, even people who are pretty normal in real life have some pretty crazy internet presences. You think grandma didn't get freaky in her DMs? With clean memories, you'll keep thinking that. There are different packages, starting with Good Guy, which cleans browser history of adult

and gambling websites. Next is, that's not me, which removes any compromising pictures some social media dating sites in the cloud. There's I didn't say that, which cleans up posts made. Did you really think those unhinged opinions on who played Disney princesses out there? Not anymore. Top of the line is the Angel Package, which is a CIA-level cleansing of your digital past. You'll be harder to find than Jason Bourne. That's a new service called Clean Memories that cleans up your internet presence after you died

from Alonzo Bowden. Your next story of a celebration of life comes from Helen Hahn. Have you ever wanted to meet someone just like you, even after you're dead? A new service is offering to pair up two recently deceased strangers with similar interests for buy one, get one free funeral services. If you think Uncle Jim is the only one who loved his kids and his bowling league, think again. Bogo Forever LLC will search for another recently deceased person who also love their kids and their bowling league. Bogo Forever LLC tries especially hard to pair people with the same first names as well as interests. According to one employee, you wouldn't believe how many women named Ruth loved to knit.

The services are a big hit with families. According to one recent client, we had twice the amount of food at the wake, and now grandma can be buried next to someone who also love WWE. That was Bogo Forever, a service that pairs your loved one with a similar loved one for a combo funeral from Helen Hong. And your last story of an innovation in internment comes from Dulce Sloan. Are you known as the drama queen of your family who wants to have one last hurrah after you've past? Or are you the peacekeeper who wants to stir up some trouble but doesn't want to face the

consequences? Then dark secret is the service for you. For just $500, they'll send a mysterious weeping woman to your funeral in hopes of creating a level of high drama and curiosity that is only seen in an Agatha Christie novel. Heck, you will borrow himself couldn't solve this mystery. A black car will drop off your tragic figure draped in professional morning clothes and only sharing a heartbroken smile. She answers no questions, offers no explanation, and leaves discreetly in that same black car. But a nosy aunt or a greedy child is always the issue at a funeral. While dark secrets provides a weeping woman performing the highest theatrical display of mourning, your family could still be acting like a Tyler Perry movie. Okay, Brendan. So you've got clean memories, a service that

cleans up your freaky internet stuff after you died from Alonzo Bowden. From Helen Hong, we have Bogo Forever, a buy one get one free funeral service for like-minded dead people. And from Dulce Sloan, Dark Secrets, a company that will send a mysterious woman to your funeral. Which one is real? I'm going to have to go with Dulce and the mysterious woman. That sounds like something that I've heard of before. All right.

To find out the correct answer, let's hear from someone who likes the idea of the real story. To get paid to show up and say nothing is probably the best job an actor could get. This is Kaylin Carter, an actor in Chicago, talking about the mysterious funeral lady's service. Congratulations, Brendan. You got it right. Awesome. Thank you very much. And you earned a point for Galsay, and you've won our prize, the voice of your children. on your voicemail. Thank you. Thank you for having me.

All right. Thank you for playing with us today. Say goodbye, everybody. Goodbye, everybody. And now the game we call Not My Job. Our guest, Vicki Peterson, is one of the greatest rock guitarists of all time, and one of the founding members of the Bengals. Their song Walk Like an Egyptian was both a number one hit and the only song I can actually do the dance to. you can see her this summer on tour with her husband John Kousel.

Vicki Peterson, thank you so much for joining us on Wait, Wait, Don't Tell. Thank you so much for having you. This is very exciting. Thank you so much for me. It is very exciting. You have no idea. You look very cool. You've got cool guitars up on the walls. Does there have to be a guitar behind you everywhere you go? Of course, yes.

You know, it's like the folks that have the bookshelf behind them. them on their Zoom calls and show how intelligent they are. This is the musician equivalent of that. Absolutely. So, Vicki, you've played with two of the most iconic all-female bands, the Bengals, of course, and the Go-Go's. The Bengals originally had a different band name. We had several.

We started off in L.A. as the bangs. Right. The colors, the supersonic bangs. And then we just shortened it. We added bangles, yeah. What were some of the dumb things that people would say about an all-female rock band that was kicking ass. Oh, please.

Yeah, well, what's it like being an all-girl band? What's it like being an all-girl? Al-girl. Well, I haven't had much experience with the others, so, yeah, that's tough. Yeah, it was, you know, is it hard? You know, like, everything's hard. Yeah. And what was the, so you did the bangles, but then you also were in the go-goes for a short time.

Well, yeah, I mean, we were friends with the, the go-goes and my friend Charlotte Kathy was pregnant with my ex-boyfriend's baby. What? Yeah! Talk about that. Oh, right that.

I know you wrote that song. Was this? I mean, they were married. It's legit. They were married at the time. Okay. Was this when the band was called the bangs? Post bang. No, but

so Charlotte couldn't tour that tour. and she called me up and asked me if I would step in for her, which was just a blast. I had so much fun. It was great to be a side chick, as Jane Weidland called me, Vic Fick Side Chick. They were really fun. It was a great experience.

I have a question. I just recently watched The Walk Like an Egyptian video. How did you all get that many New Yorkers to walk in the middle of the street doing that dance? New Yorkers do walk in the middle of the street. I don't know if you know that. Do you get any Egyptians that come up to you and be like, really? Your other great song, Madic Monday, was written by Prince.

Did you interact with Prince a lot? Oh, yeah. I mean, as much as one can. What was that like? Did he approach you? He did. He was very enigmatic, as you know, I'm sure. He saw our video for Hero Takes a Fall, which was off.

of our first album, and he approached us with a cassette tape that had two songs on it, one of which was Manic Monday. Wow. And he would just show up at shows sometimes. I would just look over in the wings, and, you know, and our road manager would be going, Prince is here I want

to play. Jeez. What? Jeez. Yes. He would crash your shows. Yes. That had to be amazing. So you got to play alongside Prince live. Yes. What was that? What was that like? Otherworldly, you know, and especially the first time he just came out and then we were playing.

He just wanted to sing on Manic Monday with us. He grabbed a tambourine and sang, and I think we did a couple of old rock and billy songs or something with him. And I was just literally, here's my less Paul, please. God, that's amazing. So you played in the band with your sister and your husband comes from a family band as well called the Cowsells. whose family fought more? Oh, definitely the Cowsells. Now, the Cowsells were people that don't know was the band that inspired the Partridge family.

Right? There's more of them. That is very true. Yeah. And I was a huge CalSills fan when I was a kid. So this is like one of those beautiful stories because when I was nine and got that first electric guitar, I knew that I was going to marry John Calcell.

Really? Oh. And how did you let him know that? I kept it a secret for a very long time. When you're touring with your husband and someone screws up on stage in the middle of a concert, what happens? Are you kind to each other or can you let each other have it? Oh, I have a look.

Apparently, I have a look. But it's usually laughter. We usually just dissolve into laughter. Do you ever say something when you hear your song played out in the wild? Oh, one of the first times we had just done a podcast, we got back in the car, and I turned on the radio, and they were playing one of our songs. They were playing a thousand times. And, of course, I thought it was my phone.

And I was like, oh, I didn't realize I had it playing. And I said, no, it's the radio. And I'm telling you it was as exciting as the first time I heard Madden Monday coming from some. somebody's car. Wow. We were like teenagers. We lost it, both of us. That's so exciting.

Well, this is so special for us. Thank you so much for being here. All right, Vicky. We've asked you here to play a game we're calling, Lie down like an Egyptian. The Bengals had a big hit with Walk like an Egyptian. So we thought we'd ask you about Egyptians that lie down. Mommies.

Excellent. Get two out of three questions about Mummy's Right, and you'll win our prize for one of our listeners, the voice of their choice of their voicemail. Alzo, who is Vicki Peterson playing for? Allie Freeman of Richmond, Virginia. Okay, Allie. Oh my God.

Can I call my best friend? She's an historian. Nope, it's too late. All right, Vicki. Here's your first question. The mummification process, was quite complex and involved the technology we still use today. What is it? A, the spin dryer.

B, those silica packets inside food or medicine containers that say do not eat or C, the tape dispenser. How many guess there was a substance like silica in Egypt? You're right, B. Nice job. Mummifiers put little packets filled with a mineral inside the body to absorb moisture. So mummies are in a way the original beef jerky. Here's your next question.

The most famous mummy of all is probably King Tutankhamun. But he wasn't a perfect specimen. Why? A, shortly after he was discovered, his penis broke off and someone stole it. B, his right foot wasn't mummified and actually was in pretty good shape or C, though the markings in the tomb

described the solid gold cat statue buried with him, turns out it was only gold plated. Come on, it's got to be the penis one. All right, A. You're right, A. If there is a curse, of the pharaohs. Stealing a mummy's penis is how you get it. All right, here's your last question. A study published in 2025 found a surprising thing about

unearthed mummies. What? A, if you soak them in warm water, they turn back into people. They are magnetic like a refrigerator door. Or C, they smell fantastic. Define fantastic. Really good. Crowds chiming in for sea. Smelling fantastic. Okay, I'll go with that. I could say that there'd be herbs and things

that were buried along with, maybe. Right, right, right. Well, you are... No, it's not C. You're right. It's C. Tom, you had to save her from herself. Say, me from myself. Woody.

spicy and sweet were the leading descriptions from what sounded more like a wine tasting than a mummy sniffing exercise. Alzo, how did Vicki do on our quiz? She did great. Three out of three. Congratulations, Vicki. Peterson is on tour with her husband, John Cousel. Their album is long after the fire. Vicki Peterson, thank you so much for joining us on Wait, Wait, Don't Help Me. Thank you so much. In just a minute, your workout just got a lot more delicious in our listener Limerick Challenge Game. Call 1-88 Wait-WATE-WATE-W-W-T-W-T-W-T-W-Tel-Me from NPR. From NPR and W-B-E-Z Chicago, this is Wait-W-W-Tel-Me, the NPR News Quiz. I'm Al-O-Slate. We're playing this week with Helen Hohm, Alonzo Bowden, and Dosey Sloan.

And here again is your host at the Student Baker Theater in Chicago, Illinois, Tom Papa. Just a minute, even we here at Wait-Wate are not safe from the global Limericks pandemic. If you'd like to play our listener Limerick Challenge, give us a call at 1-888-8-8-8-8-8-24. But right now, panel, some more questions for you from this week's news. Helen, a new study looking at orangutans had discovered that the mothers of some animals arrange what for their children? orangutan mothers arrange

the bananas no I need a hint okay here's a hint the moms presumably negotiate whose nest who's providing snacks who has allergies to what bugs

you would do this with your nephew you and your sister with your nephew would talk to the other moms coordinate play dates Yes, playdates. And she'll still get a point for that. That was rough. Play dates?

The researchers discovered that orangutan moms organize playdates with other moms to build social skills in their children. It's a little different from how we do it. At a bad human playdates, someone won't share a toy. With orangutans, someone's face gets ripped off. Who's the Karen-type mom in your house? the orangutan society.

The one with the bang. That's looking at the other one saying, hey, your kid did this and your kid did that. If your son throws grubs at my son, one more time, I would throw him out this jungle. It's significant that the mothers actually arrange these play dates. I mean, you don't often see that. But it's awkward when the zebra kids are over at the lions and they're like, so what do you guys like to eat for a snack? Alonzo, this week we learned about the trendy dish that rich people in the Hamptons can't get enough of. What?

Poor people. They're delicious. They finally reached the point they're just eating them. They just don't care. No, what might it be? I haven't been invited to the Hamptons lately. You can also get them with a side of fries on every kid's menu. Chicken fingers.

That's right. Chicken nuggets. Chicken nuggets. Chicken nuggets. Or is the elite call them chicken nougay. I love. According to the New York Times, all the fancy rich people in the Hamptons

are, quote, elevating the experience of chicken nuggets by serving them at parties with caviar and micro-radish greens. Said one woman, quote, it's literally like eating at McDonald's. I love. I love when these rich high-end chefs come up with scams like this. Right?

It's like, hey, man, you know how much money we can make on chicken nuggets if we just call them something else and then just charge 10 times as much? This is genius. I would have been more impressed if it was dino nuggets. Or the star-shaped ones that they have at Carl's Jr.? Oh, wait until they come across cocktail weenies. next summer is going to be a fortune style experts are chalking the trend up to nostalgia you know the simplicity of those days before you married into money

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'd like to play on air call or leave a message at 1-888-wait that's 1-88-924 8-8924 we're right here most weeks at the Studebaker Theater in downtown Chicago, and come see us on the road. We'll be in Sonoma County, California on July 30th, and in Huber Heights, Ohio, just outside of Dayton, on September 3rd. For tickets and information to all our live events, go to nprpresents.org. Hi, you're on Wait, Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me.

Hi, this is Katie calling from Dallas, Texas. Oh, nice to meet you, Katie. Can you tell me what you do for fun? Yes, I am a big crossword puzzle and jigsaw puzzle fan. I am hoping to compete in the jigsaw puzzle championships one day. Whoa. In those championships, how many pieces do they, is the average? It depends on what tier you're in, but between, I think, 500 and 1,000.

Wow. You sound like NPR. That's why we love you. Well, it's nice to have you with us, Katie. Welcome to the show. Alzo Slade is going to read you 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 are a winner. Here's your first limerick. This toy is not just for kids. The ads say so. And the putty smell does. really slay bro, plus the sensory squish is my fidgety wish. So I've bought an adult can of Plato. That's right, Plato. We now have adult Plato. No, you sickos, not that kind of adult, the I'm whimsical kind of adult, which to be fair is even worse than the perverts.

The kits allow you to create realistic looking, intricate floral arrangements. Can you imagine being the parent of a five-year-old and being like, no, no, no, this is Daddy's Play-Doh. It is kind of dangerous when you put the word adult in front of anything. Yeah, like adult education.

Like as soon... All right, here's your next limerick. With some cocoa beans taped to my locket, my workouts take off like a rocket. That dark Hershey smell works like Pablo's bright bell. I get amped when I'm

sniffing some chocolate. That's right, chocolate. According to Forbes, dark chocolate before a workout could add 18 extra reps. Finally, combining my two interests, pumping iron

for massive gains and having a little treat. It turns out you don't even have to eat the chocolate for the benefits. Sniffing it also works great. Finally, time to rip poppers at the gym with my boys. You think it's like a carrot in front of a horse situation? Were you just running trying to get the chocolate? All right, here's your last limerick.

With inflation, high fashion can't pay. So we're putting found scraps on display. We use little pigs' tree. We use little pigs tricks, skipping past bricks and sticks. We're making our clothes out of hay. Yes, there you go. Hey. Chanel's latest runway collection featured a hat and jacket covered in loose strands of hay.

For that, please give me a brain, Mr. Wizard look. I just have to ask your father, you have daughters. Yes, sir. Your daughter says, Dad, for my birthday this year, I want the Chanel hay jacket. Right. Do you question that or you just go buy it? I say that's ridiculous.

I would, that it's so opulent and disgusting and then I would go get it. Because I can't say no, they're my daughters. We just tell it like we have hay at home. She does have a pet rabbit and we do have a ton of hay. I'll just rub peanut butter

on her shoulders and say, roll around with your rabbit for a while. Alzo, how did Katie do? She's a wait, wait, wait, limerick champion, three out of three. Yeah, yeah. Congratulations, and thank you for playing, Katie. Thank you so much. All right, good luck with your puzzles. We can't wait to see you on ESPN.

Thank you. Now 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? Absolutely. Alonzo and Dulce are tied up at three with Helen. Two points.

Oh, what? No, you got it. You got it. All right, Helen. You're in third place, so you're up first. The clock will start when I begin your first question. Fill in the blank. The U.S. and Iran continued to exchange fire over control.

of the blank. Straight of Hormuz. Air quality across the northeast was at dangerous levels this week due to blanks in Canada. Wildfires. Right. Sam Neal, best known for his role of Dr. Allen Grant in the blank movies,

passed away at the age of 71. Jurassic Park. Right. The American League shut out the National League four to nothing in baseball's blank game. The Super Bowl. The All-Star Games. Yep. Christopher Nolan's new film adaptation of the blank open to glowing reviews.

The Odyssey. Right. The fossil of a blank named Gus sold for a record $50 million. A T-Rex. Right. In Maryland, a man was arrested after attempting to rob a bank with a stolen blank. Poop lettuce. Rob the bank with a kitten.

What? Yes! The man stole a kitten from a pet store. ran into the bank across the street, asked the bank teller, can you hold this, gave them the kitten while he wrote a note demanding money. The cat is now available for adoption, and the description on the website says she is always ready for the next adventure. Alzo, how many points for Helen?

She's all right. She got five right for ten more points, total of twelve. She's in the lead now. Okay, Dulce. No, thank you. You're up next. Fill in the blank. The governor of South Carolina appointed the sister of the late Senator Blank to serve the remainder of his term.

Lindsay Graham. Right. Complete this New York Post headline. Chuck Schumer appears to blank on Senate floor. Sleep? Chuck Schumer appears to let loose huge fart on Senate floor. Girl, what? Twelve states and the Writers Guild of America

sued to block the proposed merger of Warner Brothers and Blank. Paramount? Right. A Los Angeles TV reporter was praised for continuing her live report even after Blank. Let's see, something had to happen. A car accident, a chase, a fire.

Even after a flying cockroach climbed up her neck. KTLA's Rachel is, Manitof was reporting on the California heat wave when a flying cockroach, at least two inches long, landed on her shirt, climbed all the way up her neck before jumping onto her microphone and flying away. She kept her composure, threw back to the studio, and then started shaking out her clothes like crazy, we assume for the rest of the week. Alzo, how did Dulce do? She got three right for six more points, total of nine. Helen Hong is still in the lead.

All right. Feels wrong. So Alzo, how many does Alonzo need to win? Five to win. Oh, pressure is on. All right. This is for the game. Fill in the blank.

E. Jean Carroll finally received the $5 million she was owed after winning a civil lawsuit against Blank. Trump. Right. Analysis concluded that damage to the lining of blank was likely due to errors during the installation process. The reflecting pool. Right. The Washington Post fact-checking department concluded the hospital photo of blank

holding that day's newspaper was genuine. Mitch McConnell. Right. May I add, yeah, right. The FDA approved a new pill that significantly lowers blank levels. Cholesterol? Right. A school board in Florida announced it would be instituting a new policy on grade inflation after a student graduated with a GPA of blank. Five?

He had an 11.99 GPA. Ha ha! Actor Hal Williams, known for his roles in 227 and Sanford and Blank, died at age 91. Son? Right. What? That was a tough one. This Sunday's World Cup final marks the first in history in which one team star once gave a blank to the other team star.

Wow. A goal? Bath. When Spain's Lamin Yomal was a baby, his family won a raffle for a photo shoot with then new star Lionel Messi. And this adorable photo shoot involved Messi giving Yamal a bath. Now he's all grown up and playing Messi in the final. Which goes to show you anything can happen. when you let a random professional soccer player wash your baby.

Alzo, did Alonzo do well enough to win? Yes, he did. He got five right for two more points, total of 13. Nice job. In just a minute, we'll ask our panelists to predict what'll be the big surprise at this week's World Cup final. But first, let me tell you that, wait, wait, don't tell me is a production of NPR and WBEZ Chicago.

in association with urgent haircut productions, Doug Berman, benevolent overlord. Philip Goddke writes our limericks. Our public address announcer is Paul Friedman. Our ops manager is Jazeera Vardak. Thanks to the staff and crew at the Studebaker Theater. B.J. Letterman composed our theme. Our program is produced by Jennifer Mills,

Miles Dornbus, and Lillian King. Special thanks to Mahanid El Shiki. Peter Gwynn once gave a bath to a baby Peter Seigel. 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 Wait Wait Don't Tell Me is Mike Danforth. Now, panel, what's going to happen at the World Cup final? Dulce Sloan. Argentina loses and Messi has to give you all another bath. Alonzo Bowden Donald Trump is shocked and angered to find out they give the trophy to the winning team and not to him. Helen Hong That stadium has to clear out immediately to make way for Taylor Swift's vow renewal.

And if any of that happens, panel will ask you about it on Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Thank you, Alzo Slade. Thanks also to Dulce Sloan, Alon, Alonzo Bowden, and Helen Hahn. All of you for listening. I'm Tom Papa filling in for Peter Sagle. And we'll see you next week. This is NPR.