Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! - WWDTM: 25th Year Spectacular Part VI!

Episode Date: August 19, 2023

Our deep dive into our 25 year history continues with appearances from Brian May, Esperanza Spalding, Cyndi Lauper and more!Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

From NPR and WBEZ Chicago, this is Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, the NPR News Quiz. I'm letting you know it's time for our radio show. I'm your courtesy call, Bill Curtis. And here is your host at the Studebaker Theater at the Fine Arts Building in downtown Chicago, Illinois. It's Peter Sagal. Thank you, Bill. Thank you, Bill. Thank you, everybody. So we are still off on our summer break,

and we are spending it standing outside the White House waiting to be invited inside for the inevitable presidential celebration of our 25 years on the air. Ain't no party like a Biden party, because a Biden party don't stop. So while we wait for the president to wave us all in, we will share with you more of the reasons he should do it, with highlights from our first 25 years on the air, including stuff that remains relevant today. For example, this summer marks the 50th anniversary of the debut of the first album by Queen.

So enjoy this conversation with founding guitarist Brian May, who joined us in 2017 to talk to us about his other enthusiasms, like 3D photography. Thank you very much. I spent a good part of yesterday evening with your book of these amazing stereoscopic photos and the great little viewer that comes with them, enjoying these 3D pictures of your band and its history and Freddie Mercury and your other friends and musicians.

And I have one thing to ask you. How is it that in all the years that you've been in the public eye, your hair has never changed? But nobody ever came to you and said, Brian, you know, now it's 1990s. We need to cut your hair. Is there anything? Yeah, they do it all the time. I have a good answer for that, but it's probably not repeatable on your part.

So, so there are so many things that are interesting about you. You were, as, as I said, you were pursuing your doctorate in science when the band started, right? I was, yeah, in astronomy, in what they now call astrophysics, yeah, and I gave it up and I thought I was actually doing astrophysics a favor by choosing the other option. Really? Yeah, and

I also thought, you know, there's a window opening here and if I don't kind of walk through, or a door opening, I should say, and I thought if I don't walk through right now, that that door will never open again. So I went off and, against all the odds, became a rock star for some reason. Yeah, and that seemed to have worked out pretty well for you. It's okay. It's been

okay so far. It really has. So wait, so you're suggesting you were not a good astrophysicist? You know, I didn't think I was. What would make a bad astrophysicist? Like you weren't looking in the right... What would make a bad astrophysicist? Like you weren't looking in the right... What would make a bad astrophysicist would be like not being able to complete your PhD,

which is what happened. I couldn't please my supervisor. So 30 years later, I found myself with another supervisor, and he liked what I did. So I kind of updated my vision of myself. I discovered it's a common thing. People tend to have no confidence in themselves when they're trying to do a PhD. So listen, anybody out there. If you're doing your PhD, you've got to believe, okay?

Because don't wait 30 years like I did. But I got it after 30 years. Oh, wow! Wait a minute. What I love is that you going in to get your PhD not as young Brian May, but as Brian May, the guitarist of Queen.

I mean, did you like your oral exams? Did you come in and say, I could answer your questions or I could just do the riff from We Will Rock You? Well, you know, they were tough on me. I think they had to be because they couldn't be seen to kind of make it easy for me. So they gave me hell in the fiver. And, you know, I got a whole sheaf of stuff that I had to do in order to finish it off. But, yeah, I mean, that's the way it was. And I was just happy to have the opportunity because, you know, it was like full circle in my life.

I wanted to complete that circle. And it gives me a chance to hang out with cool astrophysicists and astronauts. And I have a great time. Did they try to work in any Queen stuff during the defense of your dissertation? Like, you may think you're the champion, Mr. May, but this panel thinks otherwise. Do they do anything corny

like that? No, not really, but there are links, strangely enough, because my thesis was on dust, real dust in the solar system. And I had a few quotes in there, like the Joni Mitchell quote. We are stardust, we are gold, which is true. We are the products of supernovas. Otherwise, you wouldn't have any heavy elements.

And there's been a recent discovery on that. I don't know if you saw that. Gold being created in this collision of neutron stars. Where's Joni Mitchell at on her PhD? The great thing is that most of the astrophysicists that I know are big rock fans, and they have way more tattoos than I have. Really?

Yeah, but they have, like, tattoos of Einstein and... Now, this is the amazing thing about this book, because in addition to your interest in astrophysics and obviously shredding on the guitar, you are a huge photography nerd, and you were always into 3D photography. Yeah. I'm just trying to imagine, though, that it must have been like the mid-70s, and the absolute apogee of the rock and roll lifestyle, and there's the cocaine, and there are the groupies,

and there's the liquor, and you're trying to get everybody to hold still so you can take a 3D photograph. Guys, guys, come on. I'm not going to contradict you there. Should we just move on? All right, I will. Every high school student has the same story, I imagine, on the way to sports events. Like when I played lacrosse in high school. And this is when you didn't have to sit down on the way to sports events, like when I played lacrosse in high school. And this is when you didn't have to sit down on the bus.

I don't know why, but we came from a time where no one cared really if we fell out. What were you doing on the bus? We were on our way to like a sports match, you know, like to an away game with another lacrosse team. And we would bang our sticks on the roof of the bus. How this driver tolerated, I'll never know. And we would scream at the top of our lungs the lyrics to, you know, We Are The Champions. And it was so much fun.

Oh, yeah. Did you guys ever win a match? No. And then what would you sing on the drive back? Another one bites the dust? Can I just ask what, like, in the creation of an amazing, iconic song like Bohemian Rhapsody, did Freddie Mercury write those lyrics? Absolutely.

And, like, what was it like when he says, okay, these are going to be the words to this song? We had a kind of unwritten law. Generally, the song was kind of the province of the writer, and the writer would have

the final say. So, yeah, we didn't really discuss it. We didn't say, why are you saying that, Freddie? So no one looked at him when he started singing

Scaramouche? Right. Can you do the Fandango? I mean, this stuff is really fun to do in the studio. Nobody's ever done it before. Oh, absolutely. I'd never heard anything like that in my life when that song came out. And you won't again, huh?

I know, I know. Yeah, so you guys just, you know, Scaramouche, Scaramouche, and not even looking at one another? I can imagine. Last question. As an astrophysicist, because this is interesting how you both do both, can you scientifically explain how it is that fat-bottom

girls make the world go round? Yeah, I think that's still true. I was just lucky to find out early. Well, Brian May, we could talk to you all day, but we have business to do. We've asked you here to play a game we're calling... Have a peanut buster parfait. You, of course, as we have been discussing,

are one of the founders of Queen, one of the iconic rock bands of all time, so we thought we'd ask you three questions about Dairy Queen. About what? Dairy Queen. You might have come across it in your travels across America. It's a popular ice cream and fast food franchise

I've been looking forward to so much oh you are answer two questions about, by the way I should say that absolute ignorance is always an advantage in this particular game, well you got it in this case alright, I'm just picturing the Queen tour bus pulled up to a Dairy Queen

it'd be the greatest day of those people's lives. Freddy just marching in, blizzards for the lot of us. All right, so we... Can we go home now? This is already going very well. So the question, though, for Bill is, who is legendary guitarist and astrophysicist Brian May playing for? Ella Jones of Baltimore, Maryland.

All right. There we go. Just two right, and we win it all. None right, who cares? Here we go. legendary guitarist and astrophysicist Brian May playing for? Ella Jones of Baltimore, Maryland. All right. There we go. Just two right, and we win it all. None right. Who cares? Here we go. Dairy Queen has given us so much by way of frozen treats. The Blizzard, the Dilly Bar, the Oreo Brownie Earthquake.

But it's also responsible for what other wonderful thing? A, the defibrillator device, B, the band No Doubt, or C, avocado toast? I would say none of the above, but I have no idea. The defibrillator. I'm going for the defibrillator. You could use a defibrillator in any Dairy Queen, but the answer

is the band No Doubt. Because it turns out that Gwen Stefani and two of her bandmates met and formed their band at a Dairy Queen in Anaheim, California, where they both all worked there. I'm on the edge of my seat. But we have other things. There's this Dairy Queen, one of them, in Moorhead, Minnesota. And it's legendary because it still uses all the old recipes.

And it was the place where their famous Dilly Bar treat was invented. Now, the owner there invented a number of other things that corporate never liked, so they didn't catch on nationally, including which of these? We're going to do these failed Dairy Queen treats. A, the Flaming Sunday, B, the Meat Shake,

or C, the Heck of a Job Brownie. I'm going to go for number one. The Flaming Sunday. You're right. Whoa! The Flaming Sunday. Sunday. Sugar cube doused with liquor set on fire.

Very attractive. So your last question. If you get this right, you win, which I'm sure will go well with your CBE. Last question. Dairy Queen has a deep, dark secret. get this right, you win, which I'm sure will go well with your CBE. Last question. Dairy Queen has a deep, dark secret, something they would rather that you, none of us, would know. What is it? A,

their original name was Dairy Fairy. B, their ice cream isn't actually ice cream. Or C, the chain is wholly owned by the government of Iran. He's operating at a slight disadvantage, having never been to a Dairy Queen. That's true. I think B.

Yes, you're right. There you go. Now, it's true that their product, their frozen soft serve, cannot be legally called ice cream because it doesn't have enough real cream in it. Bill, how did Brian May do in our quiz? He is a champion. There we go.

Two out of three. Nice friend. Brian May is an astrophysicist, guitar legend, and one of the founders of the great rock bands of all time. That would be Queen. His new book, which is completely worth the hours you will spend

staring at it, it's of stereoscopic photos he took. It's called Queen in 3D. It is out now. Brian May, what a joy to talk to you.

Thank you so much for being here. Brian May, everybody. I like ice cream All different flavors of ice cream I got chocolate, cherry, vanilla mixed, berry, coffee, cream tastes good to me. When we come back, the woman who took out Justin Bieber and

the two brothers who made Chicago funny. That's when we return with more Wait, Wait, 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 Bill Curtis, and here is your host at the Studebaker Theater in the Fine Arts Building in downtown Chicago, Illinois, Peter Segal. Thank you, Bill. Thank you, everybody.

It's your time. So, we are more than halfway through our 25th anniversary year. So, we're thinking our invite to the big Kennedy Center celebration of us must have gotten lost in the mail. So, while we stare forlornly

into the window of the post office, here's some more reasons why they should give us a medal. In 2011, there was a huge upset at the Grammys. The award for Best New Artist did not go to the favorite, Justin Bieber, but to a young jazz bassist from Portland named Esperanza Spalding, who joined us to talk about that in 2016. So there are more origin stories for you out there than there are for, like, Batman.

Yeah. So could you tell us a story? You were growing up in a rough section of Portland, Oregon, right? Yeah, and I was walking in this dark tunnel, and a penguin came out and attacked my parents. And I bowed from that moment on. Yes, I did grow up in a rough neighborhood in Portland. When I read, you know, a rough neighborhood of Portland, I'm like, what, they didn't have kombucha bars there?

Exactly. It was rough. Our green juice was like only kale. Oh, no. But the various stories about how you came to music, I read one that you were inspired by Yo-Yo Ma on Mr. Rogers. Yeah. Rogers. Yeah, yeah, and wildly enough, later I saw a tape of that episode, and when he goes to make-believe land,

the two women characters are playing an upright bass, and the other one is dressed as an upright bass. So I think it was like some subconscious hypnotism that happened when I was five, and I ended up playing the bass later. Well, what drew you to playing the bass? Nothing that I can recall, but the sound is tremendous. You know, it sits on your hip bone and it vibrates your skeleton and it's like kind of musically orgasmic. It's incredible, I have to confess. It's purely for self-interest of pleasure. It's purely for self-interest of pleasure. What's crazy is that's the dirtiest thing anyone said on public radio. It's all totally allowable.

I can start like a hotline. A lot of musicians are looking at their cellos and violas and going, you've never given me any pleasure. You were a jazz musician growing up in Portland. Were the streets of Portland at that time in your neighborhood filled with jazz bands? No. But there was a lot of music here. I mean, you know

it's a music town and there's a really beautiful philosophy of mentorship here. So up and coming musicians can easily reach out and find a loving teacher and that's definitely what happened to me yeah and you have yourself become a teacher right you were the youngest person ever to teach at the berkeley school of music yes probably unfortunately for my students but i had a good time that's important hey the students were like kidding miss spalding's

class is interesting but she's got a weird relationship with that bass. Do you have your own bass, or are you, shall we say... Polyamorous. Polyamorous with basses. Because it must be a pain in the butt, because this is an enormous instrument. It must be a pain in the butt to carry the damn thing around. That is the drawback. But then I look at what drummers go through, of lugging their gear from here to there and setting it up, and I think, no, it's okay. It's just big. But then I look at what drummers go through of like lugging their gear from here to there and setting it up.

And I think, no, it's okay. It's just big. And fortunately, I'm comfortable with the concept of bass du jour. So I travel. We have a little, you know, blind date, get to know each other, do the gig, and it's all good, you know? Wow. I don't know what the hell's up with this allegory. I can't seem to get it out.

I have to talk to you about 2011. You won the Grammy for Best New Artist. That is like the first time they ever gave that award to a jazz musician. Is that right? Uh-huh. That's correct. Or at least an openly jazz musician.

Yeah. You were out and proud. You were not one of those closeted jazz guys. Exactly. And everybody that year expected it was going to be Justin Bieber because he had just released his first record. Yeah, including everybody that year expected it was going to be Justin Bieber because he had just released his first record. Yeah, including me.

You thought it was going to be Justin Bieber. Of course. And when they announced your name, what did you think? Nothing. Nothing registered. It was like this void of silence. I was like, oh, my God, I have to remember to thank this person, that person, this person.

Why didn't I plan a speech? This is horrible. What am I going to do? Don't fall on your face. The dress is too long. Are you wearing a bra? Did you put on deodorant? Oh my God. Yeah, it was like

an automatic reel of concerns that just started automatically playing when I heard my name and it played until I got to the stage and I actually kept playing as I was speaking. I don't even remember that moment, to tell you the truth. That's amazing. I mean, I'm sure you wish that you could have just been back in the arms of your bass.

Glad you're here. Yeah, thank you. Esperanza Spalding, we're delighted to talk to you, and we have invited you here to play a game we're calling... All Your Bass Are Belong To Us. So you famously play the bass and maybe more. So we thought we'd ask you about three other kinds of basses. Get two out of three right,

and you'll win our prize for one of our listeners. Carl Cousel's voice on their voicemail. Bill, who is Esperanza Spalding playing for? Ken Powell from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. All right. Right on. Right on. Your first base is base jumping. That is jumping off high buildings or mountains with a parachute that hopefully opens before you hit the ground. Which of these is a real base jumper? Is it A, Whisper, the base jumping dog, B, Amber Sky, an exotic dancer slash base jumper who wears only a parachute, or C, the flying McDaniels, an entire family of four who jumps off cliffs strapped to each other. I bet it's Amber Skye, and I bet she's from Portland, Oregon.

I will say this, Esperanza, knowing Portland as I do, if Amber Skye existed, she would be from Portland. But it was really Whisper the base-jumping dog. Whisper is the pet of noted adventurer Dean Potter who straps Whisper to his back and jumps off things.

And Pete is okay with this? You know, we'll have to find out. Maybe they're just hearing about it now. Okay. All right, you still have two more chances.

Second base is baseball. The great American pastime. One of the worst baseball players ever was one Smead Jolly. Mr. Jolly was an outfielder during the 1930s, and he is famous in baseball history as being the only major league player ever to do what? A, to run the bases backwards, third to second to first, where he was easily put out.

B, while playing the outfield, he committed three errors all by himself on one play. Or C, once again in the outfield, he missed an easy pop fly because he was busy trying to teach a pigeon a trick. I think I'm going to go with the first one.

He ran the bases backward. Following your instincts has brought you everywhere you are today, so who am I to argue? In this case, of course, you were wrong. He committed three errors all by himself. This is what happened.

Grounder to this outfielder. Goes through his legs. First error. He turns around. It bounces off the outfield wall. Rolls back towards him. Goes through his legs again. Second error. Finally, he grabs the ball, throws it to the cutoff man, sails it way over his head.

Three errors, one play. Never been surpassed. All right. You have one more question. Okay. And the third base is Ace of Base, the great Swedish pop group. Early on, they almost didn't make it.

They almost failed before they ever had a chance. The producer they sent their demo to just didn't like it, but that producer changed his mind when what happened? A, he visited an Ikea for the first time and just fell in love with all things Swedish. B, the tape got stuck in his tape deck in his car and he was forced to listen to it over and over for two weeks, at which point he started liking it. Or C, he saw the sign and it opened up his eyes.

Yeah. He saw the sign. He just opened up his eyes and saw the sign. Yeah. I think it has to be the second. You're right, it was. Okay. How?

Okay. I don't know that baseball. How did you know? Yeah. Yeah, after two weeks, you heard something in Ace of Bases music you didn't hear the first time, and you said, I think I'm going to produce this. Bill, how did Esperanza Spalding do in our clip?

She's got games. She got one right, and we love having her here, Esperanza. Esperanza, thank you so much for joining us on Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. What a pleasure to talk to you. One of the best things that happened to Chicago in recent years was entirely made up, a sitcom called South Side,

created by and starring two brothers, Bashir and Sultan Salahuddin. Who, unlike some people who become icons of Chicago, like, say, us, actually grew up here. I did not ask to be born in New Jersey, Bill. But you didn't object either. Here are the Salahuddin brothers. Yes, we grew up on the south side of Chicago in Gresham. And one person, thank you. One guy up there was like, that's right, Gresham. I came here to make sure you guys were going to rep.

So Bashir, you went to UDs for college and you got into comedy writing. You wrote for Jimmy Fallon, right? I wrote for Jimmy Fallon in New York. Lived in New York. Me and my writing partner, Diallo Riddle, we actually got there before the show even started. And everybody's like, oh, we have no idea what's going to happen. And we looked up a couple years later. We had some Emmy nominations.

We were writing for President Obama. Oh, yeah, I heard that. That famous appearance of President Obama on Still Jim News. You guys wrote that. Yeah, we did. And in fact, here's something. I wrote the first pass. And I've never told anybody that.

But I'm in a bragging kind of mode right now. Do it. Let's do it. Let's do it. That's right. That's right. And, you know, we got to meet the president. And he couldn't have been more nice.

And he really wanted to have a good time. How much did he put in his own stuff? Like, did he improvise? I mean, you know, he's a natural. There are detractors who would say, oh, Obama's a ham. Like you just said. Sultan, so he's out there.

I'm coming in hot, y'all. So I'm going to catch up with Sultan. So Bashir is out there. He's doing comedy writing. What are you doing at this time? I was doing stand-up comedy in the Midwest for a while. I was cracking jokes and making people laugh and busting heads. But I went to college, had a couple of kids,

did the normal domestic stuff, and then I decided to start writing at the urge of my brother. And we pinned the show Southside and sent it to my brother. And he pinned it, and we went past it, and next thing you know, we're here. So wait a minute. So you're the guy, Soltan, who came up

with the idea for the show? Boom. Really? Since we're bragging. Now there's a look for radio audiences. Not the only one that's cool. There's a look in Bashir's face. This reminds me of back when I was inventing the iPhone.

The show is about two guys, one of whom you play, Soltan, who worked for a rent-to-own company. Yeah. Spending a lot of time, and they got like side hustles upon side hustles. And Bashir, you play a Chicago cop. I do. Who is not the best cop. There's a lot of things about the show that I want to talk to you guys about, but one of them is its tone. And I was watching it because all this stuff happens.

And it just gets crazier and crazier and crazier as the show goes on until stuff is happening like, what? And I was like, this is like Seinfeld. High praise. All right. Thank you. You heard it here first, Walt. A little Seinfeld sauce for you.

In the classic Seinfeld episodes, somebody would do something small, and they'd get dumb about it, and they would just increase in dumbness. The old snowball effect. Right. And I actually heard that you guys actually had that in mind when you created the show. That you wanted to be like a Seinfeld for the South Side. Is that right? You know, we definitely wanted something that moved the way Seinfeld moved in terms of being funny.

I think sometimes when you deal with content, especially black content, there's always this impetus and this need to put something deep into it. I don't mean deep as in our show doesn't have meaning, but our show doesn't need you to have characters prove they're from the South Side because they cry. Because they're running from bullets. We don't have very special episodes

where I grab and go, hey, brother, what's going on? And also, I as an actor am not qualified. Do that level of work. He really cares. Yeah, exactly. So we said, no, we want people all over the world, and especially on the South Side, to come home and feel lifted up, and to let that ebullient spirit of the show really pervade

every morsel and ounce of who they are as a person. And then tell other people about it, so they watch, much like we're doing right now. Right. I understand. Ebullient. Ebullient. And I think're doing right now. I understand. A Boolean. A Boolean. By the way, he debt me $5. I wouldn't use that word. Well, Bashir and Sultan,

it is a real joy to meet you in person. Thanks for having us. This is great. We have invited you here today. We've invited you here to play a game we're calling Welcome to the real South Side. So if you start, say, at the corner of 75th and Ashland, and you head south, and you keep heading south,

you will eventually reach the southest of sides, that is, Antarctica. So we're going to ask you three questions about Antarctica. Get two right, you win a prize for whatever it is. Voice of their choice and their voicemail. He's ready. Bill Hora, Bashir, and Sultan playing for you. Man, let's do this.

Jen Freitag of Chicago, Illinois. All right. All right. Hey, Jen. Hi, Jen. Here is your first question. The first person to reach the South Pole was the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen in 1911.

And the tent he set up when he got there has been designated as an official world historic site, even though, what? A, nobody has any idea where it is. B, it melted and dissolved into the ocean seven years ago. Or C, it is the place where Amundsen's group ate their weakest member. Do you think he ate somebody? I think it's A.

You're right. That's what it was. Nobody has any idea where it is. Just so you know, I read about this before we came. Oh, you did your research. They think it's like 50 feet beneath the current surface of the ice, maybe over there that way. They don't really know. Alright. There it is. Next question. By the time

Richard Byrd led his 1928 expedition to the South Pole, Antarctica... Famous 1928 expedition. That one. You know that, right? Yep. Who doesn't? I'm aware of that. I got a Richard Byrd shirt at home. Yeah. When he led his expedition there in 1928, Antarctica

had developed such a reputation for driving men insane in the wild, cold wastes that he brought along what on the trip a 12 straight jackets be a couch so he could give his men therapy if needed or see three seasonal affective disorder lamps What do you think you say you're gonna go should we go ahead I gotta go with straight jacks I'll support you You're right. It was straight jacket. Yeah I don't know.

My mom's going to be so proud. We'll see if we can make her proud. Last question. Trying. So there are, of course, lots of current expeditions to the South Pole. Yes. But if you wanted to go to the South Pole now on an expedition and you are a doctor, you have to make some preparations before you go,

including what? A, you have to bring along a lot of sugar pills because people get bored and make up reasons to see the doctor just to have something to do. B, have your own appendix removed. Or C, stock up on wooden medical instruments because your hand sticks to scalpels

in that cold. What's your gut telling you? I'll tell you what cold. What's your gut telling you? I'll tell you what, what's your appendix telling you? Alright, so what's it going to be? I support you. I'm going with the wood, bro. Alright, that's fine. You've already won. Bashir is going with the first appendix.

Sultan is going with the wooden instruments. And the winner is Bashir. It was in fact. All right. Oh, wait. In 1961, in 1961, a Russian doctor was at the South Pole, his own appendix burst, and he had to remove it himself.

Yeah. For the reasons that you speculated. No one else to do it. So, ever since then, get it taken care of before you go. I'm sure he used wooden instruments. I'm just saying. Bill, how did they do on our quiz? They've gone where few have gone before and got them all right. What?

You did. All right. Collectively. Together. Oh, man. And guys, I've got to tell you, if you think these guys are funny here, you should see their TV show, Bashir and Sultan, Soledadine star in Southside. It's on HBO Max, seasons one and season two is out now.

Watch it, Bashir and Sultan. Thanks, guys. Thank you so much for joining us. It's a pleasure. Bravo. Bravo. When we come back, yes, two queens, Cyndi Lauper and Misty Copeland. We'll be back in a minute with more Wait, Wait, 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 Bill Curtis and here's your host at the Studebaker Theater in downtown Chicago, Peter Sagal. Thank you, Bill. Thank you. Thank you, everybody. We are almost done with this week's

show, and we still have not received that presidential phone call, so it is time to bring out the big guns, by which we mean two of the most amazing guests we've had over the last two and a half decades. First, pop legend and composer Cindy Lauper, who joined us in 2018. Peter began by asking her if it was true she was almost born in a New York taxi cab. Yeah, and I tell you, I ain't been right ever since.

I'm not. And how did you get into music initially? What were your first jobs when you were getting started? Well, I was a hot walker at Belmont. You were a what? A hot walker. What is a hot walker? You walk the horses. You walk the horses when they're hot. You got to get there really early, though. That's really tough, you know, because you're up at 4 a.m., you know. I used to, no, I had run away to Long Island because I lived in the city

and I thought I was missing something in suburbia. So I ran away to suburbia and then I realized, hey, what the heck am I doing here, you know. And then I was going to be a painter. So I went to Canada, to the Algonquin Provincial Park, and I did a tree study. I just drew trees. And then, unfortunately, I went with my dog at the height of the black fly season. So that kind of didn't work out very well.

We were all bitten up. No, it was terrible. So I guess really just pop stardom was a last resort for you. Well, I had a lot of jobs. I was even a gal Friday the 13th. A what? A gal Friday the 13th? What's that?

Yeah, well, it's a gal Friday who's really horrible at her job. I've got to ask you, back in the 80s, one of the things you were known for was like you were really into wrestling. Yeah, I was a wrestling manager for a while. I was Captain Lou Albano. Yeah, I remember this. Is there a story with him and your famous song Girls Just Want to Have Fun, I'm told? Oh, we had a

fight and I was on the Roddy Piper show, you know, Piper's Pit, and I was talking to Roddy and all of a sudden Lou came on and he said, you know, he started talking about women, you know, that we belong barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen.

And, you know, he was the one that did everything. But he started to say, like, real sexist stuff. And I said, Lou, you're starting to make me angry. Right. And then he wouldn't stop. And, you know, when you hang out with wrestlers. Wrestlers have episodes, but you hang out with them. Sometimes you have an episode yourself, and I do. This happens to me all the time.

So did you hit him with a folding chair? What did you do? No, I turned over the table, and I pulled on his beard and hit him with my purse over the head. Sounds like he deserved it. Most people don't know this, but you, Cindy Lauper, have won an Emmy for your performances on TV, Mad About You, a Grammy for your records, a Tony for Kinky Boots. Kinky Boots.

How are you going to win your Oscar? Everybody says that. I'm going to have to now. You are. I got some time left. I'm still above the grass. That's true. Well, we think you'll do it.

But in the meantime, Cindy Lauper, it is a pleasure to talk to you. And we've invited you here to play a game we're calling... I'm King of the World. You wrote the show Kinky Boots. And it just so happens, if you take Kinky Boots and you change two letters, that makes Sinky Boats. Wow. That's right.

You probably saw this coming. We're going to ask you about the most famous sinky boat of all time, the Titanic. Oh, gosh. Yes. Get two right, you'll win a prize for one of our listeners. The voice of your choice on their voicemail. Bill, who is Cindy Lauper playing for?

Allison Carter of Phoenix, Arizona. Are you ready to do this? Allison, I'm going to do my best, hon. Okay. Here we go. Here's your first question. It's well known that the musicians aboard the Titanic played on as the boat sank. To show their appreciation, the company that hired those musicians for the cruise did which of these things?

A, they created a special music from the Titanic tour in which the band finished with Nearer, My God to Thee and then were splashed with ice water. B, they created the first ever contract rider specifying that all the musicians, no matter where they played on land or at sea, be provided with life jackets. Or C, they billed the musicians' families for the cost of the uniforms that the musicians were wearing

when they sunk. Oh my god. Alright, well, A sounds funny, but I think it's really B. You think it's really B. You think it's really B, the first ever contract writer? Well, what else could they have done? They're not going to charge him for the uniform.

Come on. They charged him for the uniform. So I was wrong. It's not B. Well, you haven't said anything yet. It's C. It's C, yeah. They actually did that.

The father of one of the musicians got a letter asking him to pay the deposit on the uniform. He did not. Your next question. The sinking of the Titanic led to safety improvements on future ships, as in which of these? A. The HMS Bannon installed a speaker at its bow that constantly played the message, Out of the way, iceberg! B. The SS Eastland added additional lifeboats, which made it top-heavy and it eventually capsized as a result. Or C, the SS Humphrey required all passengers

to wear scuba gear at all times, just in case. B. Yeah, it was the Eastland. Happened here in Chicago. Bad idea, but it's the thought that counts. Your last question is about the former SNL star Bill Hader. The Titanic played a significant role in his career. What was it?

A, he auditioned for Saturday Night Live with his character Blinky, the blind Titanic lookout. That's pretty good. B, a Titanic obsessive. He only went into performing to earn enough money to buy an actual Titanic lifeboat, or C, he was fired from a movie theater in 1997 after he punished noisy patrons by going up to them

and spoiling the ending of the movie Titanic. Well, first of all, he could never spoil the ending because everybody knows the most sense. All right. So, can you go over that one more time? Yeah, okay, I'll go over it again. So that was the third one. The first one was he auditioned for Saturday Night Live.

You presented a character. He presented the character of Blinky, the blind Titanic lookout. I think that's it. You do? Yeah, I do. It was actually the last one. He spoiled the ending. He was working as an usher.

He didn't just go up and say, oh, by the way, the boat sank. He sat down next to him. He said, let me tell you what happened. The boat sinks, and Rosie and Jack go into the water, and then they find this door. He told them the whole thing, and so he was fired by the movie theater,

went on to better things. Bill, how did Cindy Lauper do in our quiz? I think she got two right, which means that you won, Cindy. Congratulations! Cindy Lauper is a Grammy and Tony Award winner. This year marks the 10th anniversary of her True Colors Fund. And you can catch her on tour with Rod Stewart this summer. That's right. Sir Rod.

Sir Rod. Cindy Lauper, thank you so much for joining us on Broadway Temptation. Finally, one of the greatest and most famous ballerinas of our era, Misty Copeland, the first African-American prima ballerina at the American Ballet Theater. Peter, ask her if she grew up as a typical bunhead

with toddler-sized tutus. Absolutely not. I had never heard classical music before. I was listening to Aretha Franklin and Mariah Carey. Really? Yeah. I ended up training only for four years before I was accepted into American Ballet Theater in New York City.

That's crazy. Yeah. She's like the LeBron James of ballet a little bit. Yeah. One of the things about ballet, classical ballet especially, is it's obviously so incredibly strenuous, and part of the aesthetic is you have to seem absolutely effortless. So whenever I see a ballet, I always imagine that the people dancing around on their toes

are constantly thinking to themselves, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow. Is that true? On some days. We do talk on stage to each other, and I think some people think, why did I choose this career? Why am I doing this? Wait a minute.

You said you talk to each other on stage? We do. What do you say? The artistic director may not want to hear that, but we have full-on conversations depending on how rigorous the part is. Really? During the show

what are you having tonight for dinner wait a minute you're going out to the club so you're telling me like if i go see the nutcracker and the corduble is back there and they're doing like the sugarplum fairies they're dancing around on point and they're saying to each other so what are you doing tonight oh nothing what about you oh and do you have to wait for the person to come back around before you get your answer? Do you talk to them when you're spinning around and you just get one word out when you're facing them? Hey, what are you doing after the show? Depending on how fast you spin.

Do you talk smack sometimes? Let's see you jump with my foot on your shoe. Ha! I bet they do that. Oh, I'm going to go to the ballet tomorrow. Suddenly it's come alive for me. You know, Pete, I want to... That's what makes us professional. Yeah, I understand. I went to my first ballet, and I saw Aladdin from the Houston Ballet,

and I was amazed, and I was like, man, I think these guys probably beat me up. Because, I mean, how strong are ballet dancers and ballerinas? I've always... They are the strongest people, I think, that exist. Both mentally, emotionally, physically. And to be able to do all that we do on stage and for you to think we're just these little sugarplum fairies prancing around is even more incredible.

Right. I mean, I don't mean to get personal, but looking around on the Internet, your legs are quite the thing. I mean, it looks like... You know how to talk pretty to women. I do, I do. I was on the Internet, and I was looking at you on the Internet. No, seriously.

I mean, they're like... I'm just saying. I'm what I was saying. Like the thing. Both of them. I'm saying that when your career in the ballet ends, which hopefully won't happen for many years, you can get a job for like the NYPD kicking down doors for them.

I don't think that's also what you're supposed to say to a woman. Yeah. You can kick some doors down, babe. Yeah. That was nice, man. So one thing I've always wondered about people like yourself, because I am a terrible dancer, and so whenever I'm at a party or whatever where there's dancing,

I do not dance. I am on the side. You are one of the greatest dancers. I am on the side. You are one of the greatest dancers, well, in the world. So when you're at a party and the dance music starts up, do you say to yourself, now it's my time? Can you twerk? I mean, you could twerk, right?

Hilarious. Come on. You can twerk. Come on You can twerk I get down I listen to a lot of hip hop And R&B and soul I don't know if I've ever twerked I think someone would have noticed Misty

Would have been quite the YouTube sensation Had you done it Well Misty Copeland we're delighted to talk to you. We've asked you here to play a game we're calling... Hey, nonny nonny. You are a classical ballerina, but classical ballet is a newfangled upstart compared to Morris dancing, which scholars believe originated one night in the Middle Ages

when some guys got really, really drunk. We're going to ask you three questions about Morris dancing. Get two right, you'll win our prize. Carl, who is Misty Copeland playing for? Misty is playing for Barbara Woods of Anacortes, Washington. Now, before we get started, let's establish what Morris dancing is. It is a very old kind of British folk dance, and they put on these costumes with bells,

and they dance about in, like, county squares. Like Game of Thrones stuff? Yeah. All right, so now that we've established that, here's your first question. As we've said, Morris dancing is ancient. People do like to mix it up. Which of these is a new trend in Morris dancing?

A, hip-hop Morris, in which dancers dance to rap hits from the likes of Jay-Z and Lil Wayne. B, goth Morris, in which dances are changed into weird satanic-like rituals, or C, Morris the Cat Dancing, in which dancers incorporate licking themselves and coughing up hairballs.

Oh, wow. I feel like A seems the most normal. Hip-hop Morris? Yeah. Actually, no, it's B. It's Goff Morris is the latest thing. I thought Goff went out in the 90s. No, no, no.

They're just getting around to it in England, apparently. That's okay. You still have two more chances, Misty, so you're going to get this, I'm sure. Now, Morris dancing has spawned all kinds of spin-ff industries, because it's popular. As in which of these? A, a personal injury lawyer specializing in Morris dancing injury claims, like being hit in the face with a Morris stick. B, No Morris,

an iPhone app that helps you avoid any Morris dancers in your area. Or C, Errol Morris dancing, a form of the dance and when you merely stare at the audience and say very little. A? A, yes, it's A. A. Apparently, if you're in a Morris dance troupe and you injure yourself like getting hit with a Morris stick, you could be able to sue your own Morris dance troupe.

All right, if you get this last one right, you will win everything. Having been around for a very long time, Morris dancing has inspired a number of jokes. Which of these is a classic Morris dancing joke? Sure to get a laugh in Morris dancing circles. A, three Morris dancers walk into a bar and immediately get thrown out because everybody hates Morris dance. B, why did the Morris dancers cross the road? Because they were being chased by a mob because everybody hates Morris dancers. Or C, why do Morris dancers wear bells

so they can annoy the blind as well? C sounds perfect. C is, in fact, the right answer. That is the classic Morris Dan show. Carl, how did Misty Copeland do on our quiz? She had enough correct answers to win, Peter, so she is a winner. Well done, Misty. Misty Copeland is a soloist with the American Ballet Theater.

Her memoir, Life in Motion, An Unlikely Ballerina, is out now. Pick it up. She's amazing. Thank you so much, Misty. Great to talk to you. Take care. Thank you. Bye-bye.

That's it for our Please Someone Important Finally Notice That We've Been Around for 25 Years edition. Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me is a production of NPR and WBEZ Chicago in association with Urgent Haircut Productions Doug Berman, Benevolent Overlord Philip Godeka writes our limericks Our public address announcer is Paul Friedman Our tour manager is Shana Donald BJ Lederman composed our theme

Our program is produced by Jennifer Mills, Miles Dornbos and Lillian King Our Presidential Medal of Freedom is Peter Gwynn Our Vibes Coordinator is Emma Choi Technical Direction is from Lorna White Our Business and Ops Manager is Colin Miller Our vibes coordinator is Emma Choi. Technical direction is from Lorna White. Our business and ops manager is Colin Miller. Our production manager is Robert Newhouse. Our senior producer is Ian Chilock. And the executive producer of Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me is Mike Danforth. Thanks to everyone you heard, all of our panelists, our guests, of course, Bill Curtis. And thanks

to all of you for listening. I am Peter Sagal. We'll be back next week. This is NPR.