Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! - WWDTM: Andy Richter

Episode Date: December 6, 2025

We're live in Phoenix with special guest Andy Richter and panelists Alonzo Bodden, Luke Burbank, and Shantira Jackson!Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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Thanks again for your support. Now, on to the Life Force that is our show. From NPR and WBEZ Chicago, this is Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, the NPR News Quiz. Hey there, Arizona, I'm Alzo Slade. for Bill Curtis, who is somewhere in the desert on a vision quest. And here's your host at the Arizona Financial Theater in Phoenix, Arizona, Peter Seigle. Thank you, Alzo. Thank you, Alzo. Thank you, everybody.

Thank you, Phoenix. It is so wonderful to be back here. Now, you know how they say you should dance as if no one is watching. Andy Richter just danced while everyone in the world was watching him on dancing with the stars. Later on, we're going to ask him about becoming, as one judge put it, the people's princess. Right now, it's your turn to compete. Give us a call. The number is 1-3-8-8-8-8-8-8-2-4.

That's 1-8-8-8-2-4. Let's welcome our first listener contestant. Hi, you're on, wait, wait, wait, don't tell me. Hey, there. This is Liz, calling from Chicago, Illinois. Hey, Liz. How are things back in Chicago? It's very cold, Peter.

I'm jealous that you're in sunny, Phoenix, Arizona. Let's back up a little bit. How cold is it there? It's like four degrees. Four degrees. Wow. Wow. These people in Arizona didn't even know that was possible. Well, Liz, welcome to the show.

Let me introduce you to this week's panel. First up, she's a writer and a comedian who most recently wrote for Clean Slate. It's available on Amazon. It's Shantira Jackson. Hi, Liz. Hey, Chantira. Next, he is the host of the long-running daily podcast, TBTL, as well as the public radio variety show live.

which will be live at Revolution Hall in Portland, Oregon. On December 11th, it's Luke Burbank. Hey there, Liz. Hey, Luke. And finally, a comedian, you can see December 10th and 11th at Dead Crow Comedy in Wilmington, North Carolina, or a New Year's Eve at Good Nights Comedy Club in Raleigh, North Carolina.

It's Alonzo Bowden. Hello, Liz. Hey, Lanzo. So, Liz, welcome to the show. You're going to play Who's Alzo this time. Alzo Slade, filling in for Bill Curtis, This is going to read you three quotations from this week's news. You expected that if you can correctly identify or explain just two of them.

You'll win our prize, the voice of anyone you might choose in your voicemail. Liz, are you ready to do this? Let's do it. Okay. Your first quote is the Secretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy, this week. Let's try not to wear slippers and pajamas. With holiday travel coming up, Duffy was telling Americans to stop dressing like slabs while they do what? While they fly.

Exactly. on airplanes. Sean Duffy, in charge of improving our transportation system, says Americans need to start dressing better on airplanes. This sucks.

My only fancy shoes are made of bombs. So Duffy apparently blames this epidemic of terrible behavior we've been seeing on planes on people's sloppy clothes. He is calling for a return to the olden age of air travel where people dressed up.

You could smoke on the plane next to any pregnant lady you liked. And your plane had a one and three chance of being hijacked to Cuba. Which, by the way, might be an upgrade right now. It's true. I don't know if he's flown

lately, but I can't fight in a tuxedo. You get on a plane, you've got to be ready for action. Some guys, somebody's ready to go out to. You're like, wait, I got to take the studs out of my sleeves here. You don't know what's going on on the plane. Like, if you're on spirit and you're not ready for action, then that's your own fault. Well, he got the suit to bury him

in. He's wearing it right now. It's dangerous up here. People are reclining their seat well over three inches. Well, all I know is that my nicest clothes are my biggest clothes. So it's like, if you got a big dress on, you got a nice suit on, it's like a lot of clothes. And I don't know if you've been on a plane lately, but my nicest clothes, I'm not going to fit. I'm not going to be able to sit down on Southwest if I got on a nice dress. You don't want your nicest clothes dredged through Biscoff cookie crumbs?

I think if five guys get on a plane in suits, everyone's going to be nervous. That's true. That's also true. What's going on? Who are they transporting? What's about to happen? All right, here is your next quote.

They want to block out the sun. What could go wrong? That was the headline of the Washington Post about the growing movement to block out the sun, to actually block the sun in order to slow what? Global warming. Global warming, climate change, that's right. You can applaud, not for global warming, but because she got it right. A number of billionaires, including Bill Gates,

are funding research and projects to block out the sun. A plan endorsed by climate scientists and mad scientists. And speaking, as someone who has never seen a single movie, this sounds like a great idea. The technology is called solar geoengineering, and it works by injecting reflective particles high into the atmosphere, which sends, if it works, the sun's rays towards other planets. So it's your problem now, Venus. Are you sure it's not, like, a giant umbrella that comes out of the top of an island shaped like a human skull where Jeff Bezos lives in the eye socket? Because I feel like that's the movie version of this.

We're just being ruled by Bond villains. I mean, it's amazing. We humans, we are astounding creatures. All we have to do to save our only planet is, like, build windmills and bicycle more. And we're all like, nah, let's kill the sun. Well, as someone who lived in L.A. for 40 years from 80 to 20, 24, and I was there when we had particles blocking out the sun. Didn't work too well. You inhale those particles, and there was a lot involved.

I'm scared of any plan that Marjorie Taylor Green would say, that makes sense. Yeah, exactly. Bill Gates, by the way, one of the reasons this is in the news is Bill Gates has come out as, someone who is trying to fund these particular scientific efforts to block the sun after failing in his plan to block the X-teen files. So I wonder what their plan is. What are you going to have to pay for sunlight? Because, you know, they'll block out the sun and, like, oh, you want a sunny weekend?

Well, that's going to cost you some money. You know, it's going to have to be a subscription deal. You don't have the premium plan? You don't keep your sunlight. I'm sorry. I will be honest, I don't think that white people are going to pay for more son. No. I might pay for some son, but I don't think they're going to pay for son.

All right, Jen, here is your last quote. It is from the owner of a new karaoke bar. It's like an Instagram filter for your voice. She was talking about what technology that is now being added to the karaoke experience. Is that going to be auto-tune? It is going to be auto-tune. According to the New York Times, karaoke is going upscale

with nicer spaces and lounges, and yes, many of them will provide auto-tune for your singing. Come on, we already have technology to make anybody good at karaoke. It's called Drinking Five Corps Lights. What's going to happen to T-Pain? That's a good question.

Oh, buddy. They're going to take his whole thing. No, people are going to be doing his greatest hits in Parioki. It's great. No, the real question is, what's going to happen to J-Lo. Oh, don't worry, Alzo. J-Lo will be all right.

Nobody was listening to J-Lo. All right, Jim. Peter, as someone who agrees with the description of karaoke is the Japanese Revenge for World War II, I have no desire to hear people who can't sing, sing. Like, there are so many people who can sing. I'm going to go ahead and listen to them. You think?

Peter, I love you. You're a great guy. You're brilliant. I don't want to hear you sing. I do. No, you don't. I think everyone here does. Yes.

I think the billion-dollar idea with karaoke is not even an auto tune. It's in editing the song, so it's just the good part. Yeah. Here's what I want to hear, just a small town girl living in a lonely world, and then cut to the don't stop believing, and then get off the stage. Right. I don't need all the in-between stuff. I had no idea how much in-between stuff there was in songs until they invented karaoke.

Someone needs to edit the songs into just being like two minutes. Luke, that in-between stuff, they call those lyrics. There's a word for that. I'm not a training musician. This is the first time hearing of this. By the way, like, this is part of an entire movement to make karaoke more upscale, right? This is true. Some luxury apartment buildings, part of their amenities, a dedicated.

karaoke room. That would make me move out. Right. I think it was Sean Duffy who said we just have to dress better for karaoke. It would really improve the experience. Alzo, how did Liz do in our quiz? She did amazing. Three out of three.

There you go, Liz. Congratulations. Thank you guys so much. It's been wrong. Liz has been great to have you. Stay warm, and we'll see you when we're back in Chicago in April. Sounds good. Bye, bye.

Right now, panel, that it's time for you to answer some questions about this week's news. Luke, at a cabinet meeting this week after blasting the media for claiming he was showing signs of fatigue, President Trump did what? Gently dozed off. He did. He had a little nappy. In the same meeting where he complained the media was unfairly criticizing him, seeming tired, Donald Trump fell asleep

a number of times. It's not surprising, no disrespect, but the man looks like what if a CPAP machine came to life. I have to say, though, to me, this is what makes him relatable. He goes into cabinet meetings with the confidence

I have when I say, sure, it's 8.30, but absolutely, honey, we can start a whole movie right now. I mean, falling asleep at work is real American thing. to do it really is yeah i mean i just i just woke up five minutes ago yeah to be fair to the president he does have an absolute good excuse why he's so tired every night this year when he tries to go to sleep he's visited by three ghosts who start by saying okay let's try this again

Coming up, our panelists approach the bench in our bluffed listener game call 1-3-8-8-Wait-Wait-to-play. We'll be back in a minute with more of Wait-Wait-Don't Tommy from NPR. movies and music, and we are highlighting the best of the best, including K-pop demon hunters, and severance. We're talking about our favorite moments of the year, including some of the best pop culture you might have missed. Listen to Pop Culture Happy Hour in the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. This holiday season, give a gift that gives back. The NPR shop is back with the iconic logo tea, the tiny desk hoodie, and fresh gear for fans of public media. What you wear, funds what you hear. Shop meaningful gifts now at shop npr.org. Tis the season, you'll find plenty of good

holiday movies, films that can be counted upon to deliver warmth and cheer. And bad holiday movies, they can be fun in their own way. So we're debating what's the worst holiday movie of all time. And yes, we'll be talking about love actually. Listen to pop culture happy hour in the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. Regular insurance is great for your standard day-to-day risks. But for those once-in-a-generation catastrophes, countries like Jamaica have made other preparations. We all realize that hurricanes are inevitable, and we can't just sit here and hope we had to be proactive. On Planet Money, how Jamaica weathered the worst hurricane in the country's history with a bet. Planet Money, listen on the NPR app or wherever you get your

podcasts. From NPR and WBEZ Chicago, this is Wait, Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, the NPR News Quiz. I'm Alzo Slade. We're playing this week with Luke Burbank, Alonzo Bowden, and Chantira Jackson. And here again is your host at the Arizona Financial Theater

in Phoenix, Arizona, Peter Seigold. Thank you, Alzo. Thank you, everybody. Right now it is time for the Wait, Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, bluff the listener game. Call 1-3-8-Wa-W-W-W-W-W-W-T-E Air. Hi, you are on, Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me.

Hi, this is Nick Smith. I'm calling in from Los Alamos, New Mexico. Los Alamos, New Mexico. I'm going to ask, what do you do there at that famous place? I am a staff scientist in the Nuclear Engineering and Non-Proliferation Division at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Wait a minute. So you work at Los Alamos National Laboratory, which famously helped make the first atomic bomb, but you work in non-proliferation. That's correct. I work on securing the back end of the fuel cycle for radioactive waste and use nuclear fuel to make sure it's safely and securely disposed.

Nick, could you also hide the codes? Just for a while. Please. Well, Nick, it is nice to have you with us. You're going to play the game in which you have to tell truth from fiction. Alzo, what is Nick's topic? I object. So you have to get out your gavels.

This week, we heard about some disorder in a court. Our panel is going to tell you about some courtroom chaos in the news we found this week. Pick the panelists who's telling the truth. You'll win the wait-waiter of your choice in your voicemail. Are you ready to apply? I am indeed, let's go. All right, first let's hear from Shantira Jackson. Jailhouse Rock took on a whole new meeting in a Missouri courtroom

when the longest serving circuit judge in St. Charles County, Judge Matthew E.P. Thornhill was forced off the bench because of his uncontrollable enthusiasm for Elvis Presley. According to disciplinary records, Judge Thornhill would often wear plastic Elvis wigs along with his robes. Offer witnesses the chance to swear on an Elvis song instead of the by. and constantly referencing Elvis songs in his remarks from the bench. Judge Thornhill claimed that he was just trying to add some levity to the proceedings because nothing is better than walking out in handcuffs to a little less conversation, a little more action.

The judge loved Elvis so much that he even wrote in his bio that, quote, If I just had Elvis's hair, I'd be unstoppable. Well, he doesn't have Elvis's hair, and he was stopped. After a six-month suspension, he will retire. So like Elvis, he is probably going to have a pretty blue Christmas. A judge forced from the bench only because of his enthusiasm for Elvis Presley, your next courtroom drama comes from Alonzo Bowden. Bill Savoy is an institution in upstate New York,

an umpire for generations of little league players, which might explain what happened when he went to court with a property dispute according to the Syracuse Post standard. Mr. Savoy claimed his neighbor built her fence a foot over the property line. The neighbor had a surveyor's map, but Savoy said, quote, a blind man conceded that fence is in his garden, unquote. It was then that Judge Michael Las began his own line of questioning. Reminding Mr. Savoy, he was under oath,

the judge asked him about a three-two pitch that bounced in the night. a dirt in a game last summer that Mr. Savoy called a strike. The judge then brought up a three-o pitch in the same game that the battered ducked to avoid, yet was also called a strike. And then, quote, what about the time you called a runner out at the plate when the ball was still in the air? Mr. Savoy meekly admitted that he may have missed a few calls. The judge stated Mr. Savoy was obviously no expert in what a blind man could see. and ruled against him. Over in the gallery, the judge's son, Michaelaz Jr.,

starred in Syracuse Jr. Mets, was observed to pump his fist and say, Justice is a bitch, isn't it? An umpire answers to a higher authority in court. Your last discovery phase comes from Luke Burbank. Someone once said every day the Internet picks someone to focus on, and your job is to make sure that person is never you. And yet, it's now happened twice to Rudy the bailiff of Contra Costa, California.

First, when he was sworn in back in 2023, because you see, Rudy is a nine-year-old, slightly portly, yellow lab. Now that's doggone justice, the New York Post wrote back in the day. However, the headlines were quite different last week when Rudy the bailiff was caught up in a bribery scandal. Also involving county prosecutor Daniel Noonan, who allegedly used Began strips in his pocket to get Rudy to bear his teeth and stare menacingly at witnesses the prosecutor wanted to intimidate.

When asked about it, Rudy the bailiff lowered his head and stared into the middle distance, refusing to answer further questions. As of press time, he remains on paid leave, Alpo, and is standing in the corner of the courtroom being so damn pathetic, the grand jury almost can't even be mad at him anymore. So here are your stories. of courtroom shenanigans from Shantira Jackson, a judge in Missouri forced off the bench

because he just would not stop quoting Elvis Presley from Alonzo. An umpire answers to a judge who was not pleased with his on-field calls or from Luke Burbank, Rudy the bailiff, a dog bailiff involved in a bribery scandal. Which of these is the real story of judicial mayhem? Well, I'm really moved by Alonzo's story, but I think I'm all. shook up for Shantira's Elvis judge. You mean the one about the guy who got into trouble by making unwelcome

references to Elvis songs? That's the one I'm going with. I see. All right. Well, to bring you the real story, we spoke to an expert. Maybe if a school bus driver was into Elvis, that's fine, but a judge totally inappropriate. That was Stephen Lato, a lawyer with a YouTube channel, Lato's

law weighing in on the Missouri judge who was just a little too Elvisy. Congratulations, Nick. You figured it out. You got it right. You're in a point for Shantira just for telling the truth, and you have won our prize,

the voice of anyone you might choose for your voicemail. Congratulations. Thanks, Peter. Appreciate it. Thank you. Take care. Goodbye.

Bye-bye. And now the game we call Not My Job. We were delighted to see our friend Andy Richter on this season of Dancing with the Stars in which he inspired a whole lot of supporters online to call themselves Fandies. He and his dance partner, Emma Slater, lasted far longer than most expected into the competition with Andy being dubbed by the judges, the people's princess. We are delighted Her Highness could join us here on stage in Phoenix. Andy Richter, welcome back to Wait, Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Thank you. Thank you.

So, and I should say, it wasn't the judges. It wasn't the judges. It was just somebody online started calling me the people's princess. Okay. Yeah, which is incredibly flattering. It really is. Yeah, yeah. I really am hoping for a tiara for Christmas. Why not?

So I have to ask, were you, were you, Dancing with the Stars has been around for a while? Did you always want it to be on it? No, quite the opposite. It always seemed like a terrifying prospect. And then I didn't work very much for a little while, and it seemed kind of a good idea. Yeah, really. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Did you seek them out?

Did they call you? No, no, I got it. It was way back in April. I got an email from my agent saying, you know, they've offered you this. And I've told this before. My first instinct was say no and don't tell my wife that they asked. Right. Like just because, you know.

And then a minute later, I felt like I have to do this. And so I said yes. And then as it got closer, I just thought, oh, I've made a terrible. to stay. Tell me about your dance experience and expertise before this all began. I'll just tell it to you in an anecdote that my wife reminded me of when I said yes to dancing with the stars. For our wedding, my only requirement for our dance was that the song be the shortest one possible. Right. Because I just, I wasn't comfortable. I mean, I can dance with some drinks at a party. So what was the song? Was it like the boot up tone

from Microsoft Windows? And what was it? Brian, you know? It's done. Yeah, it was just, it was my ringtone. Yeah. No, you know what? Oh, my God, I don't remember.

You don't remember. Peter, how dare you set Andy Richter up that way on national radio? She's going to listen to this, and I'm not, oh, what a jerk I am. So I guess what I'm saying is. In many other ways, I'm an excellent husband, just not now. And so what was the preparation? So, like, you show up, you say, I've been to the gym, I've been doing my cardio.

Yeah. You start, you start dancing. You start being taught a routine. Did you get assigned a partner in your case, Emma? I was lucky enough to get Emma Slater, who is an angel and really an amazingly talented person, an amazing choreographer. She understood me. She understood, like, how to teach me.

Right. Because I don't enjoy being pushed. Right. You know, like the hard line kind of thing, I just say, F this, goodbye. So I need to be treated, you know. And also, she's very fun. And she also, part of her genius, was that she said, oh, and by the way, every day we're going to make two or three TikToks. Uh-huh.

And I said, okay, just because I was saying okay to everything at that point. And we started doing them. I didn't understand them. I was saying things like, wait, we're just doing what someone else has already done. We're not doing anything different. You're just doing whatever thing on TikTok. And she said, yeah, yeah. And I was like, well, shouldn't we put a twist on?

She's like, no, just do it. All right, and we just do it. And I very quickly, she would point and say, look how many views this got. And I'd be like, 1.3 million? Right. Like, that's what? And this is. That number has never been connected to me other than for taxation purposes.

purposes. And this, so I watched a lot of your dances, and I'm saying this with complete love and respect, speaking as a man that for good reason has not danced in public for 25 years, but it kind of seemed like your job was to stand still and watch with amazement while your partner did amazing dance moves sort of around you. I will, I would differ. Andy, don't let him do you like that. But, but, but, and he was the charming part.

You made a lot of very expressive faces as you watched her dance about. You make it sound like, I mean... You weren't entirely. Yeah, I moved from one point to the other, and there was footwork that I had to remember. Really? Yeah. Yes. Yes.

I'm not saying I was great, but I danced. You danced. We believe you. We believe you. There were people online, too, and say, he just walks around. I'm like, what do you think? dancing is. If not

syncopated walking! You expect me to fly? Peter, I really do think if Andy wouldn't dress as nicely as he is, he would kick your ass back. But wasn't that part of the appeal to all the fans? Well, there's certainly, they've had

people on that show who are outright elderly. So yeah, they're not going to kill them, you know. And that there always is kind of an aspect. And I was the oldest person there. So, yeah, I'm not going to be doing a lot of flips and stuff. Right. But I certainly did learn to waltz.

I learned to cha-cha, a fox trot. You know, I pulled off a fox trot. So, yeah. Yeah. And thank you. Thank you. And by the end, too, I was with each new week's dance. I would learn it in one rehearsal.

I did have the ability. You had one rehearsal. You could do that now. I can remember, yeah. Wow. You sort of learned that muscle. There's like, thank you. Yeah, no, I would think, I thought of it as like, between my head and my feet, there was no wiring.

Or it had crusted over or something. And by the time we were finished, the wiring was there. I mean, I was never, I tried to emulate the real dancers because I would, do the dance that we were doing that week and think, ah, I really nailed that one, I really got it. And then we would look, because we'd record it on our phones, and I'd look at it on the phone, and I'm like, look at that old man stomping around, waving his arms.

Yeah, I just was like, it doesn't, when I do it, it does not look like the way the dancers do, you know. It's funny how that happens. And I would try to, I tried, you know, in different times to sort of emulate the sort of more sort of fluid movements, and it's, you know, As I said, I was a rhino in a gazelle contest. I'm never going to be a gazelle. There you go.

The People's Princess. Well, Andy Richter, it is always such a pleasure to have you on our show. And as always, we'd like you to play a game that this time we are calling, got to dance. So given your performance on Dancing with the Stars, we thought we'd ask you about somebody who was really good at dancing, Gene Kelly. Answer two to three questions about the legendary song in Dance Man, and you will win a prize for one of our listeners.

Also, who is Andy Richter playing for this time? Ferma and Barry Kipnis of Prescott, Arizona. Nice. Not far from here. Locals, absolutely. Are they here? I don't know. Are you here?

No. No. Apparently not that big a fan. No. All right. Here's your first question. Gene Kelly went from being a dance instructor in Pittsburgh to one of the biggest movie stars of all time.

What was among his many secrets of success? A, custom-made motorized tap shoes, B, pants that were one size too small to accentuate his butt, or C, whatever the music you heard watching him on screen, on set, he was always dancing to the same song, Home on the Range.

I think it's the butt pants. You're right. And if you've ever seen him, you'd know that's true. Not only did he have his pants made a little tight, he would sometimes make sure his male co-stars pants were a little loose. Okay. Kelly went on after his own career on screen to be a director. He directed the movie Hello Dolly. And the star of that film, Michael Crawford, said that he got the part after Kelly said which of these to him.

Was it A, quote, you remind me of a young me before I knew how to dance. B, quote, we can shoot somebody with talent from the waist down and edit it in. Or C, quote, we're looking for an attractive idiot. My wife thinks you're attractive and I think you're an idiot. Boy. I think maybe the third one. The third one. Yeah, about the wife and the idiot.

You're right. You know this business. You know these people. That's exactly what he said. And he is kind of an attractive idiot in the film, so it works out. All right. Last question. You can be perfect here.

Gene Kelly and his wife hosted these massive parties for his famous friends in Beverly Hills. And a mainstay of those parties was what? A, Kelly's toe tap and punch, which was just as it turned out grain alcohol and red food coloring. B, Kelly challenging any guest there for the first time to a dance off or C, a cutthroat version of charades that could last for 24 hours straight. It's got to be the charades. It is the charades, Andy. A man who's been to his Hollywood parties.

24 hours of charades. Sometimes it was known as the game. We're going to play the game. Wow. Yeah, true story. Also, how did Andy Richter do in our quiz? He danced his way to a perfect score, three out of three. You did.

Thank you. There you go. Andy Richter was the people's princess on this year's run of Dancing with the Stars. He is the host of The Three Questions with Andy Richter podcast, which airs Mondays on the Sirius XM app or wherever you might get your podcast. Please give it up to our friend, Andy Richter. Andy, thank you so much for being with us. Thank you. Thank you.

Thanks a lot. Thanks so much. Thanks so much. In just a minute, Alzo has a warning for plant lovers everywhere in our listener Limerick Challenge. Call 1-T-A-W-A-W-T-W-W-T to join us on the air. We'll be back in a minute with more of Waitway Don't Tell Me from NPR. Wildcard is where big-name interviews feel like conversations with a friend. I mean, I can't believe how lucky I've been.

You didn't say goodbye the right way, McConaughey. She told me, I don't think you're Princeton material. I'm nothing if not open, I guess. I'm Rachel Martin. Watch or listen to Wildcard on the NPR app, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. On NPR's Wildcard podcast, Jamie Lee, Curtis talks about Hollywood's pressure to cover up aging. You can't hide the truth.

We are who we are. And if that's ultimately what I get to represent in this lifetime, then I will feel it was a life well-lived. Watch or listen to that Wildcard conversation on the NPR app or on YouTube at NPR Wildcard. You care about what's happening in the world. Stay informed with NPR's State of the World podcast. In just a few minutes, we take you to start. around the globe.

You might hear the latest developments in world conflicts or about what global events mean for the price of your coffee. Listen to the state of the world podcast from NPR. From NPR and WVEZ Chicago, this is Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, the NPR News Quiz. I'm Alzo Slade. We're playing this week with Luke Burbank, Alonzo Bowden, and Shantira Jackson. And here again is your host at the Arizona Financial Theater

in Phoenix, Arizona, Peter Seigle. Thank you, Alzo. In just a minute, our delicious Limericks get three Michelin stars in our listener Limerick Challenge game. If you like to play or, you know, if you

just love us, give us a call at 1-3-8-8-8-8-8-2-4. That's 1-88-9-24. Right now, panel, some more. questions for you from the week's news. Shantara, there is a new kind of party to go to where you get together with your friends for a hot night of what? Watching dancing with the star. No, I wish. Here's your hint. Bring your party dress, your outstanding bills, and your shoebox of receipts. Oh, um, you do your taxes. Yeah, you do paperwork. Yeah. This new trend is paperwork parties, or as one Wall Street

Journal columnist calls it, admin night. This is a party that really tests the age-old theory that anything can be fun if you drink enough. But if you do drink, be careful. You don't want to wake up the next morning like, oh, man, what did I deduct last night? Do you have to do your own paperwork? Because there's some paperwork I like and some paperwork I don't. Can we swap? What's the paperwork you like?

I like filling out my airport stuff. You do? Yeah, I like to see how many points I can get from stuff on my credit card. So, yeah, like if there was an option, is just like a... a taxation like swingers party. Pretty much, yeah. Everybody throws their stuff at a fishbowl. We put our keys in a bowl and you do my paperwork.

Exactly. No, the idea you see is like everybody has to do all of this. Everybody's dealing with credit cards and accounts and online stuff. And it's a pain in the butt. So why don't everybody get together and you can help each other? Oh, I know the number to talk to a real person at this company. You swap it. I think that's called the office.

Yeah. When you get together with a group of people and do something unfun until you're done with it. No, no, no. This is great. It's a great way to, like, you and your friends to support each other, you can pool your knowledge, and it's a great way to find out which of your friends are drowning in debt.

Luke, a remarkable new study suggests that children's health will be affected if their mother smells what while she's pregnant? Is this something that generally is thought to be dangerous or toxic? No, it's a smell that is generally thought to be very lovely as long as you're not a vegetarian. Ah, or kosher, I guess. Okay, bacon.

Yes, bacon. Child's health, future well-being can be affected if their mother smells bacon while they are pregnant with that child. So we know eating bacon is bad. Now, even smelling bacon can change your life. The study shows that if the mother only smells bacon, her offspring are more likely in life to become obese. This is because chemical signals can be transferred to the developing fetus, which goes, oh, yeah, first thing I do when I get out of here is get me some of that. Is this an American study? Because if it is, I don't think that's the problem.

Remember, we've also fired a lot of the scientists in this country. That's true. Also, women, when you're pregnant, I don't know, but I do know a lot of people who've been pregnant. You only have so much. Do not take bacon away from pregnant women. They need it. Really, honestly. They might kill you if you try.

Alonzo, this week we learned about the newest trendy appliance for your home. It's a washing machine, but it's specifically designed to clean what? Wow. Not your clothes. Not your dishes. It's a washing machine for something besides clothes and dishes. Your pickleball paddle. Be careful.

This is Arizona. Most of these people moved here to play more pickleball. That's why I said it. You got to keep that paddle clean. Can you give me a hint? Sure. The shampoo and body wash pot. are sold shepidly.

Oh, to wash your body? Yes. They're human washing machines. It's a new invention by a Japanese electronics company called Yamada, and it looks like a spa bed, sort of, and it uses micro-bubbles and steam mist to provide a full-body clean in just 15 minutes of operation. It's amazing.

That only takes 10 minutes longer than a shower. Think of the time you'll lose. This sounds to be like putting you through a carwalk. You're putting you through a car wash. Yeah, yeah. Right, just zip you through. Which, let's all be honest, we all dream of, right? Yeah, I still do.

I will say, though, you know, with the relaxing warm water jets and gentle scrubbing, it's more like a human laundry machine, you know, than a dishwasher, which means it will be great until it gets to the spin cycle. You wash yourself on too hot, you come out, you're like a child. Yeah. 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 1-8-8-8-8-8-8-2-4. That's 1-88-9-24.

You can see us most weeks at the Studio Baker Theater in downtown Chicago. And come see us on the road. We will be in Bloomington, Indiana, on February 26th. For tickets and information to all our live events, go to NPRPRPresents. And if you like our show, but not enough to watch it for more than just a few seconds, check us out on TikTok at Wait, Wait, Wait, NPR. Hi, you're on Wait, Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Hi, this is Katie from Norman, Oklahoma. Hey, okay, Norman, Oklahoma.

What do you do there for fun in Norman? Pottery. Pottery and play with my dogs. Pottery and play with your dogs. So you throw pots? Not for the dogs, not yet. Not yet, okay, yes. Welcome to our show, Katie.

Alzo Slade, filling in for Bill Curtis, 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, and two of the limericks will be a winner. Ready to go? Yep. Here is your first limerick.

All these houseplants are meant to impress, but I'd like to be doing much less. Fresh water, fresh soil, and pruning is toil. It's raising my levels of... Stress? Right. Turns out that too many plants in your house can stress you out. It makes sense.

Plants are great until you get back from a trip and you realize, oh, they don't water themselves while I'm gone. Researchers at Stanford invited volunteers to do difficult work in rooms with different amounts of houseplants and then noted their level of stress. It turns out the optimum amount of houseplants is enough to fill 20% of your field of vision. If you're seeing plants everywhere you look, right? You start thinking, oh man, how the hell am I supposed to put all those plants through plant college? And plants taking up 100% of your field of view is very, very,

stressful because you realize you blacked out and woke up naked in the woods again. You are in the Amazon, exactly. Yeah, you wouldn't want to live in a greenhouse. It would be weird. Unless they're growing weed. That'd be good. Which case, you got a place to hang out. Yeah.

All right, here is your next Limerick. Confused as to what the attacks meant. The Lion Pride followed the track scent. What the other pride spoke, they took as a joke, because their roar had a regional Bent? Not bent. It's a two-syllable answer. It rhymes with tax, meant, tracts, scent.

Accent. Yes, there you are. Scientists have discovered that lion roars have different accents depending on where the lion is from. And furthermore, they think this might be what the hyenas have been laughing out. And if you want to hear a great accent, meet a Scottish line.

I think lion roars all sound the same behind you. Yes, exactly. You don't worry about where that lion's from. That one of those Westside lions about the evening. All right, here is your last Limerick. Dogs with underbites

look around smugly. Because they look weird, we humans act snugly. Sleak dogs with much grace are losing first place. We all want a dog that is... Ugly. Ugly, yes. Ugly dogs are in. According to the

The Wall Street Journal, when once high-status dogs were like the golden retrievers or Afghans, now, quote, at the end of every second leash lurks a rat with an overbite or a pop-eyed goblin, unquote, which is also why so many vets are saying to dog owners, yet don't know how to tell you this, but there's really no need to spay or neuter this one. Nature's got it covered. Really? The journal described one very currently popular breed, the Chinese crested, as, quote,

a dog that got left in the microwave. So if you really want a dog that's on trend, get one that's so ugly, other dogs keep going up and sniffing its face. I feel like a cat wrote this. This is right up in cat's alley. Yeah, the Wall Street Journal is entirely. staffed by cats.

Yes. I mean, these days, maybe. So do you compliment someone on how ugly their dog is? Well, they have ugly dog contests. They have an ugly dog's contest, yeah. Well, then I guess you do. And how do you suggest that to them? Hey, we really love Mr. Freckles, but I see a future for him in ugly dog contests.

What you say is, you know, as long as you love it. Yes. As long as you love it. Oh, your dog. It's got such a lovely dog. personality. Also, how did Katie do in our quiz? She got three out of three. Perfect score.

Congratulations, Katie. Well done. Thank you so much for playing. Thanks. Bye. Bye-bye. Or do you think that weddings are getting a little out of control? I interviewed a woman who had been a bridesmaid in 13 weddings. She had spent so much money and gotten into so much credit card debt that when it was her turn to say I do, they eloped.

How much is a wedding actually worth? Listen to the It's Been a Minute podcast on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. Wolf researcher Jeff Reed built special recorders to try to understand what the wolves of Yellowstone Park are saying to each other. When you first start hearing these chorus howls, they kind of sound like a cocktail party in the wild. Ideas about translating nature. Listen to the TED Radio Hour on the NPR app

or wherever you get your podcasts. Now onto our final game, let me 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, now worth two points. Alzo, can you give us the scores?

Of course. Alonzo and Luke are tied up at two, Chantira in the lead with three. Okay. Hey, the Chantira stands are excited. We'll see how long it lasts. All right. Let's arbitrarily pick Alonzo to go first. You're tied for seconds, so here we go.

The clock will start when they begin your first question. Fill in the blank, Alonzo. On Wednesday, the Department of Homeland Security began blank raids in Minnesota and Louisiana. Ice. Right. On Monday, Costco sued the U.S. seeking a full refund of President Trump's blanks. Tariff. Right.

This week, heavy rainstorms caused dangerous blanks and indifference. Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia. Floods. Right, and landslides. According to meteorological data, parts of the U.S. will soon face the blankest weather of the season. Coldest. Right. This week, Zoran Mamdani and the Louvre

topped the list for 2025's Blanks. People of the Year? No, 2025's most mispronounced words. On Sunday, Leo the 14th arrived in Beirut as part of his first trip abroad since being named Blank. Pope. Right. On Monday, one of the last privately owned blank eggs

sold for over 30 million. dollars at auction. Faberje. Right. This week, a politician in Namibia legally changed his name so that he will no longer be called by his birth name, Blank. Namibia? No. He will no longer be known by his birth name, Adolf Hitler

Uunona. Oh, dang. Why would you give that up? Yeah, I don't know. You're the only one. I mean, first of all, you get the hot mail account. True, yeah. Nobody else has taken that. How long did it take him to decide to change it? He is a

A grown man, Adolf Hitler Uunona, who's been part of the government there since 2004, says his parents gave him the name without understanding the historical significance behind it, and now he's happy. He will no longer be known as Adolf Hitler Uunona and is excited to run for

re-election under his new legal name, Adolf Hitler Williams. Alzo, how did Alonzo doing our quiz? He did all right. He got six right for 12 points, which gives him a total of 14, and the Lee. Well done. All right. Luke, you are up next. Please fill in the blank. On Tuesday, top U.S. officials met with Vladimir Putin to discuss an end to the war in blank.

Ukraine. Right. On Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled that blank could use their gerrymandered congressional map. Texas. Right. This week, House Democrats released photos and videos of blank's private island. Epstein. Right. On Tuesday, the GOP won a special election in blank, but by narrower margins than expected. Virginia? No, Tennessee. Overwhelmed emergency rooms in England.

are begging people to stop coming to the ER for blank. Toothbrush lessons. No hiccups. According to a new report, blank consumption is declining globally. Alcohol. Right. On Friday, the first matchups of FIFA's 2026 blank cup were announced.

World. Right. This week, animal control officers were called to a liquor store in Virginia after a raccoon broke in and blanked. Got drunk and trashed the place. Pretty much. And passed out in the store's bathroom. According to animal control,

the raccoon had somehow managed to get into the store, sampled a lot of liquor, and passed out, spread-eagled face down on the bathroom floor. It was really freaking cute. It was pretty adorable. Way cuter than when I do it. Yeah. All right.

Alzo, how did Luke do on our quiz? Well, Luke also got six right for 12 points, and now he is tied for the lead with Alonzo. All right. So then how many does Shantira need to win it all? Shantira. Yeah. Six to win, sis.

Six to win. All right, here we go. This is for the game. Fill in the blank. On Wednesday, GOP representative Elise Stefana questioned Blank's effectiveness as Speaker of the House. Oh, what's his name, Johnson? Yes, Mike Johnson. On Thursday, the Admiral who oversaw one of the U.S.'s lethal blank strikes.

Oh, missile. Boat strikes. Yeah, the Venezuelan. Yeah, on Monday, AT&T said they were ending their blank initiatives. DEI. Right. After a man in China's car started making weird sounds, mechanics discovered the noises were caused by blanks.

There was just a man in there sleeping. No, 40 pounds of hazelnuts stuffed under the hood. For the first time ever, the average price of a new blank rose above $50,000. Cars. Yes, on Wednesday, Spotify released the 2025 version of users' blanks. It's like your Spotify list. Yeah, your Spotify rap is called. This week, a company that makes a device to play sounds like rushing water and birdsaw

to cover up bathroom noises announced their newest sound, blank. Your mother saying she loves you. Ha. No, their new sound to cover up bathroom sounds is artillery fire. The Royal Flush is a wall-mounted device that offers pleasing sounds of nature to cover up whatever else might be happening in there. And it now features extra strength sounds, including artillery fire. Oh, man. This explains by the last time you had a party at your house, one of your friends was like, hey, where's your bathroom? I've got to go save Private Ryan. Also, did Shantira do well enough to win?

Ah, almost. She got five right for 10 more points. A total of 13, just one point shy of the fellas. And that is how it always happens. In just a minute, we're going to ask our panelists to predict what would be the number one song on everybody's Spotify wrapped next year. Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, is a production of NPR and WBEZ Chicago in association with urgent hair car productions. Doug Berman, Benevolent Overlord, Philip Godica writes our limericks, our public address announcer, Paul Friedman. Our tour manager is Shane Adonald, thanks to the staff and crew at the Arizona Financial Theater. B.J.

Lederman composed our theme. Our program is produced by Jennifer Mills, Miles, Norneboss, and Lillian King. Special thanks this week to Blythe Robertson and Monica Hickey. Peter Gwynn is our Glep. Emma Choi is our vibe curator. Technical direction is from Lorna White. Our CFO is Colin Miller. Our production manager is Robert Newhouse. Our senior producer, Ian Chilog,

and the executive producer, wait, wait, don't tell me, is Mr. Michael Danforth. Now, panel, looking forward to next year, what will be the top song on Spotify wrapped Shantira Jackson Anything Beyonce does please give us act three

Luke Burbank for some reason hit the road jack and Alonzo Bowden I don't know what it is but the conservatives will not approve of the song

and if we hear any of those songs we'll ask you about it on wait wait don't tell me thank you so much Alzo Slade thanks also to Alonzo Bowden Shantira Jackson and Luke Burbank A very special thanks to everyone at KJZZ here in Phoenix and to our fabulous audience here at the Arizona Financial Theater.

Thanks to all of you for listening wherever you might be. I'm Peter Sagan. We'll be back in Chicago next week. This is NPR. I'm Jesse Thorne. This week on Bullseye, we're coming to you live from the pit. The People's Improft Theater in New York City.

We'll hear from H. John Benjamin, Jad, Albumrod, and Tony Shalube, who has a new show on CNN about bread. It was really more of an exploration for me and an excuse to travel and eat for free. That's Bolzai. Find us on the NPR app at maximum fun.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

This week on Here and Now Anytime, data centers and AI are driving up demand for electricity, testing the ability of some states to stick to their climate goals. The Clean Power Crunch is giving geothermal energy a chance and bringing old nuclear plants out of retirement. That's this week on Here and Now Anytime, a podcast from NPR and WBUR.