Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! - WWDTM: Eric Idle, Bridget Everett + Jeff Hiller, and more!

Episode Date: March 29, 2025

This week, we invite everyone to take a much needed break and listen to interviews with Eric Idle, Bridget Everett + Jeff Hiller, Diane Lane, and more!Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

99% of the US population lives within listening range of at least one public media station. And everyone can listen to NPR podcasts free of charge. That means you get completely unpaywalled access to stories, prize-winning reporting, and shows that represent the voices in every corner of the country. Hear the bigger picture every day on NPR. From NPR and WBEC Chicago, this is Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, the NPR News Quiz. I'm the guy who had to permanently retire from the wet t-shirt contest in Daytona Beach so somebody else could win. Bill Curtis, and here is your host at the Studabaker Theatre in the Fine Arts Building

in Chicago, Illinois, Peter Segal. Thank you, Bill. Thanks, everybody. Who said only students get to celebrate spring break? This week we are giving you a well-deserved holiday from whatever the hell is going on with the help of some amazing interviews from the past few years. While we elbow aside a bunch of Florida's state sophomores who we can be first in line for frozen margaritas, here's a conversation with Eric Idle of

Monty Python. Now as a long-time Python fanatic it was a dream come true for me to talk to him and I only wished he could have joined us in person when we talked in October. Turns out he felt the same way. I loved my time in Chicago. I'm married to a Chicago woman and I have lots of Chicago relatives so I'm very, you know, I love Chicago. Yeah, that's really great. It's a good town. And I love, let me put it this way, when you walk the streets of Chicago, we're a very cool, sophisticated place I know, but do people recognize you and go nuts because they, like me, were Monty Python fans growing up? Well luckily no.

I can really spoil your shopping, you know. You get recognized from time to time and that's just one of the pitfalls of being on television. I'm curious that when the show came to the US on PBS, it became this huge thing. And I was wondering, was that the initial reaction that Monty Python got in the UK, or was it more reserved, as we might expect from the stereotype? No, there was almost no reaction whatsoever, because they put us on late on a Sunday night, and the BBC were trying to find out if people were still watching television at 10 15. So for all you knew nobody was watching? Well at first absolutely nobody knew and

nobody was watching and then bit by bit you know so and we were very fortunate that we'd actually finished doing the show before it was actually played on American television so we didn't have to suffer the same fate as people on Saturday Night Live and that. You know, we were quite anonymous and surprised by it all. You mean the same fate as like massive fame and wealth? You mean that fate? Well, that for sure, because we worked for the BBC. But yes, it was a nice surprise when we were on suddenly on public television.

It was great. Now, one of the things that a lot of us who first saw Monty Python, maybe even people now have this reaction, is how could they possibly get away with this absolute nonsense on television? And I heard you tell a story that if the BBC ever tried to give you notes or tell you you couldn't do something you would all go in and physically intimidate them? Well, yes, because there were six of us, we were mostly over six foot and so we'd all got degrees and we were very smart and proud and we would go and you know, they would be very alarmed at that sight of us.

But at first we were executive free, so it was absolutely perfect. When did you know that Monty Python had become like a phenomenon, something that like everybody knew and everybody treasured, pretty much, well certainly in America if not the whole world? I think we were pretty surprised when we opened the Holy Grail in New York and there was suddenly there was Python mania and we were trapped in the cinema and it was it was very surprising to us and quite funny. I mean in Canada we were known and we were surprised then we

came through the customs and there was a big cheer and we looked behind us because we thought there was we thought there's a rock and roll group behind us and they were cheering for us and they'd all come to the airport. It was quite extraordinary. So we became what I call mock and roll. Speaking of rock and roll, I also found out that Monty Python and the Holy Grail, your legendary and it was your first movie, the Pythons, was actually financed by like some of the biggest rock stars in the world.

Well, the biggest rock stars in the world? Well the biggest rock stars in Britain anyway. I mean Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd and Genesis and Jethro Tull. They put money into that and I still pay them from Spamalot. Do you really? Yes of course. You send a check to Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull because he put up like... I write them out personally so they know where they're coming from. In addition to knowing all these rock and roll bands in the 70s, we've also heard stories

that you either as yourself as a group used to throw these pretty legendary parties. Is that true? I've always enjoyed it. We always had some good parties because I like to play music and we always have singalongs and ding-dongs and we still do that. Right. We heard once that like you threw a party in the late 70s and the cast of Star Wars, which was filming at the time, came over. Well, Carrie Fisher rented my house in London for filming The Empire Strikes Back.

And they were very depressed and Harrison Ford, they've been in England for a long time, they were depressed and yeah, that'll do it. So I pulled out a special liquor we bought from Tunisia, and the party started, and by chance the stones were around the corner in Abbey Road, and they all came round, and this party went on all night. And they were finally picked up by their cars at six o'clock, and we all went off off to bed And I'm happy to say I ruined one of the scenes in Star Wars You ruined it do you know which scene you ruined and how you ruined it well because they stayed up all night They blame me. I mean they're adults, you know So they it was a scene where they meet Billy Dee Williams and they come off the plane and they, you

know, carry says, hi. And they're all completely high, you know, they've been up all night. That is an amazing bit of Star Wars lore and I don't know if everybody knows it. That is amazing. Well, speaking of musicians, the stones came by to your party. I also, again, for the first time found out, was it true that Elvis Presley was a big fan of yours? He was a huge fan.

I met Linda Thompson, who was his girlfriend, and she said at night in Memphis, when the television stopped about 2.30 in the morning, Elvis would make her do Monty Python sketches with him. And not just anyone, she'd go, Hello, Mrs. Thing! Hello, Mrs. Entity! And I said, well, I don't believe you. She convinced me finally that because she knew the words. I want to talk to you about the musical, of course, which have went on to be a huge hit, and won Tonys, and then was revived and won Tonys again. You had always been a musician. In fact, you wrote Always Look on the Bright Side of Life from the end of Life of Brian.

We heard that that is the number one song played at funerals in the UK. I'm proud to say that it's still, it's been that for 20 years. Really? Yes, I'm happy to say it replaced My Way. Oh that is good, I think yeah that is definitely improvement. Have you ever been to a funeral and all of a sudden the choir they start doing it in harmony? No, they play the record I'm happy to say. Unfortunately, they don't pay royalties. Funerals don't pay royalties?

They don't. I think it's wrong. Quite wrong. Well, Eric Idle, it is a huge honor for me especially to talk to you and a pleasure to have you here. And we have invited you here to play a game that we're calling... Spam, spam, spam, spam, and spam. Now, as I'm sure you know, it was that famous Monty Python spam skit that is responsible

for the fact that unwanted email advertisements is called spam. But we wanted to know if you knew anything about spam email. So we're gonna ask you three questions about it. Answer two right and you will win our prize for one of our listeners, the voice of anyone they might choose for their voicemail. Bill, who is Eric Idle playing for?

Andy Hill of Boston, Massachusetts. All right, you ready for this? Yes. All right. Here's your first question. The first genuine mass advertisement Massachusetts. All right. You ready for this? Yes. All right. Here's your first question. The first genuine mass advertisement that people called spam went out to the users of Usenet, a precursor to the internet in 1994.

What did it advertise? A, a then unknown new TV series called Friends, B, a new canned meat product called spam plus, or C, Jesus Christ. I would say spam plus. Spam plus. You think that Hormel, the manufacturer of spam, which by the way has embraced Monty Python and spam. Oh, that's not, but could it be friends? Well, that would be an interesting way of advertising a brand new television show on

something called Usenet. Yes. So that leaves us with Jesus Christ then. It does. And so in many situations in life, all you're left with is Jesus Christ. Yes, the message was headed, global alert for all, Jesus is coming soon. And it was sent to the hundreds of thousands of people who were on Usenet at the time, so not only was it annoying, it was also incorrect.

Here's your next question. Now one of the odd things about spam is while that everybody hates it, and they really hate the people who send it out, it doesn't make the advertisers themselves a lot of money. One study showed that you would make more money and suffer less social disapproval if you did which of these? A. Dined and dashed once a month. B. Played saxophone in a subway car. Or C. Stole a car. I was C, stole a car?

I would say stole a car. Yes, that's right, stealing a car. People don't like car thieves, it's true, but at least you could sell the car and make some money. All right, here's your last question. One of the most notorious spammers ever was a man named Alan Ralsky, who was actually convicted of fraud for sending out all those spam emails.

Before that though, he had another punishment. What? A, he fell for a spammer himself and ended up sending all the money he had to a fake prince. B, he typed so many fake emails that his fingers all broke. Or C, people found his physical address and signed him up for every piece of junk mail they could find, resulting in him getting thousands and thousands of magazines and pamphlets every day.

I would say C. You're right again. Bill, how did Eric Idle do in our quiz? Well, he woke up on the better side of life because he got all right. Congratulations, Eric. Thank you very much. Eric Idle is one of the founders of MoneyPython. He is also the Tony-winning creator of Spamelot

and the author of the new Spamelot Diaries out now. Eric Idle, an absolute pleasure to talk to you. Thank you so much for joining us. I'm wait, wait, don't tell me. When we come back, the greatest bassist ever to come out of Philly, and actor Diane Lane and how she ran away and joined the circus at the age of seven. That's when we come back with more Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me

from NPR informs and connects communities around the country, providing reliable information in times of crisis. Federal funding helps us fulfill our mission to create a more informed public and ensures that public radio remains available to everyone. Learn more about safeguarding the future of public media. Visit ProtectMyPublicMedia.org. This is Tanya Mosley, co-host of Fresh Air. Amanda Knox spent nearly four years in prison for a murder she did not commit. When she was exonerated, she made an unusual decision to befriend the

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We ask questions you won't hear asked anywhere else. Listen to the Fresh Air podcast from NPR and WHYY. and WHYY. 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. Thanks, everybody. So we've officially declared its spring break for all of our listeners this week. Now we thought about going to the same places we used to hang out in college, but for some

reason when we go there they think we're undercover police officers now. Damn, now where am I supposed to score my uppers? So, as we find people our own age to do shots with, anti-inflammatory turmeric shots of course, here's some more of our favorite conversations from the last year. Last June we went to Philadelphia to interview a man who had grown up just a few blocks from where we were talking to him and had become one of the most famous jazz bassists in the world. Now of course, being a famous bassist is a bit of a contradiction, which was one of the things I asked Christian McBride about. Well, I always say being a famous jazz bass player is being like a famous plumber.

Because I might not get invited to the party but you need me. So when you were starting out were you immediately into jazz was that your first love? No I wanted to play with James Brown. Really? That was your thing? Yes which I'm very happy to say I eventually did. But I grew up as an R&B kid. And you actually got to play. You played with a lot of people. But you actually got to play with James Brown.

I got to play with Mr. Brown, yes. What about what's it like meeting your heroes, in the case of Mr. Brown? It's complicated. Yeah. That's what everybody says. We heard that he used to levy fines on his band members if he screwed up. But that was standard practice for a lot of band leaders in the 40s and 50s.

You know, Ray Charles did that, Lionel Hampton did that, Benny Goodman did that. That was part of the gig. You know, like if you screwed up, $10 coming out of your pay at the end of the night. Now of course, James Brown kept that practice going long after everybody stopped doing it. Significant part of his income I'm sure by the end. So when did you get into jazz? When I first started playing the double bass when I got to middle school because I'd been playing the electric bass for a couple of years. My great uncle Howard, who's the other bass player in the family, he was so excited. He said, come over to my house, I got something for you.

And now that he found out that I was playing the double bass, he said, hey, I'm going to turn you on to the cats. So he spent the whole day playing nothing but jazz albums for me. And my great uncle had this very cool way of, you know, he would put a record on and he had a chair similar to this. He would sit down, he would sit way down like this. He'd light up a cigarette, have a glass of wine, and he would start playing air bass along with the record.

And, you know, he would snap me on the arm and say, hey, listen to what Coltrane is about to do. And he pointed to the record, woo, you hear that? And so it was so entertaining watching my great uncle listen to jazz. I said, well, if jazz makes him that cool, then I want to be cool too. So that one visit with my great uncle.

Really? Yeah. And then. Does he also do that during movies? Probably. Yeah. Yeah. I. Yeah. I don't know how many ensembles and groups

you've started in your career. But my understanding is the latest one is called The New John. Actually, The New John is. Ha ha ha. I should say, for non-Philadelphians, that's not the name John. That's J-A-W-N.

I actually have a new group since The New John. Oh, I'm sorry. So The New John is the old John. I's J-A-W-N. I actually have a new group since the new John. Oh, I'm sorry. So the new John is the old John. I see, yeah. Could you explain to non-Philadelphians what a John is? It's a person, place, or thing. Joelle could have a new partner or whatever.

Hey, you seen Joelle's new John? I knew Joelle. Really? Well, it's interesting because I grew up in Atlanta. So Johning, which is also, it's interesting because I grew up in Atlanta, so Jonin, which is also, it's that's how, I guess that's why it's called the dozens. Yeah. So when we're going back and forth, that's what we call Jonin. Well, see, Jon has different versions regionally, like in New York, it's joint. Yeah. You know, someone said in Memphis, this is funny, he

said it's junct. Yeah. Jununt? It's Junt, yeah. Yeah. And so, you know, I don't know what it is on the West Coast. Yeah, who cares? Who cares? Yeah, exactly. Right. I'm sure Kendrick Lamar will tell us.

Right, right. Well, Christian McBride, it is such a pleasure to talk to you in your hometown, and we have asked you back here to play a game we're calling Bass Pro Meet Bass Pro. Oh man. I was afraid. Really?

You anticipated that? I was hoping to be baseball and not bass. Oh boy. You haven't been to Bass Pro Shop? No. You're one of the best stores in the world. Yes, I love a Bass Pro Shop. Exactly. You contain moments. They're one of the best stores in the world! Yes, I love a Bass Pro Shop! Exactly!

You contain moments of good luck to you. You're a world-renowned genius when it comes to the bass, the instruments. So what do you know about Bass, the Pro Shop? We're going to ask you three questions about the outdoor store that is not REI. Answer two out of three questions correctly, you'll win the prize for one of our listeners, the weight-weighter of their choice on their voicemail. Bill, who is jazz legend Christian McBride playing for? Chris Dunn of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

One-town guy. All right. So Bass Pro Shops are famous for their enormous sales floors and the things on them like giant aquariums, actual running streams through the floor and more. All of that natural beauty, though, can backfire as in which of these cases? A, one store in Texas is now home to a family of geese who refuse to let anyone go near the camping supply section. B, at a shop in Florida, a man showed up with a net, scooped a 50-pound fish right out of the aquarium, and then just walked out with it or see a store in Kansas was declared a protected environment for a species of endangered

fish and now nobody is allowed inside. Yeah, well considering this is America, I would go with B. Right, meaning this is the place where people just go in there and take that fish. Right. Put a price tag on it. That's right. You're right. Yes.

That's what happened. According to the store, the thief and perhaps for all we know, the fish is still at large. Maybe he was rescuing it in a Finding Nemo kind of way. We don't know. Now, next question. One of the most famous Bass Pro Shops is the one in Memphis, Tennessee. In addition to being very popular, it is notable for one other reason. What is it?

A, all of the fish in the aquarium are descendants of the fish that Elvis had in his aquarium. B, it has an actual moat you can test drive their motorboats in. Or C, it is located inside one of the largest pyramids in the world. Well, I know the arena where the Grizzlies play is actually called the pyramid, right? I'm going to go with C. Yeah, it is. Yeah, the pyramid was built for some civic purpose. That's a big jump. It's meant to be a two-thirds scale model of the Great Pyramid of Giza and just like that world wonder, it was also built by aliens.

And now there's a Bass Pro Shops in it, which is pretty awesome. All right, here's your last question. Sadly, not everyone is happy with Bass Pro Shops. In fact, a man once filed a $5 million lawsuit against that company over what? A, the fact that he spent over $3,000 on premium fishing gear and still could not catch anything. That sounds American. B, they stopped replacing his $12 pair of socks

after about 10 times, even though they had a lifetime guarantee. Or C, he got dysentery after getting thirsty in the middle of the store and taking a drink from one of the artificial trout streams. Wow. Whoa. Well, I already got two out of three.

You did, man. I'm actually going to go with A. You're going to go with A, the fact that he spent $3,000 on fishing gear and still couldn't catch anything. No, it was actually B, it was about the return of the socks. Bill, how did Christian McBride do in our quiz? Well, he's a winner, two out of three, that's a win. Congratulations!

That's a win! Oh, boom, boom, boom, boom. Christian McBride is a Grammy-winning bassist and the artistic director of the Newport Jazz Festival and the Jazz House Kids, Christian McBride, everybody! Woo! That's how it's kids. Kristen McBride, everybody. Last August, we talked to Diane Lane, who had been nominated for an Emmy at that time for her performance in the TV show Feud, 45 years after making her film debut at the age

of 14. She had been performing even before that, doing experimental theater in downtown New York and on tour in Europe. Peter asked her about the effect of that formative experience. I'm still in therapy about it. No, I'm kidding. I'm just kidding. The world was a different place then.

It was, you know, there was no no airport security we didn't need it. I remember getting off the plane and running into my mother's arms and around my neck could have been anything but it was a five pound maybe a two pound tortoise and I had bought it on the River Seine in Paris because back in the day they sold animals by the river in Paris. Don't ask. So you came off the plane, you hold the tortoise up to your mother and your mother says what? She shrieked. And I had that turtle for years. His name was George. Turned out George was female. Did you know that the bottom side of a tortoise will reveal the gender? Because the male have a slight indentation curve so that they can mount the female.

Ah. That tortoise lied to me. I love the idea of you being on the set of your first big movie, A Little Romance, with Sir Lawrence Leleveille, and you telling him stories like this. It's adorable. I was much more two ears, one mouth around Lord Larry. I can imagine. You have played a comic book character.

In your case, more comic book character adjacent, but you played the mother of Superman. Martha Kent, yes. Martha Kent, yes. Martha Kent famously and this is the Henry Cavill Superman. Right. Yes. Yes. You're like okay was that his name? Okay yes. So how have you found after all the other things you've done after being a well-known person you had your rat pack period and all these other periods to be like a star at Comic-Con? Oh gosh, I have, I am such an introvert. I don't know how I would handle that. So you've never been, you didn't have to do that, you didn't have to go to Comic-Con and

all the Superman fans were like... I dodged it, I did, I chickened out. I was just, those crowds, they make me, I have hajjada, as my friends say. Hajjada, you have hajjada, as they say in New York. How can a shy person be constantly on screen? Isn't that weird? Yes, I told you, my therapist is rich. So the latest project you're in, it's a TV show, it is remarkable, it is called Feud,

it's about a very real situation in New York society in the 60s and 70s when Truman Capote wrote a book that enraged his society friends, of whom you are one. Slim Keith. I portrayed Slim Keith. Slim Keith, who was a real person. Yes. Socialite, sordinaire, a real maven, a real connector of other people. I don't know, I think of them as sort of sassy pants. Sassy pants people.

Sassy pants people. That's what Trim and Capote called them and that's what made them so mad. You've been promoting this TV show all week, and you've been asked about it and answering questions, as you've done for us. Before we move to the game, is there anything else you'd like to talk about? Is it... I don't feel safe suddenly. Oh, this is a safe space. This is totally a safe space. If there is anything on your mind, Diane Lane. Would you like to talk more about the underside of turtles?

For example? No, I'm open to talking pretty much about anything. I'm starting to sweat now, but that's okay. All right. Well, we actually have something for you to talk about because we have invited you here to play a game that we're calling Swan versus Swan. So as we've established in the TV series you play one of the society ladies that Truman Capote called swans. So, we thought we'd ask you about actual swans. The water fire. The bird.

The bird. Answer two to three questions about swans correctly. You'll win our prize for one of our listeners. Any voice they might choose on their voicemail. So Bill, who is Diane Lane playing for? Ryan McGee of Prescott, Arizona. Are you ready to do this? Sure. Okay. Here's your first question. Swans are notoriously temperamental, but one pair of swans had

to be forcibly removed from a lake in Austria because they kept doing what? A, hunking the melody of ABBA's Dancing Queen, B, pooping on every single couple that were trying to take engagement photos at the lake. Or C. Attacking anyone who got near their nest, which didn't have any eggs, just a bunch of red solo cups. Oh, it's gotta be C. It is C. These swans apparently had mistaken these cups for their eggs and would attack anyone ferociously who dared to approach them.

That was very good. And I liked your instincts. You know your animals. As we have established. Here's your next. Now probably the most famous one is of course the ugly duckling, right, from the beloved children's story. Spoiler alert!

I'm sorry. Wow, just cut right from the beloved children's story. Spoiler alert! I'm sorry. Wow, just cut right to the end there. That's the story of course that teaches kids that everyone is beautiful in their own way and you shouldn't accept the judgment of others. In the original version of the story, the ugly duckling is finally approached by a group of regal swans ready to claim him as their own. What is the first thing the ugly duckling says to

them? A, quote, finally a family of my own. B, quote, and this is why no one should ever be judged in their appearance alone. Or C, quote, kill me. Aww, well I believe it's A, but B is fun too. Let's go with A. It was actually C. Yeah. Thankfully, the swans did not exceed the duckling's request, which is shocking, given what we know about swans. Alright, you've gotten one right, you have one to go.

If you get this right, you win. Yours is not the only TV show that we have had with swans in the title. Back in 2004, Fox broadcast a show called The Swan. What was that show's premise? A, it was just a remake of Everybody Loves Raymond, but replaced Ray Romano with a live swan. A reality competition in which self-proclaimed

ugly ducklings are given lots of plastic surgery until at the end one is judged the most beautiful. Or see a documentary show that just shows the daily life of Bucky, a swan that lives in a pond in New Rochelle, New York. Wow I want I want C to be true but I'm to go with B anyway. Because that's the world we live in, isn't it? Yes, that's what it was. The Swan, which apparently was very popular, still only lasted one season because it was kind of gross.

Bill, how did Diane Lane do in our quiz? Two out of three, Diane, that is a win in our game. Congratulations. Congratulations. And let me say, since you have an Emmy nomination for your show, Swans, may I say I hope this is not the last thing you win this year. Aw, thank you. Thank you. Diane Lane is an Emmy nominee for her role as Slim Keith in FX's feud Capote vs. the

Swans. You can stream the whole series on Hulu now. It is remarkable. Diane Lane, thank you so much for joining us on Wet Wait Don't Tell Me. Coming up, a punk icon and a pair of comedians making the Midwest cool again. That's when we come back with more of What Wait Don't Tell Me from NPR. Well, well, well, the bros have discovered psychedelics. And guys like Joe Rogan and Elon Musk have been bragging about their spirit journeys for years.

The Academy is helpful for getting one out of a negative frame of mind. If psychedelics are being championed as the next frontier for mental health, what impact are they already having on some of the world's most powerful men? Prepare for your mind to be blown on the It's Been A Minute podcast from NPR. When Malcolm Gladwell presented NPR's Through Line podcast with a Peabody Award, he praised it for its historical and moral clarity.

On Throughline, we take you back in time to the origins of what's in the news, like presidential power, aging, and evangelicalism. Time travel with us every week on the Throughline podcast 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 Studer-Baker Theater in the Fine Arts Building in downtown Chicago, Illinois, Peter Sagal. Thank you, Bill. And thanks, everybody. And thanks everybody.

So we have been enjoying a spring break this week, and I have to tell you, we are not even done with the show, and we're already partied out. When I was a young man, it wasn't a good night out unless I had already started the next one. So while we take a break from our break, here's two more great conversations we had in the last year. First, Kathleen Hanna, founder of the seminal feminist punk band Bikini Kill. She joined us in July and I asked her why she was getting the band back together.

I really need a beach house in Malibu and feminist art pays so well that I just figured, go for the millions. I mean, clearly with everything going on in the world, we are just kind of reinvigorated to sing the songs again. Absolutely. It just felt like the right time. I didn't want to sing these songs 15 years ago,

and I really want to sing them again now. It feels good physically to sing them on stage. Maybe when you sang them 30 years ago, it worked, but the effect wore off. Now you have to reapply Bikini Kill. Let's talk about your background. I was reading in your book that you recently published, Rebel Girl, which is a remarkable memoir. But I was surprised by so many things in it.

One of them, I was so surprised by your first time singing on stage, which you say in the book was like a really important moment. And you realized like, that's what you wanted to do. Could you tell us about that? Yeah, I got the part of Annie in the musical Annie. Yes. And if you're going to play Annie,

that's the show to do it in, yeah. Well, what actually happened was a woman who had a son who went to the school complained that it was sexist, that there weren't very many parts for boys in it. So the play actually ended up being a really horrible mashup of Annie and Oliver. Also about orphans, I guess they were like,

let's do one of a boy orphans and girl orphans. Wow. And then they were fighting each other. So it was like West Side Story. He was like two feet tall, like, and I was like four foot eight. So I really felt like it was not a fair fight. Right.

And he was a very cute, sweet kid. And he made everybody cry with that, where is love song. Where is love? It's a tearjerker. It's a tear-jerker. It is a tear-jerker. Can you still do or have you been tempted to do the big song Tomorrow from that show? Oh, I do it all the time. Can we hear it? I can't do it with earplugs. Let's see.

The sun will come out. I can't do it right now. The next word is Tomorrow. I literally just drove here from Hershey Park, Pennsylvania. I was on roller coasters for like 10 hours. So I'm sort of like fried. Did you just go to Hang or were you guys playing at that, that there's a big venue there? Oh yeah, no, we don't play venues up in.

It's not that big, okay. Thank you very much. You could, you deserve it. Yeah, of course, I went to ride the Super Duper Looper again, because I rode it when I was like 10, and so I took my son so he could ride it, and he loves roller coasters, he's an enthusiast. That's great, I was just there a month ago.

Wow. It's thrilling. It's thrilling. It's a nice park. It's a nice park. It's a nice park. When you walk around in a big public place like Hershey Park, are you recognized by your fans from any of the projects you did? But I'm thinking mainly of Bikini Kill. No, and oddly the day that we went, it was Foo Fighters who were playing. And Foo Fighters, Dave Grohl used to be in Nirvana and we were friends with them when we all first started playing music. And everyone was wearing Nirvana shirts

and food fighter shirts and not one person recognized me. So as I was sort of on the rise, I was like coming to terms with, did I make the right decision? Like, should I have like, should I sign to a major label? Should I have, you know, and I was like, you know what? My son is so psyched right now and we're having a really good time and no one's coming up and bothering us and I was like, this is actually kind of awesome.

Yeah. Yeah, there you go. That is great. You know, now I wish it would make the story perfect if it turned out that Dave Grohl had played Oliver in that production. Well, Kathleen Hanna, it is a pleasure to talk to you. We have invited you here to play a game that this time we're calling... Kathleen and Hanna Meet Hannah Barbera. Hey, you let up. You must know, I think you and I are similar in generation, so you must remember that Hannah

Barbera is the legendary animation studio behind beloved shows like the Flintstones and Scooby Doo and less beloved shows like the Partridge Family 2200 AD. So we're going to ask you three questions about Hanna Barbera, the animation studio. Get two right and you'll win our prize for one of our listeners, the voice of anyone they might choose in their voicemail. Bill, who is Kathleen Hanna playing for? Sonny Paley of Georgetown, California. So here's your first question.

Flintstones fans take the show very seriously. So when many of them realize that no one ever mentions what Barney Rubble's job is, they began calling the studio at all hours. The calls were so frequent that the studio responded how? A, by having whoever picked up the phone immediately say, I know why you're calling. You want to know what Barney Rubble did for a living.

He worked at the quarry Be by making a special eight hour long episode that follows Barney's entire workday minute by minute Or see by just canceling the show out of spite Oh god, that's so hard. I thought he for some reason I was saying he worked at the bowling alley I thought he, for some reason I was thinking he worked at the bowling alley. Um, I think A won. That's right, A. And no surprise, the majority of those calls were late at night from drunk people. Next question, that was very good.

After the Flintstones, Hanna-Barbera had another huge hit with Scooby-Doo. Now in order to create Scooby, animators did what? A, gave an actual Great Dane LSD and watched how it acted. Huh. Huh. B, gave themselves LSD, looked at a Great Dane, and drew how it looked. Yeah.

Or C, studied all the desirable traits of award-winning show dog Great Danes, and then drew the opposite. Yeah. Oh, wow. Oh, wow. I guess I'll go with the safe answer, three. But I think it's really two. But I'm going to say three.

It is three, or rather, C. And I feel bad that you saw it as a safe answer. Yeah. So they interviewed a great game breeder. But like, what's the most perfect example of the breed? If it's a perfect dog, what does it look like? And she described it and they just drew the opposite. All right. Though they were hugely successful, as we remember from our childhoods, Hanna-Barbera loved to work fast and cheap, so sometimes a mistake slipped through, like which of these in the Saturday morning cartoon

Super Friends? A, sometimes a superhero's pants would disappear mid-scene. B, sometimes Batman's voice would come out of Superman's mouth. Or C, sometimes a superhero's pants would disappear mid-scene. B, sometimes Batman's voice would come out of Superman's mouth. Or C, sometimes Green Lantern had three arms. Oh, that's B. Actually, yes it was B. It was actually all of the above. I love when they do that. Wow. Not a lot of quality control back in our youth. Am I right? Bill, how did Kathleen Hanna do in our youth, am I right?

Bill, how did Kathleen Hanna do in our quiz? She killed the bikini. Kathleen, you're something. Not many people do that well. That's true. Three right. Congratulations. Kathleen Hanna is a singer, songwriter, and punk icon.

Her new memoir, Rebel Girl, is out now. It is a bracing and moving read. And you get to see her on tour this summer with Bikini Kill. Kathleen Hanna, thank you so much for joining us. I'm Wade Wade Johnson. I'm having the time. Have an enormous party. Take care. Making time for the news is important, but when you need a break, we've got you covered on All Songs Considered, NPR's music podcast. Think of it like a music discovery show, a well-deserved escape with friends, and yeah,

some serious music insight. I'm going to keep it real. I have no idea what the story is about. Here are new episodes of All Songs Considered every every Tuesday wherever you get podcasts. Shortwave thinks of science as an invisible force showing up in your everyday life. Powering the food you eat, the medicine you use, the tech in your pocket. Science is approachable because it's already part of your life. Come explore these connections on the shortwave podcast from NPR.

Since Donald Trump took office in January, a lot has happened. The White House Budget Office ordered a pause on all federal grants and loans. The impact of the Trump administration's tariffs is already being felt. President Trump's efforts to radically remake the federal government. The NPR Politics Podcast covers it all. Keep up with what's happening in Washington and beyond with the MPR Politics Podcast. Listen every day.

Finally, one of my favorite conversations from last year with Bridget Everett and Jeff Hiller, stars of the remarkable HBO show, Somebody Somewhere. It's a hard show to describe. So when they joined us in November, Peter asked them to do it. I don't know, you know, it's a hard show to describe, so when they joined us in November, Peter asked them to do it. I don't know, you know, it's a slice of life.

It's about friendship. It's, you know, it's about making each other, lifting each other up and, you know, we're not afraid of a fart joke. You know, I don't know if you can say that on NPR. I don't know. Our show is all fart jokes. Really? I know.

You and I have the same formula. Bridget, since you are from Manhattan, Kansas, and it is a show set in Manhattan, Kansas about a woman from Manhattan, Kansas, I'm assuming that everything we see in the show actually happened, right? Oh, yeah, pretty much. Give or take six.

Wait, I was going to. I can't talk like this. I was going to say something naughty. I'm going to leave. And Jeff, I'm told that your character that you play is awfully close to your real life experience. Is that the case? Yeah, we both love Vitamixes and we're both, you know, middle-aged homosexuals with asymmetrical faces. That's true. It was meant to be, Peter. It was meant to be.

Right. It occurs to me, Bridget, that I don't know of any other major piece of entertainment set in Manhattan, Kansas. So you must be like a queen there, because you have done for Manhattan, Kansas what, say, Game of Thrones did for King's Landing. You put it on the map.

That's right. They actually did a Bridget Everett Day for me a couple of years ago. So if anybody ever wants to go to Manhattan, Kansas, I think it's March 5th every year. They make a little Bridget Everett donut and a Bridget Everett beer. Wait a minute.

It's not just, wait a minute. Hold on. I mean, it's not just like they had a day for you when you showed up. There is an actual day on the calendar every year? The kids get off school. Oh, what are you doing for Bridget Everdey? That's right.

As a great LL Cool J says, dreams don't have deadlines. So that's amazing. I did want to ask you this, though, because the show is, the characters you play are broadly similar to you. They have similar styles, maybe, and similar backgrounds. Would you both love to play someone next or soon who is nothing like you, and if so, what kind of character would that be?

I'm waiting for the train wreck spinoff for me and Tim Meadows to do some sort of rom-com that gets a little freaky at the taco bar. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. How about you, Jeff?

Do you have any idea, like, if you said, oh my god, somebody, somewhere, what a huge hit, you can write your own ticket, you can play anything you want, what do you want to do? Well, I've been playing a lot of serial killers lately. And that's nice to be someone who you know. Exactly. I thought for a second you were kidding, but are you not kidding? Have you been playing a lot of serial killers? Have you been playing a lot of serial killers? I have been playing a lot of serial killers.

I imagine that's kind of a mixed blessing because you get steady work, right? Serial killers, always popular. What is it about you, you think, that makes them think, hmm, serial killer, psychopath, sex criminal, definitely? You know, I just got a face for murder. I do. You give me precious just got a face for murder. I do. You give me precious back. You give me precious.

Well, Bridget Everett and Jeff Hiller, this is really fun. And we have asked you here to play a game that this time we're calling... Nobody Nowhere. So obviously, since your show was called Somebody Somewhere, we thought we'd ask you about Nobody Nowhere. That is three questions show was called Somebody Somewhere, we thought we'd ask you about Nobody Nowhere. That is three questions about places where it's hard to find anybody.

Tim, who are Bridget and Jeff playing for? Jack Powers of Las Vegas, Nevada. Okay. Come on Vegas. Come on. Now you guys, as we do this, you're allowed to argue, you're allowed to team up, you're allowed to play this however you want. Here we go, here's your first question.

The loneliest and most desolate place on earth is Antarctica, an entire continent whose population never exceeds about 5,000 people. Despite that, one scientist who was there in December of 2013 managed to do what? A, convince the band Coldplay to come there and do a show, naturally. B, match with someone on Tinder. Or C, organize the first ever Freezing Man festival. I think it's C. You too, I think it's C. I'm so glad you did it that way.

Wait a minute, so you're saying Freezing Man festival. Oh? The audience is objecting. The audience is objecting. Audience is just like, wow. I was going to pull the trigger, but the audience is shouting no, no, no. Audience, what do you think it is? They always know.

They think it's B. They think it's B. OK, let's do B then. We got to do a project. They always know. They always know. OK, let's go B. They don't always know, but they did this time. That's good.

Woo. A scientist was sitting there, and he's like, what the hell? And he turned on Tinder and he swiped right on this woman who was camping on the ice about 45 minutes away by helicopter. And they didn't meet up, but they say nothing came of it that time. So. What a pit's ending to a great story. I'm so sorry. All right, here's your next question.

Now the loneliest place that anybody has ever been that we know of is the moon. Only 12 people have ever visited the moon. Now the first astronaut to do it after Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin was Pete Conrad. What were Pete Conrad's first words after stepping off the lunar lander onto the surface of the moon? Was it A, one small step for a man, one giant step for a mankind, suck it Neil. B, so where can I get a drink around here that's not recycled urine. Or C, whoopee! You're messing with us, right?

Right! This guy sounds like a... I kind of am, but one of them is real. He said one of those things as he stepped... Oh, this man is wild. I love him. I love like TT. I think it's the TT.

He drinks the TT, the TT one. The TT one? I don't know. I feel like it's whoope He drinks the TT, the TT one. The TT one? I don't know. I feel like it's Whoopi. So you're gonna go with two different answers. Bridget, you're gonna take the recycled urine, and Jeff, Whoopi. Yeah, we're diverging in two different woods.

Jeff is the winner. Jeff is correct. Whoopi! All right, Jeff has already won. He got two right. Let's see if Bridget can catch up. Your last question. In 1993, a French man's car broke down far out in the Moroccan desert.

And he was so far out, there was no way for him to get back. So to save his own life, he stripped down the car and he built a motorcycle from the parts and drove it back to civilization and when he got there what happened a his wife said oh were you gone B he was ticketed for riding an illegal vehicle or see at the celebration of his miraculous return, he died when a popped champagne cork punctured his head. Oh, if it's not C, it's gotta be C. Bridget, they can't die from that. That's a fun answer. That's a fun answer. Come on, you gotta do better.

No, you can die from that and I'm willing to give it a shot. All right, Bridget wants to go with he died ironically from the popped champagne cork. What do you think, Jeff? I think it's the ticket. You think he got it? I think it's the ticket. Once again, Jeff is correct. So, Tim, how did Bridget and Jeff do on our quiz?

Jeff got all three questions correct. Yeah. It's a record. It's. Yeah. It's a record. It's a record. It's a record. It's never happened before. Bridget Everett and Jeff Hiller are stars of Somebody Somewhere on HBO and Mac.

Season three is out now. Catch it, it is remarkable and heartwarming and funny. And every now and then, Bridget says something very dirty. Bridget and Jeff, thank you so much for joining us. I'm, wait, wait, Don't Tell Me. Awesome to have you. That's it for our spring break edition. Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me is a production of NPR and WBEZ Chicago

in association with Urgent Haircut Productions and Doug Berman Benevolent Overlord. Philip Godica writes our limericks, our public address announcer is Paul Friedman, our tour manager is Shayna Donald, BJ Liederman composed our theme, our program is produced by Jennifer Mills, Mylon Dornbos, and Lillian King. Special thanks to Monica Hickey. Our jolly good fellow is Hannah Anderson. Peter Gwane is the little worm at the bottom of our bottle of tequila.

Our vibe curator is Emma Choi. Technical director is Lorna White. Her CFO is Colin Miller. Our production manager is Robert Newhouse. Our senior producer is Ian Chilag. And the executive producer of Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me is Mike Danforth. Thanks to everybody you heard on this week's show.

All of our panelists are fabulous guests and of course Bill Curtis. Thanks to all of you for listening. I'm Peter Sagal. We'll be back next week, tanned, rested and ready. This is NPR. At Planet Money, we'll take you from a race to make rum in the Caribbean. Our rum from a quality standpoint is the best in the world. To the labs dreaming up the most advanced microchips. It's very rare for people to go inside.

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