Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! - WWDTM: Heather Gay

Episode Date: August 2, 2025

This week, special guest Heather Gay joins panelists Shantira Jackson, Shane O'Neill, and Luke Burbank in Salt Lake CityLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

This message comes from TED Talks Daily, a podcast from TED. Discover new ideas every day about stuff like finding humor in life's absurdity, the existence of aliens, or what happens when your dog uses the internet. Find TED Talks Daily wherever you listen. From NPR in WBEZ Chicago, this is Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, the NPR News Quiz. Hey there, Salt Lake City. Your lake might be salty, but my voice is so sweet. I'm Alzo Slade, and here's your host at Abravanel Hall in Salt Lake City, Utah, Peter Sagal.

Thank you, Alzo. Thank you, everybody. Thank you so much. We are so delighted to be back here at Salt Lake City. City, Utah, Peter Segel. Thank you, Alzo. Thank you, everybody. Thank you so much. We're so delighted to be back here. Salt Lake City once had a reputation of being a sleepy little town where people were incredibly

well behaved. Not anymore. And that may be due in great part to the huge success of the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City. Now, today we are going to be joined by the realest of those Real Housewives of Salt Lake City. Now today we are going to be joined by the realest of those Real Housewives, Heather Gay, and if we play our cards right this may be the first ever Wait Wait where I get a glass of

wine thrown in my face. Right now it's your turn to turn to the camera and introduce yourself. The number to call is 1-888-WAITWAIT. That's 1-888-924-8924. It's time to welcome our first listener contestant. How you run WAITWAIT, don't tell me. Hi, Peter, this is Madeline. I'm calling from Brooklyn, New York. Oh, Brooklyn, wow. People here have heard of it.

What do you do there? So I just graduated from the City University of New York, and very soon I will begin practicing as a clinical and a research audiologist. So I'll be working with patients who have hearing loss and who use hearing aids and cochlear implants and trying to learn more about how they experience sound. Well that's great. You're going to bring hearing to people who don't have it. Exactly. That's the goal.

Well, we appreciate your help in building our audience. Let me introduce you to our panel this week, Madeline. First up, she's a writer and comedian who most recently wrote for Clean Slate, available to watch on Amazon now at Shantira Jackson. Next, he's a reporter at the Washington Post where he writes this style memo newsletter. It's Shane O'Neill. Hello, Madeline. How are you?

Hi, Shane. And he's the host of the daily podcast TBTL and the public radio variety show Live Wire, which will be at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul on September 26th. It's Luke Burbank. What up, Madeline? So, Madeline, welcome to the show. You're going to play who's Alzo this time. Alzo Slade, filling in for Bill Curtis, is going to read you three quotations from this

week's news. If you can identify just two of them, you'll win our prize, which is any voice from our show and your voicemail. Are you ready to play? I'm ready. Okay. Your first quote is from the New York Times. If you spent your childhood struggling to do chin-ups in gym class, brace yourself.

That was an expert in childhood health talking about the president's announcement this week that he is bringing back what? Oh, god. The presidential fitness challenge? Yes, God, the Presidential Fitness Challenge? Yes, the Presidential Fitness Challenge. You remembered that from your own school days. They told you to run a mile to do a certain number of pull-ups, push-ups, and other exercises,

and you failed. If anybody did well at that, they would not be in this theater right now. Exactly right. I mean, including us. If anybody did well at that, they would not be in this theater right now. Exactly right. Including us. It's a test that did traumatize elementary school kids for decades, including us, but it did serve a purpose. The kids who did well went on to Excel and sports.

The ones who didn't all went into public radio. Do you remember that part of the test was like a flexibility test where it was like a red thing that you had to bend around? Yes. Oh, God, yes. That was called the Touch Box. Oh, okay. I remember it as the day I found out I'm not flexible, but I'm great at farting.

It was actually called the Sit and Reach Box. The Sit and Reach Box. Oh, that's something else in my community. I was a very sort of naive, like, suggestible kid. So when I heard it was the president's fitness challenge in the 80s, I assumed that right after I did the shuttle run at Daniel Bagley Elementary School in Seattle, the results were immediately airlifted to President Ronald Reagan for him to analyze. Right.

Oh, yeah. It was a lot of pressure. It was the president. And then one problem was, it was like pass fail. Either you failed like I did, but very few people passed and got the presidential fitness medal, and that's the problem, the standard was too high. Maybe some people don't get presidential fitness,

but they get gubernatorial fitness. And hey, you know, I can just imagine someone saying to me as a little pudgy boy, hey Peter, there's nothing wrong with Comptroller Fitness. All right, your next quote is from a restaurant critic for the San Francisco Chronicle. Is purse tuna ever OK? That was critic Mackenzie Chung Fagan

on the new trend of people bringing their own what when they go out to eat? Bringing their own food? Yes, bringing their own food. You said it in just the right eat? Bringing their own food? Yes, bringing their own food. You said it in just the right way, bringing their own food. Yes, more and more diners are sneaking their own food into restaurants. Some establishments say that's a daily occurrence. That's why waiters are saying, have you dined with us before?

Have you dined anywhere before? But surely you're thinking, okay, they just bring in small things like they're on hot sauce, right? No. To quote one chef, one lady pulled a whole rotisserie chicken out of her purse. We're mad at her? I'm impressed. Okay.

What kind of bag is it? Because I want one. Is the idea that like people have allergies? Well, that's the thing like why are they doing it? Okay, some people are like gym bros. They want to bring their own, you know protein. One fitness coach said quote I went to a restaurant the other day with some friends and I brought my own food and there's nothing wrong with that unquote and at this point we should mention yes, there is Peter And at this point, we should mention, yes, there is. Listen, Peter, this is America. I wouldn't want to live in a state that didn't let you stand your ground beef that you like to bring in to the Wendy's.

But fitness people eat food that nobody wants. This is helping the restaurant. Yeah, and where's the point? They bring like salmon with no seasoning and boiled broccoli. You bring that to a restaurant, I'll probably look at the menu and be like, whatever is not that.

Do you really think like cooks are like looking out the window from the kitchen and seeing somebody bringing their own food and going, thank goodness, one more person I don't have to cook for. Well, as a former waitress, I would much rather someone just brought their own food in and then tried to put a million substitutes onto a million things. Exactly.

Yeah, I see. Go for it. One pizzeria reported people sneaking in pizza from another pizzeria. Okay. Which actually seems like aggressive, right? That's a little over the line. You should be allowed to bring in any food that is not the literal food they serve at the place.

Right, that's the rule. But that's just a different version of a Yelp review. That's just to let them know that their food is trash. This is making me paranoid. I'm wondering how many people here are listening to fresh air right now on their AirPods. Oh yeah, good point. Oh wow. Your last quote is from a reporter at Slate in response to some really big news in the tabloids

this week. I'm ready to forgive a space flight or two for this. That was the reaction to the news that Katy Perry, singer and one-time astronaut, might be dating which former Canadian Prime Minister? Oh, Justin Trudeau. No, Stephen Harper.

I'm kidding. No, yes, Justin Trudeau. Everybody is all over this story, from TMZ to the New York Times, but it was page six, of course, of the New York Post that first reported that Katy Perry and the heartthrob politician were seen dining together having a quote thoughtful conversation. What a fascinating couple Trudeau and Katy Perry. We know one of them is too good for the other, but we can't figure out which one. It does feel like a rom-com that should be starring Anne Hathaway. Like a pop singer who just got back from space and a devastatingly handsome world leader

who is single for some reason. You know what I mean? This doesn't feel like real life. This feels like a plot. Does she want to date him or does she just want to move to Canada? That's possible. And would they consider a throuple? So I'm trying to get out of here.

Well what I want is like a freaky Friday where they switch bodies and Justin Trudeau has to, you know, whatever, do whatever Katy Perry does, get made fun of by gay people on the internet and Katy Perry has to go be the prime minister who's no longer the prime minister? Exactly. I think Justin Trudeau also gets made fun of by gay people on the internet. Oh, gay people don't, they're not smart enough. We make fun of everybody. Alzo, how did Madeleine do in our quiz?

She did fantastic. Three out of three. Congratulations, Madeleine. Thank you so much. Well done. Thanks for calling and good luck with that new career. It sounds great. Thank you so much, Peter. Take care. You too. Bye bye. And now, panel, I have some questions for you about this week's news. Luke, a new snack brand promoting

Nostalgic flavors is selling potato chips that taste like what mothballs I'm trying to think of the strongest sense memory from my childhood is probably mothballs. Um It's a nostalgic. It's a taste that's nostalgic a flavor. Well like a sensation on your tongue Can I get a decade? If this succeeds in the marketplace it will be shocking. Ah batteries! Yes, it tastes like licking a battery. Yes, it's all coming back to me now. We didn't have a lot of activities growing up where I did. Eventually you got tired of licking the mothballs. Battery testing was a big thing.

So licking a 9-volt battery was a rite of passage for stupid kids everywhere. And that sharp metallic jolt is now a potato chip flavor. Bet you can eat just one. Jolt is now a potato chip flavor. Oh. I bet you can eat just one. A European chip company that calls itself Rewind for the nostalgic flavors is releasing electric 9-volt battery chips. It's a taste that makes you say, wow, are these just normal salt and vinegar potato chips with a picture of a battery in the bag? Do they have one that tastes like your mom has a new friend who stays over? Coming up, our panelists increase their vocabulary and yours in our bluffed listener game called One Triple Eight, Wait, Wait, Deploy.

We'll be back in a minute with more of Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me from NPR. This message comes from Wwise, the app for doing things and other currencies. With Wwise, you can send, spend, or receive money across borders, all at a fair exchange rate. No markups or hidden fees. Join millions of customers and visit wise.com. T's and C's apply. From NPR and WBEZ Chicago, this is Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me,

the NPR News Quiz. I'm Alzo Slade. We're playing this week with Luke Burbank, Shantira Jackson, and Shane O'Neill. And here again is your host at Abravanel Hall in Salt Lake City, Utah, Peter Sagal. Thank you, also. Thanks, everybody.

Thank you so much. Now it's time for the Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me Bluff the Listener game. Call 1-888-WAITWAIT to play our game in the air. You can always check out the pinned post on our Instagram page that's at wait wait and beyond hi you're on wait wait don't tell me hi this is Tara Casey from Richmond Virginia hey Tara we love Richmond we were there just earlier this year what do you do there I am on the faculty of the University of Richmond School of Law law. Right. What is it like teaching law these days? The first class is like, guys, whatever.

Try something. They might go for it. Yeah. I'm thinking about adding Choose Your Own Adventure books to my cell phone. Well, Tara, it's nice to have you with us. You're going to play the game in which you have to tell truth from fiction. Also, what's Tara's topic? Suborga. We learned a new word this week. Suborga, S-E-B-O-R-G-A. And no, we will not use it in a sentence.

We're going to use it in a bunch of sentences right now because our panelists are each going to tell you who or what Saborga is and why it's in the news. Pick the one who's telling the truth and you'll win the weight waiter of your choice on your voicemail. Are you ready to play? As Elva would be. OK, well then let's do it.

We'll hear first from Shantira Jackson. In the high mountains of Sweden, there is a small village that makes some of the world's rarest cheese, Saborga. Saborga is a semi-hard cheese made from reindeer milk and right now it's going extinct. You see the cheese is so rare because it can only be made in the high altitude of this village with reindeer milk that can only be harvested for three months of the year by someone with very small

hands. Since the 1800s, the delicate milking of reindeer has always been done by children because they have the smallest hands. So it became a tradition in the village that every summer, children between the ages of eight and 12 would spend the month of July milking reindeer. But these days, kids have other things they want to do in the the summer like sports and travel and not working in a shed all day. After decades the supply of suborga is running dangerously low since the only people left during milking season are a few women and even fewer men with hands like

small children. Each wheel is currently on the market for $10,000 a pop. This week the suborga producers collective announced that the cheese would be completely extinct by 2030. Saborga, a reindeer cheese. Better get yours now. Your next Saborga saga comes from Luke Burbank. India's capital city of Delhi has more than 100 diplomatic missions in it. France, Japan, the US, Suborga.

Wait, you've never heard of Suborga? Well clearly you've never visited the fancy looking building that Harsh Vardhan Jain, known as Baron H.V. Jain to his friends, was running until Indian police arrested Jain for falsely claiming to be the ambassador of Suborga. Which doesn't not sound like a word the Swedish chef from the Muppet says a lot. Police say Jane simply rented the house and the cars and declared himself a diplomat, assuming no one would Google the countries he claimed to represent, which also included

West-Arktica and Polbia-Ledonia. And honestly, the baron was kind of right. Getting away with the scam for some seven years, police say. It is unclear when things began to unravel for Jane, but it could have been when someone at the police station actually said the word, suborga, out loud and then thought about it for like three seconds. Suborga, a fake country that a man successfully pretended to be a diplomat from for seven

years in India. And your last tale of Suborga comes from Shane O'Neill. Last week, after winning a soccer match, Lithuanian soccer star Ruta Šlarb showed up to a press conference with makeup smudges around her eyes. When asked why she wore makeup to the match, she replied, once in a while, mascara just gives me a confidence boost. Saborga. Saborga?

What was Saborga? It's a bit of slang that has now broken into the mainstream. So you know when men want to express emotion without seeming gay, they say, no homo. But what do you say when you've done something boring or cliche or tacky and you want to make sure everyone knows you are gay? In Lithuania, you say, suborgah! The phrase, which directly translates to,

I persist in my lifestyle, was once only used in Lithuanian gay bars. Now it's spreading all over the capital city of Vinius. For example, I hope my cousin asks me to be her maid of honor, Saborga. Or, actually I haven't seen the set list yet from Lady Gaga's current tour, Saborga. All right.

So Saborga showed up in the news this week and it means one of these three things. Is Saborga from Shantira a rare reindeer milk cheese that's going to go out of the world soon because we don't have enough children to milk the reindeer? From Luke Burbank, a fictional country that a man successfully pretended to represent, earning fortune and some fame in New Delhi for seven years. Or from Shane O'Neill, a slang phrase from Lithuanian that people are using to mean, hey, don't worry, I'm still gay. Oh my goodness.

I think I'm going to try for the New Delhi scam. The New Delhi scam. Luke's story. All right. Well, to bring you the true story, we hear from a reporter who covered it. He presented himself as the ambassador of West Arctica as well as Suboriga, Bolivia, and London. That was Roshesha Sehgal who covered the story for WION in India. Congratulations Tara, you got it right. You're in a point for Luke just by telling the truth. You won our prize.

The voice of your choice on your voicemail, perhaps saying, Suborga. Thank you so much for playing with us today. Thank you so much, y'all. Bye bye. ["SALT LAKE CITY THEME SONG"] And now the game we call Not My Job. Aficionados of the Real Housewives franchise on Bravo say the jewel in that particular crown

is Real Housewives of Salt Lake City and the fan favorite among that group is Heather Gay. Right? Known on the show for her humor, her reverence, her mischief, and for calling out fellow Housewives on camera for their deceptions, She's the author of one New York Times bestseller, Bad Mormon, and has another hitting the shelves now, good time girl, Heather Gay. Welcome to Wait, Wait. Thank you for having me. It's so great to have you. I want to compliment you for dressing the part. Thank you. Thank you. Right.

Do you always feel the need to do that when you go out around town? Otherwise, people will be disappointed if they run into you wearing some shmata. I often am around town wearing a shmata. And I am just trying to, you know, I have three daughters. I try to still be a housewife as much as possible, but when it's a special occasion, a bucket list moment to be here on Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, I show up and show out. Oh, you do, yeah.

Now it seems to be that everyone I know who loves the franchise says that Salt Lake City is the best real housewife show. Why is that? We are all pretty real and I think Salt Lake City keeps us real. Right. We're all each other has in this community and we have grown up here, we have lived here, we have roots here and we are just messed up enough to keep it interesting. Right.

Do you think you are representative of the Housewives of Salt Lake City? Like a random sample could have ended up with the same cast. Yes, I feel like we are representative of the Housewives of Salt Lake City. There's a little something for everybody. There you go. Now, I just want to make everybody clear to people who aren't familiar, this is not Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. Okay?

Different show. For someone who's new to it, how would you tell the two shows apart? I would say that we are the mighty oak and secret lives of Mormon wives is the acorn that fell and sprouted as a result of us. Wow. You better tell them. Tell them, baby. We proved the market. Tell them, baby. And we created a little bit of Mormonism in the zeitgeist yes created intrigue I think that that mighty oak is casting some shade so so housewives shows are known for the housewives starting the show every

season by turning to the camera right giving your opening like line what's our technical term for that the opening it's called your tagline your tag yeah your season tagline. Can you share some of yours? My first one was, just like my pioneer ancestors, I'm trying to blaze a new trail. That shoulder rotation is so important. Yes. And then I think season two was, I was raised Mormon, but now I'm raising a glass of champagne.

Yeah I've had a couple I've had six now no yeah six. Wow do you workshop them? Do you try them out? No they're they're they're assigned. No no! You're what you're allowed to contribute ideas but they shut those down immediately. Wait a minute. My world has been rocked. Somebody wrote that for you? Well, I had alluded so much to my pioneer ancestry that it kind of wrote itself. In a weird way. Yeah.

And you can kind of like, they'll give you three or four to keep you guessing, and you can kind of try to mess up the ones that you don't like, that don't represent you fully. Yeah. Do you remember any of the bad ones, the ones you tried to kind of fumble? Well, they're usually picked. I remember like, I may be a bad Mormon, but I'm always a good time. And I think I said that in a funny way and they used the funny way, which made it invariably worse.

Heather, I'm a huge fan. So glad you're here. I cannot believe that my worlds are colliding like this. Would you indulge me? Could I workshop a tagline? Anything, please. I don't wait, wait, but I always tell. There you go.

I love it. And then I turn. It you go! I love it. And then I turn. It's pretty good. Better than pretty good. If the world could have seen Shane, you're smoldering glass. Thank you. And I am willing to relocate to Salt Lake City. You have a new book called Good Time Girl.

Yes. And this book is sort of a recounting of your various exploits, presumably once you left the LDS church. Can you give everybody sort of a taste, a sample of the stories you tell in your new book, Good Time Girl? My senior trip to Tijuana, where I discovered that I might be more of a good time girl than I anticipated.

Sure. As one does in Tijuana. In Tijuana, yeah. Yes. It's right there in the name. Yeah. And I thought I was having the most worldly foreign experience of my life. In Tijuana. Right.

But then I later went on a mission for my church in the south of France, which ended up being even more of an adventure. It's amazing. I didn't realize that you had gone on an LDS mission to the south of France. If only the church had not sent you to a place with wine. Yes. The land of love and I was preaching celibacy and- How'd that go?

Sober living. Not so great. Not so great. Not so receptive. The mission was actually closed down. When in Provence- Yeah, don't be Mormon. That's what they say.

Well, Heather Gay, we could talk to you all day, I think, but we have asked you to play a game we're calling Good Time Girl Meet Good Crime Girl. As you know, some women aren't as virtuous as you, and they cross the bright red line of the law. So we're going to ask you three questions about female criminals. If you answer two correctly, you'll win our prize for one of our listeners. Also, who is Heather Gay playing for? Melissa Snyder of Mill Creek, Utah.

I love Mill Creek! There you go, everybody does here. So here's your first question. A woman in Florida took a Lyft to a gas station, robbed it, and then when tried to get back in the Lyft, the driver refused. So what did the woman then do? A, gave the driver one star and sent a detailed complaint to Lyft. B, returned all the stolen goods, gave up in the robbery, and got back in the car. Or C, just called an Uber instead, because they'll do anything.

Well, I'm wondering if the Lyft had a pink mustache attached to the fender or not, because that could be a factor. As an Uber fan, I'm going to go with C. You're going to go with Uber. Yes, that's what she did. I'm applauding for myself. We have to do that on Housewives because no one else will. The lift driver called the police and the police found her waiting for the Uber she had ordered. All right, very good. Here's your next question. A Massachusetts woman convicted of making and possessing cocaine, meth, LSD, and other drugs in 2016 got sent to prison,

but also of course lost her job. What was her job? A, she was the president of DARE, the police program to encourage kids not to use drugs. B, the scientist in charge of drug testing for police across the state of Massachusetts. Or C, Harvard Law professor. I'm just gonna like zero in on the making of and assume that there is some scientific background for the chemical creation of such a litany of drugs which I'm completely unfamiliar with. Let a minute, let me quickly check the index of your new book.

I'm a good-time girl, not a great-time girl. So I'm gonna go with B. You're gonna go with B, that's right, she was in charge of drug testing. He says that she went to work high on cocaine every day for eight years. Wow. She sounds like a real housewife. All right you're doing great. Let's go for perfect. One of the most famous lady lawbreakers of all time was Ma Barker whose kids and husband were part of a notorious gang of bank robbers back in the 1930s but she was also a beloved cultural figure as evidenced by what? A. Barker House roles based on her family recipe, which were later changed to Parker House roles because of her bad press.

B. People came out to have picnics while watching her final shootout with the FBI. Or C. While on the run she got an endorsement deal from Smith and Wesson which she called, quote, mama's little helper. I mean, I believe that Angie Dickinson started a movie called Big Bad Mama in the 70s. Was that based on Mama Barker? I don't know. Well, I only could watch it when my parents weren't home on HBO and in segments. So I'm going to go with B. You're going to go with B. They came out to watch her have her shootout. That's right.

Wow! Yeah. It happened. Don't challenge me with perfection. I will take it. It happened naturally in Florida. And the shootout with the FBI lasted so long, that people were like, oh, this will be fun. And they packed a picnic lunch, and they came out, and they watched the gunfight.

Wow. Yeah. Well, I mean, you got it right. And that just goes to show you kids, please stay up late and sneak and watch HBO. Yeah. Right. You'll be a winner.

It's good to be clean from rated R movies. Yeah. Yes, there you go. Also, how did Heather Gay do in our quiz? She did criminally well, three out of three. Heather Gay is an author, but of course, one of the real housewives of Salt Lake City. Her new book, Good Time Girl, is available now.

Please give it up for Heather Gay. Thank you so much for being on By the Way, John. Yeah. Yay. Yay. Yeah! In just a minute, Alzo has a new use for your Yo Play in the Listener Limit Challenge. Call 1-888-WAITWAIT to play. We'll be back in a minute with more of Wait, Don't Tell Me, the NPR News Quiz. I'm Alzo Slade.

We're playing this week with Shantira Jackson, Luke Burbank, and Shane O'Neal. And here again is your host at Abravanel Hall in Salt Lake City, Utah, Peter Segel. Thank you, also. Thank you, everybody. In just a minute, we will play the Listener Limerick Challenge, or as I like to call it, the Listener Limerick Opportun opportunity. If you'd like to play give us a call at 1-888-WAITWAIT that's 1-888-924-8924. Right now panel I have some more questions for you from this week's news. Shantara

according to a new study every time you do what you take exactly 36 minutes off your lifespan? Eat too many cheeseburgers. Oh it's eating something and it's not cheeseburgers, it's something else. I'll give you a hint. Everybody needs to say their farewells to Joey Chestnut. Oh a hot dog? A hot dog, yes. No, I love hot dogs. Well I got bad news, but it's statistically exact news. We've always been told that junk food shortens your life. Okay. But a group of scientists claim to have actually quantified it down to the minute. Using diet and disease data from around the world, they have concluded that each hot dog

shortens your life by exactly 36 minutes. I might die tonight. Okay. And that's bad. But can we choose which 36 minutes? Do they factor in like people that choke on a piece of hot dog and maybe die? Because as a person who lives alone, this is a big thing I think about now, which is choking.

Oh, no. I'm sometimes eating something in my house that goes down wrong and I think this could be the end. It doesn't, I don't think it includes that. People who slip on hot dogs on the floor or get stabbed by an angry dog. None of those are, okay, okay, okay. I'll be honest. Yes.

A good hot dog at a baseball game is worth dying for. What a way to go. I'm not gonna lie. Shantara, Mariah Carey. Yes. That's all the question. I just want to mention. That's enough for me. That is enough for me.

Mariah Carey, Shantira, says that she no longer acknowledges what concept. Oh, time. Exactly right. What? You just knew that. I knew that. Because that's my friend in my head. Yeah. She What? You just knew that. I knew that. Because that's my friend in my head. She doesn't even have a watch.

She just looks at her own wrist and knows all is right with the world. In a recent interview, Mariah Carey confirmed that she does not believe in the passage of time, explaining, quote, I just don't believe in it. Yeah. You know what that is? That's a sweet, sweet fantasy, baby. Maybe this is just a ruse to convince us all that Christmas time is an illusion and we have to listen to that damn song every day.

I will. I will. You're a fan. Yeah. I have taste. I like women who can sing well. And she sings better than well. And that probably is a good thing. Yeah, I have taste. I like women who can sing well. And she sings better than well. And

that props to the Queen. She can't dance though. Everybody has their thing. You can't have it all, baby. You can't have it all. Maybe she doesn't believe in the concept of rhythm either. Yeah. She sings on the twos and fours and she dances on the ones and threes. Shane, we learned this week that one in three people claim they have wotted their managers at work. Texted their managers. No. Dated.

Yes. Dated. One in three people say they have dated their manager or supervisor at work.. Yes. Dated. One in three people say they have dated their manager or supervisor at work. That is a staggering statistic. How am I supposed to keep up with all that gossip? Fast Company Magazine looked into it because of that infamous Coldplay couple, right? They wanted to see how common this is.

And according to one anonymous survey of 1, thousand employees, 320 of them said that they had had an affair with the boss or manager. That is unsettling. No, I never wanted to date anybody at the Banana Republic I was working at. Yeah. Yeah. Bumpy's fruit and yogurt was not exactly a target-rich environment for 17-year-old Luke Burbank. It did also say, though, that in addition to that 1 third

dating their boss statistic, 8 in 10 people said they had used flirting or suggestive behavior to successfully get ahead at work. So good news. The reason you didn't get that promotion isn't that you're incompetent. It's that you're an Ugo. Peter, is that true? Are you joking? I'm blushing, Shane. I'm starting to see your eyes.

You're funny. It's working, it's working! If Shane wins this week, I am filing a complaint. Woo! 1-888-924-8924. You can see us most weeks at the Studebaker Theater back home in Chicago. Our catch us on the road will be at Tanglewood in Western Massachusetts on August 28th, and the fabulous Fox Theater in St. Louis on September 18th. For tickets and information to all our live shows,

go to nprpresents.org. Hi, you're on Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Hi, this is Rachel Benzoni, and I am from Omaha, Nebraska. Omaha's a great place. What do you do there? Well, I actually just turned in my PhD dissertation and I will graduate in two weeks. Hey, congratulations.

What is your PhD in? It's about science teacher leadership on TikTok. Nice. Yes. Whoa. You have a doctorate in TikTok? Ha ha ha. Better believe it. Whoa. Well, Dr. Rachel, Owls of Slade right here,

filling in for Bill Curtis, is gonna 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 in two of the limericks, you'll be a winner. Ready to go? Definitely. Here's your first limerick. These heat waves are leaving me so hurt so I sit around all day with no shirt. A white milky paste can cool down my place. I slather my windows with... Please tell me it's not yogurt. It is yogurt! A professor of quote healthy

buildings in Britain says he successfully lowered the inside temperature of her house by eight degrees just by slathering the windows with yogurt. I guess he had given up trying to get the building to eat the yogurt for its health. The yogurt film does let in some light, so if you're trying to sleep in, you definitely want to use the blackout yogurt. I think the temperature drops when people leave a place. Yeah. There's no people in there.

Like your family. Yeah, exactly. Are you okay? Would it work with cottage cheese? Because that sounds good, actually, to me. Then you get the dappled light. Come on. Exactly. Here is your next limerick. When she's snacking in bed, she's all thumbs,

but Tyra won't waste those yum-yums. Broken cookies and chips pass right through her lips. She'll pick up and eat all those. Crumbs. Crumbs. That's right. On the Today Show this week, supermodel Tyra Banks explained her method for cleaning food crumbs

from the floor of her apartment. She bends down and eats them. This might seem weird, but you are going to love the new season of America's Next Top Roomba. She gave more and more details about her wet finger to mouth system for removing crumbs off the floor no matter how many times she was asked to stop. There's like 27 seasons of America's Top Model.

Girl, I will buy you a vacuum. It is like, it's the ultimate flex, right? Because her point, it would seem, is my house is so spotless. It's so pristine and clean that there's no difference in any of the surfaces in the house. You literally eat off the floor. Yeah. It's a brag. I mean, but also the crumbs. Come on. Now, if you drop a whole chip, I get it. Yeah. This seems desperate. I did that backstage at this theater. Yeah. Right. All right, Rachel. Here is your last limerick for the efforts that Mario spins. Peaches kisses are his happy ends, but the fans are confused.

Has the plumber been used because Nintendo maintains they're just friends? Friends. Yes. And a huge shock to the gaming world. Nintendo has revealed that Princess Peach and Super Mario are, quote, just good friends. It was devastating, devastating for Princess Peach to hear Mario say, it's not you, it's a me. I am not devastated. Just because you saved my life does not mean I have to be your girlfriend. That's true, you know.

I don't owe you anything. The revelation caused a firestorm in social media, rightfully so, for decades. Mario has been rescuing Peach from lava-filled castles and regularly saving her entire kingdom, and if that's not relationship material, what is? And don't even get me started on all the rides he has given her to the airport in his cart. Also, how did Rachel do in our quiz? The new PhD got three out of three. There you go.

Congratulations on everything. Take care, doctor. Thank three. There you go. Congratulations on everything. Take care, doctor. Thank you. Bye, everybody. Now it is time for our final game, Lightning Fill in the Blank. Each of our players will have 60 seconds in which to answer as many fill in the blank questions as they can. Each correct answer is now worth two points.

Alzo, can you give us the scores? Yes, Shantira and Shane are tied up at two and Luke is in the lead with three. Luke, you're in first place. Shantira and Shane, you're tied for second. Shane, I'm going to arbitrarily choose you to go first. Here we go. The clock will start when they begin your first question. Fill in the blank. On Tuesday, Senate Democrats tried to use a little-known law to force the release of the blank files. Epstein. Right. Despite bipartisan opposition, Senate Republicans confirmed one of Blank's former lawyers to

a lifetime appellate judge appointment. Trump. Right. Trump. This week, the administration shortened its deadline for Russia to begin ceasefire talks with Blank. Ukraine. Right. On Tuesday, coffee shop giant blank shut down their entire line of pick-up only cafes.

Starbucks? Right. This week, the Foo Fighters announced they were replacing their drummer with a drummer from the Nine Inch Nails and in response, the Nine Inch Nails announced blank. They were taking the Foo Fighters drummer. Exactly right. On Thursday, Procter & Gamble announced a 25% price increase on products due to President Trump's blanks. Dandruff problem.

No. Tariffs? Yes. According to new data, plastic surgery is booming among GLP-1 users suffering from what's called blank face. Baggy face face. No, ozempic face. That's what I said.

This week a woman in Miami was stopped by the TSA after they caught her trying to smuggle two blanks in her blank. Two pigeons in her suitcase. No, two turtles in her bra. TSA caught the woman as she tried to sneak through the Miami airport security checkpoint with two turtles stuffed in her bra. It may sound funny to you, but turtles are a serious commitment. They can live for over a hundred years, so you

need to make sure that after you die, one of your kids will be willing to stuff them in their bra too. Also, how did Shane O'Neil do in our quiz? He got six right for 12 more points and is now in the lead. All right. Shantira, you're up next, fill in the blank, joining France and the lead. All right. Shantira, you're up next. Fill in the blank. Joining France and the UK, Canada announced plans to recognize a blank as a state. Palestine. Right.

On Tuesday, an earthquake near Russia's eastern coast led to blank warnings in the U.S. Tsunami. Right. On Thursday, the administration announced that construction had begun in a new lavish ballroom in the blank. The White House. Right. According to a new study, you may be breathing in micro blanks while in your home and car. Plastics.

Right. This week, Representative Mike Collins kicked off his campaign for Georgia's Senate by posting a video on Twitter that blanked. Nobody wanted to see. That may well be true, but to the point, his video on Twitter announcing his campaign misspelled, Georgia.

So I was right. In a weird way. On Thursday, cloud cover for SpaceX to scrap a planned flight to the blank? The moon. International space station. On Tuesday, thousands of fans traveled to Birmingham, England to watch blank's funeral procession. Ozzy Ozzy. Right.

Ozzy Osbourne. This week a man in Argentina won $13,000 in damages after his blank was posted to Google Street View without his permission. Address? No. His feet? No. His naked butt.

This man, he's in Argentina, he checked out his own house on Google Street View, you know everybody does that, and he saw an image of his own naked butt. The camera was able to see over a fence into his garden where he was walking around naked. So he sued anyone, but it's the rare kind of lawsuit where you kind of hope the damages you're paid are low because you don't want to judge to look at your naked body on a screen, turn to the people who showed it to the world without your consent and say to them you owe him a million dollars Also, how did Shantira do in our quiz she got five right for ten more points total of 12 Shane is still in the lead. All right, so how many then?

does Luke Burbank need to win. Luke needs six to win. Okay. All right. Here we go, Luke. This is for the game. Fill in the blank. On Monday, Australia's government announced it would ban access to the video streaming site blank for children under 16.

YouTube. Right. This week, Kamala Harris announced she would not run for governor of blank in 2026. California. Right. Despite pressure from the White House, the Federal Reserve once again held blanks steady. Interest rates. Right, this week authorities in South Carolina reported that a wasp nest found at a nuclear

facility was blank. Put there by Homer Simpson. No, was radioactive. They have created radioactive wasps. Good. A research submarine filmed never before seen creatures living in the deepest part of the blank. Ocean.

Right, according to Paramount, some six million people watched blank's season premiere, which mocked President Trump. South Park. Right. And this week, the officials in South Carolina who had confirmed that they found that radioactive wasp nest said that they hadn't found blank.

The nuclear power facility. No, the radioactive wasps. Ah. So they found the radioactive wasp nest near the tanks where the nuclear waste is stored, but there weren't any wasps. Still, officials say there's nothing to worry about, or at least that's what I thought they said. I couldn't hear them over the sound of all those enormous buzzing wings. Also, did Luke do well enough to win? Luke did not get enough to win.

No. It's OK. So. Hey. Shane is our champion for today. Yay, Shane. Yay, Shane. Well done.

In just a minute, our panelists predict, now that they're bringing back the presidential fitness test, what would be the next surprising thing from our own childhood to return? But first, let me tell you all. Wait, wait, don't tell me. It's a production of NPR and WBEZ Chicago. In association with Urgent Haircut Productions, Doug Berman, Benevolent Overlord, Philip Godica,

Reitz-Eil-Lemmer, South Public Address Announcement, Paul Friedman, our tour manager is Shayna Donnell. Thanks to the staff and crew at Abravanil Hall and to Janay Payne, Christy Miners and everyone at KUER here in Salt Lake City. BJ Liedemann, composed by Steve. BJ Liedemann, composed by Steve. Our program is produced by Jennifer Mills, Miles Rombos, and Lillian King. Special thanks this week to Mohanad Elshaky and Monica Hickey.

Our real house husband is Peter Gwyn. 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 is Ian Chilock. And the executive producer, wait, wait, don't tell me, is Michael Danforth.

Now panel, what thing from our childhood will be making a comeback? Shane O'Neil, Peace and Prosperity. Just kidding, a Furby movie. Shantira Jackson. Circuit City, we need her more than ever. And Luke Burbank. A crippling fear of hot lava.

And if any of that happens, we'll be sure to ask you about it on Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Thank you, Alzo Slade. Thanks also to Shantira Jackson, Shane O'Neil, and Luke Burbank. Thanks to our fabulous audience here in Salt Lake City, Utah. And thanks to all of you for listening wherever you may be. I'm Peter Segel.

We'll be back with you next week. This is NPR.