Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! - WWDTM: Jeff Gordon

Episode Date: June 7, 2025

This week, NASCAR legend Jeff Gordon joins panelists Zach Zimmerman, Adam Burke, and Negin FarsadLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me the NPR and WBEZ Chicago, this is Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, the NPR News Quiz. You may know me as the voice of Bill Curtis. I am Bill Curtis, and here is your host at the Studebaker Theater at the Fine Arts Building in Chicago, Illinois, Peter Segal. Thank you, Bill. I share your excitement. We have a great show for you today. Later on, we are going to be joined live on stage by NASCAR legend Jeff Gordon.

It's very exciting. It's a little, you know, this sort of thing. Not what he's used to. So to make him feel more at home, halfway through our conversation, a crew will come out and change all four of his tires. But first it's your turn to do a lap with us give us a call to play our games the number is 1-888-WAITWAIT that's 1-888-9248-924. Let's welcome our first listener contestant. How you were on Wait Wait Don't Tell Me. Hi this is Lauren Ring

calling from Seattle Washington. Oh Seattle one of my favorite places what do you do there in that beautiful place? I'm a nephrologist or a kidney doctor. A kidney doctor? I've always wondered about anybody like yourself who specializes in just one organ, right? Do you ever get bored and say, man, I wish I could work on something else just once, another organ? Well, I would rather just be a left kidney versus a right kidney, so even more special things. Oh, really? Yeah.

Has it gotten to this point? Oh, no, no, no. Wrong side, lady. You have to go see someone else. Well, welcome to our show, Lauren. Let me introduce you to our panel this week. First up, it's a comedian you can see at Hey Nonny in Arlington Heights, Illinois on August 1st.

It's Adam Burke. Hi, Lauren. Hi. Next up, a comedian and host of the podcast, Fake the Nation, a news and culture show that the federal government would also defund. If they could, it's Nagin Farsad. Hey. Hi, Nagin.

And making his debut on our panel, a comedian whose debut comedy special, Surprise Me, is now out on YouTube. Vulture just called it a comedy special you should watch. It's Zach Zimmerman. Hi, Lauren. I have some questions for you after you get off. Well, welcome to the show, Lauren. You're going to play Who's Bill this time. Bill Curtis is going to read you three quotations from this week's news. If you can correctly identify or explain just two of them, you will win our prize.

Any voice from our show, you might choose on your voicemail. Are you ready to go? I'm ready. All right. Now, your first quote is actually two quotes. They're from both sides of a partnership that suddenly ended this week. Here's the first quote. This is from President Trump.

We had a great relationship. I don't know if we will anymore. And here is his devastated ex. Donald Trump is in the Epstein files. So who is no longer President Trump's BFF? Well, it's not Melania, so I think I'd say Elon Musk. Right! Right.

Thank you. Trump gave Elon Musk his partner a nice sendoff in the White House last week, but then things suddenly got real dark. Musk called Trump's big budget bill, quote, an abomination. Trump then called Musk a big disappointment Musk said Trump couldn't have won the election without him and then as you heard Musk Escalated things Poor Elon. We're about to find out how much ketamine it takes to fix a broken heart Like I know we're supposed to do other questions or whatever, but this is all I want to talk about

I know we're supposed to do other questions or whatever, but this is all I want to talk about. I know. On this very special edition. Wait, wait, don't tell me. First off, Merry Christmas. Secondly, while we're renaming like, golfs and stuff, can we just change, just for today, the American flag to that GIF of Michael Jackson eating popcorn today? Here's the thing about this show. Like I've been in the show 10 years

and the production team here, I know you think it's all gonna be like polysyllabic fart jokes and like gags about some weird study about Swedish cats. But the one thing we really love in this show is a pair of messy bitches just going at it. In the employee parking lot. It's just like. And you know, I mean, they had this terrible breakup but it gets worse. I'm sorry. I mean, it gets better. going at it in the employee parking lot.

And you know, I mean, they had this terrible breakup, but it gets worse. I'm sorry. I mean, it gets better. Happy pride. Trump, yes. Trump said he would cancel Elon's government contracts. Elon said Trump should be impeached.

And then, oh, the hardest blow of all, Elon canceled his ex-account. That's a low blow. But we've all been there. We've all had these experiences. You know the whole time, Elon was still wearing Trump's old hoodie because it smells like him. And we're so, the thing is, I mean, we're going to enjoy it while it lasts because obviously Trump is going to back down in five days or tackle Tuesday as it's now known. But I don't know.

I love that Elon was like, oh, he's in the Epstein files, and I should know, because so am I. We're right next to each other. But then you're also like, now comes the phase where you're always worried that you're going to run into your ex, and so you try and look hot while you're out, you know, in public. Right. At least that's what I do. And so now I'm just like, is Trump going to wear an extra long tie?

Like, what are we going to see? The revenge bodies are about to drop. All right. Your next quote is advice from the Atlantic magazine this week. Lying whole heads might keep you from barfing up your Caesar salad. Due to increasing cuts to the FDA, among many other things, people are being advised to stay safe by avoiding what? Is it cucumbers? It's not cucumbers. It is something that goes into your salad.

The advice was to buy whole heads of something rather than the way we all usually buy it. Oh, lettuce. Yes, bagged lettuce is what we all need to avoid. Let's give it up for bagged lettuce, the greatest convenience ever. Experts are saying bagged lettuce could be the most dangerous thing in your house now, thanks to all the inspectors who have been fired from the FDA. So, you know, forget about worrying about measles. Now you can die by food poisoning. Luckily, bagged lettuce though has its own built-in safety

feature. It turns into a brown goo before you can eat it. This is such great vindication for jerks like me who like have a pretty much just red meat diet. We're like, turns out I'm in the healthiest one all along. Oh, they're not inspecting the meat plants either, Adam. They'll get you. Don't worry about it. As a vegetarian, this hits close to home. It really does. It's bad.

Bagged lettuce is disgusting. Maybe it's just the produce near my home. Is it? So you're one of those fancy people who buys heads of lettuce and cuts it up yourself, are you? Well, the quiet contemplation of chopping a vegetable is a little too much for me, actually. Really?

Yeah, I don't cook. So you just eat them whole or you just chew on huge pieces of lettuce? Do you put them in like a shredder, a letter shredder? I'm using an innovation called Uber Eats in order to consume most of my daily calories. Yeah, I'm so glad how you people, you vegetarians are getting back to the land. You people! You people! I'm talking glad how you people, you vegetarians are getting back to the land. You people! I'm talking vegetarians. It's hard to be on the right side of history.

It really is. All right, your last quote is from a New York Times commenter bragging about a recent accomplishment. I wanted to read 52 of them in 2024, but I actually read 54. That person no doubt will be competing in the hut new contest this summer People all over the country vying to see who can do what the most I? Would say books yes read books forget your softball leagues Hang them by the pool the cool new way to avoid your children this summer is reading

Summer reading programs like when you log your books you read and you count them up and if you win you get prizes. They were once just for kids but now bookstores across the country are launching them for lonely adults as well. Don't be intimidated by the challenge of reading as many as 50 books in the summer. Getting through a lot of books is easy. Just keep a book nearby you at all times and read it while you're waiting until you can skip the ad on your YouTube video. How big is summer reading getting? No, it is apparently quite popular. I've seen everywhere summer reading lists, people putting out, this is what you read. Some of them were even written by humans, which

is nice. It's gotten so crazy here in Chicago, you'll see guys on the sidewalk with like long coats and they'll open it up and they'll just have paperbacks. Can I interest you in a Maeve Benchy? By the way, if you don't want to read anything this summer, but you want to pretend you did, just say all you read this summer was Romanticie. And if somebody asks you what the book was about, just say it was Elf Sex. You'll be close enough. The ears are involved.

I'll leave it to Adam. I'm sorry. Is that a title? Right. And on that note, Bill, how did Lauren do in our quiz? Her score was so perfect she could now move over to the left kidney. Well done. Thank you so much for calling and playing. Thank you so much. Take care. Right now, panel, it's time for you to answer some questions about this week's news. Zach, this week a woman went viral when she found her husband's diary and made an amazingly surprising

discovery. What was it? He was cheating on her. No. He was loyal his whole life. That may or may not be true, but that's not what she was amazed and put on the internet. He couldn't write. No, he could, but he wrote... A novel. The first thing she did was she had to go and get her magnifying glass.

Oh, he wrote very tiny. Yes, he had the tiniest, tiniest handwriting. And she put this on the internet and everybody goes nuts for it. After hesitating for as much as three seconds, the woman opened up her husband's diary to learn his secrets, but the real shock wasn't like a mistress or a secret family, but her husband's quote, aunt-sized font handwriting. Maybe she should have suspected something considering his diary was written on one grain of rice. Wait, and then also she just like put that page online?

Yeah, well she just put it online and you can't read it and maybe she should have tried to read it more carefully before she put it online. Because what if like he wrote in his tiny handwriting was, you know, I don't know if I can keep myself from killing again. I was like, oh, look at his cute handwriting. I want to see his murder weapons though. They're probably too expensive. Yeah, they're really cute. Yeah. Could have been worse.

But what has he said about this? Like, what does, what, has he defended himself? Apparently, he's quite proud of his tiny little handwriting. Wasn't he dead? No, no, no, he's still alive. Oh, why handwriting. Wasn't he dead? No, no, no. He's still alive. Oh, why is she reading his diary? That is a very good question.

I mean, in all the excitement, this incredible violation of trust has not been discussed. That's terrible. Yeah, I'd love to see she gets like three magnifying glasses out and finally says, it's called privacy, you jerk. The divorce papers are going to be on a post-it note. Sorry. No. No.

Coming up, hundreds of millions of dollars could be yours if you simply follow the instructions in our bluffed listener game call, one, triple, eight, wait, wait, apply. We'll be back in a minute with more of Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me from NPR. This message comes from WISE, the app for doing things and other currencies.

With WISE, 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. This message comes from BritBox. The stories you remember are often the ones you didn't see coming. BritBox invites you to see it differently with British TV. Shake up the everyday and discover worlds that are new, unexpected, and perhaps just what you were looking for. Stream British series, including new BritBox original mystery, Ludwig, starring peep shows, David Mitchell.

Sign up today and get 50% off your first month when you use the code WAIT at BritBox.com. This is Ira Glass with This American Life. Each week on our show, we choose a theme, tell different stories on that theme, Wait at Britbox.com. This is Ira Glass with This American Life. Each week on our show, we choose a theme, tell different stories on that theme. Alright, I'm just going to stop right there. You're listening to an NPR podcast. Chances are you know our show. So instead, I'm going to tell you, we've just been on a run of really good shows lately.

Some big epic emotional stories, some weird funny stuff too. Download us. This American Life. From NPR in WBEZ, Chicago, this is, wait, wait, don't tell me, the NPR News Quiz. I'm Bill Curtis. We are playing this week with Zach Zimmerman, Red Hot, Adam Burke, and Nagin Farsad. And here again is your host at the Studebaker Theater in Chicago, Illinois, Peter Sagal.

Thank you, Bill. Right now it's time for the Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, Bluff the Listener game. Call 1-888-WAITWAIT to play our games on the air or check out the pinned post on our Instagram page at Wait, WaitWaitNPR. Hi, you're on WaitWait, don't tell me. Hi Peter, this is Craig Ventura calling from the pizza capital of America, New Haven, Connecticut.

Oh, you know he's a stud. Alright, now listen, I know you think you're throwing down on us here in Chicago, but I've got a little surprise for you my friend. I agree with you. Craig, it's great to have you with us. You're gonna play our game in which you must try to tell truth from fiction. Bill, what is Craig's topic? How I made millions.

Somebody recently made millions and millions of dollars, and I'll give you a hint. They do not work in public broadcasting. Our panelists are gonna tell you how they made all that cash. Pick the one who's telling the truth. You'll win the weight-weighter of your choice in your voicemail. Are you ready to play? Let's do it.

Let us do it. First, let's hear from Adam Burke. Uno Khan seemed poised to realize his lifelong dream of becoming a big-time movie producer earlier this year after raising an impressive $150 million from investors in his native Estonia. Those same backers, however, say Khan deliberately misled them about the talent he had arrayed for his supposedly star-studded blockbuster. Obviously, when he texted me that Brad Pith was set to star, I assumed the H was a typo,

says now-disgruntled investor Arno Anson. But Kahn had indeed secured the services of one Brad Pith, a little-known Scottish actor he had seen performing on a cruise ship production of Grease. A lawsuit filed earlier this year says Cannes knew exactly what he was doing when he hired the Tino brothers as writers, just so they'd make the wrong assumption when he said the script was by Clinton D'Arentino. Steven Spielberg is definitely lined up to direct though in SysCon, neglecting to mention that the Steven Spielberg in question is a retired piano tuner from Berlin.

A man raised with a lot of money to make a movie by using talent who sounds a lot like famous people. Your next story of fast fundraising comes from Nagin Farsad. When AI like chat GPT, Claude, and the little thing that appears on the top of Google now started popping up, the tech sector couldn't get enough. That's when building.ai entered the scene, promising that their AI could build software and that it was, quote, as easy as ordering a pizza. By the way, in another one of its disruptions, the tech world replaced easy as apple pie

with easy as ordering pizza. So building.ai promised an AI future for coding and managed to raise $450 million from people like SoftBank and Microsoft because corporations are people. But then the house of cards or pizzas all came falling. An early whistleblower noted that the whole operation was, quote, just a group of Indian developers pretending to write code as AI, which I'm assuming means like any good AI, the 700 coders tried their best to subjugate humanity while also destroying the environment.

The company has since filed for bankruptcy, leaving tens of millions in unpaid bills. It turns out defrauding people when there's no real oversight is actually as easy as ordering a pizza. An AI company raises hundreds of millions in investment for their technology that turns out to be just 700 people. Your last story of somebody bagging serious cash comes from Zach Zimmerman. If you've ever tossed a coin in a fountain and made a wish, odds are it didn't come true, but it is making one woman very rich. Debra Pearson is the founder and CEO of a commercial wishing well company called Wishing Well, Well, Well.

That's reporting record profits. Now it's illegal in most states to take coins from the bottom of water features, not to mention unethical to manhandle someone's hope for a boyfriend by summer wedding season. But laws famously only govern human behavior. Deborah has adopted 400 raccoons, which have been trained, shaved, and pumped full of beta blockers to go deep sea fishing for state quarters, half dollars, whole dollars, and the occasional token from Chuck E. Cheese. Animal rights activists called the company bad, like very, very bad.

But Pearson maintains her nursery of raccoons enjoy the late night skinny dips. The company is rapidly expanding into other verticals, training anteaters to dig in couch cushions, woodpeckers to check vending machines, and just hatch chicks to straight up just pickpocket people. All right. Somebody figured out a kind of sneaky way to make a lot of cash. Was it from Adam Burke, a movie producer who got a lot of money raised for his film by staffing it with people who sounded a lot like but weren't big Hollywood stars.

From Nagin, an AI company that raised hundreds of millions for their technology that turned out just to be 700 people pretending to be an AI. Or from Zack, a woman who figured out that she can break in, literally, the money from wishing wells simply by dispatching raccoons to get it which of these is a real story of a money-making scheme okay these all sound pretty wild I'm gonna go with be the AI fake AI you're gonna go with McGee story okay that's your choice the audience seems excited about it well to bring you the correct answer we spoke to a reporter covering the real story.

The reason why some companies can get away with doing this kind of thing is that nobody really knows how AI even works. They just see it as this magic black box. That was Hermi Olsen from Bloomberg who originally reported on the story of these 700 engineers pretending to be an AI. Congratulations, Craig, you got it right. You earned a point for Nagin, and you have won our prize. Thank you, Craig. The voice of your choice for your voicemail.

Well done, sir. Thank you, Craig. Have a great one. Take care. Woo! Yeah! And now the game where we ask people who've accomplished everything they ever set out to do to do one more thing.

We call it not my job. Jeff Gordon is a living legend of American auto racing. He set modern NASCAR records for career wins, most wins in a season, among many other honors before he retired 10 years ago. These days he spends his time with various businesses as well as co-owning racing teams, and so far, we believe he has resisted the urge to kick the driver out of the car and say, here, let me do it.

Jeff Gordon, welcome to Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Thank you. It's nice to be here. It's such a pleasure to talk to you. You really didn't have to say all those things, but please go on. Please go on. I have more.

Do you want me to just list your wins by season? I have it here. We learned so many amazing things about you this week, but one of the most amazing things to me at least was that you won your first auto race when you were five years old. Yeah, I mean, I guess I just think all professional race car drivers started racing when they were five or six years old. I mean, that was pretty common for me. I grew up in California,

and the kids I was racing with were basically the same age. So did everybody know, did you know, that this was something you were going to be very good at? No idea, no, I had no clue. I'd actually, my first racing experience was previous to that I raced BMX bikes when I was like four and a half years old. Four and a half. Yeah What does a four and a half year old get if they win a race they get to skip their nap?

Well, I didn't win a race so I wouldn't know Well, I didn't win a race, so I wouldn't know, because I realized then that I did not have the physicality to pedal a bicycle as fast as others. And when I got in the car, I'm like, I don't need that. I've got an engine. Oh, yeah. So, you know, it did come, you know, pretty quick. And I realized, gained confidence and said, oh, I can do this. Right. This is actually another thing I'm very curious about.

I know, for example, that on the track, you drivers are in radio contact at all times with your pit. What are you talking about? It's like, oh, did you see what the president just did? I will say there were a few times in my career where I was fortunate enough to have a pretty big lead. Just a few times. And your mind starts to wander.

And I think there were a few times I noticed some fans or something happening up in the grandstands and I radioed to the team and said, hey, did you see that? They're like, seriously, Jeff, you're noticing things up in the grandstand. Really? We're trying to win this race. Get back to the race. Yeah, I'm going to win, but what are we going to have for dinner later? I'm getting a little peckish out here.

The other thing you have to remember is that these radios are being broadcast to everyone. Really? So you have to be careful of things that you say. I didn't always do that well, but you try. Really, so like, let's say, and I'm sure this happened to you more than a couple times, let's say things go poorly, you spin out, maybe something catches fire, you have to be careful to say, oh, goodness, I am truly and well fudged. Yeah.

That, as well as if somebody else caused it. Oh, yes. truly and well fudged. That as well as if somebody else caused it. Oh, yes. Then the choice things that you are thinking about saying. Really? I find that, I mean, that is- Here's the part you guys are gonna love. Okay.

Because you guys are comedians and I'm not, but in order for that to be broadcast, there's a button on the steering wheel. In order for the driver to talk back to the team, you have to push the button. And these things are being broadcast, so you don't have to push the button, you could just say them. And in my case, 100% of the time, I wanted to make sure I pushed the button so everybody could hear me. Now, you've retired, and as I said, one of the many things you do in addition your

businesses and philanthropy is you co-own some racing teams right? Yes. And how hard is it for you to like just look at the driver or watch them and just think just let me do it. I mean I realized things have evolved, technologies have evolved, the cars drive different today. But what does happen to me, and I think of my wife every time, because when I was racing, I would get out of the car that day, let's say, you know, we didn't win, and she'd go, I don't understand why you didn't just pass that car. This is your wife.

Yeah. She's like, couldn't you just push the pedal down further and just go by? I'm like, honey, it's already all the way there. That was as fast as I could go. So I then, while I'm watching the drivers, I'm going, just pass. Why can't you just pass them? Right. And I just in credit to your wife, just comparing to myself, at least she knew you had a pedal.

That was news to me. I enjoyed that. Really, you're like, come on, just do it, just do it, just do it. I know everybody asks you guys after you've, you know, all the racers, current and retired, if you speed when you're driving your car. I'm not going to ask you that. I know. You're not?

No, I'm not going to ask you that. Well, unless you want to tell me. Do you? I just understood it was like the big cliche that all the race drivers get. Well, I mean, I'm not saying that it's that, you know, I just get in the car and say, how fast can I go? But I mean, I'm still human.

Yeah, sure. Sometimes you gotta go over the speed limit. What I really wanted to know is if you're just driving, just doing an errand, maybe doing something with your kids, driving out of the grocery store, if you ever say to you, if you're just sitting there and doing an errand, maybe doing something with your kids, driving out of the grocery store, if you ever say to you, if you're just sitting there and going vroom, vroom. I have one more question, which is that

I learned how to drive on a stick shift. Nice. Does that improve your opinion of me? Yes. 100%. There you are. Thank you. I have an 18 year old, soon to be 18 year old daughter and a 14 year old son and my

goal this summer is to get them to learn. My son is like going through driver's ed and stuff so maybe, maybe my daughter I want her to learn how to drive a stick. Here's the question. Are you, Jeff Gordon, one of the greatest race car drivers who have ever lived, going to teach your children to drive. I mean, yes. Reluctantly, because it's probably one of the scariest things I've ever done, is sit

in the passenger seat. While somebody who has zero experience driving is driving the vehicle, and I kind of like to be in control of the vehicle. Sure. Yeah, so that's probably the most terrified I've ever been. My daughter was learning how to drive. Just imagine you turning to your daughter, she's 16 right, whatever she is, you're like, why don't you just pass them? I just want her to use the brakes when somebody's brake lights come on. Well, Jeff Gordon, it is such a pleasure to talk to you. We've asked you here to play a game we're calling...

Leave the driving to us. As we have discussed, you're an accomplished driver, so we thought we'd ask you three questions about passengers. If you answer two out of three correctly, you'll win our prize for one of our listeners, the voice of anyone they might choose for their voicemail. Bill, who is NASCAR legend Jeff Gordon playing for? Kelsey Woods of Wendell, North Carolina. All right. North Carolina.

North Carolina. Yeah. Got to take care of my Carolinians. Exactly. Here's your first question. In 2017, a taxi driver in the UK was pulled over for speeding, and he laid the blame on his passengers, telling the police what?

A, they kept farting and it was so bad he had to get the ride over as quickly as possible. B, one of them said, follow that car. And since there wasn't any car in sight, he sped up to find one. Or C, one said, the acid we just took will kick in in 10 minutes and whether it happens back here or at our home is up to you. Oh my God. My son is going to be so proud of me for picking A. Your son should be proud because you're right, yes.

Oh nice. Yeah, he said, he said I had to get out of the car. They were farting so badly. There were three of them, so let's have some sympathy for him. All right, very good. People love to ride on roller coasters, of course, as passengers, including one in Arakawa, Japan. And this roller coaster is famous for being what? A, a nearly surefire way to induce labor, leading to long lines of pregnant women. B, it is the slowest roller coaster in the entire country, so slow some riders

didn't realize once when it had derailed and stopped cold. Or C, it's the world's only one-way roller coaster, meaning every ride ends in a long walk back to the start. Oh, Lord. Well, I don't do anything slow, so I'm not going with B. I'm going to go with the one way. No, it was actually B, the slow one. It is the slowest roller coaster in Japan. It is so slow, the family coaster. Remind me to never go to an amusement park next time I'm there. All right, here's your last question.

If you get this, you win. In 2016, on a Southwest Airlines flight from Oakland to Kansas City, and full of Oakland Raiders fans, the pilot actually took to the PA at the end of the flight to congratulate the passengers. For what? A, they had, he felt, the most creative heckles of the safety announcement he had ever heard. B, for the first time in his experience, they had drank literally all of the alcohol on board of the plane. Or C, every passenger had boarded the plane, stowed their their bags and got their seatbelt buckled in eight minutes flat. Oh gosh. Oh my goodness.

It's a crowd participation. It really is. Bee. Bee, yes it was of course Bee. They were Oakland Raiders fans. They drank all of it during one three-hour flight. Bill, how did Jeff Gordon do? Two out of three. Chuckered flag flies everywhere. There you go. Nice. Jeff Gordon is a NASCAR legend and the vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports. NASCAR's Chicago Street Race returns to this fair city on July 5th and 6th. Jeff Gordon, thank you so much for being with us on Nightly with Jeff Gordon. Jeff Gordon, everybody you so much for being with us on Nightly Night Thank you. Jeff Gordon everybody. The living legend.

Thank you. In just a minute, be careful who you kiss. We'll tell you why in our listener limerick challenge game. Call 1-888-WAITWAIT to join us in the air. We'll be back in a minute with more of Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, from NPR. From NPR in WBEZ, Chicago, this is Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, the NPR News Quiz. I'm Bill Curtis. We are playing this week with Nagin Farsad, Zach Zibberman, and Adam Burke. And here again is your host at the Studebaker Theater in Chicago, Illinois, Peter Sagal. Thank you so much, Bill.

Thank you, everybody. In just a minute, it's a game a man from Nantucket gave his life for. The listener of the brick challenge. If you'd like to play, give us a call at 1-888-WAIT-WAIT. That's 1-888-8924-8924. Right now, panel, though, some more questions for you from the week's news. Nagin, forget about all those expensive summer camps. According to one parenting columnist, this summer, you should just let your kids do what?

Oh, just like throw them onto the streets. Yes, let them go wild. Oh, okay, yeah. Yes. Millennial parents, says Emil Niazi, are tired of overscheduling their kids all year, and then the summer comes and they keep doing it. So more and more of them are just letting their children go feral. Some millennials are saying they want their kids to experience what they had, which is

quote 90s summers. So here you go kids, let's light a campfire, drink some sunny delight and tell spooky stories about Monica Lewinsky. But I do have to say I love the idea of kids not having anything to do because I worry that kids don't get in enough trouble. You know what I mean? Let's just get them out there touching tetanus or whatever you're supposed to do. Commit crimes this summer.

Yeah. Let's do some light shoplifting. Just experience some stuff. Aren't the kids just going to be playing on their phones though? You can't bring back a 90s summer in the era of smartphones and tech. That's true I guess. That's why you proceed it by smash a phone with a hammer spring. That's right.

Zach, this week the internet debated something called the Danny DeVito rule. Now that is a theory that the way to tell if a romantic comedy is actually good is it is good if it would work if what? If Danny Davito was the romantic male lead in it? Exactly right. So this is the test. This is the test. We all see these rom-coms and the handsome guy goes to great lengths to win the girl, right? But would it still be charming and not kind of creepy and scary if instead of like a heartthrob The role was played by Danny DeVito, right? So think of say Danny DeVito holding a boombox over his head Outside his girlfriend's window from the movie Say Anything. Is that still adorable or does she get a restraining order? Is this a diss on Danny DeVito or a diss on the

fact that most rom-coms suck? I think it is meant to be the latter. The idea being that these rom-coms, these movies about you know guys trying to doing everything they can to get the girl who may not deserve the girl are just nonsense that we are fooled by because the guy is so handsome and the woman pretends to fall for it. If you put a normal looking person, say Danny DeVito, you would realize how creepy and strange the man's behavior was. Okay, hold on. Because there's entire industries and life itself based on men thinking women are hot or not. Right.

And so what women get this one little area of culture. Right. Where they're allowed to think that the guy is cute and picture themselves making out with him and now that that's being threatened by Danny DeVito. Wait a minute, Nagin, they're not actually going to put Danny DeVito in the movies. I know, I'm escalating the threat. I understand, I just want you to know you will still go to the movies and they'll be handsome men. I'm just saying, it's okay if the movies are garbage and it's just about the guy being handsome. I just want to like let women have one

And Danny DeVito nothing we were actually thinking that one rom-com that would be hard to apply this to is sleepless in Seattle because In that movie the two leads Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks don't meet they don't see each other till the very end of the movie so we're like if Danny DeVito was in it like it's the top of the Empire State Building end of the movie Meg Ryan walks out and says to Danny DeVito excuse me little boy but have you seen a handsome man around here? Jerry McGuire you had me at, hello. Coming up, it's lightning fill in the blank, but first it's the game where you have to

listen for the rhyme. If you'd like to play on air, call or leave a message at 1-888-WAITWAIT. That's 1-888-924-8924. You can see us most weeks at the Studebaker Theater right here in downtown Chicago, or catch us on the road this summer. We'll be in beautiful Salt Lake City in July 31st and then Tanglewood in Western Massachusetts on August 28th. Salt Lake info is at KUER.org.

And for tickets and information to all of our live shows, you can go on over to NPRpresents.org. And also check out our brand new TikTok. It's at WaitWaitNPR. Hi, you're on WaitWait, don't tell me. Hi, Peter. This is Jenny Legath from Moorstown, New Jersey. Oh, hey, Moorstown, New Jersey.

No, I know. Not Morris. I was about to say I know Morris town. I mean, they won't let me back into Morris town. What do you do there? I'm an administrator at Princeton, and sometimes they let me do a little teaching in the religion department. Do they really? Okay you've been good go over and give a lecture. Right. Right. Well congratulations I

should say congratulations to Princeton because you haven't been noticed yet. Yes we're trying to keep it that way. Keep your head down. Well, Jenny, welcome to the show. Bill Curtis is now going to perform for 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 big winner. Ready to go? I'm ready.

Here is your first limerick. Though diet fads often entice me, their meal plans are often too pricey. Now I'll lose my spare tire when my tongue is on fire. I make sure that my food is too... Spicy? Spicy, yes. According to researchers at Penn State, the quote, oral burn that comes with spicy food makes you eat slower and thus less, leading to eventual weight loss. The idea is simple, right?

If it hurts to eat, you eat less. That's how I lost 20 pounds recently. I just sprinkled a little broken glass on everything. I'm very proud. I just upped to medium salsa from mild. Did you really? Congratulations. Yes, I've been on a journey in order to increase my spice tolerance.

Here is your next limerick. The white dust on their nose is so plain. Those small pesky bugs have no brain. My party supplies got snorted by flies because fruit flies got hooked on... Cocaine? Yes. In a world first, scientists at the University of Utah have engineered fruit flies susceptible to cocaine addiction.

Oh boy, you do not want to see a fly the day after a long weekend cocaine binge. 1,000 red and puffy little eyes. The scientists say the cocaine addicted fruit flies will help advance addiction research. So first they're going to get the little guys addicted and then they're going to sit them down and be like, fly, this is an intervention. We're worried about you.

Wait, I already feel like flies behave like they are on cocaine. How can you tell? So why, yeah, how can you tell that they're now susceptible to co- it doesn't make any sense. Especially like the fourth time you see a fly go to the bathroom, you're like, come on, dude. Yeah're like, come on I will say fruit flies doing cocaine just describes Pride Month to be honest Wait, so but why did these scientists do that?

Because they were also doing cocaine You know be really cool. All right, you'll be really cool How about or an intern is just like covering their tracks like oh crap. We left out You know what? You know what would be really cool? All right. You know what would be really cool? How about? Or an intern is just like covering their tracks like, oh crap, we left out the coke last night. It's a study. All right. Here is your last limerick.

It's not marital bliss I am dissing, but I'm sad and my old life I'm missing. And anxiety slips through the touch of our lips. I got sad because we've done too much. Kissing? Yes. New research suggests that anxiety and depression can be transmitted to another person through kissing. That's bad.

You can make it even worse if while you're kissing, you also whisper, you're bad at this. Apparently, they say that it has something to do with your biome, your bacteria, and that can be transmitted through kissing. As much as 80 million bacteria get transferred from one person to another in just one kiss. There, I just depressed you without touching you at all. I don't get it. So then the bacteria are depressed? Apparently. They're like, oh man, how come we can't get cocaine like the fruit?

Bill, how did Jenny do in our quiz? She did Princeton strong three in a row congratulations Now on to our final game lightning fill inank. 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. Bill, can you give us the score? I can indeed. Nagin has three. Zack and Adam each have two.

That means Zack and Adam are tied for second, and I'm going to arbitrarily pick Adam to go first. So, the clock will start when I begin your first question. Fill in the blank. On Wednesday, Adam, President Trump announced a blank ban targeting 12 countries. Travel. Right. According to a new report, the net worth of the 10 blankest people in America increased $365 billion last year. Richest? Yes. Wealthiest. This week, U week, US blanks on steel increased to 50%. Tariffs?

Right. On Tuesday, a judge ordered the White House to continue offering blank-affirming care to inmates in federal prisons. Gender? Right. This week, the US beat out Australia to become the country that blanks

the most in the entire world. Sleeps? No. Swears? No, swears. On Thursday, a Japanese spacecraft attempting to land on the blank crashed during its descent. Moon?

Right. On Thursday, the Switch 2, the newest gaming console from blank, was released. Nintendo? Right. This week, officials in Washington state had to release a warning to drivers after a truck tipped over on the highway while carrying blank. Um, oh, I heard about this. Was it a bunch of coins?

No, it was millions of bees. According to the local sheriff, millions of bees escaped from a cargo truck after it tipped over near the Canadian border. Fortunately, less than 24 hours later, a group of volunteer beekeepers helped recover most of them, and they swear they're definitely the escaped bees, not just a bunch of new ones. You can tell because they're still wearing their tiny orange jumpsuits. Bill, how did Adam do in our quiz? escapees, not just a bunch of new ones, you can tell because they're still wearing their tiny orange jumpsuits. Bill, how did Adam do in our quiz?

Very well. Six right, 12 more points, total of 14 puts him in the lead. All right, so Zach, you're up next. Here we go. Fill in the blank. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the so-called Big Beautiful Blank would add $2.4 trillion to the deficit. Bill.

Right. On Wednesday, the U.S. vetoed a U.N. resolution calling for immediate ceasefire in Blank. Gaza. Right. On Tuesday, flash floods hit parts of Kansas after over a month's worth of blank fell in just one day. Rainfall. Right. Yes. This week, a dedicated Door Dash driver in Chicago drove onto Blank while trying to deliver an order. Lakeshore Drive? No, that would be scary. He drove onto the tarmac at O'Hare Airport.

On Tuesday, food safety inspectors said that some ground beef sold at Whole Foods may be contaminated with blank. E. coli? Right after their playoff loss to the Indiana Pacers, the New York Blanks fired their head coach. Nicks. That doesn't seem nice, yes.

This week, a man in Norway was shocked when he woke up and discovered that he had slept through blank. The pandemic? No, a 450-foot-long cargo ship crashing into his front yard. Same, same. Which happened to be on the ocean. Authorities have determined that the ship's watch officer fell asleep while on duty, leading

to the vessel veering off course and right into the guy's front yard. Also asleep, the house owner who did not wake up when the ship, which was very large, crashed right there. Call it a disaster if you want, but I think it's a touching story of two men miles apart napping in harmony. Bill, how did Zach do on our quiz? Well, he did very well. Five right, 10 more points, total points total to twelve He's in second place all right Adam all right We're encouraging here all right then so how many does Nagin need to take it six to win again here we go again, okay? This is for the game fill in the blank following a series of surprise attacks from Ukraine, Trump and blank had a 75-minute phone call. Putin? Right. This week, the White House said it was suspending international visas

for new students at blank university. Harvard. Right. On Wednesday, the mayor of Baltimore confirmed that a blank spill had stained part of the waterfront red. Oil? Right. This week, a woman in China who said she cried for three days after her boyfriend broke up with her finally got her revenge by blanking. Getting rid of his Twitter account.

No, sending 2,000 pounds of onions to his house. In order to avoid spreading outbreaks overseas, the CDC suggested travelers get the blank vaccine before flying. The foot and mouth vaccine? The measles vaccine. On Wednesday, the trailer for the second part of the film adaptation of the musical Blank was released. The musical Once Upon a Mattress.

No. A little deep hole, thank you. The musical Wicked. Wicked for good. This week, a man in Colorado escaped with just minor injuries after he was hit by a car while he was in a blank. Uh, on a, in, doing ketamine. No, he was in a porta potty. Apparently, uh, the driver who had veered off the road and ran straight into this

porta potty, and you know, okay, we've all been there, you have an emergency, you're desperate, you see an old, uncared for porta potty, and you're sitting in there and you think, well, at least this couldn't get any worse. Bill, did Nagin do well enough to win? Well, she got three right for six more points, total of nine goes to the Irishman. He's our champion, Adam Burke. Yay! In just a minute, we're gonna ask our panelists

to predict with all the competitive reading going on what will be the hit book of the summer to come. But first, let me tell you that, wait, wait, don't tell me, is a production of NPR and WBEZ Chicago. In association with Urgent Haircut Productions, Doug Berman, Benevolent Overlord. Philip Godica writes our limericks,

our public address announcer is Paul Friedman. Our tour manager is Shane Adonel, thanks to the staff and crew. At the Studerbaker Theater, B.J. Liedemann composed our theme, our program is produced by Jennifer Mills, Miles Dornbos, and Lillian King. Special thanks to Mahanad Elshehi and Monica Hickey.

Peter Gwyn is the goat, the Gwynneist of all time. Emma Choi is our vibe curator, technical directions from Lorna White, our CFO is Colin Miller, our production manager is Robert Newhouse, our senior producer is Ian Chilhawk, the executive producer of, wait, wait, don't tell me it's Mr. Michael Danforth.

Now panel, what will be this summer's big hit book? Nagin Farsad. The Grapes of Rats. Sonoma Weekend. Zach Zimmerman. The latest novel in the Hangry Games trilogy. And Adam Burke. I'm cheating and getting AI to read the books for me, so it's working its way through the

Asimov Classic U robot. Ah, well if any of that happens, we're going to ask you about it right here on Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Thank you so much Bill Curtis, thanks to Nagin Farsad, Adam Burke, and to Zach Zimmerman on a great debut on our show. Thanks to our fabulous audience here at the Studio Victor Theater in downtown Chicago. Thanks to all of you for listening wherever you might be.

I'm Peter Sagal. We'll see you next week. This is NPR.