Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! - WWDTM: John Leguizamo

Episode Date: September 7, 2024

This week, John Leguizamo joins panelists Tom Bodett, Helen Hong, and Hari Kondabolu to talk about sloths, moms, and Bob the BuilderLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

If you're hearing this, that means you haven't gone sponsor free with NPR plus. Join us on the plus side for awesome podcast perks across more than 20 NPR podcasts, including bonus episodes, behind the scenes content, sponsor free listening, and more. Learn more and sign up at plus.npr.org and never hear this promo again. From NPR in WBEZ Chicago, this is, wait, wait, don't tell me the NPR News Quiz. Forget pumpkin spice latte season. I'm all the basic bitch you need. I'm Bill Curtis and here is your host at the Studebaker

Theatre at the Fine Arts Building in Chicago Illinois, Peter Segal. Thank you Bill. Thank you everybody. Thank you everybody. We have a great show for you today. Later on we're going to be talking to actor John Leguizamo about his new documentary series for PBS. The man has starred in 100 movies and TV shows, but he's finally made it to the promised land, public broadcasting. Well, you can skip right to the front of the line and be on the air now. Just call us to play our games. The number is 1-888-888-9248-924. Let's welcome our first listener contestant. Hi, you're on. Wait, wait, don't tell me.

Hi, this is Kevin Hieu from Des Moines, Iowa. Hey, how are things in Des Moines, Kevin? Very nice for the summer, heat wave's gone, so we're getting ready for fall. That's good, what do you, you sound like you're from Iowa and I love it, what do you do there? Currently retired, working down that bucket list of things everybody does when they retire.

Okay, like- And I have to say, being on the show today is one of those bucket list things. Oh! Okay, that have to say being on the show today is one of those bucket list things That's great Well, we are honored to make that list. Let me introduce you to our panel Kevin first up She's the host of the trivia podcast go fact to yourself, which now airs weekends on Southern California Public Radio Laist 89.3. It's Helen Hong 89.3, it's Helen Hong. Hi. Hi.

Hello. Hello. Next, he's a comedian headlining the Ann Arbor Comedy Showcase, October 3rd through the 5th, and the Atlanta Punchline, October 17th through the 19th. It's Hari Kandabolu. Hey, Kevin. And a humorist and woodworker who

is the founder of Hatch Space Community Woodshop and School in Brathalburg of Vermont. He can make one hell of a spice rack. It's Tom Bodette. Hello, Kevin. Hello, Tom. So, Kevin, welcome to the show. You're going to play Who's Bill this time. Bill Curtis is now going to read for you three quotations from this week's news. If you can correctly identify or explain just two of them, you will win our prize,

the voice of anyone you might choose for your voicemail. Are you ready to go? Ready to go. Okay. Your first quote is from Baltimore Orioles play-by-play broadcaster, Kevin Brown. The White Sox have just gone full White Sox. Brown was reacting to yet another Chicago White Sox loss as they approached the Major League Baseball record for what?

Most losses in a season, I think 107, 108 right now. You're very good, yes, and they of course are not. The Chicago White Sox are on track to end the season if they go according to their current pace with a record of 36 wins and 126 losses, which would be the worst record in baseball's modern era now for decades the White Sox have tried to get just a Fraction of the national attention the Chicago Cubs always get and congrats guys you found a way I Love this team did I love this you love tell me the things you love about it I love the fact they make regular people feel like they too could play majorly I love the fact they make regular people feel like they too could play Major League. Yeah, that's exactly, that was my impression.

I was like, I could be on that team. I could do just as well. You know, if you say that one more time, you might get a call from them. These are things that really happened to the White Sox this season. A player was hit in the face by a warm-up throw. A game against the Braves was delayed because they couldn't find their first base coach. What? It's possible he defected. And just this week in Baltimore, three players ran into each other trying to catch a ball.

They did not catch the ball, and three runs scored. I could play on this team, Harry. The three of us could play on this team. Yeah. I mean, it comes from the top down. The manager, Grady Sizemore, he's been asked a lot of questions about all these losses. He said, quote, it's not about wins it's just about competing and playing together as a team nah bro it's about wins yeah

participation trophies of the big well some traditionalists are against it but the league will be letting the White Sox hit from a tee for the rest of the season. Alright, Kevin, here is your next quote. Bloody hell, my 44th birthday is in a few days. That was a social science researcher reacting to a new study that discovered we rapidly do what at age 44 and then again at age 60. I'd say mental health decline. Everything declines, I'll give it to you. We age rapidly at those two points. A new study by scientists at Stanford has shown that most people don't age gradually as you might have thought. Instead you have basically aging spurts. The first big wave is at 44 and the

second is when you realize that all of your favorite child stars are on TV doing commercials for prescription drugs. I'm 41 right now, so does that mean I have like three more years of youth? Yes, so this is the time to go full on Rumspringa. This is the time. No, this is when you start working on your delusions. When I was 44, that was still four years before I decided to have two more children. So I mean, that's delusion. Yeah, that was a poor decision-making.

And the other milestone was what? That's 60, apparently. It happens again at 60. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, what I really noticed there is like before 60, like you still have your strength, you know, you can still do things and if something wouldn't go, it was stuck, you pull harder and it would go. But after 60, you pull harder and something in you goes.

Yeah. You still have the strength, but it's not connected to anything anymore. It's not the jar that opens. This all has to do, by the way, with the biochemical markers of aging, rather than say your appearance. Scientists analyzed thousands of stool samples and nasal swabs from people at various ages, and the results suggest that there's a significant leap in aging at age 44, because that's when people realize, oh my God, I have grown up to be somebody who analyzes stool samples for a living. I think I'm 69 this year, and I think there's another milestone.

It's a mental thing. You know how you're going around the house, you have your phone or something in your hand, you're doing something, you set it down, and then you just can't find it. Where did you set it down? That's your whole life, right? You know, north of 60. But something happened this week where it was a popsicle. Oh, that's a problem.

Now you're on the timer. That really raises the stakes. And you can't call Siri to a popsicle. There's no like find me beeper or anything. You just know it's making a mess somewhere and you can't remember where. Wow and did you get to it in time time? Yeah and it was on the bathroom sink so it wasn't a horrible thing. All right your last quote is from a New York TikTok design influencer named Lindsay Judish talking about her latest innovation in home decor. I feel

like I made a very unintentional rage bait. Ms. Judish worries that she might have gone too far when she helps spread the trend of decorating the inside of your what? Kitchen. It's in your kitchen. People decorate their kitchen because normally you can see the kitchen but this is like taking that to the nth degree. I'll give you a... How about refrigerator? Yes, the inside of your refrigerator. It is called...

Fridge-scaping. Not to be confused with fridge scraping when you remove whatever has been stuck to the bottom of the crisper for the last year. Fridge-scapers will decorate the inside of their fridges with matching containers, elegantly arranged vegetables, and mood lighting, sometimes including candles. Ms. Judish even does themes inside her refrigerator, like a British royal theme she calls Fridgerton, which is great because no one will disturb the display because now they're too nauseous to eat.

I do this. No, you don't. I do. I have vases in my fridge, and by vases, I mean old jars of spaghetti sauce that I forgot were back there. Yeah, and there's something growing in them, so they're like vases, right? Right. It is.

That's our fridge. It's more like gardening than decorating. Are there little paintings in there, too? What is... Well, I mean, if you can look at pictures, you can TikTok where there are all kinds of these trends. They're basically like still lifes. And there's some carrots next to some beautifully arranged asparagus. It's nice.

Other themes... People do it in themes. Other themes include enchanted forest, edible flowers and mushrooms, or perhaps the recently divorced guy theme, which is eight soy sauce packets, half a bottle of flat beer and an Ikea Allen wrench he's been looking for for a month. And a half-melted popsicle. And a half-melted popsicle. Bill, how did Kevin do on our quiz? Kevin was so good.

He got three in a row, which gives you a perfect score, Kevin. Well done. Kevin, thank you so much for playing. You're welcome. Take care. Right now, panel, it is time for you to answer some questions about this week's news. Helen, the Chicago Sky WNBA team recently announced that they'll be replacing their current mascot.

That's because their current mascot is a what? Is it a cloud in the sky? No. Is their current mascot a white sock? What are the chances? Can I have a hint? I can give you a hint. What's interesting about this mascot is that he would not be allowed to play in the WNBA.

Oh, a man? It's a man. No. Yes. The Chicago Sky WNBA team is finally getting rid of the mascot they've had since the team was founded in 2006, a masked and muscly man named Sky Guy. Because nothing says female empowerment like an unidentified male watching women exercise. Wow.

Isn't that kind of revenge of the cheerleader stuff though? I mean, like man sports they have on stuff. Yeah, I guess so. Wow, I mean, everybody does love his halftime show where he comes out and explains to the woman how to play basketball. The sky has unveiled his replacement. It's a new mascot, Sky the lioness, whose uniform number will be 00, representing, we assume, boobs.

This is also just like typical male management thinking being like, all right, we got to get rid of the guy. Do we go with the girl? Nah. An animal. Let's just pick an animal. Pick an animal. A predator, at least that.

It's based on the lions, the famous lions at the Chicago Art Institute. The two mascots will share duties through the end of the season, at which point Sky, the lioness, will eat Sky Guy alive. That's the important part. eat Sky Guy alive. Coming up, clean up in aisle nine is our bluff the listener game called One Triple Eight Wait Wait to Play. We'll be back in a minute with more of Wait Wait Don't Tell Me from NPR. I'm Jesse Thorne. On Bullseye, Common tells us who inspired him.

I was definitely looking up to Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth. And Pete Rock talks about the Common albums that he loved. Yeah, one day it'll all make sense. And the two of them will talk about how they teamed up for the first time in almost two decades. On Bullseye, from MaximumFun.org and NPR. This message comes from NPR sponsor Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, where trailblazing runs in the family. From crafting a movement with their iconic pale ale to taking the IPA haze craze nationwide with hazy little thing,

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I'm Bill Curtis. We are playing this week with Tom Bodette, Hari Gandhabolu, and Helen Hong. And here again is your host at the Studebaker Theatre in Chicago, Illinois, Peter Segel. Thank you, Bill. Thank you so much. Right now, it is time for the Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me Bluff, the listener game. Call 1-888-WAITWAIT to play our game in the air. Or check out the pinned post on our Instagram page at WaitWaitNPR.

You'll find all the information you need there. Hi, you're on Wait Wait Don't Tell Me. Hi, this is Rebecca from Grand Rapids, Michigan. Hey, Rebecca, how are things in Grand Rapids? Ah, they're okay. It's almost fall. I'm just going to comment. That was not overly enthusiastic. You're not with the Chamber of Commerce, are you?

Are you from Grand Rapids? I grew up here, but then I spent a long time in Philadelphia and San Francisco, and that's where I left my heart. I understand, as is traditional, I understand. Okay, well, welcome to our show Rebecca You're gonna play the game in which you must try to tell truth from fiction Bill What is Rebecca's topic trouble at the grocery store? Supermarkets have all kinds of problems. There are supply chain issues

There are milk spills the guy who keeps squeezing the other customers and yelling not ripe yet This week we heard about another problem plaguing a grocer somewhere in the world. Our panelists are going to tell you about it. Pick the real one and you'll win the weight waiter of your choice and your voicemail. Are you ready to play? Yes, I am. All right, let's hear first from Helen Hong.

A grocery store in Italy is dealing with a mafia shakedown that's way more adorable than Goodfellas. The Sicilian town of Bendotti has been plagued by a gang of street dogs that are menacing shops into paying them protection fees in the form of deli meats. A pack of about 20 dogs maraud from shop to shop, and if they're not tossed at least a few slices of salami, they block the entrance, growling and barking at potential customers. Back in the day, we used to exclaimed one of the gang members.

Which probably means, why is this guy being so stingy? We just want to wet our beaks. We'll even take bologna. Thank you. You're welcome. Grocery store in Sicily getting threatened by the poffia, a pack of dogs who demand cold cuts as tribute. Your next story of something mucking up the mart comes from Tom Bodette.

In the Spanish city of Bilbao, police responded Tuesday to a flash mob of hopeful romantics packed inside a Mercadona food store looking for love. Singles have been drawn to the supermarket chain across Spain after a TikTok video gone viral claimed they can find romance if they visit between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. and put a pineapple upside down in their trolley. Other items in someone's trolley provide clues about their intentions. Chocolates or sweets mean the person is looking for long-term relationships or something more serious. A wobbly wheel means you are not paying attention at all and probably came in for pineapple

and dates to actually eat, which is the problem. But it's a problem rival grocery chain Lidl would like to have. They've launched their campaign to encourage customer hookups in its stores, but with watermelons. Eggplants, watch your six. A grocery store in Spain overwhelmed by people who come in not to shop, but to signal to each other their willingness to mix using upside down pineapples. Your last supermarket snag comes from Harikonda Bolu. Indian supermarket chain Reliance Fresh Supermarkets are dealing with protests around the country after rumors of the return of classic Indian soda Goldspot proved to be false. Goldspot was

a hugely popular orange soda that was discontinued after Coca-Cola entered the Indian market because, you know, capitalism. Older Indians ranging from 35 to 80 lined up to be the first to receive new bottles of Gold Spot, holding banners reading, you kids don't know what's good, which is actually quite funny when translated into Hindi. The stores attempting to pacify the angry mobs gave away free cans of orange Fanta which were instantly thrown back, exploding like Molotov cocktails and drenching employees with an inferior orange soda. Coca-Cola released a statement saying

they quote, stand behind Fanta during this troubling time and though it's not provable, it's a shame Pepsi would stoop to this. So one of these things happen in a supermarket or supermarkets somewhere in the world. Was it from Helen Hong, a supermarket in Sicily being, well, held for hostage by a pack of wild dogs who demand their daily cold cuts. From Tom Bodette, a supermarket in Spain that is being overrun by young people interested in meeting each other, which they're signaling with pineapples. Or from Harikandobolu, a supermarket beset by protesters demanding the return of their

favorite orange soda. Which of these is the real story of supermarket travails in the news? I think I'm going to go with Tom. You're going to go with Tom's story about the supermarket singles scene. Well, we spoke to someone who knows all about this real story. You would grab a pineapple, place it upside down in the cart, and bump into the cart of whoever you're interested in.

That was Grace Snelling, a reporter at Fast Company, who reported on the pineapple takeover at the Spanish grocery store. Congratulations, Rebecca, you got it right. Yay, thank you so much. You earned a point for Tombow Death, but more importantly, you have won our prize, the voice of anyone you might choose for your voicemail. Congratulations and well done. Thank you so much. I'm very excited. Thank you.

Thanks, Rebecca. Take care. Now the game where we ask people to answer questions about things they know nothing about. It's called Not My Job. John Leguizamo came up in the theater and stand-up scenes of 1980s New York, but his first big film role was as Luigi in the movie Super Mario Brothers. And according to him, after three decades of film, TV, theater, and activism, he is just about made up for that.

His latest project is Voces American Historia, The Untold History of Latinos, which premieres September 27th on PBS. John Leguizamo, welcome back to Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Oh, so good to be back. It's great to have you. Been too long. I know. We've been wondering when you were going to call, man.

It's so good to talk to you again. And we're so excited to get you now because we've been following your career, obviously, for many decades, and we're so excited you have finally reached the pinnacle of achievement public broadcasting. Yes, an overnight success after 40 years. I know but was it weird because maybe I'm wrong but everything you've done has been in Hollywood and TV and New York theater and touring theater public broadcasting fans tend to be a little more passive aggressive. So expect people to say to you, so, Chum, what did you think of your series?

And don't worry, I'm an actor. I'll tell them exactly. How can I love myself? So the series, the series American History of the Untold History of Latinos, I understand was inspired by one of your many one-man shows. In this case, your own personal examination of Latino history, right? Yes, you know, it was based on Latino, Latin history from morons because I learned my son

was being bullied and I wanted to weaponize his knowledge and his history of his people. You know, I didn't know we finished building the railroads. I didn't realize we were the first fighters to create unions in the 1930s. And then, you know, we've been persecuted, but we've also contributed so much. We just reached a milestone last year. We contributed $3.2 trillion to the GDP yearly as a Latino culture. Wow. So I want some **** that. My son is a huge fan of yours and by that of course I mean because of your Ice Age movies

and TV shows. Yes, I'm so happy to hear that. We're about to do Ice Age 6. You are, as you just reminded everybody, Sid the Sloth. First of all, I gotta ask, did your kids love that growing up? Because they were just about the right age, right? Based on, I think, when the movies came out? No, they were weirded out by their father, you know, the way I look, and then doing that voice, and they were like, they were too young. It's weird. You know, a lot of parents come up to me, they go, oh, you know who this is, Sid the sloth? And I go, sir, it's not gonna work out. And they go no do the voice and I do the voice of Sid Heisage and the kids are

like freaked out because they see this face. They don't get it they don't get it. Yeah I remember Ray Romano was in the show and I told him the same thing oh my son's a big fan because the mammoth he's like yeah don't tell your son you talked to me it's just gonna mess him up. We read so we read, so you play for those unlucky not to have seen the 4,000 Ice Age movies and TV shows and video games, you play Sid the Sloth, a prehistoric sloth, and we read that you actually got really deep into the research for his voice. Is that right? Oh, you know, yeah, because I did like 50 voices for the director Chris Wedge and he

wouldn't, he said, I just want you to do your voice. I go, I don't want to do my voice. I want to do a voice. I'm an actor. So I did Southern voice for the slob, because he's slob, then I went a little more ghetto on him. Come on, come on, what you want, what you want? And he goes, nah.

So then I got Discovery Channel footage, and I saw that slob stored food in their cheek pouches, and it would ferment, and they'd get drunk. And so I started eating the sandwich, and I put it in their cheek pouches, and it would ferment and they'd get drunk. And so I started eating the sandwich, and I put it in my cheek pouches, and I walked around the house waiting for it to ferment, and it didn't, but what happened was that I got slushy in my mouth,

and I called the waiter, Chris, guess who this is? And he was like, I have no idea. Shit the slots, I found myself, and that's how I did the job. Wow. Wow. That's amazing. You do belong on PBS.

Yeah. Next time I'm sitting watching the movies with my son, I say, you know, that's historically accurate. Among the many, many things you do, you've done these one-man shows where you play all these characters, and as you just demonstrated, you're really, really, really good at voices. Have you ever used that power for evil? Yes, of course. I mean, when I was much younger, it was great because people, you know, when the school would complain,

they would call my house and I would answer my mom and I go, Oh, he, he, he what? No, he's, he's fantastic. Oh, you, you want to expel him? Well, expel it for me. And I would mess with them for hours and they wouldn't you want to expel him? Well, expel it for me. And I would mess with them for hours and they wouldn't be able to expel me. Really? They tried to expel me.

Did your mother know you were doing that? No. Well, not she knows now because you blabbered. Um. You mentioned your mother. We also read that your mother to this day sees everything you do and offers a critique afterwards Yeah, my mom's very judgmental

I think I get it from her a little bit. We both watch PBS too much. Yeah, I know man. I'm telling you And she does she comes to every show and like she sits front row and and then she comes after was all June That was fantastic, but I didn't really like the punch line, it didn't really hit the way I thought it would hit, it didn't murder, and I was like, mom, please stop criticizing, you're just my mom, just be unconditionally loving for once. Wait a minute, you started this as a standup, you've been doing this for a long time, and your mother actually critiques you in like standup?

She always does. She's like, oh. I go, mom, you're not a director. You're not in the business. Stop giving me notes. I don't need your notes. Really? I'm 60 years old.

Stop giving me notes. Does she like pitch you jokes? I think so. No, she doesn't pitch jokes. She just wants to change this, change that, fix this, cut that, trim, kill your darlings. Is she gonna critique this? Is she gonna listen and go, oh, I don't think you talked about me enough. I'm not gonna tell her about this. Okay, yeah. All right, that's fine.

That's the only way to keep her away. Well, John Leguizamo, it is such a pleasure to talk to you again, and this time we have asked you to play a game that we're calling... Can we fix it? Yes we can. So this year as I'm sure you know because everybody's been celebrating, this year marks the 25th anniversary of Bob the Builder. Oh wow. The beloved kids show about a British contractor whose trucks are alive. So in honor of that we're gonna ask you three questions about, I guess we'd call them Mr. Builder. Get two out of three right you'll win our prize. One of our listeners, Bill, who is John Leguizamo playing for?

Norah Wing of Ithaca, New York. All right. Here's your first question. Ready? Nah, go for it. I'll do my best. Bob the Builder is popular around the world, but some changes needed to be made internationally for, to show there, including which of these? A, in France, they had to add clocks to the background to prove that no one goes over their 35-hour approved work week. B, in Canada, Bob always includes maple syrup as a construction material in his projects. Or C, in Japan, they had to add a fifth finger to his animated four-finger hand so that kids

did not think Bob the Builder was a member of the Yakuza. Oh, shoot. I'm going to go with Canada and maple syrup, because it sounds ridiculous, but plumb. So you think that Bob the Builder and Canada, they just cut in things as a now to make sure this sticks. Here's some maple syrup. Can they go, hey, sorry, hey? Oh, wow.

That was amazing. I thought I was in Toronto. No, the answer was actually C. You see, as is well known in Japan, if you're a Yakuza member and you displease your boss, they cut off one of your fingers. So a four-fingered animated character would have unpleasant connotations. Oh, that's dark. It is. It really is. I didn't want to go that dark.

All right. Here's your next question, John. You have two more chances. Bob the Pilder is more than just a very popular kids' TV show. Which of these is another example of Bob's cultural dominance? A, he once went to number one on the UK singles charts with a cover of Mambo Number Five. B, Alexander McQueen had an entire runway show of Bob the Builder-inspired designs. Or C, he had a best-selling cookbook called Can You Bake It? Yes You Can. I'm gonna go with A. You're gonna go with A? You're right! Yes! He did a cover of Mambo Number 5. What a relief. Alright, you have one more question. If you get this right, you win. Bob the Builder popped up in a surprising place a few years ago when

people browsing the on-demand menu of Britain's Channel 5 saw a picture of Bob as the image representing what show? A, the season premiere of Britain's Got Talent, B, a documentary about 9-11, or C, the movie Eyes Wide Shut? Eyes Wide Shut, sort of the sexual, all the sexual, mother-in-law. Just imagine Bob the Builder wearing one of those weird masks that Tom Cruise was having, you know? I won't picture that, so I'm going to go with A again.

You're going to go with A again. Britain's got talent, the idea of like, oh, this guy's got talent. He can build stuff. Yeah, he can build things, right? I mean... Yeah. Sadly, the answer was B, a documentary about 9-11. Wait, no, I meant B. I meant B.

Oh, he meant B. He meant B, Bill. He meant B. Let's give it to him. Okay. I'm sure. I mean, I thought I misheard you. And of course you were right. I have an accent. I have a New York City accent. Exactly. A-B. Yeah, exactly. B. You know, apparently if, the way it worked was, if Channel 5, you know, and this is how

it works, you turn on your streaming service, there are these icons indicating the shows you could be watching. True. And when Channel 5, they didn't happen to have a picture to go with any given show, they just plugged in a picture from Bob the Builder. So Bob was the image for this 9-11 documentary and also something called Murdered by My Daughter. So Bill, how did John Leguizamo do in our quiz? Two out of three!

Yay! Now you did good! Amazing! I'm brilliant, I belong on PBS. John Leguizamo is an actor, writer, and producer whose new series, Voces American Historia, The Untold History of Latinos, premieres on PBS September 27th. John Leguizamo, what a great thing to talk to you again. Thank you so much. Thank you.

Good luck with the show. We'll see you next time. Thank you. Thank you. So fun. Thank you. Thank you. Bye-bye.

In just a minute, the one word you cannot say in church that's in our listener limber challenge. 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. On how to do everything from the team at Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, we try to find the answers to all your burning questions. I'd like to know how do I get someone to tell me if I smell? That's the perfect question for us. So we went over to her house and we sniffed her.

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From NPR and WBEZ Chicago, this is, wait, wait, don't tell me, the NPR News Quiz. I'm Bill Curtis. We're playing this week with Hari Kandibolu, Tom Modette, and Helen Hong. And here again is your host at the Studebaker Theater in Chicago, Illinois, Peter Segel. Thank you so much. And just a minute, Bill finally gets around to watching the hit movie Oppenheimer. If you'd like to play, give us a call at 1-888-WAITWAIT.

That's 1-888-924-8924. Right now, we have some more questions for you from the week's news. Tom, office workers around the world are suffering from a new condition, dead-what syndrome. Dead-ass. Yes, dead-but syndrome. Yeah. Yeah. Dead butt syndrome is a condition where you sit for so long that your butt doesn't just fall asleep, your butt muscles actually forget how to work.

What? Yeah, it's technically called gluteal amnesia. What? But that does not mean that you have forgotten that you have a butt. Imagine that. Imagine if that were the case. Every time you'd sit down, you'd be like, oh, what's that thing?

You know, this is a real thing. Apparently, if this happens, the rest of your body starts trying to compensate with your core muscles, and that can cause lots of pain. It'll happen in Tiger Woods for real. How does the rest of the body compensate for what the butt does? I mean, how would your shoulders step in there?

They just get more bulbous. I don't know. Helen, according to a new study, one third of people in Britain think that if asked, they could do what? Get with somebody really hot They could Far more than a third of people think that Can I have a hint you what you need a hint Sherlock? Oh? They could solve murder. Yes exactly right they think that they could solve a murder

solve murder. Yes, exactly right. They think that they could solve a murder. Of course British people can solve a murder because if you watch any British crime shows... They always get solved by British people. Exactly. And the technique, if you watch enough, it's very simple. What you do is you look around town, you check with the people who knew the victim, and if any of them have ever appeared in a Harry Potter film, that's the culprit. But if you think about it, given how many murders that seem to be happening in like every little small parish and seaside town in Great Britain, it's more than likely that a third of Britons are actually murderers. I mean, it's an old country, and they've been cooped up on that island together for a long time. And they probably have a lot of murder fantasies.

Because they're constantly fantasizing. And so they're confident, like, I know how I would do it. Yeah. So what they're saying is, yeah, I could solve the murder. It would probably be me, given the way I'm feeling. But I can't blame them for thinking they can do whatever they see people doing on TV after watching the Olympics I definitely think I could break dance Tom if you're an employee in Japan, you can now pay a company to do what on your behalf?

If you're an employee to quit Yes Your job for you, why did you just guess that? I did. It's a new thing. I'm trying to think what's the worst thing as an employee that you have to do. Well, okay. Let me explain it and then I'll ask you a question. So this is a new company called Exit and frustrated workers in Japan can pay to have someone else call up and quit your job for you. The standard service costs 200 bucks, but most employees recommend adding the $100 making a scene bonus package.

Hello, I am here to relay a message on behalf of Julie, specifically to screw you, Mark, and screw especially you, Linda. Finally, will someone kindly direct me to the conference room where I have been instructed to take a dump? That's an awesome service. That says so much about the Japanese culture and how different it is from American culture. I totally get that. But Tom, you said you would pay for someone to do that.

But isn't quitting your job something that we all look forward to? I never really had a job. That is all hypothetical. So I would have thought it would be really difficult, you know, because you're letting somebody down, you know. No, taking the dumb part is the best part. Maybe I've been, I've tried to be a really good employer when I've employed people. Oh, no, this is what you do.

You go directly into the office kitchen, you put a whole fish in there in the microwave, you set it on like 14 minutes. So when my former office manager did that, she was sending me a message? Yeah. I get it. Yeah, people are the worst. People are the worst. You ruin my life. You ruin my life. I hate you all. I hate you all. I hate you all.

I hate you all. Yeah, people are the worst. People are the worst. You ruin my life. You ruin my life. I hate you all. I hate you all. Bye, bye, bye.

Yeah, people are the worst. Coming up, it's Lightning Filling 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-WAIT-WAIT. That's 1-888-WAIT-WAIT. That's 1-888-WAIT-WAIT-WAIT. That's 1-888-WAIT-WAIT-WAIT. That's 1-888-WAIT-WAIT-WAIT. That's 1-888-WAIT-WAIT-WAIT. That's 1-888-WAIT-WAIT Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Coming up, it's lightning filling 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-WAIT-WAIT.

That's 1-888-924-8924. You can see us most weeks here at the Studebaker Theater in downtown Chicago. For tickets and information for all of our live shows, just go over to nprpresents.org. And be sure to check out our new sister podcast, How to Do Everything, hosted by our producers Mike and Ian. This week they try to help the astronauts stranded on the space station look their best.

Hi, you're on, wait, wait, don't tell me. Hi, this is Alex from Jersey City, New Jersey. Hey, Ali from Jersey. What do you do there? I am a former teacher and now I am a stay-at-home mom with two boys. Oh, a stay-at-home mom with two boys. How old are your boys? Three and a half and one and a half. Oh my God. Wait a minute. Are you my wife? Because I also have a three and a half and a one and a half year old boy. How are your guys doing? You know.

No, I do. Well, Alex, welcome to the show. Bill Curtis is now going to read 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, two of the limericks will be a winner. You ready to play? Yep, I'm ready. Here we go. Here is your first limerick.

Wearing flip-flops to play is a fickle call. This new upgrade from Reebok should tickle y'all. For this old people's sport, on an undersized court, these new shoes are a must to play. Pickleball. Pickleball, yes! If your 40 yard dash time is of course not, this is the athletic shoe for you, the Reebok's X Recess Nano.

It's just the thing you need to dominate the court built where children used to have a place to play. These new shoes, we are told by Reebok, are specially made for a pickleball's constant side-to-side movement. It's amazing, I was having such a hard time playing in my forward-only Nikes. I mean, I would buy that just because I don't, I was playing Pickleball like a year ago

and I tore multiple calf muscles playing it and then two elderly gentlemen had to carry me to the other side of the gym. And one of them had a life alert bracelet on. So if those shoes can help, then maybe... What was your choice of footwear at the time? Just sneakers. Can I give you some advice about that?

Never tell that story again. Here is your next limerick. Our worship groups left in the lurch. For new congregants we're on a search. But Episcopal terms make most modern folks squirm. So our church will not call itself... Church? Church, yes, very good. The Church of England is dropping the word church. No. Yes. It's part of their new initiative to bring more people into the fold by tricking them.

Oh, they just call it, now they just call it England? Something like that. Yeah. I mean, I'll go. They've built 900 new branches, which is what they call their parishes, in the last 10 years, and not one of them has church in the title. What? Yeah, can't wait to go get some knee time down at the local Jesus hole this time.

Wait, so what are the sign out the door? They call it like... Mm-hmm. Of England? Yeah, it's like religious center or community center, just not the word church. People don't like the word church. If they're really serious about bringing in more people, I have three words, pumpkin spice, Eucharist.

All right, here is your last limerick. Not all movies are major sensations made for overly long adulations. The festival crowd is just endlessly loud. Please stop with the standing loud. Please stop with the standing ovations. Ovations, yes. After a movie, you got a 17-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival. The Guardian published a plea for people to just start being normal. I mean, yes, we all love Tilda Swinton, but there are limits. A standing ovation should not itself need an intermission. Apparently film festivals are suffering from ovation inflation. People are saying, for example, that the new George Clooney movie, which premiered there, must not be any good because it got a standing ovation that only lasted four minutes.

What? Right? Which is like practically nothing. Really? That's like, you know, at the end of a regular concert when you know the encore's coming, they pretend that the encore's not coming, and they're like, thank you, good night, and people are like, yeah! Even those are like three minutes now.

Yeah, I know, and they're terrible. And they come right back out and they're like, psych, we're not done! You're like, well, we know because you didn't play your biggest hit. Bill, how did Alex do in our quiz? Alex, tell your boys you won 3-0. Congratulations! Thank you. I need a standing ovation, now, now, now, now. I need a standing ovation.

Sabrina Carpenter has had two of the year's biggest hits with Espresso and Please, Please, Please. Now she's released a new album called Short and Sweet. It serves up more catchy silliness and high drama. This is almost like a concept album about having a really bad ex-boyfriend. Does the album keep that espresso magic alive? Listen to the Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast from NPR.

If you think the economy makes no sense right now, you are probably right, because even economists can't explain it lately. But our podcast, The Indicator from Planet Money. We're a little dose of clarity on the biggest economic questions of the day. And about the forces that affect your life. In 10 minutes or less, every weekday, The Indicator from Planet Money from NPR. On Bullseye, John Cena on the many careers he pursued before going with, I guess, wrestling

actor. I worked the roadhouse as a bouncer for bars late at night, not a lot of room for advancement. All that and more on Bullseye for MaximumFun.org and NPR. Now on to 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 now worth two points. Bill can you give us the scores? Helen has two, Tom and Hari each have three. Alright. Helen you're in second place. That means you're up first. The clock will start when they begin your first question.

Fill in the blank. On Wednesday, ABC News officially released the rules for next week's presidential blank. Debate. Right. On Tuesday, a bad economic report led the blank to drop 600 points. The Dow Jones. Yes. This week, officials in Paris said they were considering making the Olympic rings on the blank

a permanent feature. On the Eiffel Tower. Right. On Labor Day, over 10,000 hotel workers across the US went on blank. Strike. Right. This week, a Dutch woman had to leave her Zoom meeting

after her cat blanked on camera. Pooped. No, dragged a live pigeon into her living room. According to a new study, better eye health could prevent 20% of blank cases. Eyeglass wearing cases? No, dementia, believe it or not. On Tuesday, a new study revealed that one in 20 people

got foodborne illness from not properly blanking their vegetables. Washing. Right. This week, a house in California was listed for half a million dollars despite the fact that it had been blanked. Slid down a landslide. No, chopped in half by a falling tree.

After the tree fell on it, the house was left with loose wiring, no ceiling, and missing walls or, as a real estate agent, actually put it, quote, an open concept floor plan? The listing says potential buyers could start demolition immediately or if they want to save some money, just wait a while and see if another tree does it for them. Bill, how did Helen do on our quiz? Good, Helen. Five right, 10 more points, total of 12 and the lead. All right.

Good job. Well done. I am arbitrarily picking Hari to go next. Here we go, Hari fell in the blank. On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba became the latest member of blank's cabinet to resign his post. Um, uh, Putin? No, Zelensky. That's right.

On Monday, a former aide for the governor of New York was accused of acting as a spy for blank. China. Right. According to officials, the deal for a ceasefire in blank is 90% complete. Gaza. Right. On Tuesday, the Vatican announced that the blank had started a 12-day trip throughout Southeast Asia. The Pope.

Right. This week, a British man arrested for grand theft auto was banned from blanking for the next two years. Driving? No, not just driving, banned from touching any automobiles. On Wednesday, NASA confirmed that a dangerous blank had burned up in the atmosphere over the Philippines. Meteor. Right, an asteroid. Last week a Navy commander was relieved of duty after a photo was released of him firing a rifle without noticing blank. It was turned the wrong way. I'm going to give it to you, he did not notice

that the scope was turned the wrong way. It wouldn't have been that big of a deal unless the ship was under attack and the commander kept saying, we don't have anything to worry about. I checked through the scope and the enemy is really, really tiny. Bill, how did Harry do in our quiz? He got five right, ten more points. His total is 13, which puts him in the lead. All right. So how many then does Tom Baudet need to win?

Five to tie and six to win. All right. Where's my popsicle? Here we go. Tom, this is for the game. Fill in the blank. On Tuesday, seven Republican-led states filed lawsuits seeking to block the Biden administration's latest blank relief plan.

Student loan. Right. On Monday, the Justice Department seized the plane of Venezuelan President Blank. Maduro. Right. On Thursday Blank pled guilty in his tax evasion case. Hunter Biden. Right. On Wednesday the Department of Labor released a report showing that U.S. blank openings were the lowest they had been since 2021.

Job. Right. The German Navy said the British should not look for a, quote, deeper message in their recent decision to Blank. I don't know. Shell... London. No. The German Navy said there was no deeper message in their decision to send a warship down the Thames River through the center of London blasting the Imperial March from Star Wars. That's what I said. That's what I said, kind of. On Monday, Joey Chestnut broke his own world record by eating 83 blanks in 10 minutes. It's a hot dog?

Yes. On Swiss, the official airline of Switzerland is modifying their new planes because their new first class seats were found to be blank. To square. No, so heavy they'd make the plane nose dive. Swiss... I think the Swiss would have thought of that. You'd think.

Swiss was forced to add balancing plates to the rear of their aircraft because their new Hyperlux first-class cabins made them too front-heavy to fly. What? And that's just the weight of the seats. Also weighing down, the first-class passengers, of course, are the chains they forged in life. Comedy. chains they forged in life. Bill did Tom do well enough to win? Tom got five right, ten more points, thirteen ties with you.

That was hard. In just a minute we're going to ask our panelists to predict how will the Chicago White Sox celebrate becoming the worst team in the history of modern baseball. But first let me tell you all 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, Reitz, RL, our public address announcer is Paul Friedman, our tour manager is Shayna Donald, thanks to the staff and crew at the Studebaker Theater, BJ Liederman composed our theme, of programs produced by

Jennifer Mills, Miles Nurnbos, and Lillian King. Special thanks this week to Monica Hickey and Blythe Robertson. Peter Gwynne took the week off to decorate his fridge. Emma Choi is our vibe curator. Technical Directions from Lorna White, her CFOs 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.

Now, panel, how will the White Sox celebrate having the worst record in baseball history? Harry Kandibolu. They're headed to space in a shuttle designed by Boeing. Helen Hong. Well, they're definitely not washing their socks. And Tom Bodeck. They won't have to because they're going to turn management over to the Chicago political machine and somehow win 32 of their last 20 games. And if that happens we'll tell you about it on Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me.

Thank you Bill Curtis. Thanks also to Helen Hong, Tom Baudet, Hari Kandabolo. Thanks to our fabulous audience here at the Studebaker Theatre in downtown St. Louis, Illinois. And thanks to all of you for listening wherever you may be. I'm Peter Sager, we'll see you next week. This is NPR. It's easy to get caught up in life on Earth. It's being human, but we're just one species on one planet in a whole universe. Come get out of your head and explore that universe with us with fun, fascinating stories

of science and discovery. Listen now to the shortwave podcast from NPR. Hey, it's Mike and Ian. We're the hosts of How to Do Everything. NPR.