Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! - WWDTM: Taimane

Episode Date: October 12, 2025

This week, we're live in Honolulu with panelists Joyelle Nicole Johnson, Peter Grosz, and Paula Poundstone. Plus, special guest Taimane!Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

We all wonder about life's big questions. Why are we here? What are we to do and how to make sense of it all? On Yigods with Scott Carter, I talk with Politico's priests, actors, and atheists on how they wrestle with life's mysteries. Their stories will spark reflection, challenge assumptions, and maybe even bring you some clarity on your own journey. Listen to Yigods, part of the NPR network wherever you get your podcasts. EZ Chicago. This is, wait, wait, don't tell me, the NPR News Quiz. I'm the man they call when bills had too many Mai Tai. I'm Alzo Slade, and here's your host at the Blaisdale Concert Hall in Honolulu, Hawaii, Peter Sago. Thank you, Alzo. Thank you, everybody. Yes, thank you all so much. We are so glad to be doing our show here in Hawaii, and we are really glad we bought the

plane tickets before we lost our federal funding. Later on, we are going to be talking to ukulele superstar Taimane, who got her start busking right here in the streets of Waikiki. But first, we'll want to hear what tune you're playing. Give us a call. The number is 1-3-8-8-8-8-8-2-4. Wait, wait, that's 1.8-8-8-2-4. Now let's welcome our first Lynn Center contestant. Hi, you are on. Wait, wait, wait, don't tell me. Hi, this is Sydney calling from Olympia, Washington. I love Olympia. One of my favorite places, capital of the state. What do you do there?

I like to swim in the Puget Sound, and I take care of my pet shrimp, and I work for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Okay. Let me, if I may, rewind a moment. Shrimp as pets? Are they, I've never heard of that. Are they fun pets? Do they, like, cuddle with you when you're sad? I think so. They like to swim around and are fun to watch this by. Right. So you think, as they're swimming around in their tank, that they have warm feelings for you. Yeah, exactly. Right. You've never had a shrimp pet, Peter. You don't know. I don't know what it's like. No, I've had shrimp, but in a different context. Well, Sydney, welcome to the show. Let me introduce you to our panel with us here in Honolulu this week. First up, it's a comedian whose special Love Joy is on Peacock and whose album, Yell Joy, is available everywhere.

Joel Johnson. Hello, Sidney. Next up, an actor and writer who can be seen in the improv show 2Square at the Cold Town Theater in Austin, Texas, October 17th and 18th. It's our friend Peter Gross. Hello. Hi, Sidney.

And a comedian who will be in Alexandria, Virginia, at the Birchmere on November 21st and 22nd, and host of the weekly podcast, Nobody listens to Paula Poundstone. It's Paula Poundstone. Town. I don't, okay, it's not a pet, but I do have a comfort mosquito.

Well, Sidney, welcome to the show. You're going to play Who's Owlzo this time, Alzo Slade, filling in for 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'll win our prize. Any voice from our show you might choose in your voicemail. You ready to go? Yes. All right.

Your first quote is a statement from Nashville International Airport. pilots have patience passengers expect delays this is in response to the many airport closures and delays happening around the country due to what the government shutdown the government shutdown yes you're right it's okay you're applauding for her not the shutdown yes it's all right even though airport disruptions are being caused by unpaid government employees just not showing up for work the fAA says there's nothing to worry about as long as you and all of your co-workers didn't just fly to the only state in the union you can't drive home from. It started in just one or two airports, and now it's spreading.

The delays and cancellations are getting so bad that the only way to get to another state is to sign up for your own state's National Guard and wait to be deployed there. Who knew that not paying people would make them not want to work? Oh, strange. One real thing we learned about this week, some airports like Burbank in California are operating in a condition called Air Traffic Control Zero.

It's a real thing, and that's a system they put in place where instead of the tower, because there's nobody in the tower, pilots just talk to each other to keep from running into each other and to help land their planes, right? Okay, but we do that in our cars all the time.

Really? Just yelling out the window. Yeah. Right. No. Just, you know. Look at this idiot. Go, go. Just go. Go. But in the other hand, you really know we're going to get caught in a situation where the pilots are like, okay, you land. No, you land first. No, you land. Okay. We'll both land at the same time. Ready? Well, you know, they were like, sometimes they're like, is there a doctor on the plane? They might be like, is there an air traffic controller on the plane who wants to just like help us not hit another plane?

All right, your next quote is a pop superstar singing about a certain attribute of her famous fiancée. Do I really have to read this quote? Yes, yes, also. All right. Redwood Tree, it ain't hard to see. So that's a lyric. Everybody's talking about from whose new album that came out last week? Taylor Swift.

Taylor Swift's, yes. Who new album is? Cave Outlines of the showgirl, when they're not talking about how kind of mad the rest of the album is. Everybody is talking about how suggestive her song Wood is. Wood. The wood in question is not wood as in tree. It's wood as in I would prefer not to hear her saying about Travis Kelsey's junk. It's a real, I listened to that today. And it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a real lesson in single entendre. It really is. It's not the most

clever. Yeah. I also don't know if it's a compliment to have your attribute compared to a redwood. Nobody wants to hear like your thing. It's 600 years old and endangered. And you can drive a car through it? I don't think this holds

up. I mean, one of the questions is, she's the biggest star in the world. She's done this. Is this going to create pressure on all the pop stars now? You know, it's like, honey, love your new album, but where's the song about my junk? I mean, until she turns on him and then is like the cover of her next album is her with an axe chopping down a record or something like that.

Oh, she's setting it up, just gonna knock it down. She's been in love before. Yeah, I also want to say shout out to Travis for doing his job, okay, because she a billionaire. Right. That's the only thing she needs from him, and he's putting it down. and you better write a song about it, girl. Yeah. I foolishly thought you meant playing football.

No, that's not, no. Now, Sydney, are you still with us because it's been a while? Sidney, are you out there? I'm here. Oh, I'm so glad. Sydney, your last quote is a warning about this year's Halloween candy. The M&M's were. filled with berry-flavored peanut butter.

That was a reporter from the Atlantic, noting one way candy makers are compensating for a major shortage of what this year? I don't know. Can you give me a hint, please? Well, what are Eminem's normally filled with? Oh, chocolate. Chocolate, yes. A very bad cocoa harvest

means chocolate is very expensive right now, so candy makers are swapping in non-choccal ingredients for this year's Halloween candy. has a whole new, this is a real, bakery collection with non-chocall flavors like lemon meringue pie and peanut butter cinnamon roll and the newest flavor, day-old bagel. It'd be like M&M's puts in like old snickers, like the stuff that they found round and they had to put inside.

I'm going to be honest, I never thought that was really chocolate in there anyway. Like, I'm sure it was plastic. It's like the bear. Yeah, whatever they put in subway bread. and the meat I don't know what this is going to do to Halloween because all the kids I know really like chocolate

this is going to be the first Halloween where kids are going to say trick or treat and also I'd like a receipt in case I want to return it Last year you know I ran out of candy You did And we don't usually get that many kids Where I live and

But for some reason we did last year We should move out of that haunted old castle High on the Hill Paul Well I ended up you know Like they kept coming And so I just, you know, open the refrigerator and, you know, I'd like take a big scoop of hummus and just flick it into Spider-Man's pillowcase. Yeah.

I had a little cousin who, from a baby, didn't like chocolate, but she would open the refrigerator when she was a two. She was a toddler, and we'd see little fingerprints in the butter. She would eat butter. I would hate it chocolate. I was a butter eater. When I turned four, my parents gave me a pound of butter. As a gift?

Yeah, birthday present. and I just ate the sticks like candy bars. And I feel good. Yeah. You felt good. I had a heart attack when I was five. Also, how did Cindy do in our quiz? Beautifully, three out of three.

Congratulations, Cindy. Thank you so much for playing, Sydney. This is so fun. Thank you so much. Right now, panel, that is time for you to answer some questions about this week's news. Peter, in a daring new plan

to make up for the government funding cuts, a PBS affiliate announced it would be auctioning off what? Grover. No. I mean, it's coming. Auctioning off tote bags that

someone touched. I don't know. I'll take a hint. Well, appraiser say that each happy little tree is worth about 10 grand. Bob Ross paintings? Bob Ross paintings. Ooh.

A public TV distribution company is raising money by auctioning off 30 Bob Ross original oil paintings, including his masterpieces, happy little forest, snowy mountain top, and nude self-portrait with happy big redwood. It's really weird. It's really weird they're selling these paintings. Didn't you always assume they just threw them away after they finished taping? I always wondered what they did with them, and I thought that there was like an Indiana Jones-style warehouse of just like thousands and thousands. So if this works, of course, they're going to do more things like that. Next will be funding the distribution of Mr. Rogers' neighborhood by auctioning off his cardigans.

Then they'll sell big birds' eggs. Then neighborly for one lucky auction winner, a night of passion with Ken Burns. It takes... Narrated, narrated by Sam Waterston. And it takes 12 hours. Coming up, our panelists send their greetings. In our bluff listener game, call 1-3-8 Wait-Wait-Wait-to-Play. We'll be back in a minute with more of Wait-Wat-O-Tummy from NPO.

This message comes from Wise, the app for using money. around the globe. When you manage your money with Wise, you'll always get the mid-market exchange rate with no hidden fees. Join millions of customers and visit Wise.com. T's and C's Apply. This message comes from Rince, who knows that greatness takes time. So does laundry. So Rinse will take your laundry and hand-deliver it to your door expertly cleaned. And you can take the time pursuing your passions. Time once spent sorting and waiting, folding and queuing, now spent challenging and innovating and pushing your way to greatness. So pick up that Irish flute or those calligraphy pens

or the daunting Beef Wellington recipe card and leave the laundry to rinse. Rinse, it's time to be great. In the U.S., national security news can feel far away from daily life. Distant wars, murky conflicts, diplomacy behind closed doors on our new show, sources and methods. NPR reporters on the ground bring you stories of real people helping you understand why distant events matter here at home.

Listen to sources and methods on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. From NPR and WVEZ Chicago, this is Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, the NPR News Quiz. I'm Alzo Slade. We're playing this week with Peter Gross, Paula Poundstone, and Joyle Nicole Johnson. And here again is your host at the Blaisdale Concert Hall in Honolulu. Peter Seigold. Thank you, Alzo Slaid, right now. Thank you, everybody.

Thank you so much right now. It's time for the Wait, Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Bluff the listener game, call 1-3-8, Wait-Wait to play our game in the air. Hi, you are on, wait, wait, wait, don't tell me. Hi, Peter. This is Alexandra from Maui, Hawaii. Hey, Maui.

What do you do there on Maui? I'm a tattooer here in Kihei at Paradise Tattoo. Wow. Kihei, I know. Been there many a time. I was wondering about this because I saw a tattoo parlor here in Honolulu, and I wondered, is your clientele islanders, Hawaiians, or is it like lots of tourists who are just so taken with a place they come in and get your sea turtle or something like that? It's definitely a mix, but sea turtles do pay my bills. Really? That's the thing. Well, welcome to the show, Alexandria. It's great to have you on. You're going to play the game in which you have to tell truth from fiction.

Alzo, what's the topic? There's Havoc at Hallmark. So Hallmark, you know them. They're known for their heartwarming movies and their greeting cards that somehow know exactly what to say when your uncle retires. Well, this week, instead of good tidings,

we heard about a controversy brewing at Hallmark. Our panel is going to tell you about it. Pick the one who's telling the truth you win the weight waiter of your choice on your voicemail. You ready to play? Yes. All right. First, let's hear from Joyell, Nicole Johnson. Most greeting cards simply say,

get well soon or happy birthday but the mahogany section of Hallmark greeting cards puts the black back in salutations that's right there's a section of Hallmark greeting cards just for black folks with titles such as you got all that black excellence

fam and of course you're an everyday reminder of ain't God good Holmark introduced this niche years ago but the brand went viral after a recent interview with H&G magazine turns out the creator and head scribe of the slang is Cody Beckwith of Springfield, Illinois. A whole white man.

Cody is a self-described redhead corn-fed friend of Dorothy. That is Mrs. Dorothy Thomas. His next door neighbor who practically raised him and is very black. Beckwith credits Ms. Thomas for everything he knows. Without her, his face will be way less moisturized. When asked for comment, Ms. Dorothy said, Cody always been invited to the cookout. especially because I taught him how to wash his chicken before he cooked it. Turns out the mahogany line of greeting cards for a black clientele. It was created by this white guy from Springfield, Illinois. Your next hallmark remark comes from Peter Gross.

Some of the best recent Hollywood films have captured a gritty, nuanced realism. Movies like Nomad Land, Uncut Gems, and The Secret Life of Pets, too. Other films miss the mark. This week, the Hallmark Channel announced their new romantic comedy, Adventures in Love and Birding. It's about a single mother who falls in love with an avid birder, but apparently the creators of the movie fell in love with inaccurate details about birds. Even the poster of the movie is inaccurate, with one person commenting, I wonder what those two male-varied thrushes are talking about,

cry-loughing emoji. Get it? Because I sure don't. One member of an L.A. birding community group was furious at the main characters binoculars commenting, if this guy's a real birder, he would not have those binoculars. Those binoculars are like poro prisms. They are very beginner level. Yikes. I would say somebody needs to get out more, but burders are outside all the time, so that doesn't really apply. As tempting as it is to make fun of them, I imagine I would feel this way. If somebody tried to make

a wait, wait, don't tell me movie. And they had the panelists talking into a Neumann-T-L-M-03 microphone as opposed to a sure SM7B. I mean, can you imagine? A Hallmark Channel romance movie with a birding theme angers the birding community. Your last wholesome controversy comes from Paula Poundstone. Birthday girl, 13-year-old Janie Winchell of Lincoln, Massachusetts, tore open the envelope of a Hallmark card that accompanied a brightly wrapped six-pack of flavored lip gloss, gifted from a friend. The front of the card had a picture of a young, girl's face covered in a thick facial mask and inside the card in large balloon font were the words

congratulations you're old when i saw the card i was outraged said janey's mother candis winchall i checked out hallmark's website and found that this horrible card is part of a new line of cards that are just disturbing on one a black and white photo of a bedraggled looking girl leading a donkey by a rope opens to reveal the words, get your ass moving, 14 is coming. Another bears a cover photo of a young girl walking a dirt road

surrounded by wild flowers and on the inside says, do something good this year. Your regret box is almost full. One cover bears the words age is just a number. An inside is a photograph of a slack-jawed pre-teen

with a word bubble saying, but, oh my God. God. All right. So Alexandra, there was controversy at Hallmark this week. Was it from Jail Nicole Johnson, the mahogany line of cards for a black audience? Turns out we're created by this red-haired white guy who just channeled his neighbor from Peter Gross, a birding romance in which the birding community did not fall in love with, or from Paula Poundstone,

a line of birthday cards for 13-year-olds implying they're getting old. Which of these was the real story out of Hallmark this week? Well, I know birders do take birds very seriously. They do? So I'm going to go with B. You're going to go with B. You're going to go with Peter's story

about the birding movie that angered the birders. All right. Well, here's somebody with some insight into the real story. The Hallmark Channel released the poster And immediately, birders had a lot of comments and critiques for how the birds were being portrayed in the case for. That was Antonia Sarahito, a host of LAS, who reported on The Real Story, the birding movie that the birders did not like.

Congratulations, Alexandria. You got it right. You're in to point for Peter Gross. You've won our prize, the voice of your choice, and your voice name. Thank you so much. Thank you, and thank you for playing with us today. All right. We'll be together like birds of a feather, Some things are meant to be

And now the game we call Not My Job In Hawaii, the ukulele is the king of instruments And our guest, Taimane is ukulele royalty. She started busking on the streets of Honolulu at the age of five, where she was discovered by the legendary Don Ho himself. She's since been named Hawaiian performer of the year among many other honors.

Taimani, welcome to Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Thank you for having me. It's a pleasure to have you. We've got to get this settled. We were talking before the correct Hawaiian pronunciation of the instrument of which you are a master is Ukulelele. Ukullele.

Ukulele. Ukulele. Uku Lele. You got it. Ukulele. How about if you give it the appropriate, respectful name, and I just continue to screw it up. You know, we could do that for probably like 10 to 15 minutes.

We can do that. That's really great. So you, and I mentioned this, started playing the ukulele at a very young age, right? Yes, I started when I was five years old. I'm born and raised here in Honolulu, Hawaii. And it's kind of a very common, yeah, 808, 808. But it's a very common instrument here in the islands, almost like how a guitar is in every house.

The ukulele is in almost every house here in the islands. And did you, like, was that like something you were drawn to, or you was like somebody put one of these in your hand? Yeah, well, I loved performing. Even before getting this when I was five, I would put shows together for my dog and my parents and my house. And I just loved being on stage. I loved making people happy.

And so my dad gave me my very first ukulele when I was five. Again, it's just a very common instrument here in Hawaii. And it was just the instrument that I grew up learning how to express myself. Right. And I so happened to love classical. musical music, metal music, but it's all played on this instrument. I want to get to that, because that's one of the things you're known for. But you were busking, you were out on the streets.

At five, you went out with your father? I started actually when I was seven, a little bit more mature. Yeah. That's a very reasonable age to send your child out onto the street to try to make money. Yes. I had a hard work ethic back in the day. And so I started playing on the streets of Colacawa Avenue. Right. That's the big commercial district in Waikiki

with all the big shops on it and restaurants, tourists walking up and down all night. Exactly, exactly. I loved it. And I kept doing it until the age of 13. Wow. And that's where one of the singers from the Don Ho show saw me playing was on the streets of Waikiki.

Yeah. And so I got to meet Uncle Don. I like to call him Uncle Don. Sure. I like to call him Uncle Don. Right, Uncle Don. Oh, my gosh. He really, you know, he took me under his wing

and, you know, really showed me the ropes. of how much it takes to put on a show. Right. And so I was with him for five years until his passing, and he really just introduced me to Waikiki. And then from there, I started touring all over the world because the ukulele, everyone loves the ukulele. That's absolutely true.

That's absolutely true. I've never met anybody. I will say, though, that there are certain stereotypes. It's something that people play when they can't really play and they just want to, like, be amusing, right? Which of these annoys you most? You know, it doesn't actually annoy me. I like to use it to my advantage.

How so? Because people don't expect much of you when you say you play the ukulele. Like, okay, that's cute. What do you actually do? But I love to go into that with that expectation or lack of and then change that mind frame. Right. And that's what I love. So you're like a pool shark.

I guess. Oh, how do you play this thing? Yeah, exactly. So it is true that one of the things you've done is you've really expanded people's understanding of what a ukulele can do, and I was hoping you could kind of demonstrate because you're known, for example,

for some remarkable covers. You just put out a cover of Joni Mitchell's Biggillotaxi. I did. And so is there like anything like people would not expect to hear somebody play really well in a ukulele that you love to play for them? I just started working on a cover of the Adams family, but in minor key.

Oh. A minor more mournful, thoughtful key. Yes. Right. Can you, have you? You guys, I want to. I want to hear like the ad. I haven't played it yet, so.

So this is the theme to the Adams family. Haven't played. And a minor key on the ukulele. Just learned it. Okay. Okay. Okay, this is the hard part. Okay, this is the hard part. Hold on.

You know, I'm working on it, I'm working on it. You know, I just thought, I thought you were going to do like smoke on the water or something, but no, some, can you do that? You're setting us up. Wow, you can do the thing that beginning guitar players play when they pick up a guitar at the guitar center? Yeah. Yes, stairway. Wow.

Well, Taimane, we have asked you here to play a game we're calling Mini Guitar Meet Mini Golf. So, you like smaller instruments? We thought we'd ask you about the tiny version of golf, miniature golf. Answer two or three questions correctly. You'll win our prize for one of our list. listeners. Also, who is Taimane playing for? Jim Joplin of Lawton, Oklahoma.

All right. Oklahoma. And you know, they just love the ukulele in Oklahoma. So here's your first question. Okay. Most historians agree that Mnitra Golf was invented in Scotland in the 1860s for one very specific reason. What was it? A, it was made for women who weren't allowed to play real golf because it was considered improper for them to raise their arms above their shoulders.

B, a local aristocrat said, Love the game, but can we do without all that walking? Or C, so a notorious sports gambler could win a bet that he could finish a whole round of golf in half an hour. Oh, gosh. You know, I'm not much of a walker myself. So I would love to say, be. Be.

Bees. Maybe not the vibe. No. That's not the vibe. It's not the vibe. You know, there's other, you know, I'm just getting this feeling of, A? Hey, A, A, it is A. Yes, it's a A.

Yeah. Thanks you guys. Apparently, back in Victorian Scotland, you couldn't have ladies scandalizing society by showing their pits. When in doubt, go with misogyny. Exactly. All right. That was very good. Now, back in the early days, mini golf courses used to be different.

different than they are today. How so? Was it, A, instead of mechanical obstacles like windmills, children were hired to leap onto the course and swat away your ball. B, instead of hitting your ball into the mouth of a fake clown in the last hole, you do it to a real clown.

Or C, instead of turf, the surfaces were made of goat hair dyed green. You know, I just keep getting these feelings. These feelings. Where do they come? You know. of Aloha. You know, I'm going to go with like the ocean, like the sea. The sea. Wise choice being this being Hawaii. Yes, it was sea. Died goat hair was the surface of choice. This was

before AstroTurf, of course. Last question. You can play thousands of mini golf courses around the world, including in some unusual places like which of these. On the lip of a volcano in Strombole, Italy, with real lava providing some of the obstacles. Be 400 feet underground in an abandoned Transylvanian salt mine or C on the roof of the second tallest building in Dubai, where if your ball goes out of bounds, it really goes out of bounds.

I'm going to go with B. You're going to go the Transylvanian salt mine. You're right. It is called it's called Selina Turda, and it's got a whole amusement park down there along with the mini-golf. It's the most popular underground tourist attraction in the

the world. What's it called? Salina Turda. No smart remarks, Paula. Also, how did Taimane do on our quiz? She's got the vibes. Three out of three. There you go. Taimane is a singer-songwriter and one of the world's most celebrated ukulele players. For tour dates, head to Taimane.com slash live. Taimane. Temani, everybody, go it up. Thank you, everyone. Thank you. Just a minute, Alzo reveals his worst nightmare

has a food court in the listener-Limbric challenge called One-T-A-W-A-W-W-T-W-T to join us in the air. We'll be back in a minute with more of Wait-W-W-W-W-T-L-Me from NPR. NPR's TED Radio Hour, investigative journalist Hilka Shelman digs into how companies are using AI for hiring and what it means for your job search. We are at a tipping point. We have AI tools generating your resumes. We have avatars interviewing other avatars for jobs. Like, you know, it's AI versus AI. Listen on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. With a major shift in our politics underway in this country, 1A is drilling down on what's at stake for you. you and our democracy. In our weekly series, If You Can Keep It, we put these changes into focus

and answer your questions about the impact of the Trump administration on the U.S. Join us every Monday for If You Can Keep It on the 1A podcast from NPR and WAMU. We're playing this week with Peter Gross, Paula Poundstone, and Joyell Nicole Johnson. And here again is your host at the Blaisdale Concert Hall in Honolulu. Peter Sago. Thank you, Alzo. Thank you, everybody. In just a minute, we go somewhere over the limbo in our listener in Limerick Challenge game.

If you'd like to play, give us a call at 1-3-8-8-8-8-8-2-4. Right now, panel, some more questions for you from the week's news. Joyelle, this week, the AP reported that, contrary to common wisdom. It's perfectly okay for couples to do what? Sleep in separate bedrooms? No. Vacation separately? No.

This is like, I'm sure you've, I mean, anybody who's ever been married or in a get into a serious relationship has been given this advice about you and your partner, don't do it, right? Oh, go to bed, bad? Right. That's the advice. Don't go to Ben angry. You have heard that. Have you heard that? I have heard that before.

You have her. Everybody's heard that. Don't go to bed angry. Well, experts say it's often much wiser to let your dispute sit till the morning. That's why, right before turning off the light, you know, in my life, I always say to my wife, good night, honey. And also, have you noticed you're turning into your mother? Well, at least she goes to bed angry. Exactly. But the big question, the psychologist did not address.

If you do go to bed angry, the two of you, instead of spooning, do you? nice? You definitely don't fork. No. Or scissor. True. That's true. There's a whole drawers

worth of things that are not happening. You don't screw. There's a screw. You don't do that. No hammering. No nailing. True. Honey, hand me

the tenderizer. Paula. This week, we learned about a new wage to deepen your friendships, instead of hanging out at a bar or a party, you should do what together? Hmm. You would not hang out at a bar or party. You should, uh, till the land. Make the earth yield up its fruits.

That's a thing that's happening now. People are getting together till the land. Till the land. It's actually, you're kind of on the right track. The idea is, like, instead of going out and doing, like, you know, a special fun thing, you should get your friends together and do. Manual labor. I'm going to give it to you.

Chores. I love to enjoy errands. Really? Is this something you like to do? Yeah. So, because you are like, as you always are, ahead of the curve. Yeah. Social trend-wise.

The new study says that if you really want to bomb with your friends, which we all know is the key to happiness is having a good social life, you should do boring stuff with your friends. researchers discovered that people, quote, consistently rate common daily activities is more enjoyable when they're interacting with somebody else. You enjoy it more, you bond, it's great, you know? Absolutely. I am on the cutting edge on this.

I often have friends over to help me trim the cats' claws. Really? Yeah. What part do they play? Because I've had cats. Somebody has to do the clipping and someone has to kind of hold the cats' paws. What do you do?

What do you make them do? Well, you know, we go back and forth. like to hog the fun part. Okay, here's the thing about cats clipping their claws. And I can't do hind claws. I can only do front claws. What's the difference? What's the difference?

Well, I think, if I may. The front claws are on the front paws. I know that, Paula. I think Jol L was trying to say, what is the difference besides the obvious one? I don't know. That's why you did. I would just think

it's as simple as you don't want to do the hind claws because you don't want a cat's butt in your face. No. So how many cats do you have, Paula? Eleven. You have 11 cats. How many friends do you have? Oh, we had to go there, didn't we?

I think those two numbers are intimately related. I'm alone a lot, Peter. A lot. A woman with 11 cats is never alone, Paula. 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 1-3-8-8-8-8-8-8-2-4. You can see us most weeks back at the Studio Baker Theater in Chicago,

or you can catch us on the road. We'll be in Costa Mesa, California, on November. 6th. For tickets and information for these events and other things we're cooking up, go to nprpresents.org. And if you like our show, but wish it was about 59 minutes shorter, check out our TikTok at Wait, Wait, and Beyond. Hi, your own Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Hey, Peter, this is Lydia from Seattle, Washington. Hey, beautiful Seattle. I love it there. What do you do there?

Well, I like to be outside as much as possible, just like everyone else here. I like to hike and backpack all the things. And when I'm not doing that, I work at a Conservation Agency, where we protect wild lands and waters in Washington State. Thank you. That's a great thing to do. It does occur to me. Since you are, of course, you're right. Everybody I know in the

Pacific Northwest loves to be outside all the time. Does it ever occur to you to take advantage of that and just rifle through their homes? You know, I don't get paid very much at a nonprofit, so maybe I do need to do that. I'm telling it. Lydia, welcome to the show. Alzo Slade, filling in for Bill Curtis is going to read you three news-related limericks with a last word or phrase missing from each.

you can fill in that last word or phrase correctly, and to the limericks, you will be a winner. Here is your first limerick. Since the elderly life is so plain, silver snorters speed up a slow brain. When hair looks like snow, we get down with some blow. Yes, we old folks are doing... Cocaine. Cocaine, yes. According to data released by hospitals in the UK, the number of senior citizens abusing cocaine is risen by a third in recent years.

It's true. That's why the last time you visited your Nana, she asked if you were cool and wanted to get the party started. Oh my gosh. So instead of a $5 bill, it's like a rolled-up $500 bill, yeah. Good for them. You think so? I do. I would do lots of drugs then. Right. If you hit a certain age, you're like, what are they going to do? What's the point? Cocaine is getting so popular among older people that there's now a term for them, silver snorters. And somewhere an executive at NBC just had a great idea for an amazing golden girls reboot. Here is your next limerick.

Stone cold, sober, and yet we feel brave. Music stumping, but not in some cave. No more dark clubs at night. We dance in the light. And hot coffee gets served at our... Rave? Rave, yes. Coffee raves are the latest trend among international...

party people. They're exactly what they sound like. Parties with DJs playing loud dance music, but it's in broad daylight with shots of espresso from the barista over there instead of alcohol at the bar. They just goes to show it. It's true. You really do need a few drinks to have a good time. Can't some of those old people sell cocaine to these ones? Why not? Yeah. Sober people, unsober people, they all love these morning coffee raves. One fan called them, quote, very nice. My roommate used to go to those. Really? Yeah.

They would do them on the sunrise in New York, and that's why I didn't like her. Here's your last limerick. My dreams don't contain a cursed doll. No, I'm haunted by suburban sprawl. There are multiple floors with extinct anchor stores. My nightmares all feature a mall? A mall, yes. Thousands of people are connecting.

online over having the same recurring nightmare about being trapped in a mall. This mall and their dreams is impossible to get out of because even if you can find the dream mall directory that you are here arrow just points to your bedroom. No, that is weird that more than one people person has that nightmare. Yeah, well they think it is. The users connect in a subreddit called the mall world and they share details of this terrifying space that they all visit in their dreams with levels and stairways and no way out. They are convinced that despite the fact that none of these people have met in real life, they are all dreaming about the same mall because, really, seriously,

what are the odds that they all have a Nordstrom and a hot topic and an anti-Ans? Are all these people from New Jersey? Probably, yes. Also, how did Lydia do in our quiz? She did great. Three out of three. Terrific. Congratulations.

Nice, Lydia. Well done. Lydia, thank you so much for playing. Thanks so much for having me. Take care. Now on to our final game. 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.

Alzo, can you give us the scores? Of course, Joyelle and Paula are tied at two with Peter in the lead at three. All right So I'm going to arbitrarily pick Joyelle to go first Here you go, Joyelle, the clock will start When I begin your first question, fill in the blank On Wednesday, Israel and Hamas agreed to the first phase of a plan To end the war in blank

Gaza This week, the Vatican announced the dates of the new blank's first international trip The Pope from Cleveland or Chicago Detroit Detroit America I said Chicago You did, and then a number of other cities

but it is Chicago. I was in the vicinity. On Wednesday, California passed a law banning ultra-processed foods from being served in public blank. School. Right. This week, the 2025 Nobel Prize winner for medicine said she blanked when the Nobel Committee called her.

Choked. No, she did not pick up the call because she thought it was spam. On Thursday, doctors in China performed the first ever blank-to-human liver transplant. Cat? Pig. Pig, pig. Pig, pig. You're right. Yeah, after her sister asked fans for their prayers, country legend, Blank, had to release a statement saying, no, she's fine.

Dolly Park. Yes. This week, a town in the UK had to take drastic action after a blank started terrorizing citizens there. In the UK? In the UK. A white man and a white wig. No, a horny swan is the answer. Oh, boy. According to locals, when Reggie, the Australian black swan first showed up in the town, everything was great. He got along with the other swans who lived there, even became a bit of a local tourist attraction. Sadly, things took a turn for the worst just a few weeks later when he started trying to drown all the other male swans in order to have the females to himself. Terrible news for the birds and for the people in the town, but great news for England's only swan-focused true crime podcast.

Also, how did Joyell do in our quiz? She got four right, which gives her eight points with a total of ten. she is now in the league. There you are, Joelle. For now. All right, Paula, you are up next, filling the blank on Tuesday. Former FBI director, Blank,

pleaded not guilty to lying to Congress. James Comey. Right. For the first time ever, the price of blank reached $4,000 an ounce. Gold? Gold, yes. This week, members of the Texas National Guard arrived in blank.

Chicago? Yeah. On Monday, the White House directed FBI employees to urgently search for any records related to the 19, 37 disappearance of blank. Amelia Earhart? Right.

This week, Weber State University's annual conference on censorship was canceled after presenters refused to blank. Be censored. Exactly right. On Wednesday, theme park giant blank once again raised their admission prices. Disney. Right.

On Tuesday, Cristiano Ronaldo became the first billionaire player in the history of blank. Oh, Christiana Bruno. Soccer? Yes. This week, a street performance in India meant to warn people about the danger of stray dog attacks was interrupted by blank.

Stray dog attack. Exactly right. Pretty good. There are so many stray dogs in Kerala State, the government commissioned a theater troupe to put on a play about it because, as we all know, theater is the most efficient way to communicate with the public. That's why we haven't had a single witch trial since the crucible.

And this is true. When the stray dog walked on stage, During the play about the danger of stray dogs and bit one of the actors, the audience thought it was part of the show and applauded for the dog. That guy playing the dog did a great job. He really did. Alzo, I think Paula did really, really well. Paula got a lot, bro.

She got eight right for 16 points with a total of 18. Wow. That puts her way out front. You didn't miss a one. She did not miss one. That was remarkable. All right then, so how many does Peter need to win? Peter needs eight to win.

Here you go, Peter. This is for the game. On Tuesday, President Trump suggested he may withhold back pay owed to workers affected by the blank. The shutdown. Right. On Monday, renewables overtook blank as the world's biggest source of energy. Overtook, like, oil and gas? Yeah, fossil fuels.

This week, a man was arrested in connection with starting the Palisades wildfire that burned through blank early this year. Los Angeles? Right. Under pressure from the White House, the Justice Department, has indicted New York Attorney General Blank. This is James. Right. During an interview celebrating how he was turning 100 in just two months,

Dick Van Dyke said, blank. I regret everything. No. He said, quote, it would be pretty funny if he didn't make it. On Monday, electric car company, Blank, unveiled cheaper models of their two most popular cars. The one that makes those dumb trucks. Tesla?

Yeah. According to new data, tariffs have greatly increased the cost of blank costumes. Halloween? This week, a man who was ticketed for talking in his phone while driving had the ticket voided because it turns out the phone was blank. It was an alt-oids box. No, it was a candy bar, and he wasn't talking on it. He was eating it. A man was pulled over by police. They caught him talking in his phone while driving against the law there, but he said he wasn't on the phone at all. He was just eating a candy bar.

And it would have worked, too, at least until his stomach started ringing. Alzo did Peter Gross do well enough to win? Nope. Peter got six right for 12 points. Total of 16. Paula is the champion. In just a minute, our panelists are going to predict what will be the controversial song

on Taylor Swift's next album. But first, let me tell you all that, wait, wait, don't tell me. It's a production of NPR and WBEEZ Chicago in association with an earth. Urgent Haircut Productions, Oahu, Doug Berman, Benevolent Overlord. Philip Godica writes our limericks, our public address announcer is Paul Friedman. Our tour manager is Shane Adonald.

Special thanks to Hutch and Leslie Hutchinson for all their help this week. And big thanks to the staff and crew at the Blaisdell Concert Hall. B.J. Leaderman composed our theme. Our program is produced by Jennifer Mills, Miles, Doron, Boston, and Lillian King. Special thanks this week to Blythe Robertson and Monica Hickey. Peter Gwyn is not here. Emma Choi is our vibe curator. Technical Directioner's from Lorna White,

or CFO, an absolute road dog is Colin Miller. Our production manager is Robert Nuisher, senior producer, Ian Chilock, and the executive producer of Wait Wait Don't Tell Me is Mr. Michael Danforth. Now, panel, what will be the next controversial song by Taylor Swift? Joyl Nicole Johnson. Come clip my cat's toes with me.

Peter Gross. A song destined to anger Chiefs fans called Tush Push, Fly, Eagle's Fly. I want to jail until it hurts. and Paula Poundstone. Well, it's either going to be tight-fitting receptacle change purse or tiny box.

Well, if any of that happens, we'll ask you about it on Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Thank you, Alzo Slade. Thanks also to Peter Gross, Joyal Nicole Johnson, and Paula Poundstone. A very special thanks to Valerie Yee

and the entire staff at Hawaii Public Radio and our fabulous audience here in beautiful Honolulu. I'm Peter Sagal. We'll see you next week. This is NPR.