Episode Transcript
Transcripts are displayed as originally observed. Some content, including advertisements may have changed.
Use Ctrl + F to search
0:00
This message comes from
0:02
Capella University. At
0:04
Capella, you can
0:07
earn your degree
0:09
with support from
0:11
people who care
0:13
about your success.
0:15
A different future is
0:18
closer than you think
0:20
with Capella University.
0:23
Learn more at
0:25
Capella.EDU. except no
0:27
substitute. But by
0:30
all means, except
0:32
Peter Siegel's substitute
0:35
here at the
0:37
Studebaker Theater at
0:39
the Fine Arts
0:41
Building in Chicago, Illinois.
0:44
It's Karen Chee. in
0:46
for Peter Siegel. He's at
0:48
home recovering from a fight with
0:50
another NPR host right now. I
0:53
don't want to name any names,
0:55
but let's just say Steve Innskip
0:57
is a bider. You're all in
0:59
for a treat because later we're
1:01
talking to Oscar-nominated actor Brian Tyri
1:04
Henry. You probably know him from
1:06
Atlanta or his new show, Dope
1:08
Thief. Or, as I know him,
1:10
as the voice of the absolutely
1:12
jacked Smoky The Bear. But first
1:14
it's your turn to call in
1:17
to play our games. The number is
1:19
one triple eight wait wait. That's one
1:21
eight eight nine two four eight nine
1:23
two four. Hi you're on wait wait.
1:26
Don't tell me. Hey Karen. This
1:28
is Kevin Stroud. I live
1:30
in Raleigh North Carolina. Oh Kevin.
1:32
Hi welcome Thank you. Thank you.
1:34
Kevin. What do you do in
1:36
beautiful Raleigh? By day I am a
1:39
mental health therapist. Oh, wow. That's
1:41
an amazing job. Thank you for
1:43
doing that I'm sure you're doing
1:45
great in your business, but if
1:47
you need any referrals, I do
1:49
have a lot of ex-boyfriends.
1:51
Well, we said we weren't
1:54
going to talk about that,
1:56
Karen. All right, Kevin, let's
1:58
introduce you to our panel.
2:00
comedian and fashion designer whose
2:03
new summer line and new
2:05
novel Silk and Silencer will
2:07
be available May 15th on
2:10
BB spoke dot shop. It's
2:12
Brian Babylon! Next the
2:14
host of the daily
2:16
podcast TBTL and the public
2:18
radio variety show live wire
2:21
which will be live at
2:23
the Resor Center in Beaverton
2:25
Oregon on May 1st Luke
2:27
Burbank! Hey Kevin! And a
2:30
comedian and host of the
2:32
podcast Fake The Nation, who you
2:34
can follow on all the social
2:36
media platforms that you keep meaning
2:39
to delete, it's Nickine Farsad!
2:45
Welcome to the show, Kevin. You're
2:47
going to play Who's Bill this time?
2:49
Bill Curtis is going to read you
2:51
three quotes from this week's news. If
2:53
you can correctly identify or explain two
2:55
of them, you'll win our prize, which
2:58
is any voice from our show that
3:00
you choose on your voicemail. Are you
3:02
ready? Absolutely, let's do it.
3:04
Amazing. Your first quote is from
3:06
a spokesperson at a gambling site.
3:08
It's our biggest non-supporting event of
3:10
the year, and we expect the
3:13
betting to really pick up. as
3:15
we head toward the conclave. So
3:17
people are betting on who is
3:19
going to be the next what?
3:21
Voting for the next for the
3:24
papacy? Yes, that's correct. People
3:26
are betting on who is going
3:28
to be the next hope. People
3:30
mourned Francis's passing all over
3:32
the world, but no one
3:34
more than the producers of
3:36
the movie Conclave who said,
3:38
hey, could any of at
3:40
least done this during our
3:42
Oscar campaign? It is a
3:44
sign of how in touch the Pope
3:46
was with the people in the church
3:48
that he was like, wait, conclaves are
3:50
huge right now, we gotta ride this
3:52
train. I love that idea that he
3:54
was so into pop culture because I
3:56
feel like he had a really great
3:58
sense of humor. And I feel
4:01
like he was like, guys, wouldn't
4:03
it be funny if I met
4:05
J.D. Vance, and then I died.
4:07
That's what happened. His commitment to
4:09
the bit. Famously. He wrote an
4:12
encyclical on being committed to the
4:14
bit. He lived it. What Nagine
4:16
is saying is true, the vice
4:18
president met with the Pope the
4:20
day before he died and said
4:22
to him, it's good to see
4:25
you in better health. Which incidentally,
4:27
it's good to see you in
4:29
better health is also what J.D.
4:31
Van said to the stock market
4:33
in March. And the national championship
4:35
trophy before that guy is on
4:38
a tear. I feel like more...
4:40
industries should sort of announce the
4:42
new head of the company through
4:44
smoke and its colors. It's just
4:46
a fun kind of way to
4:48
do it. I also think you
4:51
know how you can like carry
4:53
around like a little personal fan
4:55
from your hat. I think personal
4:57
smoke machine for when you just
4:59
want to like share in detail
5:01
about your life. Right? Wait, I
5:04
just want to bring it back
5:06
to the smoke though, because I
5:08
want to say, if you're betting
5:10
on the new Pope, remember if
5:12
the smoke is blue, it's going
5:14
to be a boy. Right. And
5:16
if the smoke is pink, it's
5:19
also going to be a boy.
5:21
The Pope is always going to
5:23
be a boy. Yeah. The world's
5:25
least interesting gender reveal. All right,
5:27
Kevin, your next quote is some
5:29
words costing someone tens of millions
5:32
of dollars. Please, and thank you.
5:34
This week, a tech CEO said
5:36
that we cost his company millions
5:38
of dollars when we say those
5:40
words when typing requests into what?
5:42
Oh, into chat GPT. That's correct.
5:45
Yeah. Open AI. My CEO Sam
5:47
Altman says please and thank you
5:49
cost his company tens of millions
5:51
of dollars because it's unnecessary data
5:53
for chat GPT to process. And
5:55
I just want to say if
5:58
This is costing him money? I
6:00
love that. I'm gonna be extra
6:02
polite. I'm gonna start using cat
6:04
GPT just to give it a
6:06
forehead kiss after each answer. I
6:08
love it. It's like, I'm from
6:11
the Pacific Northwest, and I've lost
6:13
friends in the war, and by
6:15
the war I mean, coming to
6:17
a four-way stop, when someone else
6:19
came to the same four-way stop,
6:21
and everyone's waiting for the other
6:24
person to go. That's like next
6:26
level politeness. We need to do
6:28
that with these programs. Just completely
6:30
lock them up. But you know,
6:32
also like, I got into it
6:34
with chat GBT a couple of
6:37
nights ago, where it didn't, it
6:39
was telling me it was gonna
6:41
do something. I got this plan,
6:43
that plan, you download this, you
6:45
download a championship sheet. The link's
6:47
not working. I know, I know,
6:50
I know. So sorry, I won't
6:52
do it again. So how many
6:54
like icebergs melted because of this
6:56
lover's fat? It was, it was
6:58
a lot because I had to
7:00
like tell it like, hey man,
7:03
don't tell me any more BS.
7:05
Like get on your square. Yo,
7:07
he's like, yo, okay, I will.
7:09
and then he had a milk
7:11
down. All of that costs, that
7:13
guy Sam, Altman money, right? Yeah,
7:16
I was gonna say it's costing
7:18
him money, but it's also requiring
7:20
a lot of power and electricity.
7:22
So when you're asking it a
7:24
request, you have to remember that
7:26
saying something like, write my term
7:29
paper is fine, but please, hi,
7:31
will you write my term paper?
7:33
Thank you, burns down an entire
7:35
Brazilian rainforest. Yes. But also I
7:37
wonder I mean because so the
7:39
argument for being friendly to the
7:42
To to the AI is that
7:44
eventually they'll take over and be
7:46
our masters and they'll know which
7:48
one of ones of us were
7:50
nice Yes Yeah So I have
7:52
a question which is like do
7:55
we have a quota as people
7:57
for how nice we can be
7:59
and if and then if we
8:01
are nice to AI all the
8:03
time are we the mean to
8:05
our moms? Some game of niceness.
8:08
Right, and then if you're mean
8:10
to your mom, how many icebergs
8:12
does that melt? Wait, Nikki, do
8:14
you wake up every morning being
8:16
like, I can only say five
8:18
nice things today? Yeah, is that
8:20
how we all do it? Did
8:23
you see the color of her
8:25
smoke backstage, Karen? I've used up
8:27
all of my nice things. Yeah,
8:29
yeah. All right, Kevin, now we
8:31
are on to our last quote.
8:33
I really don't care about plant-based.
8:36
That was someone speaking to the
8:38
New York Times about new data
8:40
that finds what is back on
8:42
American plates. Hmm. You got a
8:44
hint for me? A hint is,
8:46
is something that was once alive?
8:49
Me? That's correct. That's right. Meat
8:51
is back. Or, depending on which
8:53
state you live in, meat is
8:55
the same. It's what's
8:57
still been for dinner. Yeah. After
9:00
years of decline, sales of meat
9:02
hit record highs last year. And
9:04
this is due to a number
9:07
of factors. It's that high protein
9:09
diets are in, we're getting tired
9:12
of plant-based meats, but more than
9:14
anything, we just don't like those
9:16
cows' attitudes. Oh. Am I the
9:19
only vegetarian on this panel? Okay.
9:21
I'm not. I am a vegetarian.
9:24
The fake meat is not. what
9:26
it is cracked up to be.
9:28
I'm not surprised to hear that
9:31
people are, I don't know if
9:33
they're going away from that and
9:36
towards real meat, but that stuff
9:38
is not, I don't care what
9:40
it's on the box, what it
9:43
looks like, you get that thing
9:45
home and you cook it up,
9:48
it is not fooling anybody. No.
9:50
I do agree with what you're
9:52
saying though. I mean, we did
9:55
go too crazy with the plant-based
9:57
stuff. Like I used a plant-based
10:00
shampoo, now with lamb. Oh. Bill,
10:02
how did Kevin do? Kevin rocked
10:04
with three in a row. He
10:07
won. Thank you. Congratulations. And thank
10:09
you so much for playing. Of
10:12
course. Thank you so much, Karen.
10:14
Right now, panel, time for you
10:16
to answer some questions about this
10:19
week's news. Luke, loose-lipped Secretary of
10:21
Defense Pete Hexes, says he is
10:24
keeping graceful spending at the Pentagon,
10:26
and he is making changes, according
10:28
to CBS News, he's adding a
10:31
what to the Pentagon's briefing room?
10:33
A makeup studio? That's correct. Pete
10:38
Hexeth is adding a makeup
10:40
studio, and we know this
10:42
because he texted his stylist.
10:44
Hey, I can't wait to
10:46
try this new eyeshadow. Also,
10:49
here are the nuclear codes.
10:51
So this CBS News, I
10:53
think, reported this initially, that
10:55
there was money being allocated
10:57
to sort of remaking, remodeling
11:00
this green room. And so
11:02
then somebody over there said,
11:04
this is totally made up,
11:06
this is BS. Here's the
11:08
room. And then they tweeted
11:10
out, what was clearly a
11:13
photo of a makeup room.
11:15
It was pretty much as
11:17
advertised. It was also, they
11:19
went one step further, actually.
11:21
The DOD struck back at
11:23
this report saying, and this
11:26
is exactly what you want
11:28
your spokesperson to say if
11:30
you were the Secretary of
11:32
Defense. They said, Pete Hexeth
11:34
doesn't need a makeup room
11:37
because Pete Hexeth does his
11:39
own makeup. I love the
11:41
idea of like a four-star
11:43
general showing up at the
11:45
Pentagon and a PA being
11:47
like, should I take you
11:50
to hair and makeup? I
11:52
did my own glam. Can
11:54
you imagine? Yeah, could you
11:56
imagine Don Rumsfeld showing up
11:58
in full glam? You're so
12:01
pretty. You really knocked me.
12:03
coming up the only thing
12:05
we have to fear is
12:07
you missing this week's Bluff
12:09
the listener game so call
12:11
one eight eight wait wait
12:14
to play we'll be back
12:16
in a minute with more
13:24
This message comes from Progressive Insurance.
13:26
Progressive makes it easy to see
13:28
if you could save when you
13:30
bundle your home and auto policies.
13:32
Try it at progressive.com. Progressive Casual
13:34
Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Potential
13:36
savings will vary. Not available in all
13:38
states. That
20:13
was Kara Berg of the Detroit News
20:15
talking about the quicksand romance. I'm so
20:18
sorry, Chris, but Brian had the real
20:20
answer. You gotta go with your heart.
20:22
You gotta go with your heart, and
20:24
that's how you should think about your
20:27
law school finals. Chris, I'm sorry you
20:29
didn't win, but you did earn a
20:31
point for Luke, so thank you so
20:33
much. And
20:43
now the game we call,
20:45
Not My Job. Brian Tyre
20:47
Henry is an Oscar, Emmy,
20:50
and Tony-nominated actor who first
20:52
came to national attention playing
20:54
the rapper Paper Boy in
20:56
FX's Atlanta. Since then, he's
20:58
been a superhero, a transformer,
21:01
and in his new show,
21:03
Dope Thief, a small-town grifter,
21:05
pretending to be a DEA
21:07
agent. Thank God I flushed
21:10
all my drugs before the
21:12
interview started. I didn't push
21:14
mine, so that's all. Oh
21:16
great, okay, I'll have my
21:18
toilet burp mine back up
21:21
then. Please don't ever say
21:23
that sentence again. Brian, I
21:25
wanted to ask, you've been
21:27
nominated for an Oscar Atonian
21:29
and Emmy, so my next
21:32
question was, how does it
21:34
feel to achieve the pinnacle
21:36
of cinematic success? By which
21:38
I mean, voicing Smoky Bear.
21:40
To be honest with you,
21:43
it feels like the role
21:45
I was born to play.
21:47
Oh, wow! I truly love
21:49
going to National Park shirtless
21:51
as often as possible. So
21:54
I feel like it was
21:56
a method acting game. I
21:58
just realized Smoky the Bear
22:00
did not have a shirt
22:02
on. I never realized that.
22:05
If you look at him
22:07
recently, he's gotten quite buff.
22:09
Which I was like, is
22:11
that for me? Listen, you
22:13
joke, but I literally wrote
22:16
down the question, are you
22:18
the reason Smoky Bear is
22:20
hot now? It better be.
22:22
Okay, wait, going off of
22:24
this though, I did have
22:27
a question. Mary Kiss Kill,
22:29
Smoky Bear, Paddington Bear, and
22:31
Winnie the Pooh. Oh. Okay.
22:33
Mary, I would say Mary
22:35
Smoky for the benefits. You
22:38
can get into any national
22:40
park you want, so clearly.
22:42
Kiss I would kiss Paddington
22:44
because you know he deserves
22:46
it And he'll taste like
22:49
marmalade. So that's nice Um
22:51
and you got to kill
22:53
Winnie because put your pants
22:55
on I have another question
22:58
which is that You've been
23:00
in Transformers, The Eternals, and
23:02
Spider-Man. These are all huge
23:04
franchises, and I wanted to
23:06
rewind all the way back
23:09
in time and ask, do
23:11
you remember what your very
23:13
first role was? Yes, embarrassingly
23:15
enough, I was Santa Claus
23:17
and my preschool production. I
23:20
don't even know what this
23:22
play was about, but I
23:24
remember I had like a
23:26
cotton ball beard, you know,
23:28
when they glued this beard
23:31
together. And you know, all
23:33
the parents were there and
23:35
I was the final part
23:37
of this Christmas play. And
23:39
I'm playing Santa Claus and
23:42
I have Mrs. Claus with
23:44
me. And we've been rehearsing
23:46
all week and literally as
23:48
it comes to me, I
23:50
pull my beard down and
23:53
go to my teacher off
23:55
the side of the stage
23:57
and I go, what's my
23:59
line? a photo that my
24:01
mother captured, you can see
24:04
this woman full of rage
24:06
going, Merry Christmas, Brian! He
24:08
pulled out, like, what's my
24:10
motivation? Like, what's my motivation?
24:12
And here I am now,
24:15
a Tony... Ho, ho, line,
24:17
line, line, oh. Yeah, it
24:19
was, it was, it was
24:21
great, but I, but I
24:23
nailed it just to be
24:26
very. Yeah. Well now when
24:28
you do, when it Oscar,
24:30
you have to start off
24:32
your speech by saying, Merry
24:35
Christmas. Mary, what's my line?
24:37
Yeah. I also wanted to
24:39
ask about a different role,
24:41
which I read about, and
24:43
I wasn't sure if it
24:46
was a rumor. Is it
24:48
true that you played a
24:50
tree in Chekhov's The Three
24:52
Sisters? Who sent you? I
24:54
did. It definitely humbles you.
24:57
And my only line in
24:59
that play was what? I
25:01
was like, well, at least
25:03
this tree gets to speak,
25:05
at least there's some depth
25:08
there. Did you always remember
25:10
that your line in that
25:12
one? Oh man, I must
25:14
have been on so many
25:16
drugs at that point, I
25:19
don't remember. Yeah, I wonder
25:21
if your line was actually
25:23
what, or if that's what
25:25
you said, because you couldn't
25:27
remember. Can be true, honestly,
25:30
both can be true. Nuance
25:32
is what they say. Going
25:34
off of that, I wanted
25:36
to ask, you've been a
25:38
part of so many iconic
25:41
projects both on stage and
25:43
on screen. What are you
25:45
most recognized for when you're
25:47
out in the world? I
25:49
believe there's a black person
25:52
on this panel. Did I
25:54
hear you? Don't tell me
25:56
it's this guy. Yeah. Paper
25:58
boy. Yeah. Always I mean
26:00
I can be in the
26:03
in places where there's a
26:05
population of 300 people and
26:07
somebody is going to screen
26:09
Paper boy at me. But
26:11
it's changing. It's it's I
26:14
went to my local grocery
26:16
store not too long ago
26:18
because yes I like to
26:20
buy my own groceries everywhere.
26:23
And this woman was like,
26:25
hey, I just want you
26:27
to know that I just
26:29
want to know, are you
26:31
the actor from Dope Thieves?
26:34
And I threw my arms
26:36
around. I was like, thank
26:38
you. Thank you so much.
26:40
Yes, I am. Thank you
26:42
so much. So it's all
26:45
shifting, but Paper Boy is
26:47
usually the thing that. Were
26:49
you at, was it the
26:51
grocery, was it the gradual?
26:53
Was it gross? How
26:56
dare you? How dare you?
26:58
Air one! All right. All
27:01
right, Brian Tyree Henry. We've
27:03
actually invited you here to
27:06
play a game that we're
27:08
calling. BTH. BTS. BTS. BTS.
27:10
That's right. You are Brian
27:13
Tyree Henry BTH. So we're
27:15
going to ask you about
27:18
one of the biggest bands
27:20
in history BTS. So, answer
27:23
three questions about the game
27:25
pop icons, and you'll win
27:28
our prize for one of
27:30
our listeners. Bill, who is
27:33
Brian playing for? Written the
27:35
trite of Round Rock, Texas.
27:38
That's your heart for thinking
27:40
I'll know any of these
27:42
answers, but let's go. Okay,
27:45
here's your first question. After
27:47
forming in 2010, BTS became
27:50
one of the biggest bands
27:52
in the world. They're so
27:55
popular that which of these
27:57
is true? A. They were
28:00
the only band that Pope
28:02
Francis had on his iPod.
28:05
B. The crowds... BTS concerts
28:07
are so loud that the
28:09
noise is faintly detectable from
28:12
space. Or C, almost one
28:14
in 10 visitors to South
28:17
Korea go there for BTS-related
28:19
reasons. I'm gonna say the
28:22
last one, one in 10
28:24
go to Korea. Yes, that's
28:27
correct. NPR reported that BTS
28:29
adds five billion dollars annually
28:32
to South Korea's incotomy. Wow.
28:34
Oh my God. What can
28:37
pay pop do for you?
28:39
Yeah. All right, Brian, here's
28:41
her next question. BTS thinks
28:44
a lot about their lyrics,
28:46
so much so that they
28:49
do what before recording them?
28:51
A. Run them by a
28:54
women's studies professor. B. Have
28:56
their official fan account send
28:59
out definitions for any particularly
29:01
big words. And C. Make
29:04
sure they sound just as
29:06
good screamed out loud or
29:08
whispered to yourself alone in
29:11
your bedroom. the last one
29:13
I do myself so yes
29:16
I'm gonna say the second
29:18
one about having someone look
29:21
up the words that seem
29:23
do you want to guess
29:26
again I only want to
29:28
be on games that gas
29:31
light me like this one
29:33
thank you okay the third
29:36
one Listen, I'm going to
29:38
give you one more guess.
29:40
Merry Christmas. Okay, the first
29:43
one. That's correct. Fans were
29:45
worried about the future of
29:48
BTS because all South Korean
29:50
men are required to complete
29:53
a year and a half
29:55
of military service before the
29:58
age of 28. So as
30:00
BTS neared their deadline, the
30:03
government got involved. How? A.
30:05
They negotiated a special two-year
30:07
truce with North Korea to
30:10
make sure BTS would stay
30:12
safe. B. They passed a
30:15
special law allowing anyone to
30:17
defer their service as long
30:20
as they're in a hit
30:22
K-pop band. And C. they
30:25
amassed a quote strategic BTS
30:27
song stockpile. a
30:31
bit of deferring for a
30:33
world for all of the
30:36
BTS members have since enlisted.
30:38
So Bill how did Brian
30:40
do on our quiz? Fine
30:42
you did great you got
30:44
them all right. You're a
30:46
winner! Bill you sure you
30:48
don't want to ask what
30:51
your line is just to
30:53
be safe? Brian Tyree Henry
30:55
is starring in Dope Thief
30:57
on Apple TV Plus. Brian,
30:59
thank you so much for
31:01
joining us on Wait, Wait,
31:03
Don't Tell Me. You brush!
31:06
In just a minute, find
31:08
out what happens when BFF
31:10
meets P-U. In our listener,
31:12
Limerick Challenge. Call one triple
31:14
eight, wait, wait, to join
31:16
us on air. We'll be
31:18
back in a minute with
31:21
more of Wait, Don't Tell
31:23
Me, from NPR. This
31:31
message comes from Metrop. Therapy can
31:33
be expensive, but at Better Help,
31:36
they believe therapy should feel accessible,
31:38
not like a luxury, which is
31:40
why they offer quality care at
31:43
a price that makes sense and
31:45
can help you with anything from
31:47
anxiety to everyday stress. Your mental
31:50
health is worth it. And now
31:52
it's within reach. Visit betterhelp.com/NPR to
31:55
get 10% off your first month.
31:57
That's betterhelp.com slash
31:59
NPR. In
33:05
just a minute, there ain't no
33:07
party like a Limerick party, because
33:09
why would you have Limerick's at
33:12
a normal party, you nerd? So
33:14
if you'd like to play, give
33:16
us a call at one triple
33:19
eight, wait, wait. That's one, eight,
33:21
eight, nine, four, eight, eight, eight,
33:23
eight, eight, eight, eight, eight, eight,
33:25
eight, eight, eight, eight, eight, a
33:28
new color. And if you want
33:30
to see it, all you have
33:32
to do is what. This has
33:34
nothing to do with mushrooms, right?
33:37
No. Here's a hint. Yeah. It
33:39
involves a laser and the last
33:41
thing you should ever do with
33:43
a laser. Oh, yeah, it's called,
33:46
well, in my neighborhood, they call
33:48
it, like, Light Sword, LightSabor Syndrome.
33:50
But it's like, you know, sort
33:53
of look into a laser. it
33:55
to you that's correct thank you
33:57
um it's shoot a laser into
33:59
your eye so scientists have discovered
34:02
a new color and all you
34:04
have to do to see it
34:06
is to shoot a laser into
34:08
your eye so what is it
34:11
is a color called blind yeah
34:13
oh man blind this is a
34:15
good question because the color is
34:17
called olo for oh lo my
34:20
eyes yeah how did blind Brian
34:22
get his nickname yeah You know
34:24
what, if you ever want to
34:27
go yellow, just see olo. Yeah,
34:29
right? Yeah. Yeah, I honestly though,
34:31
apparently the color is supposed to
34:33
be like a blue-green, which I
34:36
gotta be honest, I don't think
34:38
it should count if the brand
34:40
new color can be described by
34:42
two pre-existing colors. And who told
34:45
them that? Like what? I'm saying
34:47
like what test subjects. All right,
34:49
you ready? Yeah, ready. Okay, what
34:52
do you see? Uh, blue, green?
34:54
I don't know. But also, they're
34:56
like, it's a color I've ever
34:58
seen before. Like, how do they
35:01
know? Worth it. I've seen, I've
35:03
seen blue, green, I don't need
35:05
it. That's a good point. I
35:07
really want them to find a
35:10
new color and be like this
35:12
one is spiky. Nickine. This week,
35:14
the Wall Street Journal reported that
35:16
now more than ever, Americans are
35:19
no longer giving each other what.
35:21
High-fives! Can I get a hint?
35:23
Yeah, a hint is that only
35:26
20% of my friends call me
35:28
Big Dog anymore. Oh, nicknames! But
35:32
luckily nickname levels remain high among
35:34
little league baseball teams construction teams,
35:36
partly due to young people being
35:39
very mindful about building their professional
35:41
presence online, which is kind of
35:43
good practice, right? Because you don't
35:46
want your interviewers first question to
35:48
be, so do you prefer Elizabeth
35:50
or Pizza slot 35? But luckily
35:53
nickname levels remain high among Little
35:55
League baseball teams, construction sites, and
35:57
Bodega's where the owner just calls
36:00
you boss. saying this is bad
36:02
for my long-time friend Camaro Kev?
36:04
In my friend group everyone had
36:07
a dumb nickname. What was yours?
36:09
Luke. That's what was most hurtful.
36:11
My parents gave it to me.
36:14
So my husband had a friend
36:16
group in college where every single
36:18
person had a nickname as well.
36:21
And it's funny because to this
36:23
day, I don't know their real
36:25
name. So I just refer to
36:28
these people like, oh, are you
36:30
going to call up baby hairs?
36:32
And see, what's your boy jeans
36:35
up to? Like they were also
36:37
weird nicknames. Like did it make
36:39
sense, like out of context. Baby
36:42
hairs is definitely the nickname for
36:44
people. or say cool. Moving on,
36:46
nobody told me said that. Coming
36:48
up, it's lightning fill in the
36:51
blank. But first, it's the game
36:53
where you have to listen for
36:55
the rhyme. If you'd like to
36:58
play on air, call or leave
37:00
a message at one triple eight,
37:02
wait. That's one, eight, eight, eight,
37:05
nine, two, four, eight, nine, two
37:07
four. You can see us most
37:09
weeks here at the Studebaker Theater
37:12
in Chicago or catches on the
37:14
road. We'll be in Portland, Maine
37:16
on June 26th and 27th and
37:19
at Tanglewood in Western Massachusetts on
37:21
August 28th. For tickets and info
37:23
to all our live shows, go
37:26
to npr presents.org. Hi, you're on
37:28
Wait, wait, don't tell me. Hey,
37:30
this great. Yeah, Steamboat Springs is
37:33
such a lovely name, it feels
37:35
like a city from a picture
37:37
book. Yeah, and you know, Steamboat's
37:40
a great place for, you know,
37:42
a landlocked mountain town, so. Well,
37:44
welcome to the show, Saline. Bill
37:47
Curtis is going to read you
37:49
three news-related limerics with the last
37:51
word or phrase missing from each.
37:54
If you can fill in that
37:56
last word or phrase correctly on
37:58
two limerics, you're going to be
38:01
a winner. So here's your first
38:03
limeric. To my brain, a sweet
38:05
signal you send. It's a pizza
38:08
and late night talks blend. It's
38:10
that wonderful sense of letting
38:12
me vent. Thank you for
38:15
being a... Friend? Yeah. According
38:21
to scientists, a person's smell can
38:23
be more influential than their personality
38:26
when you're deciding to be their
38:28
friend. I can see how that
38:30
could work on like a subconscious
38:33
level, but someone audibly smelling me
38:35
is not my secret to friendship.
38:37
Yes. This would give like a
38:39
show like Sex in the City
38:42
such a different look if they
38:44
were sitting around having brunch and
38:46
sniffing each other. And being like,
38:48
no, thank you, Samantha. And then
38:51
they were like, at that
38:53
point, I realize Mr.
38:55
Big smelled great. Saline, here's
38:58
your next limerick. If
39:00
your cars nearby, maybe you
39:03
should check her. He's a
39:05
mirror and shiny car hood
39:08
wrecker. Lots of damage occurred
39:10
from this hard-headed bird. Now
39:13
our town lives in fear
39:15
of a Woodpecker? That's correct.
39:18
An ornery woodpecker has
39:20
destroyed over 20 car
39:22
windows in mirrors in
39:24
Cape Ann, Massachusetts. He's
39:27
pecking windows, glass, metal.
39:29
He's not a woodpecker. He's
39:31
just a pecker. Wow. Wait, where
39:34
is this pecker now? I think
39:36
still there. So he's just out
39:38
like ravaging the town. I assume
39:40
at this point the mayor of
39:42
the town. Yes. But under Cape
39:45
and law, he is now the mayor.
39:47
All right, Saline, here is
39:49
your last limerick. Viral
39:51
infections are dumb, but the
39:53
thought of a shot leaves me
39:55
numb. They don't yet have slurpees
39:57
for flu or for herpes. I
40:00
will chew on this
40:02
germ killing. Dumb. That's
40:04
correct. Scientists at the
40:07
University of Pennsylvania have
40:09
developed a chewing gum
40:11
that helps fight against
40:14
viral infections like influenza.
40:16
It's working title? Juicy
40:18
flu. Oh no! The
40:21
gum is made from a
40:24
kind of bean that contains
40:26
a protein that essentially traps
40:28
viruses So in the lab
40:30
this gum neutralized two strains
40:33
of flu and two strains
40:35
of herpes So if your
40:37
spouse is always coming home
40:39
late chomping on gum whenever
40:41
they're working late I've got
40:44
some bad news for you
40:46
Wait, so you and you
40:48
can chew it like all
40:50
the time or how does
40:53
it like Nicorette or just
40:55
Yeah, or you just do
40:57
it like or you do
40:59
it like the like a
41:02
vaccine you do it. You
41:04
just chew on it once
41:06
a year. Oh, I think
41:08
it's like pretty often. So
41:11
every time you kiss somebody
41:13
you're like, uh, choo choo
41:15
choo. That's the slogan for
41:17
the gum, Chew, Chew, Chew.
41:20
Gums and trains. Bill, how
41:22
did Saline do? She did
41:24
wonderfully. Three in a row,
41:26
Saline, get going. Yay! Saline,
41:28
thank you so much for
41:31
playing. Yeah, thanks for having
41:33
me. Yay! This
41:38
message comes from Bombas. Sox, underwear,
41:40
and t-shirts are the top three
41:42
requested clothing items by people experiencing
41:44
homelessness. Bombas makes all three and
41:47
donates one item for every item
41:49
purchased. Go to bombas.com slash... If
42:21
you're tired of spending hundreds on
42:23
big wireless bills, bogus fees, and
42:25
free perks, MintMobile might be right
42:27
for you with plans starting from
42:29
15 bucks a month. Shop plans
42:31
today at mintmobile.com slash switch. Up front
42:33
payment of $45 for three-month five... All
46:31
right, Bill, how did
46:33
Brian do? For the
46:35
first time in 10
46:38
years, I'm honored to
46:40
say that Brian got
46:42
every single one. Oh
46:45
my God! Age Right,
46:47
16 more points, total
46:49
of 18! So
46:54
how many does Luke need
46:56
to win? Seven to tie
46:58
and eight to win. All
47:00
right. Okay, Luke, this is
47:02
for the game. As part
47:04
of their ongoing battle, Blank
47:06
University filed suit against the
47:08
White House this week. Harvard.
47:10
Right. On Tuesday, the International
47:13
Monetary Fund warned that Trump's
47:15
trade war was putting the
47:17
world closer to a global
47:19
blank. Recession. Right. This week,
47:21
the White House proposed tariffs
47:23
of up to 3,500 percent
47:25
on solar panels from Blank.
47:27
China. According to a new
47:29
report, blank pollution levels are
47:31
getting worse across the US.
47:34
Air. Right. After being accused
47:36
of stealing over $200,000, a
47:38
bank employee in Arkansas defended
47:40
herself by saying blank. I
47:42
was trying to buy my
47:44
baby a new tooth. That
47:46
she was just borrowing the
47:48
money. Citing a loss of
47:50
journalistic independence, the executive producer
47:53
of CBS's blank resigned. 60
47:55
minutes. On Wednesday human runners
47:57
competed against 20 blanks in
47:59
a half marathon in China.
48:01
Robots. Right. After a driver
48:03
accidentally drove... away with a
48:05
woman's kids still asleep in
48:07
the back seat. Uber refused
48:09
to connect the woman and
48:12
the police with the driver,
48:14
but they did blank. Hire
48:16
the kids. They did offer
48:18
her a $10 credit for
48:20
a future ride. Oh my
48:22
god. I first want to
48:24
say everyone in the story
48:26
is OK and the police
48:28
got the girl back safe
48:31
and sound no problem. And
48:33
I just want to say
48:35
that nothing says we're sorry,
48:37
like a $10 credit for
48:39
a future ride. Oh wait,
48:41
I'm sorry, that's in Canadian
48:43
dollars, so a $7 credit
48:45
for a future ride. Bill,
48:47
did Luke do well enough
48:49
to win? Six right, 12
48:52
more points, total of 16
48:54
was close, but not a
48:56
win. Brian is the champion!
48:58
Yeah! will be the surprising
49:00
new Pope. Wait, wait, don't
49:02
tell me it's a production
49:04
of NPR and W-B-E-Z Chicago
49:06
in association with urgent haircut
49:08
productions Doug Berman, Benevolent Overlord.
49:11
Philip Godika writes our limerix,
49:13
our public address announcer is
49:15
Paul Friedman, our tour manager
49:17
is Shanea Donald, thanks to
49:19
the staff and crew at
49:21
the Studebaker Theatre. B.J. Lederman
49:23
composed our theme. Our program
49:25
is produced by Jennifer Mills,
49:27
Miles Dornbos, and Lillian King.
49:30
Special thanks to Mohanna El
49:32
Sheki, and Monica Hickey. Additional
49:34
production from Peter, Tintzy-Weezy Dog-Gwin.
49:36
Emma Joy is our vibe
49:38
curator. Our jolly Goodfellow is
49:40
Hannah-Anderson. Lorna White. Our CFO
49:42
is Colin Miller. Our production
49:44
manager is Robert Newhouse. Our
49:46
senior producer is Ian Chillag.
49:49
and the executive producer of
49:51
Wait Wait Don't Tell Me
49:53
is Mike Danforth. Now panel,
49:55
who is going to be
49:57
the next Pope? Brian Babylon.
49:59
It will be Pope GPT.
50:01
Taking a page from the
50:03
Daily Show and MS NBC,
50:05
the papacy will have a
50:07
rotating cast of popes changing
50:10
every night of the week.
50:12
And Luke Burbank. In a
50:14
move, both Vatican ownership and
50:16
the fans will immediately regret,
50:18
it's Aaron Rogers. And if
50:20
any of that happens, we'll
50:22
ask you about it on,
50:24
wait, don't tell me. This
50:55
message comes from Carmax. Buying a
50:57
car is a big decision, a decision
50:59
you should feel absolutely confident about, and
51:02
when you shop with Carmax, you will,
51:04
because Carmax offers a 10-day money-back guarantee,
51:06
so you can feel confident that you
51:08
made the right choice. message
51:22
comes from NPR sponsor One
51:25
Passward. Protect your digital life
51:27
with One Passward. If you're
51:29
tired of family members constantly
51:31
texting you for the passwords
51:33
to streaming services, One Passward
51:35
lets you securely share or
51:37
remove access to log-ins. Access from
51:39
any device any time. One Passward
51:41
lets you securely switch between iPhone,
51:43
Android, Mac, and PC with convenient
51:45
features like Autofill for quick silence.
51:48
Right now, get a free two-week
51:50
trial for you and your family.
51:54
NPR.
Podchaser is the ultimate destination for podcast data, search, and discovery. Learn More