Muse

from npr and wbez chicago this is wait wait don't tell me the npr news quiz i'm your judge and scorekeeper who recently realized i can just make up the scores and no one notices i'm alzo slade and here's your host at the riverside theater in milwaukee wisconsin peter sagal thank you

No, no. Thank you, Milwaukee. Thank you.

Wow.

Oh, hey. Yeah, I'm glad to see you, too. No, it is such a pleasure to be here. But in a way, it's also a solemn duty, because now that Schlitz beer is no longer around to make Milwaukee famous, someone has to do it. Later on, we're going to be talking to musician Jason Narducey, the man who, among many other things, inspired a young Dave Grohl to give this music thing a try. But first, we hope you are inspired to call in and play our games. The number to call is 1-888-WAIT-WAIT. That's 1-888-924-8924. Now it's time to welcome our first listener contestant. Hi, you're on Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me.

Hi, this is Connor Van Meter calling from Atlanta, Georgia.

Hey, Connor, how are you? What do you do there in Atlanta?

I'm doing great. I'm an epidemiologist that works for an academic research group supporting infectious disease modeling and analytics.

Oh, wow. Well, all I can say is I'm glad there's at least one person left doing that. Connor, welcome to our show. Let me introduce you to our panel this week. First up, a comedian who will be hosting the show Thank You, Good Night, every other Tuesday this summer at Chicago's Second City. It's Adam Burke. Hi, Connor. next a comedian you can see right here in milwaukee at the laughing tap on july 11th in the muslims are coming with equally threatening friends show nagin farsad and a comedian you can see july 24th and 25th at the grand comedy club in escondido california and then july 30th through august 1st at punchline in irving texas it's alonzo Bowden. What's up, Conor? So, Conor, as you know, you're going to play Who's Alzo this time. Alzo Slade is going to read for 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 for your voicemail. Are you ready to go? I'm ready. All right. Your first quote is from a sports broadcaster. Team USA looks like they've never played soccer before. That was Steve Peralt talking about how the host country's team got bounced out of what big tournament the world cup that's right the 2026 fifa world cup now i know what you're thinking fifa the peace prize people so us is out and now we all have left in the tournament or like argentina and Switzerland and some countries that haven't been bad for the Jews. Now, the early rounds of the tournament were filled with these great Cinderella stories like Curaçao and Cape Verde, but now it's just down to the usual soccer powers. The World Cup gets a lot less exciting once it's just the G8.

Well, I haven't been watching the World Cup because that requires cable, so I've been watching El Copa Mundial. Oh, yes! That's on Telemundo. And it's free, and it's way more fun. It's so much more fun than Telemundo.

Yeah, it really is. I actually was watching Telemundo broadcast the U.S. game, their last game, and I don't understand Spanish very well, especially spoken with that excitement. I didn't know what they were saying, but their tone as the game went on. Well, I got to the point where I was like, can I speak Spanish now?

But then I realized they were just saying words in English, because they were just going like, I've been just absolutely loving it.

It's great. The cup's been exciting. It's been great. It's amazing how many Africans are in Belgium. Like, I had no idea that Belgium was an African paradise. Let's not look into why that is.

Many American fans have decided, now that our team's out of it, to root for really the breakout story of the tournament, Erling Haaland of Norway, right? Oh, he's got fans. He's scored almost as many goals in the tournament as Messi. He is totally charming on social media, and he loves everything about America, and he is enormous. Everybody, including himself, says he looks like a viking shrek that's so mean

he said it

he posed for a picture on instagram next to like a

big guy dressed as Shrek saying me and my twin brother that's who he is and it's not just his looks he's always have this goofy expression on his face like he scores a goal and he looks and he's like oh I'm such a stinker that's that's the official slogan of the vikings

but also I love the amount that these guys love America like I love that people are like Taco Bell have you tried this garbage it's amazing like that I'm a little bit like I'm Proud to be an American. You know what I mean? Every time they discover Waffle House, I'm just filled brimming with pride.

Yeah.

All right.

Here is your next quote. It's from a TV show that's airing its season finale this weekend. It's not called Friend Island. That is a famous catchphrase from what is the most popular TV show in America right now? What is it? Love Island. Yes, exactly. Love Island. Very good. And if you're not familiar with Love Island, how is that possible? It's on, no joke, every day. And it's the only way to say really hot people on TV. Except, of course, for ABC World News Tonight with David Muir. Basically, if you haven't seen it, beautiful people go to this beautiful tropical island and they couple up and whoever the audience ultimately votes as the best couple wins. So if you still don't get it, just imagine the movie Castaway, but in the end, Tom Hanks and the volleyball hookup. I will say, from what I've heard, some of them are about as smart as a volleyball. Yeah. One of the things that's happened this season that's brought attention to the show is these clips that have been going around of, well, the very attractive contestants not being very bright. For example, there's now a famous quote from this season when a woman said this, talking about compromise. She said, I'm going to compromise with you. We're going to compromise, right? And people just love this, and this is true. Experts are now looking at the show, and they're saying, this is great. It's helping shine a light on the growing worldwide literacy crisis. Or, as they say on the island, lighter assy.

I don't know. I feel like I feel like there's some women in the audience who've heard a compromise before

um it didn't pan out I would say in their defense in their defense they weren't hired for this show

based on brain that's true you make a good point I mean yeah okay one other point somebody said epitome instead of epitome fine somebody somebody else said that their love interest of the moment was a, quote, a ball of fresh air.

I like to think that, like, this is an edited show, right? To present a certain picture of these people. I like to think what they edit out is them reading like Ulysses to each other, right? This is all performance art, and we're just catching their worst moments in between.

The one thing I think it's safe to say about the cast of Love Island, they will never know NPR was making fun of them. That's true.

that's true here you go here is your last quote rule 24 early risers keep it down that was just one of the Washington Post's list of 42 different rules for how to behave when you go on what with all your friends this summer

oh man traveling?

when you go on vacation with your friends new market data shows that sharing a vacation house with your friends is becoming more popular than ever. So this week, the Post published their 42 rules for renting a house with a friend group. It's the kind of list that if somebody sent it to you, you would not go on vacation with them. Rule number one is

actually don't ever do this. Right, pretty much. No, but many of the rules are obvious, like, you

know, agree on your budget before you book a place, right? Many of them, though, end up about navigating conflicts that may arise as the group, like, lives together in the house. For example, rule 23 is the biggest beds go to couples. Sorry, thrupples.

Oh, wait, is there a rule that's like, um, you can hit on your friend's boyfriend,

but only once. Is that one of the rules? Uh, not one of the ones I read. Maybe that's one of the unwritten rules. Yes. How many of the rules are about the hot tub? 41 no we're not talking about love island anymore we've moved on also how did connor do in our quiz he did great three out of three congratulations connor thanks so much y'all thanks for the good work you do here and in the real world take care

Right now, panel, it is time for you to answer some questions about this week's news. Alonzo, saunas old, boring. Now there's a new luxury amenity that billionaires are adding to their homes. It's a dedicated room where they can go in any time of year and experience what?

Watching poor people try to survive. And by poor people, I mean all of us. Yeah, I know. No, give me a hint. No, they go into a room in their mansion. They have a room dedicated to this activity.

The experience of having what?

The experience of having...

I'll give you a hint. It's like your own private winter wonderland. Snow? Yes. They're called snow rooms. The New York Times reported the ultra-rich are building these snow rooms into their mansions. Think of a snow globe, but way bigger. And instead of a Santa, there's a naked Russian oligarch. the the rooms use a variety of snowmaking devices and cooling technology to create an active snow fall so that you can enjoy your winter pleasures in your house the highest end snow rooms come with a window and actors to play poor people standing outside shivering so peter we're in

vaguely the same age group yes you know we share memories we do remember the good old days when you didn't know what billionaires did it's true like when you just they had their own world and we lived in the real world and they they may have had snow rooms and we were better off not knowing

i mean i mean i have a snow room it's called a hole in the roof

Coming up, bring an umbrella to our Bluff the Listener game.

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From NPR and WBEZ Chicago, this is Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, the NPR News Quiz. I'm Alzo Slade. We're playing this week with Alonzo Bowden, Adam Burke, and Nageen Farsad. And here again is your host at the Riverside Theater in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Peter Sago. Thank you, Alza, right now.

It's time for the... Thank you, everybody. Thank you all so much. Right now it's time for the Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me Bluff, the listener game. Call 1-888-Wait-Wait to play our game in the air. Hi, you are on Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me.

Hi, Peter. This is Sarah from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Welcome to our great city. Thank you. Why are you at home? Why aren't you here with us? Well, yeah, I did try to get tickets, but this is the second best thing. It is. Well, I mean, maybe even better, because I'm not talking to any of these people. That's true. What do you do here in this fabulous city by the lake?

Well, I work as a proud librarian for Milwaukee Public Schools. Hey! That's enough said.

well it's great to have you with us if not in person here talking with us you're going to play our game

moment you must try to tell truth from fiction what is sarah's topic alzo storms are coming who doesn't love a really good storm filling the wind hearing the thunder watching the weatherman do a report from the street hoping this time he gets sucked up into a tornado this week we heard about something that was surprising that happened in the middle of a storm our panelists are going to tell you about it pick the one who's telling the truth and win the wait waiter of your choice in your voicemail you ready to apply i'm ready first great first let's hear from alonzo bowden all right just

is the Fourth of July fireworks for Sag Harbor ended last weekend. Chaos ensued. A violent storm hit. Trees were falling. Debris was flying. People were panicked and running for cover. But pity the poor souls who ran to Les Bilboquets. Neither they nor the storm had reservations, and no one was getting past the host. The well-known Sag Harbor French restaurant did not let people in despite 80 mile per hour winds and emergency alerts blaring. No reservation, no shelter. I mean, they weren't even adhering to the dress code. It clearly states no soaking wet people. In an ironic, almost historical twist, people turned away from the French restaurant found shelter in a nearby American hotel. No word yet on whether future storms with more advance notice will be allowed at Le Bill bouquet. A fancy restaurant in Sag

Harbor won't let people in to take shelter from the storm because you see they hadn't made a reservation. Your next Tempest tale comes from Nagin Farsal. The movie Shawshank Redemption has

inspired many things like prison escapes and parodies. It's even inspired me to lay on my couch and watch it again for the 40th time. The most surprising of all is tourism to the Ohio State Reformatory Prison in Mansfield, where the movie was filmed. This ain't your granddaddy's prison. This is a tourist destination. Members of the Shawshank Forever Fan Club were scheduled to do their annual walk along the Shawshank Trail this past weekend, but considered canceling because of the extreme weather forecast in Mansfield. But then they thought, no, let's lean in. They went full reenactment. It was already raining when they met at the Mansfield sewer tunnels. They smeared their faces with mud to look like they had just emerged from poop. Then they started the walk with that famous moment where Tim Robbins raises his hands to the sky as he's pounded by rain, but this time they experienced the full epiphany with actual rain and thunder and down trees, and actually it was super dangerous, but they all carried suits they had stuffed in plastic bags all the way to the 7-Eleven where they changed and toasted with a hot dog. In the end, heavy drops of climate change

never felt so good. Shawshank Redemption fans use the happy accident of a storm to recreate the movie accurately. Your last story of stormy

weather comes from Adam Burke. Every year the National Society of Benjamin Franklin re-enactors meet up to diligently recreate one of the famous polymath's many achievements. One time they gathered for a mass recital on a glass harmonium, and others saw a group trip to Paris to just be real messy bitches. But this year, the society descended on Franklin's adopted hometown of Philadelphia to commemorate the 275th anniversary of the Founding Fathers' groundbreaking electric kite experiment, with even the weather cooperating to produce a fierce lightning storm on the required day. It was an absolute disaster, which is to say it worked a little too well. says Kurt Wapner, one of the several poor Richards, to be partially electrocuted that day. While the real Franklin and his son conducted their kite and key study from the relative safety of a shed, many of the 200 counterfeit Benjamins flew their kites while completely exposed to the elements and either received nasty shocks or injured themselves falling. It's a good thing a lot of them were wearing rubber Crocs at the time, says local ER doctor Samantha Webb or it could have been worse although I wish they hadn't insisted on staying in character while I was trying to treat them

Alright one of these things happened recently in a storm that made the news was it from Alonzo Bowden a fancy restaurant in Sag Harbor New York refused to let people in to shelter them from the storm because they simply hadn't called ahead to reserve a table from Nagin Farsad Shawshank Redemption fans use the accident of a storm to just recreate that magical moment of Tim Robbins' escape from the prison, or from Adam Burke, Benjamin Franklin reenactors do too good a job reenacting his experiments flying a kite in a thunderstorm. Which one was the real story we found in the news?

Well, I think, Peter, the one that's probably most believable is A. Is A. To me, yes.

A for Alonzo, in this case, his story of the...

Yes, in the first week, yes. All right, that's your choice. Well, to bring you the correct answer, we spoke to a reporter who covered it. They wouldn't let people in. They were like, do you have a reservation? They left people outside with 80-mile-per-hour winds. You were right. That was Mara Sigler, senior reporter for The New York Post, talking about the reservations being required during the storm out in Sag Harbor. Congratulations, Sarah. You got it right. Thank you so much. We earned a point for Alonzo just for telling the truth in an entertaining way. You've won our prize, the voice of anyone you might choose for your voicemail. Thank you so much for playing with us today. Thank you. Take care. And now the game we call Not My Job, a lot of famous musicians started young. But when Jason Narduzzi was playing with his first punk band in clubs all over Chicago, He was 11 years old. In the short time that's passed since then, he's collaborated with Bob Mould, Superchunk, Eddie Vedder, and many others, plus his own project, Split Single. And most recently, he's been touring the world with actor Michael Shannon as they perform R.E.M. albums in their entirety. Jason Narduzzi, welcome to Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Thank you. Okay, fact check. Really true. you're 11 years old and you have a punk band and you're playing in bars yeah yeah i got my first

guitar when i was 10 years old thank you mom and stepdad yeah uh and i immediately was captivated by punk rock this is in 1982 and i lucked out i met these kids on my block who also like punk rock and we formed a band evanston's own verboten oh that's that's hardcore with an umlaut oh of course it had an umlaut over the oh so you took it seriously yeah i i i have so many questions

like what kind of punk rock songs do 11 year olds write like raging against the injustice of an

eight o'clock bedtime yeah i think we only really got there twice we tried so hard to be punk yeah yeah um but our singer tracy was just this fireball of charisma and she immersed herself in the punk rock community and got us a gig at Cubby Bear. The Cubby Bear, which is a very famous, very famous bar. In Chicago, opening up for Naked Ray Gun when I was 11. And I think no one would believe that that happened, but my dad drove me to the gig. Yeah. Sure. And he brought one of those 1983 camcorders and put it on his shoulder.

Enormous, enormous thing. Yeah. And he videotaped it. So how could you, once you do that as an 11-year-old, how could you ever do anything else with your life? Do it better. Yeah, I guess. And famously, Dave Grohl of Nirvana and then the Foo Fighters says that it was you and maybe that band that inspired to get him into rock and roll? He and Tracy are cousins.

Right. So he came to Evanston when he was 13 and saw his practice, and he's just very sweet to credit us with inspiring him. Right. He's like, someday I'm going to do that. Well, he made the HBO show Sonic Highways and interviewed me and Tracy and showed footage from Cubby Bear. My dad got paid.

All right, finally. More than me. I love what Martin Scorsese was to the band. Your dad was to you. and this I love so that band Verboten reunited 40 years after breaking up they came to me

they said we heard some festivals might hire us and I said you guys haven't played music for over 40 years how are we going to do this and we don't have enough music to play a festival and the music that we have I wrote when I was 11 I just I didn't, I mean, I love their enthusiasm, and they're some of my closest friends, Tracy, Chris, and Zach, and John, Aaron, and, um, but I just said, how are we going to do this? And then I said, well, maybe I'll take some time to write new songs while you guys practice. And they were game for it, and I have to say, we played on the main stage of Riot Fest as our union show.

were there like incredibly ancient puck rock fans who were wearing their original verboten merchandise from 1982

I love that you think that we had merchandise

I guess my question is what are the reasons a band would break up when you're 11 years old we broke up when I was 12 and yeah I just felt like I needed to go through

puberty without band drama so I also I wanted to ask you about your latest project you've done so many things you have been touring I believe the world right you've been to Europe and other places with Michael Shannon the actor yeah and you're doing entire REM albums yeah you started with their first one, which was Murmur, right? And a lot of questions. Michael Shannon, known primarily as an excellent actor, Chicago guy. When he came to you and said, hey man, I'm a singer, I want to do this. You're like, oh God, an actor who thinks he can sing. It's William Shatner. What was your

reaction? Golden voices. Yeah. Well, the funny thing is, is that we've been doing this for 10 years in Chicago, where Michael would say, I'm going to come to town. Can you book a club, put together a band and we'll play one entire record and we do that like once a year we did a Bob Dylan record we did Modern Lovers we did Neil Young Zuma we did T-Rex we did so many records like this but then in 2023 we put an REM record and it just exploded I asked Mike if he's ever done a rock tour he said no I said I think we could do one you want to do it he said yeah keep but short. You know, he's a busy guy. He is. So we booked a nine-day tour, and the first two shows were in San Francisco. The third show was in Minneapolis. Great routing on my part. And after the first song in Minneapolis at First Avenue, we finished the first song, Radio Free Europe, and the 1,100 people just, ah! There's that thing that you always wish you could hear. And I have videotape of this. Michael takes a couple steps back and slowly walks up to the mic and says holy wait oh sorry that's okay okay

do you have videotape or does your dad have videotape still out there still in the betamax well jason reduzi it is a pleasure to talk to you we have invited you here to play a game we're calling meet this undercover band so as we have established you're great at playing covers but what do you know about going undercover? We're going to ask you about agents who go undercover to catch the bad guys. Get two right, you'll win our prize for one of our listeners, the voice of anyone they might choose for their voicemail. Also, who is Jason Narduce playing for? Owen Bostwick of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. There you go, local. So here's your first question. Ready to do this? Yeah. All right. Sometimes undercover operations are too successful, Like in the case of a group of cops in Detroit who posed as drug buyers in 2017 and then did what? Was it A, bought so much drugs for themselves, the actual drug-using community staged a protest at City Hall? B, increased the local drug trade so much, Detroit won City of the Year from the National Drug Traffickers Association? Or C, successfully busted another group of undercover cops who were posing as drug dealers? I'm so glad that you guys wrote these for a punk rock musician. I do, yeah. I'll go with C. You're going to go with C, and you're correct. The undercover drug buyers successfully arranged a big buy for some big-time drug dealers and then shouted, they're under arrest. At the same time, the drug dealers shouted, no, you're under arrest. And this is true. A fist fight between the two groups of cops ensued. That was very good. Here's your next question. And just last month, just last month, police in Peru pulled off a brilliant undercover sting. Their undercover agents got close enough to a major narco-trafficker to arrest him by disguising themselves as what? A, the World Cup mascots, B, delivery robots, or C, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelsey. I'll go with A. You're right, A. Very good. the cops knew the uh drug trafficker would be watching the opening game of the world cup so they dressed up two officers as clutch the bald eagle and maple the moose i'm sure you know those are two of the mascots of the world cup all right here's your last question get this you'll be perfect a texas police officer went undercover to investigate a bartender suspected of selling meth and immediately ran into a challenge when the bartender asked him are you a cop what did he do did he a ask what is a cop anyway starting a 20-minute philosophical b said are you a drug dealer and when she said yes arrested her or c said yeah i'm a cop here's my microphone holding out his actual

microphone, and then asked if she would still sell him drugs. And she did. Oh, I see a lot of drug buyers here in Milwaukee. They really want me to go with C. They do want you to go with C. I'll go with C. They're right. You're right. It was C. Also, how did Jason

Narduzzi doing our quiz. He did all right because he got them all right. You did really well.

Covered that. Jason Narduzzi is a musician who's about to go on tour with his friend Michael Shannon celebrating the 40th anniversary of REM's life's rich pageants. He's also the author of a funny and charming and short memoir called Mostly the Van. Jason Narduzzi, thank you so much for joining us on Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Jason Narduzzi. In just a minute, whatever you do, don't relax. Find out why. In our Listener Limber Challenge, call 1-888-Wait, Wait to join us in the air. We'll be back in a minute with more of Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me from NPR.

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From NPR and WBEZ Chicago, this is Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, the NPR News Quiz. I'm Alzo Slade. We're playing this week with Alonzo Bowden, Adam Burke, and Nageen Farsad. And here again is your host at the Riverside Theater in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Peter Sagal. Thank you so much,

Thank you, everybody. Coming up, listeners sensitive to limericks may want to step away from the show for a few minutes because pretty soon it will be our listener limerick challenge. If you'd like to play, give us a call at 1-888-WAIT-WAIT. That's 1-888-924-8924. Right now, panel, some more questions for you from the week's news. Nagin, the relationship columnists at the New York Times this week summed up all the best advice that they have gathered over their careers. And one useful tip is that you should give your romantic partner a list of what? Gifts. A list of... Let me give you a hint. Let me give you a hint. May I? Things like the way you tip your ugly hat. The way you loudly gulp your tea. A list of criticisms? A list of things... I'll give it to you. A list of things they do that turn you off. Oh. Yes. A psychologist says that people are too focused on adding things to their experiences between the sheets, but it might be a better idea to remove things that ruin the experience, like using the phrase between the sheets. You know what? We have the top of my list. What? Receiving a list. Yeah.

I recently, I love my husband. I think he's the best.

That said. Nagi. Nagi.

I honestly, like, don't have very many criticisms of it, but I did share with him, like, the other day that I think he eats too many apples.

All right. It's like a lot of apples. Hold on, stop. We had a moment where we all knew that Nagim was going to say something critical of her husband. Who here in this room anticipated it was going to be that?

the idea the idea that a woman of your caliber settled for one of those apple

you could do so much better define define too many apples like literally it's like

five to seven apples a day oh my god like it's a lot

Sometimes he'd come home at night smelling of cider.

Well, and by the way, those are just the apples I know about. Oh, my God. I don't know what he's doing out on those streets.

Do you think he's hiding apples eating from you? Do you think he's lying to you about his apple eating? It's a problem. Your husband, I hate to say this, is cheating on you with a horse.

Did you find a folder on his computer just called Golden Delicious?

Adam, this week, the New York Times reported that in a new dating trend, people who are tired of nonchalant dating are instead trying what they are really calling what?

So it's the opposite of nonchalant. It is. Is it like gum to your head dating? Is it like you're overthinking it? High stakes dating.

No, the opposite of nonchalant is... Chalant. Yes. Chalant dating, ladies and gentlemen. What? The latest trend. Yes, it's called Chalant Dating. And the idea is, this is crazy, people actually put effort and care into their dating life. I mean, it's, oh yeah, basically it's dating like you're desperate, right? Oh, I'll pick up the check and then also give you $20. I love you. So no apples. No apples. No, the New York Times says Chalant Dating, honestly, they're calling at that it involves things like being openly into your partner and supporting their career and the model for this is taylor and travis known for their shallante he was so she was so into his

career which is easy his career is football games but here's real quick about taylor and travis the only thing i'll say can we all agree that from now on now that she's married all of her music

is gonna suck i'm excited for an era where she can write songs about like whatever brunch pokemon like whatever you know what i mean like she can just finally stop talking about it instead

of writing about her boyfriends who betrayed her she can write songs about her husband who went

ahead and finished the netflix show without her i'm fascinated that this this they're the example for this so if a guy meets a woman who's a world famous billionaire yes he should be into her no because i'm single and if this ever comes up if i ever meet a woman who's a world famous billionaire i'll be like you know what you're interesting yeah

coming up it's lightning fell 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 1-888-924-8924. You can catch us most weeks at the Studebaker Theater in downtown Chicago. And come see us on the road. We'll be at the Rose Music Center in Huber Heights, Ohio. That's just outside of Dayton on September 3rd. For tickets and info to all our live events, go to nprpresents.org. Hi, everyone. Wait, wait, don't

tell me. Hi, this is Mary Blair from Monroe, Connecticut. Oh, how

are things in Monroe, Connecticut? They're

great i'm so glad what do you do there um i am a middle school librarian oh my gosh

you're the you're you're the second you're the second school librarian we've had on this show and now i think i finally understand who our demographic is

yes i love it i i actually um was a literacy specialist before that and i so i just finished my first year as a librarian and um we had more than 1300 more books checked out this year than

in previous years that's fabulous if you if you however are a literacy specialist i know an island where they could use your services well welcome to the show mary alzo slade of course is going to perform for you three news related limericks with the last word or phrase missing from each if you can fill in that last word or phrase correctly, and two of the limericks will be a winner. Ready

to go? Here I am. All right, here's your first limerick. When I travel, I don't overthink it. I buy souvenir liquor and drink it. Then I keep the shot glass. I've got them in mass. I love to

collect a cheap... Trinket. Yes, the Wall Street Journal this week covered the throngs of people who proudly collect cheap souvenir crap on vacations. Of course we all buy that stuff. If you don't bring home those cheap, tacky souvenirs, how are you supposed to remember what cities are for lovers? People shared with the journal their collections of collectible mugs and magnets and sculptures made from tiny shells. It's astonishing how something you will never use and don't actually want becomes something you absolutely must have once Pensacola is printed on it. I think it's great to have those, especially if you end up having kids, it's great to have those and keep them and remind your kids why you're bitter towards them. Yeah. This is the places we used to go. Exactly. I had a life before. Yeah. Why? I used to travel all over the world collecting little spoons. All right. Here is your next limerick.

While foot fashion mavens may smirk in shock.

Seriously.

Hey, let me cook. Let me cook. All right. Podiatrists proudly say, work your walk. A wide footbed of cork makes a high-fashioned dork. A ballet flat that's also a...

Birkenstock? You got it! What? You got it in one! Birkenstock's new collaboration with the French ballet shoe company Reperto is a hippie ballerina's dream. It's perfect for anyone who loves the ballet, but just wishes you could see all the toes. The collection reimagines Birkenstock's famous sturdy silhouettes with details like ballet-inspired colors and ribbon lacings. It really brings that I'm riding my e-bike to the co-op vibe to classical dance.

What scares me about this is when the Crocs people find out.

Oh, no! That's a much easier word to write. Here is your last limerick.

As my free time is turned to the max, my chill vibe is showing some cracks. As I decompress, my mind starts to stress. I have had too much time to...

Relax.

Right.

The Washington Post reported new research this week that shows that relaxing the way we do it these days does not actually make you happier, right? It makes sense. One minute it's like, oh, I'm going to be so happy reading in this hammock. And the next minute it's like, hello, 911, I'm stuck in a hammock. Experts, there are always experts, say that we're relaxing wrong by binge watching TV or scrolling on our phones. Okay, maybe, but what? Try this. If you're binge watching and scrolling in your phone at the same time that's a good time also how did mary do in

our quiz she did great three out of three congratulations mary thank you

take care and keep up the good work thank you so much

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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?

Absolutely. Adam and Alonzo are tied up at three, and Nagin has a little work to do with two. All right. What?

So, Nagin, you're in second place, so you're going to be up first. The clock will start when I begin your first question. Fill in the blank. Here we go. On Wednesday, Democratic Senate candidate blank dropped out of the race in Maine.

Graham Plattner. Right.

This week, the health workers battling blank in the Democratic Republic of Congo went on strike.

Ebola.

Right. This week, a collapsing high-rise in blank forced evacuations of other buildings in the neighborhood.

Midtown Manhattan.

Yes. On Wednesday, a federal judge rejected blank's attempt to delay his $5 million payment to E. Jean Carroll. Trump. Right. This week, a bank manager in South Korea who stole almost $50,000 from a bank vault was caught even though he covered his tracks by blanking.

Uh, peeing on his tracks.

No. By replacing the cash he stole with fake money that had cartoon ducks on it.

On Thursday, NASA said it was seeking volunteers for a year-long simulated mission to blank. Jupiter. Mars. Jupiter? On Wednesday, it was announced that Justin Bieber would perform at the final halftime show of the blank. World Cup. Right. This week, two teens in North Carolina were arrested when they were caught breaking into their school using blank. Mittens. No, a homemade plasma cannon. According to police, the two teams used a homemade plasma cannon made from metal glass and a propane tank to melt a hole through the school's front door and gain entry to the building. It's the kind of story that makes you say, actually, maybe it's okay to cut funding from STEM education. Alzo, how did Nguyen do on our quiz?

She did pretty good. She got five right for 10 more points with a total of 12. She's now in the lead. All right.

Let me arbitrarily pick Alonzo to go next. Here we go, Alonzo, fill in the blank. During the NATO summit, Trump held a press conference with Ukrainian President Blank. Oh, Zelensky. Close enough, Zelensky. Following a days-long funeral procession, Blank buried their supreme leader on Thursday. Iran. Right. This week, three more people were charged with vandalizing the blank in Washington, D.C. The reflecting pool. Right. On Monday, meteorologists warned that the super blank may be worse than predicted. El Nino. Yes, the super El Nino. Following demand from tourists visiting the U.S. for the World Cup, Blank announced it was offering special VIP tours. Taco Bell? No, Walmart. Under a new FTC ruling, owners of lawn and farm equipment made by Blank will be allowed to repair it themselves. John Deere? Right. On Monday, the royal family said that Blank would not stay at Buckingham Palace during his visit to the U.K.

Oh, Prince... Is it Harry? I don't know.

Yes, it's Harry. This week, two teenagers in North Carolina who were driving around shooting BB guns and drinking were arrested when Blank called the cops on them.

Grown men driving around with BB guns. No. Shooting them.

The two teenagers were arrested when the Waymo they were in called the cops on them. Oh! So the kids called a Waymo, and they were, like, driving around in it, shooting their toy guns out the window at people and enjoying what the police called, quote, afternoon libations, but they quickly regretted the decision when the Waymo pulled over and called the cops. What a narc. We're one step away from a Waymo being like, hey, that doesn't look like your wife back there with you.

Also, how did Alonzo do in our quiz? He got six right for 12 more points, which gives him a total of 15 and the lead.

All right, so how many then does Adam Burke need to win it?

Six to tie, but seven to win.

All right, Adam, this is for the game. Fill in the blank. On Wednesday, Trump said that the U.S.'s ceasefire with blank was over. Right. Iran. After three weeks, former Senate Majority Leader blank remains hospitalized. Mitch McConnell. Right. This week, residents in Berlin were shocked when local blanks started leaving free samples in their mailboxes. Squirrels? No, local ketamine dealers. This week, the CDC warned that a mysterious blank bug was spreading across the U.S. Is it the explosive diarrhea one? It is. On Tuesday, space company Blank officially joined the NASDAQ 100. SpaceX. Right. On Tuesday, the Olympics lifted their suspensions on the team from Blank. Russia. Right. With 25 nominations, the Pitt led the pack for the 2026 Blank Awards. Emmys. Right. This week, a man in Scotland was arrested and charged with trying to use Blank as a weapon. His breath. No, a seagull. Witnesses say the man grabbed two seagulls by the legs And then used one to try to hit a passerby But why grab two? Obviously One was for the crime The other was for his getaway Also, did Adam do well enough to win? No, he didn't I told you

But But He got six right Which means he's tied with Alonzo Bowden, and they are now co-champions. Co-champions. Excellent.

All right.

I guess I'm just a piece of garbage. How about them apples?

Yeah. In just a minute, we're going to ask our panelists to predict after Love Island what will be the next hit reality show. But first, let me tell you all. Wait, wait, don't tell me. It's a production of NPR and WBEZ Chicago in association with Urgent Haircut Productions, Doug Berman, Benevolent Overlord, and Tech Support. Philip Godica writes our limericks. Our public address announcer is Paul Friedman. Our ops manager is Jasira Vardak. B.J. Liederman composed our theme. Our program is produced by Jennifer Mills, Miles Dornbos, and Lillian King. Special thanks this week to Blythe Roberson. Peter Gwynn is Milwaukee's second best. Emma Choi is our vibe curator. Technical directions from Lorna White. Our CFO is Colin Miller. Our production manager is Robert Newhouse. Our senior producer is Ian Chillock. And the executive producer.

Wait, wait, don't tell me. It's Mr. Michael Danforth. Now, panel, what will be the next great reality show? Nageen Farsad.

Brain Island, where contestants have to successfully explain a law of physics before they can have sex with another contestant.

Alonzo Bowden.

Scroll, where young people go to the most interesting places in the world and ignore them while they scroll on their phones.

And Adam Burke. What Island, a show about Trump's legal defense team.

And if any of that happens, panel will ask you about it on Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me.

Thank you, Alzo Slave. Thanks also to Adam Burke, Vigie Farsad, and Alonzo Bowden. Thanks to Matt Berringer and the entire staffing crew here at the Riverside Theater. Special thanks to everyone at WUWM here in Milwaukee. Thanks to our fabulous audience here who came out to see us in beautiful downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Thanks to all of you for listening at home. A beautiful thing we'll see in Chicago next week. This is NPR.

Listen to Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me sponsor-free with Amazon Music Unlimited. Get started on the Amazon Music app, or you can also support NPR's vital journalism and get NPR Plus at plus.npr.org.

This is Tanya Mosley, co-host of Fresh Air. From mail-in ballots to racial gerrymandering, a lot is at stake for America's free and fair elections. I spoke with journalist Ari Berman about what he calls a final blow to the Voting Rights Act.

My fear is that we are returning to a politics of Jim Crow in the South.

Listen to Fresh Air on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.