Our (early) endless summer with Lucy Dacus and more!

Summary

Podcast Summary: Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!

Episode: Our (early) endless summer with Lucy Dacus and more!
Date: May 30, 2026
Host: Peter Sagal (with Bill Curtis and panelists)
Description: NPR's news quiz and comedy hour, revisiting standout interviews and segments from the past year as the summer season begins. Guests include Tiffany Haddish, Taimane, Becca Mann, and Lucy Dacus.

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Episode Theme & Overview

This special episode of "Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!" kicks off the summer by revisiting some of the year's most entertaining segments and guest interviews. Instead of the usual quiz format alone, the episode spotlights extended conversations with comedian Tiffany Haddish, ukulele virtuoso Taimane, champion swimmer Becca Mann, and singer-songwriter Lucy Dacus, interspersed with signature news quizzes and the show’s playful, quick-witted banter.

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Key Segments & Discussion Points

1. Tiffany Haddish: The Art of Being an “Energy Producer”

Segment Start: 01:16

Early Hustles & Comedy Career

• Tiffany shares her unusual early job as an "energy producer" for events:
  • “Bar, bat mitzvahs, executive parties, Christmas parties, Hanukkah parties, funerals, you name it. My job, produce amazing energy at that point.” (Tiffany Haddish, 01:29)
• Peter Sagal tries to clarify if this is the same as being a "hype woman," but Tiffany insists:
  • “What I call it is an energy producer.” (01:43)
• Demonstrates "energizing" a dull party:
  • She would personally lead guests onto the dance floor and get them moving, including an impromptu musical counting and clapping lesson with Peter as her stand-in. (02:57)

Memorable Moments & Insights

• Tiffany worked for 11 years as an energy producer, including at over 500 bar/bat mitzvah events (04:03–04:13).
• When she had her own adult Bat Mitzvah, she hired her former company and brought in Billy Crystal (Aaliyah) and Susan Silverman as officiant (05:06).
• On becoming successful, her first "big money" treat was a $359 microscope:
  • “...to me, it was me developing my relationship with God and just seeing all the things he created. And did you know that some bacterias look just like people?” (Tiffany Haddish, 05:51 & 06:12)
• Discusses her fascination with God’s creativity, comparing sharks’ dislike for humans to our acidity (06:44).

On the Quiz

• Tiffany plays a "Girls Trip/girl strips" quiz and brings her trademark energy and humor.
• Standout quote:
  • “I'm upset. I'm writing a letter.” (on Little Orphan Annie ending kidnapped, 10:56)

---

2. Taimane: Redefining the Ukulele

Segment Start: 14:08

Growing Up with the Ukulele

• Taimane began at age 5, busked on Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue by age 7.
• Mentored by Don Ho ("Uncle Don") for five years (15:27).
• Became internationally known, playing everything from classical to metal on ukulele.

Musical Demonstration

• Performs a ukulele cover (17:19), impressing all present and shifting expectations of the instrument’s range.
• Panel jokes about famous guitar riffs (“Stairway,” “Smoke on the Water”) on ukulele.

Miniature Golf Quiz

• Fun fact: Mini golf invented in Scotland in the 1860s to let women play without raising their arms (19:20).
• Early courses used dyed goat hair as turf (20:40); wildest global locations include 400 ft underground in a salt mine (21:17).
• Taimane aces the quiz—“She’s got the vibes. Three out of three.” (21:45)

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3. Becca Mann: Endurance Swimming & Oceanic Oddities

Segment Start: 22:21

On Ultra-Long-Distance Swims

• Swam across the Maui Channel; double national champion in the 10km swim.
• Physical effects:
  • “About nine hours in, my nostrils were swollen together, and then when I got out, my uvula was hanging onto the back of my tongue, and I couldn't swallow for the rest of the day. It was disgusting.” (23:06)
• Took a five-year hiatus after narrowly missing the Olympic team but returned to competitive form and the national team (23:48-24:18).

Ocean Experiences

• Swims with kayak and boat nearby for support (24:39).
• Encounters with peaceful sharks: “All of them were, like, very peaceful. And. Yeah, I love all the animals.” (25:31)
• Lighthearted riff on “My Octopus Teacher” (26:01).

Aquarium Quiz

• Factoids: San Antonio Aquarium’s octopus once grabbed a child; someone stole a shark by stroller (28:56).
• How to get sharks to mate: play Salt-N-Pepa’s “Push It” (29:59).
• “Push. It is a cross species. Sexy song.” (30:03)

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4. Lucy Dacus: Songwriting, Serendipity, & Springsteen

Segment Start: 40:11

The Accidental Debut Album

• Lucy recorded her first album as a favor for a friend’s school project, sneaking into Reba McEntire’s studio (40:17).
• Didn’t even check what grade her friend got (“I never asked him that.”)

Early Songwriting

• Wrote songs like “Stupid Cupid” and heartbreak songs... at age 7–8.
  • “I also had a song that was about people who are upset when someone cheats on them, but it is probably their fault because why would they cheat on you if you weren't hard to be with—again, I was probably like 8 years old.” (41:32)

Creativity & Jobs

• Wrote many songs while working a monotonous job at Richmond Camera:
  • “...eight hours a day, and so I would sit and do my, like, da da da da da da da da da. And then I had a pad of paper, and I would write songs...not, like, what I do anymore.” (42:19)
• Considers a simple day job to spark creativity again (42:45).

Holidays, Bruce Springsteen, & Meeting the Boss

• Released a record of songs tied to holidays—sometimes “inventing” holidays like Bruce Springsteen’s birthday (43:20).
• Meeting Springsteen:
  • “I showed up at a friend's birthday party and ... Saw him, and I was like, I need to go. I'm about to make a fool of myself...He actually, like, knew me and knew my music already. So I was just like, I think you're the best.” (44:30)

Boy Genius Quiz

• Questions about famous boy geniuses, including Doogie Howser and math prodigies.
• Revealed: Neil Patrick Harris hid medical lines inside the “surgical wound” (47:33), and “Our Little Genius” game show was unaired because the kids were being fed answers (48:13).
• Lucy goes three for three: “She did great. Three out of three.” (48:29)

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Notable Quotes

• “My job, produce amazing energy at that point.” – Tiffany Haddish (01:29)
• "We were so embarrassed during Hot Girl Summer when Peter and I showed up as lukewarm boys." – Bill Curtis (00:56)
• “About nine hours in, my nostrils were swollen together, and then when I got out of the water, my uvula was hanging onto the back of my tongue...” – Becca Mann (23:06)
• “We just said that Bruce Springsteen’s birthday is a holiday, which I stand by.” – Lucy Dacus (43:20)
• “He [Springsteen] actually, like, knew me and knew my music already. So I was just like, I think you’re the best.” – Lucy Dacus (44:30)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 01:16 – Tiffany Haddish interview
• 14:08 – Taimane interview & ukulele demonstration
• 22:21 – Becca Mann interview
• 40:11 – Lucy Dacus interview

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Tone & Language

• The episode maintains the lighthearted, irreverent, and energetic tone that characterizes "Wait Wait... Don’t Tell Me!", with frequent improvisational humor, playful banter, and panelist interjections.

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Conclusion

This “endless summer” episode is a quintessential sampler of "Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!": celebrity guests sharing candid and funny stories, improbable trivia, improvisational chemistry among panelists, and a general celebration of curiosity and humor. Standout moments include Tiffany Haddish’s unique approach to party motivation, Taimane’s genre-bending ukulele, Becca Mann’s wild open-water adventures, and Lucy Dacus’s rock-star modesty and fangirl moment with The Boss. The interviews are interwoven with the show's trademark wit and quick humor, making the episode enjoyable even if you missed the original airings.

Transcript

[Announcer]

This message comes from Dun and Bradstreet. In business, credibility matters. A Duns number builds trust and improves visibility for partnerships, credit and contracts. Get yours [e-mail] or download the My DNB mobile app.

[Bill Curtis]

From npr, nwbec Chicago. This is Wait, wait, don't tell me. The NPR News quiz. I I'm the only man still allowed to wear white after Memorial Day. Bill Curtis. And here's your host at the Studebaker Theater in the Fine Arts Building in Chicago, Illinois, Peter Sagal.

[Peter Sagal]

Thank you, Bill. Thank you, everybody. As you know, every summer has an official theme, so we're taking the week off to wait until this year's theme is announced. So Bill and I don't get it wrong.

[Bill Curtis]

We were so embarrassed during Hot Girl Summer when Peter and I showed up as lukewarm boys.

[Peter Sagal]

So while we wait for the official announcement, we're here to offer you some delightful things we did over the last year or so. Let's start with an extended version of our interview with actor and comedian Tiffany Haddish from November of 2025.

[Bill Curtis]

Peter, ask her what jobs she took to support herself during her early years. And one answer was a little surprising.

[Peter Sagal]

An energy producer at bar and bat mitzvahs.

[Tiffany Haddish]

Yeah, bar, bat mitzvahs, executive parties, Christmas parties, Hanukkah parties, funerals, you name it. My job, produce amazing energy at that point.

[Peter Sagal]

So wait a minute. So you were kind of a hype woman. You were like, got the crowd hyped up.

[Tiffany Haddish]

I wouldn't call that a hype woman. What I call it is an energy producer.

[Peter Sagal]

Producer. I got you. I got you. Peter. I'm just flashing back.

[Tiffany Haddish]

You call it a hype like Flavor Flav to me.

[Peter Sagal]

No, that's not it. Okay.

[Tiffany Haddish]

Amazing energy.

[Peter Sagal]

All right. Let me, let me try.

[Tiffany Haddish]

This is my grandma. Grandpa, get up out the cheer. The energy so good they gotta start dancing.

[Peter Sagal]

All right.

[Panelist Eugene]

Yeah.

[Peter Sagal]

So like I do, actually. So I'm thinking back many, many years to my own bar mitzvah. This was a very long time ago, and I did not have an energy producer of any kind.

[Tiffany Haddish]

And it was a boring party, wasn't it?

[Peter Sagal]

It was pretty dull. I'll be honest. It was pretty dull. Peter, it's too late now. It' late now, but it's never too

[Tiffany Haddish]

late to throw you a 67th birthday party.

[Peter Sagal]

We can do that and thank you for that estimate of my age. It crippled me. But first of all, so if you had been at my bar mitzvah many years ago, how could you. Could you briefly demonstrate how you would have energized the party so it was not the drab synagogue assembly room experience that it was.

[Tiffany Haddish]

First, I would go to you. And I would go, young Peter.

[Peter Sagal]

Yes.

[Tiffany Haddish]

Please take my beautiful brown hand and follow me, darling. And I would lead you out to the dance floor, and I would stand you right next to me and I would say, follow my lead. Do whatever I do. Okay. And smile the whole time. No matter how it feels, just smile the whole time. And I would start with a five to five step, right? And you, side to side step. Clap with me, Peter.

[Peter Sagal]

Do it.

[Tiffany Haddish]

That's right, Peter. That's what I'm talking about. Here we go. Hey. Coming up. Hey, hey, hey.

[Peter Sagal]

Pop it up.

[Tiffany Haddish]

Hey.

[Panelist Eugene]

And then next thing you know, the

[Tiffany Haddish]

whole home is fucking it up.

[Peter Sagal]

I am.

[Bill Curtis]

I am.

[Peter Sagal]

I retroactively. I am very excited and extraordinarily embarrassed. I am, like. Because that's. I. That. Yeah. That. Whoa. That is.

[Tiffany Haddish]

That's the Jewish way.

[Peter Sagal]

It is. Well, yes. Yes. Peter, I'm gonna be real with you. I've seen Tiffany.

[Panelist Katie]

She would. She could make a dreidel spin without spinning it.

[Peter Sagal]

She's got that energy.

[Panelist Katie]

She just. And then it just dreidels on out.

[Peter Sagal]

And you did this for how many years?

[Tiffany Haddish]

For 11 years.

[Peter Sagal]

11 years. Oh, wow.

[Panelist Eugene]

That was just a. Was one. It was one really long bar mitzvah.

[Tiffany Haddish]

No, no, I did 500.

[Peter Sagal]

500? Whoa. Oh, my God. Oh, there are rats.

[Tiffany Haddish]

I got flew out. I got flew out.

[Peter Sagal]

You got flown out? Hold on, people.

[Tiffany Haddish]

Flew out? It's flew out now. Flew out.

[Peter Sagal]

You flew. You flew out?

[Tiffany Haddish]

I flew out.

[Peter Sagal]

Were you flew out in a private jute? What was.

[Tiffany Haddish]

No, no, it was definitely public transportation.

[Bill Curtis]

Okay.

[Panelist Josh]

Yeah.

[Peter Sagal]

How come?

[Tiffany Haddish]

For.

[Panelist Eugene]

Wait, wait, don't tell me we didn't flute her in.

[Peter Sagal]

I should have.

[Tiffany Haddish]

He can't afford it. He can't afford it.

[Peter Sagal]

Blame Trump for that. All right, I gotta. That's sadly true. But you recently had your own Bat Mitzvah, right?

[Tiffany Haddish]

It was a few years ago. It was a few years ago.

[Peter Sagal]

Who did you hire? Because you have convinced me of the usefulness of this. Did you hire your own energy producer for your Bat Mitzvah or did you handle that yourself?

[Tiffany Haddish]

I hired the same company that I used to work for. I hired them, and we brought in younger, more vibrant energy producers. And then, like Billy Crystal did my Aaliyah.

[Peter Sagal]

No kidding.

[Tiffany Haddish]

Susan Silverman's sister. She, you know, officiated my whole Bat Mitzvah. Susan Silverman, like, it was the most beautiful.

[Panelist Josh]

It was beautiful.

[Peter Sagal]

I want to ask you, one of the things I also learned is that during your years of struggle, you still had ambitions. You knew, and you said sometimes in public that you were going to make it, you were going to be big. Now that, well, you have. You became incredibly famous with girls trip and many stuff since then. What is the, like, the first thing you did when you started making real money?

[Tiffany Haddish]

I bought a microscope.

[Peter Sagal]

A microscope?

[Tiffany Haddish]

Yeah, I bought a $359 microscope that took pictures of bacterias and I could upload those bacterias to Google and I could find out exactly what it is to me. Okay. So in my mind it was me developing my relationship with God and just seeing all the things he created. And did you know that some bacterias look just like people?

[Panelist Josh]

Really?

[Peter Sagal]

I mean, I thought they were like, they were like. Some of them were rod shaped and some of them were squiggly. But you're saying that you look through that.

[Tiffany Haddish]

Yeah. Some of them as ugly as. Just ugly. And I'm like, oh, God, God, I see what you was doing. This guy's a bacteria. Like this, right? Like this candida.

[Peter Sagal]

And I know that.

[Tiffany Haddish]

And I'm just curious about all this stuff God does. Like, that's why I like swimming with sharks and stuff. Because you see all the plant life and animal life down there, you just like, look how creative he is. He's so creative.

[Panelist Eugene]

That could be your last thought just before one of those sharks eats you.

[Tiffany Haddish]

I know, right? See, here go the thing. Sharks don't really like people like that. That's why they bite them and spit them out because we too acidic. So as long as I keep drinking soda girl, I'm good.

[Peter Sagal]

Tiffany Haddish, it is a joy to talk to you, but we have invited you here to play a game. And this time we are calling it girls trip.

[Bill Curtis]

Meet girl strip.

[Peter Sagal]

You start in girls trip. So we're going to ask you about comic strips, about girls, girl strips. Get it?

[Panelist Eugene]

Yeah.

[Peter Sagal]

Okay.

[Tiffany Haddish]

Oh, I thought it was gonna be something else.

[Peter Sagal]

I'm like, I know, I know.

[Tiffany Haddish]

Boy strip.

[Peter Sagal]

I know, I bet you do. But no, I wanted to clarify. That's what we're doing. We're a weekend show for family. So here we go.

[Tiffany Haddish]

Okay, the family show.

[Peter Sagal]

Let's go here. So answer two to three questions, right? You'll win our prize for one of our listeners. Bill, who is Tiffany Haddish playing for?

[Bill Curtis]

Liz Petterson of Atlanta, Georgia.

[Peter Sagal]

All right, here's your first question. The most famous girl strip is of course, Kathy. That long running strip about A single woman with issues, Kathy ended its run in 2010, but it left its mark on the comic strip industry. How? A, the strip in which she married her boyfriend Irving was so bad, the phrase marrying Irving now means ruining your comic strip forever. B, whenever a comic strip writer can't think of something for a character to say, they just say ack like Kathy did. Or C, the highest praise one comic artist can say to another is, I thought I was reading Kathy. Two, you're gonna go for B. A comic strip writer can't think of anything for a character to say. They just say, ack. No, I'm afraid it was marrying Irving really marrying Irving, because people believe that that completely ruined. That's like the comic strip equivalent of jumping the shark. Here's your next question. The Barbie dollar was in part originally inspired by a German newspaper comic strip called Lily. Who was Lilly, the character Lilly? Was she A, the beautiful wife of an ugly bricklayer named Kenneth, B, a quote, high end call girl, or C, a beauty pageant winner who became a surgeon, an astronaut, and an Olympic gymnast?

[Tiffany Haddish]

Well, I would like it to be C, but I feel like it's. Especially when Barbie came out and all of that around the time. I would go with A.

[Peter Sagal]

You're gonna go with the beautiful wife of an ugly bricklayer.

[Tiffany Haddish]

Wait, wait, wait. So what was the second one?

[Peter Sagal]

Second one was that Lily, the character on whom Barbie was partially based, was a, quote, high end call girl.

[Panelist Katie]

High end.

[Peter Sagal]

More of an escort, if you. Yes.

[Tiffany Haddish]

Well, then I'll go with B.

[Peter Sagal]

You're gonna go with B?

[Tiffany Haddish]

Yeah. Because the way her makeup was and stuff. And she always had her boobs out.

[Peter Sagal]

That's right. You have figured it out. That's what Lily was. So Lily was a. You got it right. Lily was a wrist comic for adults in the 50s in Germany. And the company started making dolls of Lilly. And the wife of one of the founders of Mattel was in Germany, saw one and said, hey, I can work with that. All right, here's your last question. The comic strip Little Orphan Annie ended its run in 2010. What was the adorable orphan's fate in the very last Little Orphan Annie comic strip? Was it A, she was being held captive by an Eastern European war criminal? B, she discovered her real parents were the Romanovs, making her heir to the Russian throne. Or C, she instantly aged the 90 years that had passed since the first strip and crumbled into dust. Like Thanos. Very much like Thanos, yes.

[Tiffany Haddish]

What was a again?

[Peter Sagal]

A again was that she was being held captive by an Eastern European war criminal.

[Tiffany Haddish]

Then I'mma go with she got kidnapped. And that's how they came with the movie Taken.

[Peter Sagal]

That's exactly right. Wow. In fact, I believe in the final frame of the final strip, Daddy Warbucks is saying into a phone, I have certain skills. No, in the end, in the very last strip, Annie, who by the way, during her life in the comics was constantly being kidnapped, Annie is being held in Guatemala by a man known as the Butcher of the Balkans. And as far as we know, she is still there.

[Tiffany Haddish]

I'm upset. I'm writing a letter.

[Peter Sagal]

All right, Bill, how did Tiffany Haddish do in our quiz?

[Bill Curtis]

Are you kidding? She rewrote the quiz.

[Peter Sagal]

She's a winner in everything you have. You have, you have brought the energy in this little ride. Peter, I told you. You told me and you did not exaggerate.

[Bill Curtis]

She's still going.

[Peter Sagal]

She's still going.

[Panelist Eugene]

Brian was your advance man. Tiffany.

[Peter Sagal]

Tiffany Haddish is an Emmy and gr. You can see her in her new show, Tiffany Haddish Goes Off. It is streaming on Peacock now. If it is a quarter as fun as talking to her in real life, it will be amazing. Tiffany Haddish, thank you so much. Thank you for being with us. You're the best.

[Panelist Eugene]

Thank you, Tim.

[Panelist Josh]

Thank you.

[Peter Sagal]

Bye bye. When we come back, we revisit our trip to Hawaii with a master of the ukulele and talk to a woman who set a record by swimming there. That's when we return with more. Wait, wait, don't tell me from npr,

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[Peter Sagal]

every

[Podcast Promo Voice]

episode of it's been a minute. NPR's what's Happening in Culture podcast starts by asking three question questions.

[Peter Sagal]

Who? How? Why now?

[Podcast Promo Voice]

If the culture's asking it, we're talking about it at npr. We stand for your right to be curious and indulge your cultural curiosity. Follow it's been a minute. Wherever you get your podcasts and we'll break down the zeitgeisty topics that are filling your feed.

[Bill Curtis]

From NPR and WBEZ Chicago, this is Wait, wait, don't tell me. The NPR News Quiz. I'm Bill Curtis, and here is your host at the Studebaker Theater and the Fine Arts Building in Chicago, Peter Sago.

[Peter Sagal]

Thank you, Bill. Thanks, everyone. Thank you so much. So we are spending the week preparing for summer, getting a base layer for our tans, and working on finally achieving that beach body.

[Bill Curtis]

Did you know they make suit jackets with matching Speedos?

[Peter Sagal]

So while we desperately hit the gym, here's some more delightful interviews from the past year to entertain you. In October of last year year, we all went to Hawaii, where we talked to one of the great living masters of that island's traditional instrument, the ukulele.

[Bill Curtis]

Peter's first question to Taimane. How the hell do you pronounce ukulele?

[Peter Sagal]

Ukulele. Uki. Ukulele. Uku. Ukulele.

[Taimane]

You got it.

[Peter Sagal]

How about if you give it the appropriate respectful name and I just continue to screw it up because that's, you

[Taimane]

know, we could do that for probably like 10 to 15 minutes.

[Peter Sagal]

We can do that. We can do that. That's really great. So you and I mentioned this, started playing the ukulele at a very young age, right?

[Taimane]

Yes. I started when I was five. And it was just the instrument that I grew up learning how to express myself.

[Peter Sagal]

Right.

[Taimane]

And I so happen to love classical music, metal music, but it's all played on this instrument.

[Peter Sagal]

Well, I want to, 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 5. You went out with your father.

[Taimane]

I started actually when I was seven. A little bit more mature.

[Peter Sagal]

Yeah. But that's a very reasonable age to send your child out onto the street to try to make money.

[Becca Mann]

Yes.

[Taimane]

I had a hard work ethic back in the day. And so I started playing on the streets of Kalakaua Avenue.

[Peter Sagal]

Right. That's the big commercial district in Waikiki with all the big shops on it, restaurants, tourists walking up and down all night.

[Taimane]

Exactly, exactly. I loved it. And I kept doing it until the age of 13.

[Peter Sagal]

Wow.

[Taimane]

And that's where one of the singers from the Dawn Ho show saw me playing was on the streets of Waikiki. And so I got to meet Uncle Don. I like to call him Uncle Don.

[Peter Sagal]

Sure.

[Panelist Eugene]

I like to call him Uncle Don.

[Taimane]

Right. Uncle Don. 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.

[Peter Sagal]

Right.

[Taimane]

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, everyone loves the ukulele.

[Peter Sagal]

That's absolutely true. That's absolutely true. 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 Big Yellow Taxi.

[Taimane]

I did.

[Peter Sagal]

Right. 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 this Them?

[Taimane]

Yes. I'm just going to go ahead and play it.

[Peter Sagal]

Go ahead.

[Panelist Katie]

And for those of you.

[Peter Sagal]

Yes. For those of you listening at home, this, this could be any of the panelists. You can't see this.

[Panelist Eugene]

Yeah, yeah.

[Peter Sagal]

All right, here we.

[Taimane]

It.

[Peter Sagal]

Sad. Wow, that's amazing.

[Panelist Eugene]

I, I was Phantom.

[Peter Sagal]

Yeah.

[Panelist Eugene]

I, I, I just, I was a little bit rusty, but once I got

[Peter Sagal]

going, I, I thought you were going to do, like, smoke on the water or something. But no, some. Can you do that? Hey.

[Tiffany Haddish]

Yes,

[Peter Sagal]

yes. Stairway. Wow. Well, Taimane, we have asked you here to play a game we're calling mini

[Scorekeeper]

guitar, meet mini golf.

[Peter Sagal]

So, okay, you like smaller instruments. We thought we'd ask you about the tiny version of golf, miniature golf. Answer two to three questions correctly, you'll win our prize for one of our listeners. Also, who is Taimane playing for?

[Scorekeeper]

Jim Joplin of Lawton, Oklahoma.

[Taimane]

All right, all right. Oklahoma.

[Peter Sagal]

And, you know, they just love the ukulele in Oklahoma. So here's your first question. Most historians agree that miniature 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 we 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.

[Taimane]

Oh, gosh. You know, I'm not much of a walker myself, so I would love to say be. Maybe not the vibe.

[Peter Sagal]

No,

[Taimane]

not the vibe. You know, there's other, you know, I'm just getting this feeling of a.

[Peter Sagal]

A, A, A, A. It is A. Yes, it's A.

[Taimane]

Thanks, you guys.

[Peter Sagal]

Apparently, back in Victorian Scotland, you couldn't have ladies scandalizing society by showing their pits. When in doubt, go with misogyny. Exactly. Always

[Tiffany Haddish]

got it.

[Peter Sagal]

All right. That was very good. Now, back in the early days, mini golf courses used to be 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.

[Taimane]

You know, I just keep getting these

[Peter Sagal]

feelings, these vibes, these feelings. Where does it come? The spirit of Aloha.

[Taimane]

You know, I'm gonna go with like the ocean. Like the. The sea.

[Peter Sagal]

The sea. Wise choice being this being Hawaii. Yes, it was C. Dyed 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 Stromboli, Italy, with real lava providing some of the obstacles B, 400ft 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?

[Taimane]

I'm gonna go with B, you're gonna

[Peter Sagal]

go with the Transylvanian salt mine. You're right. It is called.

[Panelist Katie]

Wow.

[Peter Sagal]

It is called Salina Turda and it's got a whole amusement park down there along in the mini golf. It's the most popular underground tourist attraction in the world.

[Panelist Eugene]

What's it called?

[Peter Sagal]

Salina Turda. No smart remarks. Paula Alzo. How did Taimane do on our quiz?

[Scorekeeper]

She's got the vibes. Three out of three.

[Peter Sagal]

There you go. Taimane is a singer, songwriter and one of the world's most celebrated ukulele players. For Tour de head to taimane.com live. Taimane. Taimane, everybody.

[Tiffany Haddish]

Give it up.

[Peter Sagal]

So when we went to Hawaii, we of course took a plane. But champion long distance swimmer Becca Manny saved on baggage fees and swam there.

[Bill Curtis]

In addition to swimming across the Maui Channel and back, becca is a two time national champion in the 10 kilometer swim. And when she joined us last year, guest host Nagid Farsad asked her what spending that much time in the water does to a person.

[Announcer]

So, you know, one of the things That I thought about, like, when thinking about these adventures that you go on is that you're in the water for a really, really, really long time. So what are some of the weird kind of physical side effects of this kind of swimming?

[Becca Mann]

So when you're in salt water, you will start swelling. So, like, about nine hours in, my nostrils were swollen together, and then when I got out of the water, my uvula was hanging onto the back of my tongue, and I couldn't swallow for the rest of the day. It was disgusting.

[Announcer]

Oh, God. This is where I pretend to really know what a uvula is.

[Becca Mann]

It's like, hangs in the of your throat.

[Announcer]

Oh, got you. Either way, I sense that this is bad. This, again, kind of conjures the question of, like, why do you do this to yourself? But what is your, like, what's your big goal now? I mean, you've already done so much. Is there another, like, a record you want to set?

[Becca Mann]

Yeah, so I actually took. After that swim, I took five years off of swimming. That was, like, the last thing that I wanted to do with my career because I just narrowly missed my third Olympic team and I didn't want to end on a failure. So I love swimming, and I figured, why not just see how long I can love swimming for in one period? And then after that, took five years off, and I was just really missing swimming. So I got back into it a year ago and then made the national team again after five months of training. So I'm hopeful.

[Tiffany Haddish]

Baddie behavior.

[Panelist Josh]

Yeah.

[Becca Mann]

So now I'm just kind of taking it six months by six months and seeing what happens from there. And as long as I keep enjoying getting into the pool every day to train, I'm going to keep sticking with it.

[Peter Sagal]

When you're in the open water, are there people that are, like, watching you

[Bill Curtis]

or tracking you in some ways?

[Peter Sagal]

You're not completely by yourself, right?

[Becca Mann]

Yeah. So there was a kayak that was probably like 5 to 10ft away from me the whole time, and then a boat that would stay like 200 meters ahead. And then every like, 20 minutes, I'd swim up to the boat and. And my mom was actually on the boat and she was violently seasick the whole time. She was not happy. She was never doing this again. And she'd throw me a feed. We call them feeds. They're basically just like liquid fuel. So like a Gatorade with, like, some sort of energy gel melted into it. So, yeah, I wasn't fully alone. Even though, like, I couldn't touch the boat. Nobody was Allowed to touch me. Because then you're disqualified if that happens. But there were people nearby in case I need help or anything.

[Peter Sagal]

Okay, so there are people nearby. My question is, what's the most incredible thing you've seen in the open ocean? Because I won't be going. I need to live vicariously through you.

[Becca Mann]

I think I've seen three sharks, and I really love sharks. All of them were. It was two black tip reef sharks and then one white tip reef shark. And I think that they're just such beautiful creatures. All of them were, like, very peaceful. And. Yeah, I love all the animals.

[Peter Sagal]

They're probably surprised to see you.

[Announcer]

Yeah.

[Tiffany Haddish]

Girl, what are you doing in my house?

[Announcer]

Oh, yeah, they have a real. They have a real reputation for being peaceful.

[Becca Mann]

So that's. Those ones in particular. I met some nice ones.

[Announcer]

Well, so speaking of, like, fish, have you ever, like, had a relationship with a fish in the style of my octopus teacher?

[Becca Mann]

I can't say that I have.

[Announcer]

I mean, are you open to that?

[Panelist Eugene]

You know what?

[Becca Mann]

I'm open to everything. We'll see. We'll see where it takes me.

[Announcer]

Do you ever, like, swim in a hotel pool and just like, casually do laps but also smoke everybody and show off?

[Becca Mann]

Definitely. I think both, depending on what kind

[Panelist Josh]

of mood I'm in.

[Announcer]

Oh, Becca, man. Well, we've actually asked you here to play a game.

[Peter Sagal]

We're calling tanks for joining us.

[Announcer]

So you know all of.

[Becca Mann]

Oh, no. Oh, no is right.

[Announcer]

You know all about open water. So we're gonna ask you about closed water aquariums. Answer two out of three questions correctly, and you'll win our prize for one of our listeners, the voice of any of us on their voicemail. Bill, who is Becca playing for?

[Bill Curtis]

Ryan Campbell of Houston, Texas.

[Becca Mann]

All right, all right. I won't let you down, Ryan. I hope.

[Announcer]

Here's your first question. The San Antonio aquarium has a touch tank which can provide guests with unique experiences. Like, which of these is it A, an archerfish spitting water directly into your boyfriend's eye? Is it B, an Octopus Grabbing your 6 year old by the arm and trying to climb out of the tank to get the rest of. Or is it C, the can you handle a lionfish sting challenge?

[Becca Mann]

I'm gonna say C just because I don't know if the aquarium would be able to get away with the first two.

[Announcer]

Oh, it is B, they got away with an octopus grabbing a kid. Don't worry, the kid is fine. And it only took three adults armed with ice packs to make the octopus let go. All right, here's your next question. The San Antonio aquarium had another situation in 2018.

[Peter Sagal]

Oh, boy.

[Announcer]

When one of their sharks went missing. Fortunately, they were able to track it down quickly because security footage showed. What was it? A, one shark was hiding on the bottom of its tank while another shark buried it in the sand. Was it B, the shark jumping a barrier into the beluga whale tank where it was now playing with a whale like they were best friends? Or was it C, two people lifting the shark out of its tank, putting it in a baby stroller, and walking out of the aquarium.

[Becca Mann]

Okay, I feel like it could be any of these three things. Okay. C seems like it would be the most fun, so I'm gonna go with C. You're right.

[Peter Sagal]

It is C. Oh, my God.

[Announcer]

I can't believe you got that. Police recovered the shark from the guy who wanted it for the, quote, extensive aquarium habitat in his garage. I really see a lot of myself in that guy. All right, here's your last question. According to a 2017 interview, when the sharks at one aquarium wouldn't mate, the staff solved the issue by doing what? Was it A, piping salt N Peppa's push it into the enclosure? Was it B, putting jasmine oil into their water as an aphrodisiac? Or was it C, putting lipstick on the female shape?

[Becca Mann]

What is it? Okay, what's the audience thinking? A. Okay, I can't say no to that. Then it has to be A. Oh, my God.

[Announcer]

That's right.

[Tiffany Haddish]

Push.

[Announcer]

It is a cross species. Sexy song.

[Tiffany Haddish]

Wow.

[Announcer]

Bill, how did Becca do on our quiz?

[Bill Curtis]

Well, she did swim a very long way, so we're going to call her a winner. Two out of three.

[Peter Sagal]

Yeah. All right.

[Becca Mann]

I think we should call the audience. The true winner, though.

[Announcer]

Well, Becca Mann is a champion open water swimmer and a writer. Becca Mann, thank you so much for joining us on. Wait, Wait, don't tell me.

[Becca Mann]

Thank you for having me. This is so much fun.

[Peter Sagal]

When we come back, our panel continues to do anything other than study for our quiz. And singer songwriter Lucy Dacas tells us how she started her career in music as a favor to a friend. That's when we come back with more. Wait, wait, don't tell me. From npr. Brazil used to have one of the fastest growing economies in the world. People called it the country of the future.

[Announcer]

Their songs. Oh, Brazil. Cause it seems like we have it all, man.

[Peter Sagal]

But then the music stopped on the Planet Money podcast. A lot of countries these days aren't rich, they aren't poor. They're just kind of stuck in the middle.

[Panelist Josh]

Why is that?

[Peter Sagal]

Listen on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts

[Bill Curtis]

from. NPR n WBEZ Chicago, this is Wait, wait, don't tell Me, the NPR News Quiz. I'm Bill Curtis, and here is your host at the Studebaker Theater and the Fine Arts Building in Chicago, Peter Sagal.

[Peter Sagal]

Thank you, Bill. Thank you, everybody. Hey, if you want to come see us in person, we're here most weeks at the Studebaker Theater in downtown Chicago. You can catch us on the road as well. We'll be in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 9 and in Sonoma, California, on July 30. For tickets and information to all our live events, go to nprpresents.org right now, Bill and I are busy getting the playlist just right for NPR's annual beach limbo party.

[Bill Curtis]

Everybody is surprised by how low I

[Peter Sagal]

can go, but I'm going to be honest with you. I hope our panelists are spending their week off studying the news because apparently some of them haven't figured out that when they appear in our show, I might ask them about it. Here's some of our panelists covering up up for their ignorance by being funny. Eugene, don't be alarmed, but this week we were assured that your airplane is not actually outdated and old just because it still has, what, no engine? No. That would be a problem. You should be alarmed that it still has no smoking sign. Close. Not only does it have no smoking signs, which it shouldn't have because nobody smokes in airplanes, but it also seems to have still what? Oh, the ashtrays. Ashtrays. People have been seeing ashtrays in the lavatories of planes and thinking, oh, my God, how old is this plane? Right. You think, oh, no, was this plane built in the 60s? And then you think about how well US people who were built in the 60s are holding together right now, and you start to panic. But you can relax. The Washington Post reported this week that the FAA still requires that all airplane bathrooms still have ashtrays. That way they can guarantee that the dirtiest thing in there is not the toilet seat.

[Panelist Eugene]

Why do they have them?

[Peter Sagal]

The idea is you're not allowed to smoke on airplanes. And they tell you when they give the announcement, if you smoke, there's smoke detectors in the bathrooms. If you smoke in there, it's a crime. Don't do it. But what if somebody does anyway? And they want to make sure that if somebody does break the law and lights a cigarette in there, they want a safe, fireproof place for them to put the cigarette besides a Trash can say full of paper. And you especially don't want them flushing them down the toilet because that blue stuff in there, that's leftover jet fuel.

[Tiffany Haddish]

Wow.

[Peter Sagal]

So then what happens to the cocaine that I have.

[Panelist Katie]

Have been there.

[Panelist Eugene]

Well, you can snort that right off the toilet seat.

[Peter Sagal]

Alzo. People are upset about a lot. It's true. Yeah. Actually, I wasn't even a question. People are upset. No, people are upset. In Thailand, after a parade there went by this museum full of priceless cultural artifacts. And then what happened?

[Scorekeeper]

They broke in and.

[Peter Sagal]

No, no. I'll give you a hand. We don't know why. They routed the annual subwoofer Celebration parade by the National Museum of Tipping Objects. Oh, wow.

[Panelist Josh]

Yes.

[Scorekeeper]

I grew up in the south and dudes would have these woofers in their cars and they drive by and they rattle every dish, every window in your house. And so they just rattled those artifacts and destroyed them.

[Peter Sagal]

That's exactly what happened. The loud music from the parade shattered priceless artifacts. The parade celebrates this particular province's unique contributions to Thai culture, including Rod. Hey. Which is the relatively recent tradition of modifying cars and trucks with, yes, super powerful loudspeakers. Okay, bad enough, but why did the parade also follow those with floats filled with those sopranos singing so high they shatter glass? The noise was so loud, it knocked several priceless pieces of historical pottery off their shelves onto the floor where they shattered. What's the problem? Now there are a bunch more objects and they're much more reasonably priced.

[Panelist Eugene]

Yeah, I was going to say they were priceless before. Now they have a price.

[Peter Sagal]

Exactly. Now we know Capitalism four for a job. I think it's great. More destructive. More. More destructive parades. I want to see, like, a Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade where a wind gust makes Snoopy take out the entire Metropolitan Museum.

[Panelist Eugene]

You know what?

[Peter Sagal]

Something close.

[Panelist Eugene]

I used to have this picture that I got from a newspaper and I had it on my notebook for the longest time. It was one time at the Macy's Day Parade. You know, they had a underdog inflatable, and he had like a menacing look, like his eyebrows were, you know, and he was pointing and a gust of wind caught it and it went, like, towards people and the people scattered.

[Peter Sagal]

Sure.

[Panelist Eugene]

And it was such a great. So that's actually. I mean, it didn't destroy a museum, but I do feel it's a similar story, and that's why I told it.

[Peter Sagal]

Yeah.

[Panelist Katie]

Katie. According to the News York Times, contrary to the popular belief held by many pet owners, all dogs are. What? Oh,

[Taimane]

the Popular belief is that they're all lovely.

[Peter Sagal]

So I would say me. What are we even.

[Taimane]

What are you even asking me for, Tom?

[Peter Sagal]

All dogs are destined for hell.

[Panelist Katie]

I'll give you a hint. Maybe it'll narrow it down. These are the creatures that literally chase their own tails.

[Peter Sagal]

So actually, they're all really dumb.

[Panelist Katie]

Yes. Dumb.

[Becca Mann]

I knew that.

[Peter Sagal]

I knew that about my dog. Yeah, mine too. Mine's very dumb. And she's loud about it.

[Panelist Eugene]

Yeah.

[Panelist Katie]

The New York Times wants you to know your dog is most likely not a genius, which is weird because they're always trying to get my dog to sign up for the wordle opening word.

[Bill Curtis]

Grr.

[Panelist Josh]

Josh?

[Peter Sagal]

Yes?

[Panelist Katie]

You have a pug.

[Sponsor Voice (Carvana)]

I do.

[Panelist Katie]

Smart or dumb?

[Peter Sagal]

Dumb. She's so dumb, we bought her a step so that she can hop up onto the couch because the couch cushion's kind of high. She sits on the step and is like, come on, get me the rest of the leg.

[Panelist Katie]

I have a pug, too.

[Peter Sagal]

Is your pug smart? No.

[Panelist Katie]

No. Oh. So dumb. So dumb. What does your dog smell like your pug smell like?

[Peter Sagal]

She doesn't smell great.

[Panelist Katie]

Mine has a very distinct smell. I want to know if this is just a pug thing.

[Peter Sagal]

Is it? Because we've had moments of the Fritos smell.

[Sponsor Voice (Carvana)]

Fritos.

[Tiffany Haddish]

Yeah.

[Bill Curtis]

Yes.

[Panelist Eugene]

That's all dogs.

[Panelist Josh]

That's all dogs.

[Peter Sagal]

Yeah. My dog smells like Fritos, too.

[Panelist Katie]

You smell like Fritos. You're like, this dog isn't that bright. And then you smell them and you're like, I just want to meet your face.

[Sponsor Voice (Saatva)]

This message comes from Apple Card. For a limited time, you can get a new Apple card and purchase AirPods Pro 3 at Apple to earn back the cost up to 250 daily cash subject to credit approval, limitations and spend requirements apply. Apple Card is issued by Goldman Sachs bank usa Salt Lake City Branch terms and more at Apple Co AirPods. This message comes from NPR's sponsor, Shopify. No idea where to sell? Shopify puts you in control of every sales channel. It is the commerce platform revolutionizing millions of businesses worldwide. Whether you're a garage entrepreneur or IPO ready, Shopify is the only tool you need to start run and grow your business without the struggle. Once you've reached your audience, Shopify has the Internet's best converting checkout to help you turn them from browsers to buyers. Go to Shopify.com NPR to take your business to the next level.

[Peter Sagal]

Today, this week on consider this. The president trading massive amounts of stock and settling lawsuits with himself. One legal expert Calls it epic corruption in plain sight. There really needs to be a moment of reform and reconstruction after the wreckage of the current moment. A view of that moment and what reform could look like on. Consider this. Listen on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. Finally, Lucy Dacus is one of the most popular singer songwriters working today both on her own and with the supergr boy genius. When she joined us in December, I asked her if it was true that she put out her first record as a favor to a friend.

[Panelist Josh]

Yeah. He had a school project to do, and my friend was working at Reba McEntire's studio.

[Peter Sagal]

Yeah.

[Panelist Josh]

And he was like, no one's scheduled on this Saturday. Should we sneak in? And so the whole record, we recorded it in one day illegally. Well, I don't know if it's illegal, but without approval.

[Peter Sagal]

Right. I guess the first question is, did he get a good grade?

[Panelist Josh]

I never asked him that.

[Peter Sagal]

Really? He didn't, like, he didn't fail and have to have you record another record, did he?

[Bill Curtis]

Yeah.

[Panelist Josh]

And that's what Historian is.

[Peter Sagal]

Yeah, exactly. Exactly. That was his second project. So that's an amazing story. You started playing guitar, I'm told, at 12 years old.

[Panelist Josh]

I would say the correct answer is yes.

[Peter Sagal]

The correct answer is yes. I like the fact you're already getting to the quiz aspect. That's good.

[Panelist Josh]

I'm not very.

[Becca Mann]

I'm.

[Panelist Josh]

I'm still, like, not the best at guitar. I feel like guitar at that time was hardly listenable, really.

[Peter Sagal]

But you, you're actually quite an accomplished guitarist. You were on a list of some. One of the greatest of all time. I saw.

[Panelist Josh]

Yeah.

[Peter Sagal]

Yeah. Do you. Do you remember? I'm always curious about this artist like yourself, like, what your first songs were like. When you first wrote a song, do you remember what it was?

[Panelist Josh]

I had a song called Stupid Cupid, which was like, why won't cupid come to me? I was probably like 7 years old.

[Becca Mann]

What?

[Peter Sagal]

Yeah, I know.

[Taimane]

You were already pining for a partner at seven.

[Panelist Josh]

Yes. I also had a song that was about people who are upset when someone cheats on them, but it is probably their fault because why would they cheat on you if you weren't hard to be with again? I was probably like 8 years old.

[Peter Sagal]

Oh, my goodness. Wow.

[Steve Inskeep]

You were.

[Peter Sagal]

You were eight years old. What was happening at your elementary school?

[Panelist Josh]

I'm glad I don't remember.

[Peter Sagal]

Yeah, you also, in your early days, before you recorded that school project and began to become very popular, you worked at a. I didn't even know that These still existed within a young person's lifetime. But a photo processing shop in Richmond, where you grew up.

[Panelist Josh]

Richmond Camera.

[Peter Sagal]

Richmond Camera. Did that experience inspire any of your writing?

[Panelist Josh]

Well, it was so mindless, and it was eight hours a day, and so I would sit and do my, like, da da da da da da da da da. And then I had a pad of paper, and I would write songs, and I'd get home, and I'd get on the guitar, and I'd write, like, a song a day at that time, which is not, like, what I do anymore.

[Peter Sagal]

Wow. Have you considered. I mean, you seem to be nostalgic for when you were that productive. Have you considered taking on, like, a mindless day job again just to reignite the. The creative spirit?

[Panelist Josh]

Yeah, I think you're being funny, but I'm not. I thought about that.

[Peter Sagal]

I'm ready. You're ready? You're ready. Somebody hire this woman for Drudge work so she can reach the photo counter at Walgreens. I think that's exactly how you dress.

[Panelist Josh]

Why not?

[Peter Sagal]

In 2019, you released a song on certain holidays throughout the year and then put out a record of them all called Holidays, and I love this record. How did you decide which holidays to do?

[Panelist Josh]

The real truth is that I had recorded a bunch of things for no reason because it's fun to do. And I was like, when are these gonna see the world? And so I realized that some of them had, like, a holiday aspect. Others I kind of could make it up. Like Dancing in the Dark. We just said that Bruce Springsteen's birthday is a holiday, which I stand by, right? And then, like, in the Air tonight. Like, that was kind of eerie. So we did it for Halloween.

[Peter Sagal]

I also wanted to ask, as you say, when are the holidays, Bruce Springsteen's birthday? And you do think that's a holiday? You were a big fan, right?

[Panelist Josh]

It was in my house growing up. I mean, it was written out. We had, like, a big calendar in the kitchen where we put, like, basketball practice, church. Bruce Springsteen's birthday.

[Becca Mann]

Wow.

[Tiffany Haddish]

Please tell me you called it.

[Peter Sagal]

Please tell me you called it the springsteenthe Springsteen. You're a genius. That's crazy. I had to call my dad. Yeah, I saw a picture of you with Springsteen. So you didn't meet him, Right.

[Announcer]

Did you tell him?

[Peter Sagal]

Did you tell him about the Springsteen?

[Panelist Josh]

No, I already knew. Like, I'm not that, like, phased when I meet people, but he, like, is so important to my dad and to me, and I, like, showed up at a friend's birthday party and, like, Saw him, and I was like, I need to go. I'm about to make a fool of myself. And so I was crying at the

[Tiffany Haddish]

bar to a friend.

[Panelist Josh]

I was like, this is weird, and I should go. And so then I turned around, and he was right there. And he actually, like, knew me and knew my music already. So I was just like, I think you're the best. Yeah. And he was. He was very gracious, and he kind of. He seems to be like the guy that you want him to be, which is not always true.

[Peter Sagal]

It's always true. Well, Lucy Dacas, it is a pleasure to talk to you, and we have invited you here to play a game we're calling Boy Genius.

[Scorekeeper]

Meet Boy Geniuses.

[Peter Sagal]

So your band is called Boy Genius. So we're going to ask you three questions about geniuses who are also boys. Answer two out of three. Well, okay, you're rolling your eyes. I did warn you earlier it would be dumb. I mean, you can.

[Panelist Josh]

I feel like genius is opposite of dumb. So.

[Peter Sagal]

Okay, let's go. Let's go. All right, I appreciate that. That was very charitable. Okay, so as I was saying, answer two to three questions correctly, and you'll win our prize for one of our listeners. Also, who is Lucy playing for?

[Scorekeeper]

Kimberly Ramos of Chicago, Illinois.

[Peter Sagal]

All right, here's your first question. Math genius Suborno Bari started at NYU last fall at the age of 12. When a reporter asked him, do you sometimes wonder at the fact that you're only 12? What was his response? A quote, why wonder at that when there's dark matter to wonder about? B, not really. I've seen my birth certificate. Or C, yes, mainly when my classmates go to a bar without me.

[Panelist Josh]

I'm gonna say the second option. I think it's two.

[Peter Sagal]

You are right. It was B. Yes. He said, yes, I've seen my birth certificate. He is a math genius. He can count to 12. All right, here's your next question. Doogie Howser was a fictional boy genius who in the show completed med school at the age of 14. But the actor who played him, Neil Patrick Harris, was not a medical prodigy. So how did he get through the scenes where he had to spout a lot of medical jardin while performing surgery? Was it A, he recorded each big word just one at a time, and then the editors would just cut away to the nurses a lot to make it sound like he was saying it all at once. B, he put a card with his lines written on them inside the surgical wound he was supposed to be operating on. Or C, the actor playing the patient on the operating table would whisper the lines to him, taking advantage of the fact you couldn't see his mouth under a oxygen mask. I'm gonna say B because you say B. You're right.

[Panelist Josh]

Yes, it was.

[Tiffany Haddish]

Yay.

[Peter Sagal]

All right, here is your last question. Get this right, you'll be perfect. Boy geniuses from around the country were once invited to participate in a game show called Our Little Genius, where prodigies answered nearly impossible questions in the pursuit of winning $500,000. But the show, the Recorded, never aired. Why? A, the network had said, people already feel dumb watching game shows. Now we're going to make them feel dumber. B, the Phone A Friend feature failed when every single contestant asked, does my mom count? Or C, it was shut down when it was revealed the kids weren't actually geniuses. Producers were just feeding them the answers right before they filmed.

[Panelist Josh]

I feel like we live in the world of C. We do.

[Peter Sagal]

Sadly, it is a fallen world that we live in. And you are correct. It was C. The whole thing was a scam. It was never broadcast. Also, how did Lucy do in our quiz?

[Scorekeeper]

She did great. Three out of three.

[Peter Sagal]

Well done. Lucy Dacus is a singer, songwriter, and one third of the supergroup Boy Genius. Her new album, Forever is a Feeling, is out now. Lucy Dacus, thank you so much for joining us on time.

[Panelist Josh]

Thank you for having me.

[Peter Sagal]

It was a pleasure to talk to you. Take care.

[Panelist Josh]

Likewise.

[Peter Sagal]

Bye. Bye. That's it for our Spring is the best time to prepare for summer edition. We'll be back next week with beautiful new tan lines. But first, let me tell you. Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Is a production of NPR and WBEZ Chicago in association with Urgent Haircut Productions. Doug Berman, benevolent overlord Philip Gautica writes our limericks. Our public address announcer is Paul Friedman. BJ Lederman composed our theme. Our program is produced by Jennifer Mills, Miles Dronebost and Lillian King. Special thanks as always to Monica Hickey. Peter Gwynne is helping us get sunscreen and that hard to reach spot on our backs. Our visual host is Emma Choi. Our ops manager is Jasira Vardak, technical directionist from Lorna White. Our CFO is Colin Miller. Our production manager is Robert Newhouse. Our senior producer is Ian Chillag. And the executive producer of Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. That's Mike Danforth. Thanks to everybody you heard on this week's show. That would be all our panelists, all our fabulous guests. Our guest scorekeeper, Alzo Slade, and guest host Negeen Farsat. And of course, Bill Curtis. And thanks to all of you for listening. I'm Peter Sagal and we'll see you next week. This is NPR.

[Steve Inskeep]

NPR's newest podcast is where you can find NPR's biggest interviews. I'm Steve Inskeep. The program is called Newsmakers. We talk with some of the most powerful and influential people at this moment to put real questions to them and push for real answers. Follow newsmakers on the NPR app or any podcast player or you can watch on NPR's YouTube channel.

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