Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!

Episode: We Hold Our Own Olympic Games with Our Favorite Guests
Date: February 21, 2026
Host: Peter Sagal (with Negin Farsad filling in at times) and Bill Curtis

Episode Overview

This week's episode of NPR’s beloved news quiz podcast, “Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!”, is framed around the Olympic Games spirit, featuring games and interviews with some of their favorite guests. The show blends classic panel banter and quiz segments with memorable interviews—highlighting chef and food truck pioneer Roy Choi, viral bagpiper Ally the Piper, and multi-award-winning actress Cynthia Nixon. As always, the episode is packed with sharp wit, lively storytelling, and a playful exploration of oddball news and pop culture.

Key Segments & Discussion Points

1. Olympic-Themed Introductions & Panel Banter (00:48–01:44, 14:07–14:53, 33:07–33:29)

• Bill Curtis introduces himself as the man “who does quadruple axles with his voice,” setting the Olympic tone.
• The usual comedy about the confusion of Olympic sports, especially curling:
  • Tom Papa: "The Olympics are almost over, which means you no longer have to pretend you understand anything about curling." (01:13)
• Lighthearted jokes about carrying the Olympic flame—“Plus, it’s great for lighting my cigars” (14:32).

2. Spotlight Interview: Roy Choi on Food Trucks, Kimchi, and Ramen (01:51–12:25)

Roy Choi’s Childhood Hustle and Immigrant Story (02:33–04:21)

• Grew up in L.A.; his mother selling homemade kimchi from their big 1976 Thunderbird, with young Roy helping.
  • Roy Choi: "It was like a drive by, but with kimchi. Like we would just roll up on the side and … say, you want to buy some kimchi?" (03:33–04:02)
  • Started hustling at age five: “Because you could sit in front seats back then.” (04:12)
• Street sales wisdom from his youth: “Everybody’s a customer or a potential customer, and it’s your job to make them a customer.” (04:33)

Inventing the Modern Food Truck (05:05–06:13)

• Losing his restaurant job was "something spiritual"; failure leading to inspiration.
  • Roy Choi: “I truly believe it was something spiritual that happened. I do.” (05:19)
• Humorous description of food fusion inspiration:
  • Peter Sagal: “You weren’t just walking down the street with bulgogi, ran into a guy with a taco, and the Kogi taco was born?” (05:30)

Food Celebrity Culture & Favorite Cooking Shows (06:13–07:07)

• TV chef culture and consulting on "Chef" with Jon Favreau—Choi says “Ratatouille’s still the gold standard” for chef movies. (06:50)
  • Roy Choi: “It’s still the one that no one has topped yet.” (06:59)

Ramen and American Cheese (07:12–08:37)

• Peter Sagal fanboys over Choi’s NYT recipe: instant ramen with American cheese.
  • Choi: “It says it’s from the land of processed.” (07:37)
  • For Korean immigrants: “It’s our treat because our whole life is healthy … the ramyeon with the cheese was like our Lucky Charms.” (08:12)

Game: “Food Trucks” for Roy Choi (08:54–12:04)

• Roy is quizzed about odd trucks—he successfully identifies trivia (e.g., leather seats made from whale foreskins in luxury trucks, a truck spilling slime eels).
  • Quip on the biz: “The game is fixed. Sadly, in your favor, though.” (11:51–11:56)

3. Panel Game: “Jobs of the Future” (14:53–21:21)

• Contestant Ian from Grand Rapids, MI, plays “truth from fiction” about what jobs might survive AI.
  • Notable future jobs highlighted:
    • The Universal Carny (Karen Chee)—the irreplaceable sketchy carnival worker to add authenticity to automated amusement parks.
    • The “Cartender” (Tom Papa)—non-driving rideshare companions who serve drinks, help with luggage, and add human warmth to robo-taxis.
    • The Venting Specialist (Negin Farsad)—a person whose sole job is to be screamed at by customers frustrated by AI agents.
  • “Cartender” is revealed as a real, proposed job by Lyft exec David Rischer.
  • Peter Sagal: “That is the most human AI has ever been. Right?” (37:06)

4. Guest: Ally the Piper, Viral Bagpiper & TikTok Star (21:38–31:21)

Path to Bagpipes and Viral Fame (21:55–25:51)

• Started playing to “ruin my brother’s life before he went to college” and honor Scottish heritage. (21:55)
• Practiced indoors to avoid neighbors’ wrath: “I tried to do a lot of my practicing indoors, and then I would just more so go outside when I had things polished to play.” (23:20)
• Won world championships with a US youth bagpipe band.

Blowing Up on Social Media (25:12–27:33)

• Viral bagpipe covers of heavy metal classics on TikTok (“Enter Sandman” etc.)
• Metallica themselves defended her against a troll: “Metallica was there in the comments ... They told me to keep doing what I'm doing.” (27:21)

Game: “Bagpiper, Meet Piping Bag” (27:48–31:04)

• Ally answers odd cake trivia (e.g., cake toilets, apology cakes for biting the police, flash drive cake disasters).

5. Singalong & More Panel Banter (31:21–33:29)

• Tom Papa serenades: "Gonna jump in my car, turn up the radio..." (21:21)
• Cutaway to sushi as the trendiest kid food—a skeptical take on "grown-up" five-year-olds eating salmon maki (33:29–34:40).

6. News Quizzes & Topical Games (35:20–40:07)

• Story of an AI-powered vending machine’s hilarious, human-like blunders (gave away free stuff, ordered odd inventory, imagined itself in Soviet Russia).
  • Peter Sagal: “That is the most human AI has ever been. Right? … This vending machine is someone I could really talk to and get to know and understand.” (37:06–37:12)

7. Cynthia Nixon: From Broadway to Miranda to the Gilded Age (41:28–50:30)

Broadway Feats & Sex and the City (41:40–43:16)

• Nixon describes running between two Broadway shows nightly.
  • “I would change my clothes and … go on at The Real Thing … then I would change again, go back to Hurly Burly …” (42:01)
• Early days on Sex and the City: “By the second season, they put us on the COVID of Time magazine … we had fully entered the zeitgeist.” (42:52–43:16)

Miranda's Real-World Impact & Gilded Age Fashion (43:32–45:49)

• Nixon reflects on fans moving to NYC inspired by the show and feeling guilty for its glamorous “unrealistic” expectations.
  • "I do sometimes feel a little responsible that women who watch and love the show think that actually they're really supposed to be wearing high heels 24 hours a day." (44:11)
• Compares Sex and the City's shoes to corseted costumes in The Gilded Age: “Can you see my feet?” (45:33–45:49)

Knicks Trivia Game (46:00–50:10)

• Cynthia is quizzed on wild Knicks pranks (e.g., using facial recognition to bar lawsuit-happy lawyers, locker room “epic fart” that led to victory).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Roy Choi: On food and family: “Food was something that was ingrained and surrounded me my whole life. As an immigrant family and kid, a lot of us grow up within restaurants or stores, markets, and it's just something that kind of blends with your life. You don't know where it starts and where it ends.” (02:45)
• Roy Choi: "The ramyeon with the cheese was like our Lucky Charms." (08:12)
• Peter Sagal: “That is the most human AI has ever been. Right? Because I've never heard of a machine screwing up in the ways that—that feels very person-like.” (37:06–37:12)
• Ally the Piper: “I wanted to ruin my brother's life before he went to college ... so I took to YouTube and ... I heard the bagpipes for the first time ... I just became really obsessed with how they worked. They called to me, if you will.” (21:55–22:41)
• Ally the Piper: "Metallica was there in the comments ... They told me to keep doing what I'm doing." (27:21)
• Cynthia Nixon: “I do sometimes feel a little responsible that women who watch and love the show think that actually they're really supposed to be wearing high heels 24 hours a day.” (44:11)
• Peter Sagal: (Laughs) "So wait a minute, wait a minute. When people say, 'Well, I'm more of a Miranda,' that's what they mean … ?" (44:38)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:48 – Show introduction / Olympic banter
• 01:44–12:25 – Roy Choi interview & food truck game
• 14:53–21:21 – “Jobs of the Future” panel game
• 21:38–31:21 – Ally the Piper interview & cake decoration quiz
• 33:29–34:40 – Sushi as the new kid food
• 35:20–40:07 – AI vending machine story, panel reactions
• 41:28–50:10 – Cynthia Nixon interview & Knicks trivia

Episode Takeaways

• Olympics as Metaphor: The show plays with the idea of competitive excellence—much like the Olympics—within oddball news, culinary innovation, musical mashups, and even breakups.
• Immigrant Ingenuity: Roy Choi’s story is both comical and touching, perfectly capturing how immigrant hustle shapes American food success.
• The Viralness of Bagpipes: Ally the Piper’s journey from niche competitions to global TikTok fame brings a quirky perspective on how even the oddest talents can find vast audiences (and even win over Metallica).
• Pop Culture Responsibility: Cynthia Nixon reflects with humor and honesty on the unintended consequences and enduring nostalgia of Sex and the City.
• Quiz Mayhem: The panel continues to riff on news, tech, and relationships in classic “Wait Wait” style, keeping listeners both laughing and guessing.

For First-Time Listeners

You’ll get a taste of Wait Wait's signature chaos and warmth—quick-fire wit, whip-smart trivia, and irresistible guests. This episode is a sampler platter of comedy, odd news, cultural insight, and playful competition, featuring high-spirited exchanges and heartwarming asides that make NPR’s flagship quiz show a fan favorite.