WWDTM: Austan Goolsbee

Summary

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! Episode Summary featuring Austan Goolsbee

Release Date: April 12, 2025

Introduction

In this lively episode of NPR's "Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!", host Peter Sagal welcomes back Austan Goolsbee, a prominent figure in the economics world and the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. The show is set at the Studebaker Theater in Chicago, featuring panelists Shane O'Neill, Rachel Koster, and Peter Gross, alongside listener contestants Jen Ainslie and Lori Riccio.

Listener Contestant Quiz

The episode kicks off with the traditional Listener Contestant Quiz, where Jen Ainslie participates. Peter Sagal introduces the participants and the panelists before presenting three humorous news-related quotes for Jen to identify or explain correctly.

• Economy and Tariffs Discussion (03:13-05:43):

  • Peter Sagal humorously compares President Trump's tariff policies to "using an explosive to clear a clogged drain," referencing Goolsbee's past metaphor (03:13).
  • Austan Goolsbee chimes in with a witty remark: "If you're buying European brands of cat food, you deserve to lose a ton of money. My cat won't eat anything but El Jamon Spanish Iberico" (05:19).
  • The panel engages in playful banter about the implications of tariffs, consumer behavior, and even European cat food preferences.

• Extinction of the Dire Wolf (05:51-07:48):

  • Bill Curtis presents a quote about the dire wolf's extinction: "Holy crap. That's the first time in 12,000 years that this species has howled" (05:51).
  • Peter Sagal explains the dire wolf's reintroduction and its impact, with Goolsbee adding, "A dire wolf is like bigger and stronger and more powerful than a regular wolf" (05:19).
  • The discussion includes humorous takes on genetic resurrection and pop culture references, such as "Game of Thrones."

• Dating Apps and Accountants (07:56-09:58):

  • Bill Curtis shares a quote from the New York Post about singles using dating apps to find someone who can help them with taxes: "They're not looking for love, they're looking to file" (07:56).
  • The panelists joke about the intersection of dating and financial expertise, with Rachel Koster quipping, "People who do their own taxes are also sexier because they're probably, like, in a lot of trouble with the law," (08:35).

Jen impresses the contestants by correctly identifying two out of three quotes, earning her a perfect score and a spot in the prize pool.

Collectible Bluff Game

Next, the Collectible Bluff game challenges Rachel Koster to discern which of three presented collectible trends is genuine:

1. Shane O'Neill introduces "ogisan cards," trading cards featuring middle-aged men from a Japanese town designed to bridge the generation gap (15:17).
2. Rachel Koster describes a fictional trend where boys collect tobacco pipes and smoking jackets after an Xbox mishap (16:40).
3. Austan Goolsbee narrates a fabricated craze of collecting baby bell cheese wax in Coldwater, Ohio (17:47).

After deliberation, Rachel correctly identifies Shane's "ogisan cards" as the true collectible trend, awarding Shane a point for getting Peter Gross's story correct.

Austan Goolsbee's Segment

In the Not My Job segment, Austan Goolsbee discusses his role as the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago:

• Roles and Responsibilities (21:35-27:15):

  • Peter Sagal asks Goolsbee to elaborate on his day-to-day responsibilities, to which Goolsbee humorously likens the Fed's functions to parts of a hand, emphasizing monetary policy as the "opposable thumb" (21:35).
  • Goolsbee shares insights into the Federal Open Market Committee meetings, highlighting regional pride and the logistical nuances of economic decision-making (22:20).
  • The panel engages in light-hearted exchanges about the responsibilities and rivalries within the Federal Reserve, with Goolsbee showcasing his expertise and humor.

• Goolsbee Goolsbee Shopping Quiz (27:14-30:20):

  • Host Peter Sagal quizzes Goolsbee on Spirit Halloween-related trivia, which Goolsbee answers flawlessly, securing his win in the game.
  • Notable Quote: Peter Sagal remarks, "Austan Goolsbee playing for Aaron Davis of Sacramento, California?" (27:57), leading to a playful and engaging interaction that highlights Goolsbee's quick wit.

Listener Limber Challenge

The Listener Limber Challenge features Lori Riccio from Providence, Rhode Island, participating in a limerick game:

• Limerick Solutions (38:16-42:35):
  • Bill Curtis presents limericks related to recent news stories for Lori to complete. Lori successfully identifies the missing words in two out of three limericks, earning her a perfect score.
  • Highlights include a limerick about a Nevada man's unauthorized tiger collection and the resurgence of lower back tattoos, to which Riccio responds accurately.

Lightning Fill in the Blank

The episode progresses to the high-energy Lightning Fill in the Blank game:

• Questions and Responses (43:51-48:54):
  • Shane O'Neill leads the competition, answering rapid-fire questions about recent news events, including Supreme Court decisions and quirky stories like a car being converted into a bus overnight (44:22).
  • Rachel Koster participates but finds the questions challenging, securing fewer points.
  • Austan Goolsbee triumphs by answering all his questions correctly, bringing his total score to 15 points and winning the game.

Closing Remarks

Peter Sagal wraps up the episode with acknowledgments to the guest Austan Goolsbee and the hardworking production team. He teases future segments and encourages listeners to join upcoming live shows in Portland, Maine, and Western Massachusetts.

Notable Quotes

• Austan Goolsbee (05:19): "If you're buying European brands of cat food, you deserve to lose a ton of money. My cat won't eat anything but El Jamon Spanish Iberico."
• Peter Sagal (03:13): "Using a tariff to fix your economy is like using an explosive to clear a clogged drain."
• Peter Sagal (25:12): "Aunt Trina's lasagna was stuck in the pipes, now it's Aunt Trina. She's down there. Nothing else is going down."

Conclusion

This episode of "Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!" offers a blend of humor, insightful economic discussions with Austan Goolsbee, and engaging listener interactions. The panelists and contestants navigate through witty banter and challenging quizzes, making it a memorable and entertaining listen for both regular fans and newcomers.

Transcript

[Capella University]

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[Bill Curtis]

From NPR and WBEZ Chicago, this is Wait, wait, don't tell me the NPR News quiz. I must be a dumb thing you said at a party because you can't stop thinking about me. I'm Bill Curtis, and here is your host at the Studebaker Theater at the Fine Arts Building in Chicago, Illinois, Peter Sagal.

[Peter Sagal]

Thank you, Bill. Thank you, everybody. Thank you so much. We have such a useful show for you today because we are going to be talking to an absolute rock star of the economics world, Austan Goolsbee. Now, he last appeared on our show to explain tariffs back in 2018 and compared them at the time to unclogging your kitchen sink with an explosive. Now, I don't know enough to tell you if that was accurate, but immediately after that, he was put in charge of the Federal Reserve bank of Chicago. So we are going to wait for him to come on with an appropriate metaphor for this situation. But in the meantime, we want to hear from you. The number to call is 1-88- wait, wait.

[Bill Curtis]

The number.

[Peter Sagal]

That's 1-888-924-89-2,4. Let's welcome our first listener contestant. How you run? Wait, wait, don't tell me. Hi, this is Jen Ainslie calling from New York City. I'm in Harlem. You're in Harlem, New York City. Well, that's fabulous. That's a great neighbor. What do you do there? I'm an executive admin to the president of a luxury fitness company. A luxury fitness company. I'm just imagining. I'm imagining what the culture in the office must be like. Does everyone wear spandex all the time? And do you have meetings while people are like on their exercise bikes? Oh, absolutely. Do you ever just want to come in wearing baggy pants and just sit there and eat Yodels? I won't tell about the secret snack closet that I have. Okay. Well, it's great to have you with us, Jen. Let me introduce you to to our panel this week. First up, he's a reporter for the Washington Post, where he writes the fabulous Style Memo newsletter. It's Shane O'Neill.

[Shane O'Neill]

Well, hello, Jen.

[Peter Sagal]

How are you? Hi, everyone. Hi, Shane.

[Shane O'Neill]

Hi.

[Peter Sagal]

Next, you know her from her TikTok show, Boy Room. It's Rachel Koster. Hi, Jen.

[Rachel Koster]

You sound strong.

[Peter Sagal]

And an actor and writer who can be seen in the show Two Square on Thursday, April 24th at the UCB Theater in New York. It's Peter Gross. Hi. So, Jen, welcome to the show. You're of course going to play who's Bill this time? We start the show with Bill Curtis performing for you three quotations from this week's news. Your job, of course, correctly identify or explain just two of them. Do that, you will win our prize. Any voice from our show you might choose for your voicemail. Ready to go? Very ready. Let's do it. Here we go. Your first quote is from a financial specialist giving his careful analysis of the economy this week.

[Bill Curtis]

This is bonkers.

[Peter Sagal]

Everything went bonkers this week after President Trump couldn't seem to make up his mind. About what?

[Peter Gross]

The tariffs.

[Peter Sagal]

The tariffs, that's right. This week, the President continued his economic strategy of chaos and capriciousness with short breaks for insider trading. The markets cratered, recovered, and then they cratered again. The Dow Jones went in directions we didn't know it could. It went up, it went down, it went left, then it went directly at you. The tariffs so far have been terrible for financial traders, consumers, farmers, basically everybody except people who make graphs. Great, great era for graphs. Were you guys freaking out all week?

[Rachel Koster]

I have not invested at this time.

[Peter Sagal]

I understand.

[Rachel Koster]

I can't wait to have some money to put in there when things chill out.

[Peter Sagal]

You keep your retirement account in like a half filled out frequent customer card for Starbucks. That's your investment.

[Rachel Koster]

There's maybe 20 bucks in there.

[Peter Sagal]

Yeah, I understand. Reports say that Trump decided to reverse himself on the tariffs after he saw people on Fox News saying the tariffs were really bad for the markets. He gets all his ideas from TV. That's why he insisted Don Jr. And Eric get separate bedrooms after he watched the White Lotus.

[Shane O'Neill]

I was waiting in TSA for 25 minutes today on the way here. Yeah. And so I started making small talk with some gentlemen with me. And the guy in front of me was like, oh, yeah, I work in finance. And I was like, quite a week. And he went, well, when people buy or people sell, I still get a commission. And I was like, oh, my God, there's someone I can hate more than the tsa, right?

[Peter Sagal]

Never happened before.

[Austan Goolsbee]

That's hilarious.

[Shane O'Neill]

Good for him.

[Peter Sagal]

The tariffs remain, prices will go up, and many Americans are stockpiling certain goods already. Among them, this is all true. European brands of cat food, seaweed. Ew.

[Austan Goolsbee]

If you're buying European brands of cat food, you deserve to lose a ton of money. My cat won't eat anything but El Jamon Spanish Iberico.

[Jen Ainslie]

Cat food.

[Peter Sagal]

Yes.

[Shane O'Neill]

I think you've never met my aunt. She would go absolutely broke buying European cat food.

[Austan Goolsbee]

What's wrong with, like, I don't know, Friskies Sheba?

[Peter Sagal]

Yeah, exactly.

[Shane O'Neill]

I'll tell you what, Mittens.

[Peter Sagal]

I'll tell you what a lot. All right, Jen, your next quote is from a scientist in the news this week.

[Bill Curtis]

Holy crap. That's the first time in 12,000 years that this species has howled.

[Peter Sagal]

He was responding to the announcement that geneticists have brought back a long extinct type of what? Dire wolf. Yes, the dire wolf is back. If you've never seen a dire wolf, just picture a wolf. But it's much bigger and never should have been brought back from extinction. They claim. They claim to have brought this extinct prehistoric animal, the dire wolf, back from extinction. It's news that has many Americans asking, can we shoot it now?

[Austan Goolsbee]

A dire wolf is like bigger and stronger and more powerful than a regular wolf.

[Peter Sagal]

Pretty much.

[Austan Goolsbee]

How did it go extinct? Like, isn't that against the all of.

[Peter Sagal]

Well, here's the funny thing.

[Austan Goolsbee]

Evolution.

[Peter Sagal]

So many animals went extinct around 12,000 years ago, which is when the dire wolf apparently went extinct because we humans ate them, which is not the case with the dire wolf. What happened with the dire wolf? So many other predators went extinct because we ate their food. Basically, the last major mass extinction happened because of some human being going, are you going to finish that?

[Shane O'Neill]

Well, hopefully we can learn our lesson and eat these new dire wolves.

[Peter Sagal]

Exactly. You have to say, well, why did they choose a dire wolf when there are really cool animals they could bring back, like the 12 foot tall giant sloth or the huge carnivorous. And these are very real terror birds.

[Austan Goolsbee]

I think they made a good choice.

[Rachel Koster]

Scientists are cowards.

[Peter Sagal]

I know, but they brought back. They did. They brought back the direwolf because of Game of Thrones, which featured direwolves rather prominently. Made them famous guys, that show also had dragons in it. What are we thinking?

[Rachel Koster]

Why can't they make more of the buff guy? Just some of my friends are out.

[Peter Sagal]

The one I do not believe. I mean, I'm not sure, but I do not believe Jason Momoa is extinct yet.

[Rachel Koster]

We could always go for a couple more.

[Peter Sagal]

Okay. All right, Jen, your last quote is from the New York Post.

[Bill Curtis]

They're not looking for love, they're looking to file.

[Peter Sagal]

The Post was writing about a new survey that suggests one in three singles have used a dating app to find someone to help them. Do what. Someone to find an accountant? Yes, they're looking for someone to help with their taxes on the dating apps. Young people are flocking to the apps, seeking not love, but the opposite of love. An accountant. And if you happen to be an accountant or tax expert and your hinge date just showed up with a shoebox full of receipts, she may not want you for your body.

[Austan Goolsbee]

Ooh, you look so.

[Peter Sagal]

So. Taxi.

[Rachel Koster]

I think boys are an incredible resource, and if you're using dating for anything other than to learn information, then you're missing part of the point. They can be so helpful. And so I just broke up with someone. Before we enter a recession, do you know how many questions I'm gonna have to send to my dad instead? That's such a bummer.

[Shane O'Neill]

Boys are a good source of information.

[Rachel Koster]

I think they're incredible.

[Shane O'Neill]

Girl, we know different boys.

[Peter Sagal]

This is this information. The survey was from the dating app, which asked more than 2,000 users if they would look for a date who could help with their taxes. A third of them said yes. Also, another third, I guess not the same third, said they find people who do their own taxes sexier than people who hire an accountant. Right. That's a little bit of a contradiction. So if you're on a date this weekend, the right thing to say is, well, I do my own taxes, of course, and I'd be happy to do yours, but you're too beautiful to need that.

[Rachel Koster]

People who do their own taxes are also sexier because they're probably, like, in a lot of trouble with the law, which is always hot. If you're on the run, that is.

[Peter Sagal]

So. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. I know that bad boys have always had an appeal to women, but you're telling me that a bad boy is someone who does his own taxes and might not have all the receipts? No.

[Austan Goolsbee]

It's like you picture a guy who's like, listen, Rachel, I can't stay. I'm on the run. I killed three people in Idaho.

[Peter Sagal]

Also.

[Austan Goolsbee]

Also, April 15th is coming up, but I have to finish my taxes.

[Rachel Koster]

Listening.

[Shane O'Neill]

I don't mean to take air out of this, but, like, is this. I mean, when I was waiting tables once, I went on a date with a customer I didn't like because I knew he had a hot tub. I mean, what's the difference here? You know? It all comes out in the wash in the end, right?

[Peter Sagal]

Exactly. Bill, how did Jen do in our quiz?

[Bill Curtis]

Well, she can check off a perfect store.

[Peter Sagal]

Well done. Right. Now, panel, it's time for you to answer some questions about this week's news. Shane, a new study should be encouraging to all the single folks out there. While being married, we all know does enhance your happiness and well being, it turns out you can get the same boost from what Sherbert. You have to say.

[Rachel Koster]

It's true.

[Peter Sagal]

I'm guessing you do sherbet. I don't know. That wasn't the result.

[Shane O'Neill]

Absolutely.

[Peter Sagal]

No, not sherbet.

[Shane O'Neill]

You can get the same boost of being married as having a pet.

[Peter Sagal]

Yes, exactly Right.

[Austan Goolsbee]

Good.

[Peter Sagal]

Researchers in Britain just found that the psychological benefit of owning a dog or cat is basically the same as what you get from marriage. And of course, pets would be way better than marriage if you didn't have to pick up your dog's poop. Or I guess if you did have to pick up your husband's.

[Shane O'Neill]

I mean, I've let my cat do my taxes for the last 10 years.

[Austan Goolsbee]

I would never buy a human being European food. That's all I'm saying.

[Shane O'Neill]

You want Nutella, honey? Find another husb.

[Peter Sagal]

Coming up. It's a collectible bluff. The listener game. Call 1 Triple 8. Wait, wait to play. We'll be back in a minute with more of Wait, wait, Don't tell me from npr.

[Peter Gross]

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[Peter Sagal]

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[Capella University]

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[Bill Curtis]

From NPR and WBC Chicago, this is. Wait, wait, don't tell me. The NPR News Quiz. I'm Bill Curtis. We are playing this week with Peter Gross, Rachel Coster, and Shane O'Neill. And here again is your host at the Studebaker Theater in Chicago, Illinois, Peter Sagal.

[Peter Sagal]

Thank you, Bill. Thank you so much. Right now it is time for the Wait, wait, don't tell me. Bluff the listener game. Call 1, triple 8. Wait, wait. To play our game on the air or check out the pinned post on our Instagram page. Atwait npr. Hi. Here on Wait, wait, don't tell me. Hi, this is Rachel from Maple Grove, Minnesota. Maple Grove, that's a suburb of the Twin Cities, right? It is, yeah. What do you do there? I work in HR technology. HR technology? Yeah, it's like the good parts of hr. I don't have to deal with people, just computers. I see. So it's like it's the best part of human resources because you're not dealing with any humans. Exactly. You just get to do the resources. That's the best part. I get it. Okay.

[Austan Goolsbee]

You work in rich.

[Peter Sagal]

Well, welcome to the show. Welcome to the show, Rachel. You're gonna play the game in which you mistried to tell truth from fiction. Bill, what is Rachel's topic?

[Bill Curtis]

Collect them all.

[Peter Sagal]

Who doesn't love a collection? Star wars figurines, stamps, the still beating hearts of those you vanquish. Our panelists are gonna tell you about a new collectible out there, one we hadn't heard of before. Pick the one who's telling the truth and you will win our prize, the voice of your choice on your voicemail. Ready to play? Yep. Okay, first, let's hear from Shane O'Neill.

[Shane O'Neill]

Boomers traded baseball cards. Millennials traded Pokemon cards. Gen Z traded their childhoods for a lifetime spent on algorithmically driven social media platforms. But Gen Alpha has a new hobby, trading ogisan cards. What are Og San cards?

[Peter Sagal]

Why?

[Shane O'Neill]

They're trading cards featuring middle aged men. Eddie Miyahara, the Secretary general of the Saitosho Community Council, was looking for a way to bridge the town's generation gap. The obvious solution, create trading cards featuring local men. Incredibly, it worked. The Saidosho Community Council just can't meet the demand of local youth eager to trade Mr. Honda, a 74 year old fire chief, for Mr. Takeshita, an 80 year old SOBA noodle maker. The most coveted card is Mr. Fuji, a 68 year old former prison guard who has become so popular that local children are asking him for his autograph. As of now, there are no plans to expand the trading card game to include the town's middle aged women, presumably because no female in Saitou show or the world would want to be involved in something this stupid.

[Peter Sagal]

The kids in a town in Japan are collecting trading cards with the middle aged men of the town on them. Your next collectible chronicle comes from Rachel Coster.

[Rachel Koster]

After their Xbox exploded at a sleepover, a group of 11 year old boys from Syosset, New York resorted to watching an old Sherlock's Home DVD, which caused a new obsession that is a huge mystery to their parents. The six boys who attended Frankie Giovanni's 11th birthday party have begun collecting tobacco pipes and smoking jackets. Each boy has amassed dozens of velvet, silk and satin jackets. Their fresh new lifestyle has begun to interfere with their extracurriculars. Frankie missed his soccer game because he was weeping over the beauty of an Hermes handkerchief, said Rebecca Giovanni. Kevin wouldn't come down for his Dino nuggets because he was in a bidding war for the jacket from Scarface, said Tony Farina's mother Trish. The boys now eschew playground time to gather in their finest velvet suits, holding unlit pipes and discussing their bones, growing weary the turbulent market and the long forgotten days of third grade boys collecting.

[Peter Sagal]

The accoutrement of the Edwardian era pipes and smoking jackets. Your last new collection comes from Peter.

[Austan Goolsbee]

Klose, the latest fad to sweep rural America Everyone's Crazy for cheese wax 11 year old Celine Duchamp and her family moved to the small town of Coldwater, Ohio from Evran, France where baby bell cheese, those little round red spheres of wax covered cheese is made. She was tray homesick so her classmates bought Celine 100 wheels of baby bell as a welcome gift. She gleefully gorged the cheese and after the constipation cleared up, she thanked her new friends by stringing the used wax together to make them jewelry necklaces, hoop earrings and clunky bracelets that would have made Mrs. Roper proud. In the conservative small town. The trend caught on with lightning speed and soon everyone was collecting baby bell wax and making red plastic jewelry, hats, bags and even dresses which one girl wore to the spring dance this week where she was crowned queen. Kids in nearby towns have started doing it too and it's led to a full blown red wax panic. Parents are in an uproar, local politicians are furious, and a Presbyterian preacher got so angry he tried to forbid everyone from dancing and wait a second, that's Actually footloose.

[Peter Sagal]

All right. Somewhere out there, somebody is excited. Somebody's excited about a new collectible. Was it from Shane O'Neill, kids in a small Japanese town who are all collecting and trading the cards depicting the middle aged and older men in their town with all their stats in the back? I presume from Rachel Coster, a town in Long island where a bunch of boys are all really into smoking jackets. Or from Peter Gross, a town in Ohio where everybody's collecting those wax rinds from little baby bell cheeses. Which of these is the story of a new collectible we read about in the news? You know, I think it has to.

[Rachel Koster]

Be the baby bell wax.

[Peter Sagal]

I just feel like that's something I would have done as like a 12 year old. So you can see yourself as a 12 year old just like going, mom, I just need more of that baby bell. Throwing away the cheese, keeping the wax. Well, to bring you the the real story, we spoke to a reporter covering it. The community center actually created the cards to be just collectible, but it was.

[Bill Curtis]

The kids who added the battling aspect.

[Peter Sagal]

That was Andrew Corble of the Good News Network talking about the collectible old man cards in the town in Japan. So even though Peter's idea was delicious and tempting to me as well, sadly he was lying to you and Shane was telling the truth. So sadly, you didn't win, but you earned a point for Peter and the right to go out and have some baby Belle whenever you wanted. Oh, good.

[Bill Curtis]

Thank you.

[Peter Sagal]

Well, thanks for playing. Take care. Bye. Bye. And now the game we call Not My Job. Austan Goolsbee was chair of Barack Obama's Council of Economic Advice. And then he became a professor at the University of Chicago and in 2022 became the president of the Federal Reserve bank of Chicago, which we assume means he's in charge of finally winning the war with the Federal Reserve bank of Kansas City. We thought it would be a great time to hear from somebody who can tell us what the hell is going on. So, Austan Goolsbee, welcome back to Wait, Wait, don't tell me.

[Bill Curtis]

Yeah, it's great to see you again.

[Peter Sagal]

Great to be with you again. So I guess I'll just start with this. How was your week?

[Jen Ainslie]

It was a bumpy week, wasn't it?

[Peter Sagal]

Was a little bit. A little bit.

[Jen Ainslie]

This is a day or a week or a month or a year or. This is the life of the Fed. You know, the Fed was invented coming out of the panic of 1907. So we've been dealing with financial Stability and market chaos and cleaning up messes for. For a long, long time.

[Peter Sagal]

So as I said, you were named to be president of the Federal Reserve bank of Chicago. What does that mean exactly?

[Jen Ainslie]

What do we do all day? I still ask myself that question. There's five functions of the Fed. I kind of think of it as being on your hand. At the base is monetary policy. It's the opposable thumb. It's what separates us from the animals. And we have a research department. We go every six weeks or so to, to Washington D.C. for the federal Open Market Committee. The shades come down, there's a giant table, and they go around the room and it's kind of. I don't know, it's kind of paradise if you're econ nerd.

[Peter Sagal]

All right, let me, let me interrupt. So I understand that there are 12 Federal Reserve banks, and some of them, some of you presidents get to be in that Open Markets Committee. And that's like this weird arcane thing where you meet and everybody stands outside like you're naming a new pope and.

[Jen Ainslie]

Then there's no pope and there's no flyers. But other than that, yes, that's pretty much how it is.

[Austan Goolsbee]

And then the Ray fines in it because he was so good at it.

[Peter Sagal]

And then what always happens is the head of the Federal Reserve comes out and he announces that if you're going to raise or lower or leave interest rates alone.

[Jen Ainslie]

Yeah, pretty much everybody sits around the table. There are boards of the Board of governors are political appointees and they're at the Washington D.C. fed. And then 12 of the 19 people around the table are from the 12 Reserve Banks. The Chicago district's kind of heart of the Midwest. It's most all of Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan. I feel a little regional pride.

[Peter Sagal]

Do you guys get into, like, rivalries? Like, you know, you start majorly, like, like give me an example of like, how, how you guys, like how you would talk trash with like the head of the Atlanta Federal Reserve bank, say.

[Jen Ainslie]

Yeah, the head of the Atlanta Federal Reserve is Rafael Bostic. He's an old friend of mine and he was in fact the guy that.

[Austan Goolsbee]

Yeah, but he's not here, man. Say something about him.

[Jen Ainslie]

When I was applying for the job, actually, he's the first guy called. I said, what do you do all day? You know, tell me about this job. I try when I go to make my statement, I try every meeting to come with some receipts about why we're the greatest district in, in America. Like that. Something on the order of 90% of the pumpkins grown in America are grown within a 100 mile radius of Peoria, Illinois. And that's if we have a meeting. If we have a meeting around Halloween, you bet I'm trotting that one out.

[Peter Sagal]

And oh, man, Austin's going on about the pumpkins again.

[Jen Ainslie]

All right, I have no problem with that.

[Peter Sagal]

When you ask a personal question, you may go ahead.

[Shane O'Neill]

Mr. Goolsbee, I just. I'm sorry, I'm sure you're tired of people asking this, but just in light of the tariffs and everything that's happened this week, should I buy or sell my Beanie Babies? Please say bye.

[Jen Ainslie]

It's all about the price. What can you get for them?

[Peter Sagal]

Exactly.

[Shane O'Neill]

Well, it's also an emotional computer commitments.

[Peter Sagal]

We did, in fact, want to talk to you about what's going on. You may remember that when you joined US Back in 2018, we asked you if you could explain what tariffs were and how they worked. And you gave us this wonderful metaphor of using a tariff to fix your economy is like using an explosive to clear a clogged drain. And that you may get good results.

[Jen Ainslie]

My Aunt Trina's lasagna.

[Peter Sagal]

Exactly. It was amazing. So if you're anti. If Trina's lasagna was sufficient to explain the relatively low tariffs that were. That President Trump was putting in place, then what would be adequate to explain what he's doing now?

[Jen Ainslie]

Well, look at that last. The last time we talked about tariffs.

[Peter Sagal]

Yes.

[Jen Ainslie]

I forgot to give my Aunt Tarina any warning that I had talked about her and Uncle Zion, all her friends began calling her and they said, is it true, your lasagna? She was like, I thought it was a pot roast, you know, but she did, basically.

[Austan Goolsbee]

Oh, that's a huge mistake. I mean, those are two. If you're looking at a pot roast recipe and lasagna comes out, you need to read that recipe.

[Peter Sagal]

But now, I mean, instead of. I'm guessing, and maybe you can't speak about it. Cause of your position now, but I'm guessing. Like, instead of Aunt Trina's lasagna being stuck in the pipes, now it's Aunt Trina. She's down there. Nothing else is going down.

[Jen Ainslie]

The way you've phrased it is right, Peter. And that is when you become a foreign member of the Federal Reserve, you don't have to sacrifice your Aunt Trina. No, but you are out of the fiscal policy business. So Congress and the President, in their wisdom, can do anything they want. I would say the Chicago Fed motto is like the Chicago City motto, there is no bad weather. There is only bad clothing. You tell us the conditions, we pick the jacket and we and we get on with it.

[Bill Curtis]

Right?

[Jen Ainslie]

The Fed is who you call when it's like clean up aisle three. And we go out and we clean it up.

[Peter Sagal]

Right.

[Jen Ainslie]

If it's peanut butter, it's different than if it's milk. But basically our job is to weigh in there.

[Peter Sagal]

We're Austan Goolsbee. It's always so great to talk to you. You make economics far less dreary. But we have invited you.

[Jen Ainslie]

It's not dreary at all.

[Peter Sagal]

What?

[Jen Ainslie]

How could you say that?

[Peter Sagal]

That's what I mean. That's what I mean. It's your enthusiasm that does it for us. But we have invited you here to.

[Bill Curtis]

Play a game we're calling Goolsby Goolsbee Shopping.

[Peter Sagal]

So we're thinking about your name, Austin Goolsbee. And we wonder. Goolsbee. Goolsbee. What? Shopping, of course, be shopping. And where would ghouls be shopping? Spirit Halloween, of course. So we're going to ask you three questions about the nationwide chain of pop up costume stories. You'll win our prize. One of our listeners, the voice of anyone they may choose for their voicemail. Bill, who is Chicago Federal Reserve President.

[Bill Curtis]

Austan Goolsbee playing for Aaron Davis of Sacramento, California?

[Peter Sagal]

Yeah.

[Jen Ainslie]

Let me apologize up front, Aaron. I hope I can deliver, but I don't know.

[Peter Sagal]

Well, all right, here's your first first question. Spirit Halloween actually pays to license their costumes based on movies and tv, but others don't, such as Walmart who sold a obviously a Wednesday Addams costume, but they called it what A evil midweek cutie, B Tuesday eves or C goth nine year old.

[Jen Ainslie]

Oh, it has to be the evil midweek kitty.

[Peter Sagal]

It is, it is. Of course, of course.

[Jen Ainslie]

Of course.

[Peter Sagal]

Very well done. Yeah. All right, here's your next question. Although their main focus is the three months of course around Halloween, Spirit Halloween as a company has tried to expand its brand with which of these A, spirit the movie, B, spirit Halloween fresh home meal kits or C, spirit the water park?

[Jen Ainslie]

Yikes. Those are the three choices.

[Peter Sagal]

Those are the three choices.

[Jen Ainslie]

I mean, how would it be anything but a movie?

[Peter Sagal]

And you're right again, yes. Spirit Halloween movie. It's about three teenagers who get locked in a spirit Halloween store on Halloween and ghostly hijinks ensue. It was released on streaming in 2022. All right, last question. This even can be perfect Spirit Halloween, of course, most famous for their sexy whatever costumes. You know which of these is a real sexy Halloween costume? A, sexy Mr. Peanut, B, sexy Walter White from Breaking Bad, or C, sexy pizza rat?

[Jen Ainslie]

Oh, my goodness. It has to be the sexy pizza rat.

[Peter Sagal]

It is. But they're all real. All of them. You can be any one of those you like. Bill, how did Austan Goolsbee do in our quiz?

[Bill Curtis]

As expected, he got them. All right, Austin, your winner.

[Peter Sagal]

Congratulations again. I think you're two for two on our show. And after you appeared earlier on our show, you became president of the Federal Reserve. So I can only imagine what glories await you now.

[Jen Ainslie]

Sir, I thought you were to say how much I owe you. And the check is in the mail.

[Peter Sagal]

Auston Goolsbee was one of Salon.com's 15 Sexiest Men of 2010. He's also the president of the Federal Reserve bank of Chicago, Austan Goolsbee. Thank you so much for coming back and joining us.

[Jen Ainslie]

Thank you. Congratulations.

[Peter Sagal]

Thank you, sir. Take care. In just a minute, we will reveal where Bill Curtis got his latest tattoo. It's our Listener Limber Challenge game. Call one triple eight Wait Wait to join us in the air. We'll be back in a minute with more. Wait Wait, don't tell me from npr.

[Peter Gross]

This message comes from Carvana. Carvana makes car selling easy. Just put in your license plate or VIN and get a real offer in seconds. Whether selling now or whenever feels right. Sell with Carvana.

[Capella University]

This message is brought to you by NPR sponsor Shopify. It's 2025, and a new year means new opportunities. Maybe you're thinking about starting your own business, but you have so many questions on how do I get started? Shopify's got you get your store up and running easily with thousands of customizable templates. No coding or design skills required, just drag and drop. Go to shopify.com NPR all lowercase to sign up for a $1 per month trial period today.

[Peter Gross]

This message comes from Warby Parker. If you wear glasses, you know how hard it is to find the perfect pair. But step into a Warby Parker store and you'll see it doesn't have to be. Find a Warby Parker store near [e-mail] retail.

[Bill Curtis]

From NPR and WBEZ Chicago, this is Wait, Wait, don't tell Me the NPR News quiz. I'm Bill Curtis. We are playing this week with Rachel Custer, Peter GROSS and Shane O'Neill. And here again is your host at the Studebaker Theater in Chicago, Illinois, Peter Sagal.

[Peter Sagal]

Thank you, Bill. In just a minute, it's the Game where if you lose, everybody backstage makes fun of you. It's the listener limerick Challenge. If you'd like to play even now, give us a call at 1-888-WAIT-WAIT. That's 1-888-924-89-24. Right now, panel, some more questions for you from the week's news. Peter, a super fan of the rapper Young Thug, recently showed off his new tattoo online, which covers his entire back. It's a picture of three galloping horses under the Young Thug lyric, horses don't stop, they keep going. There's just one problem with the tattoo. What?

[Austan Goolsbee]

It's either a misspelling or they're not horses.

[Peter Sagal]

Well, you're right. They're not horses in the lyric. The actual lyric in the Young Thug rap is hustlers don't stop. They keep going. And so the guy got the tattoo. God knows how much time he might went into it and pain. And he posted a picture, and it drew dozens of comments from other Young Thug fans. And they're all saying, what do you mean? And they were all like, what do you mean? He's not saying horses. Everybody thought he was saying horses when he was saying hustlers. Yeah, he did weigh in. This is true. Young Thug himself weighed in, and this is what he said. He made a promise to enunciate better.

[Austan Goolsbee]

And he's fourth grade. Like, teacher was like, I always thought Gerald could enunciate a little bit better.

[Peter Sagal]

Exactly. Yeah.

[Rachel Koster]

He is lucky that horses don't stop. They do just keep going. So he wasn't even wrong, even though he was.

[Austan Goolsbee]

You know, what Young Thug has to do now is write a song called Horses don't stop.

[Peter Sagal]

Exactly.

[Rachel Koster]

Just to justify the ink.

[Peter Sagal]

He can retroactively validate the tattoo. I love it. This does make me feel better about my tattoo, which says dance like no one's horses.

[Austan Goolsbee]

Or the guy, he can modify the tattoo until just give them, like, sunglasses and bandanas and, like, cool shirts. And I'd be like, they're hustlers.

[Peter Sagal]

They're hustlers. They're horse hustlers.

[Austan Goolsbee]

These are horses. They're hustlers.

[Peter Sagal]

Yeah. Shane. A mountain village in Italy has started to draw tourists and even new residents after deciding to, like, lead with the fact that their town is absolutely overrun with what?

[Shane O'Neill]

Dandruff?

[Peter Sagal]

No.

[Shane O'Neill]

Rats.

[Peter Sagal]

No, bigger.

[Shane O'Neill]

Oh, God. Bigger than a rat? Smaller than a dandruff.

[Peter Sagal]

Well, we always knew they crap in the woods. Now they can just crap on Main Street. Bears. Bears. Yes, bears. If you've ever enjoyed gorgeous scenery in a rustic village, but said, I wish it were more terrifying. We know where you should plan your next vacation. You should visit Peterano Solgizio, which translates to mamma mia. Look behind you. For years people have been afraid of the bears around there, but now they're embracing it. Goodbye, bear traps. Hello, tourist traps.

[Shane O'Neill]

And now a bunch of fat, hairy gay guys are like, hey, Italy it is.

[Peter Sagal]

There you go.

[Austan Goolsbee]

Wait, where in Italy? It must be super far north, right? I don't picture them like down in like ciquatere bears.

[Peter Sagal]

No, no, no. They're up in the Apennine mountains, up in the north of the country, Part of, you know, near the, near the Alps. What the town did is they bear proofed it so the bears can't get into the garbage cans and stuff. And this new ecological focus is like a bear reserve. Has increased tourism tenfold. It's a big turnaround for a town that was home to 5,000 people back in 1920, but now has a permanent population of just 390. Oh, wait, wait a minute. Now it's 389.

[Austan Goolsbee]

I was going to say all the flights there are booked and all the ones back are like half empty buds.

[Peter Sagal]

This is great long range planning. This year you're the town with all the bears. Ten years from now, you'll be the town with the best ghost tours.

[Shane O'Neill]

There's that rhyme about the bears. Like, if it's black, fight back. If it's brown, lie down. So then like if it's Italian, you're stallion. Yeah.

[Austan Goolsbee]

Wait, there is a bear about whom the advice is lay down.

[Shane O'Neill]

Yeah, it's like you're supposed to.

[Austan Goolsbee]

Is the bear like, oh, no, it's someone sleeping. I'm so sorry. I really apologize.

[Capella University]

It's played anything.

[Shane O'Neill]

Brown bears are really respectful of rest.

[Rachel Koster]

Yeah, they just get it.

[Austan Goolsbee]

They come over and they're like, here's an eyepatch.

[Shane O'Neill]

I'm the celestial seasons bear.

[Peter Sagal]

Coming up, it's lightning. Fill in the blank. But first it's the game where you have to listen for the rhyme. If you'd like to play on air, call or leave a message at 1-888-WAIT, that's 1-888-9-24-8924. You can see us most weeks here at the Studebaker Theater in Chicago or on the Road will be in Portland, Maine, June 26th and 27th and at Tanglewood in Western Massachusetts on August 28th. Tickets and info are at nprpresents.org hi, everyone. Wait, wait, don't tell me. Hi, this is Lori Riccio from Providence, Rhode Island. Hey, Laurie Riccio from Providence. Hi, Peter. Thanks. I love Providence. It's an Italian tone going way back. Are you like one of those long term Providence Italian families? No, only half Italian. So I spent half my life in Westerly, Rhode island and the other half in Providence. Westerly, Rhode island and Providence are four miles apart. You could walk from one to the other. Easy to split my time.

[Jen Ainslie]

Yes, exactly.

[Peter Sagal]

Well, welcome to the show, Laurie. Bill Curtis is going to read you three news related limericks of the last word of phrase missing from each. If you can fill in that last word or phrase correctly and two of the limericks will be a winner. You ready to play? Yep. Here is your first limerick.

[Bill Curtis]

Big striped cats are my comfort providers. When they roar, they imbue moral fiber. Though they make small prey nervous, they do me a service. Don't rid me of my seven.

[Peter Sagal]

Oh, I can't. I don't know. Big striped cats might be a bit of a clue, right? Tiger.

[Bill Curtis]

Tiger.

[Peter Sagal]

When officials came to seize the Nevada man's unauthorized big cat collection, the man claimed that all seven of his tigers were service animals. He was arrested. The tigers were taken to an animal sanctuary, which is kind of a shame because I would have loved first to see him try to get on a plane with seven tigers, each of them wearing an enormous don't pet me, I'm working vest.

[Austan Goolsbee]

And if he was like, without these tigers, I'm so anxious.

[Peter Sagal]

This is true. He claimed that his seven grown tigers helped him with his ptsd, which I assume stands for petting Tigers stress disorder.

[Shane O'Neill]

I visited a tiger sanctuary in Indiana once, and when you throw them a pumpkin, they eat them in like one bite. And it's pretty satisfying. So that was like emotional support. That's like, you know, it's like cracking your knuckles at something satisfying to watch.

[Peter Sagal]

Right?

[Shane O'Neill]

Right times seven. I'm on his side. I'm sorry.

[Rachel Koster]

They can't tell the difference between a pumpkin and an unwell head or a well head.

[Bill Curtis]

Who knows?

[Peter Sagal]

All right, here is your next limerick.

[Bill Curtis]

Small tattoo, gun, flat bed and a clamped lamp. I'm all prepped as a freshly revamped scamp. Soon I'll have inky tracks on my flat lower back. I embrace the return of the tramp stamp.

[Peter Sagal]

Tramp stamp, Yes.

[Bill Curtis]

I thought no one would ever get that.

[Peter Sagal]

Tramp stamps are the. The lower back tattoos that in the 90s were associated with promiscuity and in the 2000s were associated with laser removal. But now, according to some of the nation's top Tattoo artists lower back tattoos are making a comeback. Of course, tattoo artists have always loved tramp stamps because it's so hard for you to see whether they made a mistake. Obviously things are different with the younger generation. For one thing, nowadays they don't always have to be a butterfly and these tattoos don't have to be slutty. My tramp stamp says true love waits.

[Rachel Koster]

I'm a barista in Brooklyn. This news is not very shocking to me. All my co workers are sporting them.

[Shane O'Neill]

What are they getting really?

[Rachel Koster]

Just like really scary skulls and stuff?

[Shane O'Neill]

They're getting cyber skills.

[Peter Sagal]

Scary skull tramps?

[Rachel Koster]

Yeah, they're all like goth and LGBT and skull. The goth crossover is crucial.

[Shane O'Neill]

I guess I'm old enough to remember when gay people had taste.

[Rachel Koster]

We need queer elders now more than ever.

[Austan Goolsbee]

We need queer elders.

[Shane O'Neill]

I will happily come to your coffee shop and bully your gay barista coworker.

[Peter Sagal]

Thank you. Here is your last limerick.

[Bill Curtis]

No matter how well runners train, a marathon makes them insane. There's the pain and the smell and the loss of gray cells because the strain makes them shrink their own brain.

[Peter Sagal]

Exactly right. According to new research, running a marathon can deplete the part of your brain in charge of motor skills and emotional regulation for up to two months after the race. But hey, you get a medal. So basically, during the race, as your body depletes itself stored energy, it starts eating your brain fats after it's gotten rid of your like pasta fats. Come on, body. My love handles are right there.

[Rachel Koster]

I've been at bars when running clubs come in afterwards. You don't need to tell me twice that they're a little dumb.

[Peter Sagal]

Yeah, I know. Bill, how did Lori do in our quiz?

[Bill Curtis]

Perfect.

[Peter Sagal]

Three in a row. Well done. Thank you so much for playing, Lori. Thank you, Peter. Take care.

[Jen Ainslie]

Can't you tell I'm not well? I need a new brain.

[Peter Sagal]

Pack it in. Start again with one I can train. I was bound to let you down.

[Capella University]

This Message comes from NPR. Sponsor 1Password. Secure access to your online world, from emails to banking, so you can protect what matters most with 1Password. For a free two week trial, go to 1. Password.com NPR.

[Peter Gross]

This message comes from Lisa. Lisa makes exceptionally comfortable mattresses designed for every body and budget. Elevate your sleep with Lisa. Go to Lisa.com for 20% off their award winning mattresses, plus an extra 50 off with promo code NPR. This message comes from Midi Health. Women in midlife face a health care desert, but MITI is here to fill the gap, offering expert care for perimenopause and menopause covered by insurance. Hot flashes, insomnia, brain fog, weight gain, and moodiness don't have to be accepted as just another part of aging. Midi clinicians understand how these symptoms can connect to menopause and prescribe a wide range of solutions. Book your visit [e-mail] that's joinmidi.com now.

[Peter Sagal]

It'S time for 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. Each correct answer now worth two points. Bill, can you give us the scores?

[Bill Curtis]

Shane has two. Peter and Rachel each have three.

[Peter Sagal]

That's exciting.

[Austan Goolsbee]

It is.

[Peter Sagal]

So that means, Shane, it feels good to win. So that means, Shane, you are in second place. Right. So the clock will start when I begin your first question. Fill in the blank. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court said that the White House had no obligation to rehire workers who were laid off by Blank.

[Shane O'Neill]

Donald Trump or Doge?

[Peter Sagal]

Doge. Yeah. On Tuesday, the acting commissioner of the Blank announced plans to leave the agency.

[Shane O'Neill]

I mean, name all of them. I don't know. A whole bunch.

[Peter Sagal]

This week, it was the irs. As part of a prisoner exchange, ballet dancer Ksenia Karolina was released from detention in Blank Russia. Right. On Thursday, the lineup for this year's Blank film festival was announced. Camp. Yep. This week, police escorted a woman off her flight after she refused to Blank.

[Shane O'Neill]

Share her Diet Coke.

[Peter Sagal]

So close pay for the Pringles she ordered. On Tuesday, Mattel announced that LeBron James would become the first male athlete to become a Blank doll.

[Shane O'Neill]

A Ken doll.

[Peter Sagal]

Right. On Thursday, comedy institution Blank announced a British spinoff.

[Shane O'Neill]

Oh, snl.

[Peter Sagal]

Yes. This week, a man in Montreal whose car was parked legally still got a ticket because the city blanked overnight.

[Shane O'Neill]

Froze.

[Peter Sagal]

No, turned the parking space into a bus stop.

[Austan Goolsbee]

What?

[Peter Sagal]

Cruise. He parked perfectly legal space. Then Cruise came out, converted that street parking into a bus stop overnight. And minutes after completing the job, they gave the man a ticket for being parked at a bus stop. Even worse. Even worse, they converted his car into a bus. And now there's a guy in his backseat facetiming without headphones on.

[Shane O'Neill]

I don't know. I don't feel bad about the tariffs anymore.

[Peter Sagal]

Yeah, you are. Get him, Bill. How does Shane do in our quiz five. Right.

[Bill Curtis]

For 10 more points, his total of 12 puts him in the lead.

[Peter Sagal]

Well done. Here we go. So arbitrarily, why don't I pick Rachel to go next?

[Rachel Koster]

Thank you.

[Peter Sagal]

You're very welcome. I don't know why you're thanking me, but here we go. Rachel, you're up next. Fill in the blank. On Thursday, the House passed the GOP's blank plan.

[Rachel Koster]

It's a new one for fishing.

[Peter Sagal]

Fishing plan? No, their budget plan. This week, federal judges temporarily halted the deportation of several men from. Blank.

[Rachel Koster]

El Salvador?

[Peter Sagal]

No, Venezuela. On Monday, Florida defeated Houston to win the 2025 men's blank championship. Basketball. Right. NCAA. While speaking to a panel in California, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon repeatedly referred to AI as blank.

[Rachel Koster]

Good.

[Peter Sagal]

No. She referred to it as a one.

[Rachel Koster]

Saucy.

[Peter Sagal]

On Tuesday, a list of the world's best airports were released, and blank of them were located in the US Most. No, none this week. This week, a rugby game in France was delayed after the person who was supposed to parachute into the match holding the game ball blanked.

[Rachel Koster]

I got scared.

[Peter Sagal]

No. Got stuck on the stadium roof. The man was gliding down gracefully when the parachute got caught in the ceiling of the stadium overhang, leaving him dangling in front of thousands of fans while holding the ball. They needed to start the game. Oh, no.

[Austan Goolsbee]

They're like, just drop it.

[Peter Sagal]

Drop the ball.

[Rachel Koster]

Oh, I did bad.

[Peter Sagal]

Well, let's find out. Bill, how did Rachel do in our quiz?

[Bill Curtis]

One. Right.

[Rachel Koster]

Thank you, guys. It's not as easy as it looks.

[Bill Curtis]

But it gives her two more points, which means that she has five.

[Rachel Koster]

Bit of a genius.

[Peter Sagal]

So how many, then, does Peter Gross need to win this thing?

[Bill Curtis]

Five to win.

[Austan Goolsbee]

Five to win.

[Peter Sagal]

All right, here we go. Peter, this is for the game. In a reversal to his typical stance, Blank urged people to get the measles vaccine this week.

[Austan Goolsbee]

Oh, RFK Jr. Mm.

[Peter Sagal]

On Tuesday, a federal judge said the administration's decision to limit the AP's access to Trump violated the blank.

[Austan Goolsbee]

The First Amendment.

[Peter Sagal]

Yeah, the Constitution. This week, rescue workers are still searching for survivors after a nightclub's roof collapsed in blank.

[Austan Goolsbee]

Oh, Dominican Republic.

[Peter Sagal]

Exactly right. On Wednesday, it was ruled that Newsmax had defamed Dominion voting systems when they said the blank was rigged.

[Austan Goolsbee]

The 2020 election.

[Peter Sagal]

Right. After ending a career of over 20 years, it was revealed that a judge in Brazil's real name was Jose de Reis and not blank like he had always claimed.

[Austan Goolsbee]

Maria de Reis.

[Peter Sagal]

No, it was not Edward Albert Lancelot. Dod. Canterbury Caterham Wickfield. According to a new study, heavy blanking increases risk of cognitive decline.

[Austan Goolsbee]

It can't be heavy petting.

[Peter Sagal]

No.

[Austan Goolsbee]

Heavy drinking.

[Peter Sagal]

Heavy drinking. This week, a plumber in Indiana who wasn't paid after unclogging the pipes at a local restaurant.

[Austan Goolsbee]

Blank clogged the pipes intentionally.

[Peter Sagal]

He did. He went back and re clogged the pipes. It was an ingenious way to get paid. And it worked. But it made for the weirdest job listing of all time. Wanted you and all your hairiest friends to come shower in a restaurant's sink. Bill, did Peter do well enough to win?

[Bill Curtis]

He did. Fifteen is his total score. He wins.

[Peter Sagal]

Congratulations. Yay. Well done.

[Capella University]

Thank you.

[Peter Sagal]

Well, in just a minute, we're going to ask our panelists to predict now that we have the dire wolf, what will science bring back next? But first, let me tell you that 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 Kodikes Limerick's Our public address announcer is Paul Friedman. Our tour manager is Shayna Donald. Thanks to the staff and crew at the Studebaker Theater. Vijay Lederman composed our theme. Our program is produced by Jennifer Mills, Miles Norbaus and Lillian King. Special thanks to Blythe Roberson and Monica Hickey. Peter Gwynne is our emotional support producer. Emma Choi is our vibe curator. Our jolly good fellow is Hannah Anderson. Technical direction is from Lorna White. Her CFO is Colin Miller. Our production manager is Robert Newhouse. Our senior producer is Ian Chillock. And the executive producer of Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me is Michael Danforth. Now, panel, what will science bring back next? Shane O'Neill, the extremely frivolous Wolf, Rachel Koster, your hairline, from your lips to God's ear, and Peter Gross.

[Austan Goolsbee]

They will bring back all the dads who went out for cigarettes and never returns.

[Bill Curtis]

And if that happens, we're gonna ask you about it right here on Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me.

[Peter Sagal]

Thank you, Bill Curtis. Thanks also to Shane O'Neal, Rachel Costner and Peter Gross. Thanks to our fabulous audience here at the Studebaker Theater in downtown Chicago, Illinois, and all of you for listening wherever you may be. I'm Peter Sagel. We'll see you next week from Durham, Northwest Carolina. This is NPR.

[Peter Gross]

This message comes from Lisa. Since 2015, Lisa has donated over 41,000 mattresses nationwide. Elevate your sleep with Lisa. Go to Lisa.com for 20% off, plus an extra $50 off with promo code.

[Capella University]

NPR this message comes from NPR sponsor Rosetta Stone, an expert in language learning for 30 years. Right now, NPR listeners can get Rosetta Stone's lifetime membership to 25 different languages for 50% off. Learn more at Rosetta Stone.com NPR this.

[Peter Gross]

Message comes from Charles Schwab. When it comes to managing your wealth, Schwab gives you more choices like full service, wealth management and advice when you need it. You can also invest on your own and trade on thinkorswim. Visit schwab.com to learn more.