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

Episode: Carissa Moore, Bob Costas, and Jim Rice
Date: December 27, 2025
Host: Peter Sagal (with Alzo Slade and Che "Rhymefest" Smith)
Guests: Bob Costas, Carissa Moore, Jim Rice
Location: Studebaker Theater, Chicago; segments from Honolulu and Boston

Episode Overview

This special end-of-year episode of NPR’s Wait Wait... Don’t Tell Me! is a retrospective celebration of remarkable moments from 2025. Host Peter Sagal and the Wait Wait team revisit some of their favorite conversations and games with this year’s notable guests: legendary broadcaster Bob Costas, surfing gold medalist Carissa Moore, and baseball Hall of Famer Jim Rice. The episode features warm, humorous storytelling, insightful career reflections, and a healthy dose of trademark Wait Wait banter.

Key Segments & Discussion Points

1. Bob Costas: On Sports, Broadcasting, and Bloopers

[Starts ~01:25]

Highlights:

• Early Days & Career Shift:
  • Bob shares how a coach advised him into broadcasting:
    “You’re not bad with the glove and you can run a little bit, but I don’t think you can hit your weight and I don’t think you weigh 130… ever thought about broadcasting?” (Bob Costas, 03:15)
  • He emphasizes the necessity of hands-on experience:
    “You cannot learn it in a classroom... the only way you actually learn to be a broadcaster is by doing it.” (05:10)
• Early Mistake on Air:
  • A tale of an unexpected on-air blooper:
    “...the last thing he wants to see is a repeat of Friday night’s flow.” (07:25)
    (Costas accidentally made a suggestive mistake, thinking he’d be fired, but the station manager let him off with a warning.)
  • Lighthearted crowd suggestion: “If everyone clapping could give $5,000, that would be really wonderful.” (06:41)
• Views on Baseball Changes:
  • Critiques modern trends in baseball:
    “It’s just another small indication of the general decline of Western civilization.” (09:40)
  • Shares quips about the oddest sports he’s covered, notably race walking and curling:
    “Isn’t a competition to see who can walk the fastest a little bit like a contest to see who can whisper the loudest?” (11:40)
• Emmy Quiz Game with Bob (14:50 – 20:45):
  • Costas nails all three trivia questions (origins of “Emmy”, Andy Samberg’s HBO log-in, Helen Mirren’s funny acceptance line).
  • Notable quote: “Let’s call going 3-for-3 on this game ‘The Costi!’” (20:45)

Notable Quote:

“You cannot learn it in a classroom... the only way you actually learn to be a broadcaster is by doing it.”
— Bob Costas [05:10]

2. Bluff the Listener Game

[Starts 22:15]

• Theme: “Carpe diem” – stories of people seizing the day.
• Three funny and inventive stories compete; Rich from Kailua, Hawaii, selects the true one about a woman running a 100-meter LEGO run for a Guinness World Record (confirmed by a Washington Post reporter).
• Panelists: Shane O’Neill, Dulce Sloan, Helen Hong.

3. Carissa Moore: Surfing Legend, Confidence, and Motherhood

[Starts 29:30]

Discussion Points:

• Mural in Honolulu:
  • Carissa describes seeing herself painted alongside Duke Kahanamoku:
    “It’s super surreal. I can’t believe they still have it up.” (30:10)
• Early Fame and Family:
  • Started surfing at Waikiki at a young age, with her father as mentor and surfing buddy:
    “He still paddles out with me.” (32:30)
• Unexpected Shyness and Pre-Competition Rituals:
  • Admits to lacking confidence and how she psychs herself up:
    “I struggle with confidence... I like to have random dance parties before I go out surfing.”
    “Right before I paddled out for the Olympic final... I FaceTimed my husband, and we did a dance to Ed Sheeran.” (33:35)
• Surfing While Pregnant and Parenthood:
  • Shares the experience of competing while pregnant and introducing her baby to surfing.
  • On her daughter: “There’s no crying. That’s important.” (36:50)
• Game: “Shortboard Meet Really Bored”
  • Carissa aces the quiz about boredom-related trivia (BuzzFeed cat hair crafts, Fred Rogers’s farting at parties, bored Illinois man ramming cop car).
  • Notable moment: “I think you should wear the medal every day.” (34:40, Peter Sagal to Carissa)

Notable Quote:

“I struggle with confidence... I like to have random dance parties before I go out surfing.”
— Carissa Moore [33:35]

4. Panelist Banter and News Quiz Highlights

[Starts 42:00]

• 28% of young beer drinkers put ice in their beer (“spitting in the face of decades of put the glass in the freezer technology”).
• Homebuyers wanting to spend a night in a house before buying.
• Plane etiquette: bring seven hard-boiled eggs, some unpeeled.
• Tech news: Kohler’s new $600 toilet seat camera for health data (“Point it up and your dreams will be haunted forever.”)

5. Jim Rice: Hall of Fame Slugger, Red Sox Icon

[Starts 59:10]

Highlights:

• Adjusting to Boston:
  • On moving from the South:
    “Being from the South, I was brought up that you speak to everyone... Someone stopped me and said, ‘We don’t do that here.’” (59:40)
• Playing the Green Monster:
  • On Fenway Park’s famous wall:
    “This is like your house... We knew we had a chance to get a double. Opposing teams, they didn’t have any idea... They were getting a single.” (01:01:00)
• Induction to Hall of Fame:
  • Was watching Young and the Restless with his mom when he got the call:
    “So when I got the call, I was watching Young and the Restless, and I was asked, well, you just made it to the hall of Fame. I said, look, I’m looking at the young and restless. Call me back later.” (01:03:00)
  • Received a congratulatory call from Victor, a leading actor from the soap opera.
• Approach to Hitting:
  • When asked about his hitting technique:
    “See ball, hit ball.” (01:07:00)
• Game: “Watch Out for These Green Monsters”
  • Jim answers trivia about the Hulk, the Grinch, and Oscar the Grouch.

Notable Quote:

“See ball, hit ball.”
— Jim Rice [01:07:00]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Bob Costas on race walking:
  “Isn’t a competition to see who can walk the fastest a little bit like a contest to see who can whisper the loudest?” [11:40]
• Carissa Moore on confidence:
  “You could keep telling me that, but somehow I don’t believe it. I struggle with confidence.” [33:28]
• Jim Rice, on his Hall of Fame call:
  “So when I got the call, I was watching Young and the Restless... I said, look, I’m looking at the young and restless. Call me back later.” [01:03:00]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:25 – Peter Sagal introduces Bob Costas segment.
• 03:15 – Bob recalls school coach’s advice.
• 07:25 – Costas recounts early broadcast “flow” mistake.
• 11:40 – On the Olympics, race walking, and harmless jokes gone wrong.
• 14:50 – Emmy awards quiz with Bob (rapid-fire trivia).
• 22:15 – Bluff the Listener Game, “Carpe diem” stories.
• 29:30 – Carissa Moore interview starts.
• 33:35 – Carissa discusses shyness and pre-surf rituals.
• 36:50 – On surfing with her baby and motherhood.
• 42:00 – Panelist banter: young people put ice in beer, homebuyers’ sleepovers, boiled eggs on planes, the Kohler toilet camera.
• 59:10 – Jim Rice interview.
• 01:01:00 – Green Monster stories from Fenway.
• 01:03:00 – Jim’s Hall of Fame induction, soap opera call.
• 01:07:00 – “See ball, hit ball” – Jim’s hitting mantra.
• 01:12:25 – Green Monsters trivia game.

Tone & Style

The episode is delivered in the irreverent, quick-witted, and affectionate style typical of Wait Wait... Don’t Tell Me! Panelists and guests are candid, playful, and game to poke fun at themselves. Peter Sagal maintains a brisk pace, encourages self-deprecating stories, and always ties the humor back to genuine moments of insight.

For Listeners Who Missed the Episode

This "Facing the Future While Looking Backwards" edition of Wait Wait... Don’t Tell Me! is a vibrant celebration of the show’s best 2025 celebrity interviews—full of sports wisdom, behind-the-scenes gaffes, honest admissions about confidence, and quirky trivia. Whether you’re a Bob Costas acolyte, a surfing fan, or a lifelong baseball lover, there’s both laughter and insight to be found, wrapped in the show’s signature wit.