WWDTM: Cynthia Nixon

Summary

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Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! | NPR

Episode: Cynthia Nixon

Date: September 27, 2025

Host: Peter Sagal
Notable Panelists: Negin Farsad, Adam Burke, Casey Shornima (debut)
Celebrity Guest: Cynthia Nixon

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Episode Overview

This lively episode of NPR’s beloved news quiz show features classic quips, sharp news commentary, and an entertaining interview with acclaimed actor Cynthia Nixon (Sex and the City, And Just Like That, The Gilded Age). The show rolls through rapid-fire news games, hilarious panel banter, and a deep-dive into Cynthia Nixon’s unique Broadway history and pop culture legacy.

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Key Discussion Points & Highlights

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1. “Who’s Bill This Time?”: The News Quiz Opener

• (02:40 – 09:28)
  • Donald Trump’s UN Escalator Debacle:
    • Trump and Melania’s escalator malfunction at the UN prompts mockery and riffs on Trump’s history with escalators.
    • Panel joke: His political life is “bookended by escalators” (Adam Burke, 04:15).
    • “He just stands there waiting for it to start working.” (Adam Burke, 04:37)
  • Broadway Musicals in Trouble:
    • Not one of 18 new Broadway musicals has made a profit this year.
    • Negin Farsad shares her love for the NYC musical scene, recounts a Rosh Hashanah story where “a guy...writes musicals for a living” breaks into a Jewish new year song (05:34).
    • Peter Sagal quips about “legalized gambling” saving the industry:
      • “I got $5,000 on the Sharks over the Jets. Come on, Maria!” (06:38)
  • The Rapture Rumor:
    • Viral TikTok “RaptureTalk” forecasts the apocalypse for Sept 23rd or 24th.
    • Panel riffs on the logistics: Can one get to heaven if indoors?
    • “Can you imagine...you get sucked into a jet engine.” (Peter Sagal, 08:43)
    • “Do you keep hitting your head on the ceiling like a video game?” (Casey Shornima, 08:53)

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2. Legal Witnesses and Animal Testimony

• (10:07 – 11:37)
  • AI & Animal Witnesses:
    • The American Bar Association considers if pets could soon testify in court.
    • “We all know that, but now you might have to worry about all your pets d[a]iving you out.” (Peter Sagal, 10:33)
    • Adam Burke: “By hostile witnesses, I mean cats...just gonna send everybody down the river.”

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3. Bluff the Listener: Fish Tales

• (14:55 – 19:02)
  • Three wild-but-true stories about fishing:
    • Robotic Catfish Prank: Legendary “Commodore” catfish exposed as a remote-control prank.
    • Fish-or-Phony Dating App: Verifying if men caught their dating profile fish (Casey Shornima’s tall tale).
    • Freckled Redfish Spelling Words: Real story—spotted redfish found with natural markings forming words.
      • “They have this connection with our world and pop culture. They’re trying to tell us something.” (Negin Farsad, 18:32, quoting a real “redfish freckle connoisseur”)
    • WINNER: The ‘redfish with secret messages’—confirmed by Andrew Brown, founder of Drum Spots.

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4. Celebrity Interview: Cynthia Nixon

• (20:47 – 30:49)

Her Broadway Double-Duty

• At age 18, Cynthia performed in two Broadway shows at once—alternating acts between “Hurly Burly” and “The Real Thing.”
• “I would change my clothes...walk two blocks...wait, and then I would go on in the real thing.” (Cynthia Nixon, 21:37)
• “My character...by the third act had become a street hooker.” (21:51)

Sex and the City Legacy

• “We knew there was nothing like it on television...but by the second season, they put us on the cover of Time magazine. At that point, we weren’t just entertainment. We had fully entered the zeitgeist.” (Cynthia Nixon, 22:54)
• On fans moving to NYC:
  • “Women are often coming up to me and saying, ‘I moved here because of your show.’ And I do feel a little guilty.” (23:33)
  • “People have also said...the most unrealistic [thing] was that there were that many attractive single men...” (23:42)

On Costumes: The Gilded Age vs. Sex and the City

• Corsets in The Gilded Age: “I’m not gonna say they’re [not] formidable...There’s a lot of people in Uggs and a lot of people in clogs.” (25:15)

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5. Not My Job Game: The New York Knicks

• (25:50 – 30:49)
  • Peter quizzes Nixon on Knicks trivia.
  • Notable moment:
    • LeBron James Knicks pursuit—Sopranos ending filmed just for him.
    • On James Dolan using facial recognition to keep lawyers out.
    • Locker room tension “broken by an epic fart”—“The fart wins.” (Bill Curtis, 30:30)

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6. Panel Banter & News Questions

• (32:38 – 37:07)
• Zuckerberg’s demo of $800 AI glasses fails.
• Men’s short shirts trend—“Grab your scissors, fellas.”
• Scientists record leopard shark threesomes: “A menage a shark.” (36:01)

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7. Listener Limerick Challenge

• (38:11 – 42:29)
  • Groaning at impossible-to-open Talenti gelato jars.
  • The rise of tooth tattoos (“I thought I got a piercing in my tooth, but it was just a cavity.” – Casey Shornima, 41:06)
  • Baywatch reboot gets greenlit—“Isn’t it amazing that hot people in bathing suits can still get a TV show?” (Negin Farsad, 42:20)

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8. Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank

• (44:00 – 49:10)
  • Panelists rapidly answer news questions.
  • Casey Shornima, in her panel debut, wins the game: “How does it feel?” — “Incredible.” (49:12)

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9. Closing Jokes: Musicals to Save Broadway

• (50:14 – 50:29)
  • Adam Burke: “Epstein! (exclamation point)”
  • Negin Farsad: “Phantom of the Miserable on the Roof.”
  • Casey Shornima: “Chicago, based on the movie, based on the musical, based on the play.”

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Peter Sagal: “I've never myself watched the show. I’m assuming that’s a compliment. He’s a great guy and that to this day he’s alive and well. Right?” (00:44)
• Adam Burke: “Trump does look like a guy who thinks all stairs are just a broken escalator.” (04:36)
• Cynthia Nixon: “By the third act, [my character] had become a street hooker...very garish makeup...with William Hurt...after 11 o’clock.” (21:51)
• Casey Shornima: “I recently rewatched the episode where Miranda has chlamydia. And let me say, it’s measured up. No, I’m kidding.” (24:29)
• Adam Burke: “By hostile witnesses, I mean cats.” (11:20)
• Peter Sagal: “The fart wins.” (30:37)

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Timestamps of Important Segments

• 00:21 – Show open
• 02:40 – “Who’s Bill This Time?” quiz
• 10:07 – Animal witnesses in court discussion
• 14:55 – Bluff the Listener: Fish stories
• 20:47 – Cynthia Nixon interview
• 25:50 – Not My Job: Knicks quiz with Cynthia Nixon
• 32:38 – More panel news questions & banter
• 38:11 – Limerick Challenge
• 44:00 – Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank
• 50:14 – Panelists predict new Broadway musicals
• 50:29 – Credits and sign-off

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Episode Tone & Atmosphere

• High-energy, playful, and irreverent as always; Cynthia Nixon blends seamlessly with the fun as she reflects candidly on TV, theater, and fame.
• The panelists riff off the news and each other’s jokes, with wit that’s both sharp and warm.

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For listeners new to Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!:
This episode is a quintessential blend of real news, quick-witted commentary, and playful interviews, with an especially delightful (and revealing) segment featuring Cynthia Nixon. Perfect for pop culture fans and news trivia buffs alike.

Transcript

[Announcer]

This message comes from FX's English teacher. Last year's critically acclaimed series returns to follow Evan, Gwen and Markie as they vie for their students divided attention. FX's English Teacher. All new Thursdays on FX. All episodes now streaming on Hulu.

[Bill Curtis]

From NPR in WBEZ Chicago, this is Wait, wait, don't tell me, the NPR News quiz. When you yell echo, I'm the voice that yells back, 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 all so much. We are also excited because we have a great show lined up for you. Later on, we're going to be talking to the legendary actor Cynthia Nixon, star of, among many other things, sex and the City and its sequels. And I am particularly excited because for years people have been telling me that I remind them of a character in the show Mr. Big. And I've never myself watched the show. I'm assuming that's a compliment. He's a great guy and that to this day he's alive and well. Right? So it's all good. And just like that, it's your turn. So give us a call. The number is one triple eight. Wait, wait. That's 1-888-924-8924. Now let us welcome our first listener contestant. Hi. You're on Wait, wait, don't tell me. Hi, this is Coop Daly. I'm calling from Jersey City, New Jersey. Jersey City in New Jersey. How are you? I'm great. I'm great as an NPR fan and Sexton City fan. This is a dream come true. There you go. I mean, you actually all your worlds are coming together. Well, welcome to the show, Coop. Let me introduce you to our panelists this week. First up, she is a comedian and host of the podcast Fake the Nation. You can see her new TED Talk on dating. It's Negeen Farsad. Hey. Next, a comedian will be hosting the new thank youk Goodnight show at Chicago's Second City every Friday in October. It's Mr. Adam Burke. Hello. Hi. And making her debut on our panel this week, she's a comedian and writer for Saturday Night Live whose work can be found [e-mail] it's Casey Shornema. Hi. Welcome to the show, Casey. And welcome to the show. Coop, you're going to play who's Bill this time? Bill Curtis, of course, is going to read you three quotations from this week's news. Your job, simply identify or explain two of them out of the three. Do that and you will win our prize. Any voice from our show and your voicemail. Are you ready to go? Let's do it. Latz, here is your first quote.

[Bill Curtis]

It's amazing. Melania and I didn't fall.

[Peter Sagal]

That was President Trump demanding an investigation into the malfunctioning. What? That delayed his arrival at the UN General assembly this week. The escalator. The escalator. Just as the President and First lady stepped onto an up escalator at the un it stopped with a jolt. Melania was just in front of him. So he came within inches for the first time in years. Everyone saw this. It happened, of course, on live tv. He is furious. On Wednesday, he announced he demanded an investigation into whoever was responsible. Then on Friday, he held a press conference announcing that escalators cause autism.

[Negin Farsad]

Like, I remember when I was. It's a really early memory. I must have been like 4 or 5 years old and I was afraid to get on escalators. And my mom was going up an escalator and I was just too far behind her. And the escalator stopped and I looked at her and she was at the top and she was just like. Just come up the stairs. Like, stairs. You know what I mean?

[Peter Sagal]

Yeah.

[Negin Farsad]

And someone needed to be. My mom needed to be there for Trump to know what to do in that moment. Cause, like, it helped, you know, that helped me. But like Trump as a five year old, I immediately called the UN General assembly and I made it an international issue.

[Adam Burke]

I don't know how much you believe in symmetry, but it would be nice if this guy's entire political career was bookended by escalators, because he came down that one and I think this escalator was like, we don't want any part of this anymore. Trump does look like a guy who thinks all stairs are just a broken escalator.

[Peter Sagal]

That's true.

[Adam Burke]

He just stands there waiting for it to start working.

[Peter Sagal]

He's standing there in front of, like, the marble steps in the Lincoln Memorial, saying, why is this one broken?

[Negin Farsad]

Maybe this will change the windmill rant into, like, escalator rants. You know what I mean?

[Peter Sagal]

Here, here, Coop, is your next quote.

[Bill Curtis]

I paid 300 bucks for a terrible seat for Merrily We Roll Along.

[Peter Sagal]

That was a commenter in a New York Times story explaining, in fact, why what New York institution is now in big trouble? Broadway. Yes, that's right, The Broadway musical. Not a single One of the 18 musicals that opened on Broadway this year have made a profit. That is terrible. If they go away without Broadway musicals. How else could you spend $1,000 to sit in front of a lady who raps along with Lin Manuel Miranda the entire time? Is this Negeen, I understand this is upsetting news to you.

[Negin Farsad]

Okay. I just love. I live in New York City, and when you're in New York City, I went to a Rosh Hashanah dinner the way most Muslims do, right? And so on Tuesday night, I was at Rosh Hashanah dinner, literally. There was a guy there that writes musicals for a living. And did he break out into a little Jewish New Year song? He did. And I'm like, that's because we live in New York City. This great thing where people will just be like, happy New Year. And it's so, like, it's such a part of the fabric of New York. And the idea that people don't want to be annoyed by it the way they should.

[Peter Sagal]

Yes.

[Negin Farsad]

I find that depressing, but I don't.

[Peter Sagal]

Know why it's so expensive to put on musicals. Because everybody knows you can get, like, a great production of Cats with just one insane teacher and the 12 worst people in your high school.

[Negin Farsad]

Yeah. Should they be like, is there some world where we merge reality TV with musicals? Or, like, do we get somehow, like, Zinn pouches or something in the musical?

[Peter Sagal]

Sort of, like, product? Please.

[Negin Farsad]

I'm just like, yeah, what do we. How do we actually.

[Peter Sagal]

You know what might work? Because this has really sort of revived the finances of professional sports. Legalized gambling. Right. I'm seeing west side story. I got $5,000 on the Sharks over the Jets. Come on, Maria. Yeah.

[Adam Burke]

$500 says Fontaine doesn't make it to act three.

[Peter Sagal]

I'll take that bet. All right, here is your last. And it's from someone anticipating leaving it all behind.

[Bill Curtis]

I ask God to please let me take my dog with me.

[Peter Sagal]

That person was one of many people convinced that what heavenly event was going to take place this week? The Rapture. The Rapture. That's right, Coop. The rapture that is the ascending of all the holy people to heaven was supposed to happen this week. Oh, no. What if that's what was happening to Trump at the escalator? The rumor went big on TikTok RaptureTalk. And it all started from this one guy who said God came to him in a dream and told him the Rapture would finally happen on September 23rd and or 24th, which is weird. Since when is God uncertain about dates?

[Adam Burke]

God's like a plumber. You know what I mean? I'll be there between these raptor, they.

[Peter Sagal]

Gave us a window.

[Cynthia Nixon]

Like your cable provider.

[Negin Farsad]

Yeah.

[Peter Sagal]

I didn't know much about this whole thing, so I was amazed to find out that in the rapture, when it happens, eventually it's not one of these, like, transcendental, like, soul things. You literally, your physical body floats up into the air and all the way up right when you're raptured. So I didn't know you couldn't get to heaven if you're inside.

[Negin Farsad]

Wait, is that real?

[Peter Sagal]

Yeah. Yeah, apparently, like, think if the rapture happens, right, it finally happens, the prophecies come true, and all of those otherwise virtuous people who do not get to heaven and because they're just, like, bumping up against the roof, tangled in the light fixture.

[Negin Farsad]

So even if you're like Mother Teresa, but you're inside your condo.

[Peter Sagal]

Right.

[Adam Burke]

Also, one word question. Airplanes.

[Peter Sagal]

Yeah. Oh.

[Adam Burke]

What if there's, like, an airplane between you and heaven?

[Peter Sagal]

Can you imagine? You've lived a life of pure virtue, never giving into temptation, and you're on your way to heaven, and boom, you get sucked into a jet engine.

[Casey Shornema]

Do you, like, keep hitting your head on the ceiling like a.

[Adam Burke]

Until you make it out of a.

[Casey Shornema]

Video game and, like, you keep hitting the wall?

[Peter Sagal]

Exactly. Keep hitting the wall. You're stuck.

[Casey Shornema]

Or do you eventually.

[Peter Sagal]

I don't know. I mean, I don't know what the upward suction is like. So can you, like, bounce along the ceiling to get to a window?

[Adam Burke]

Can we reverse Santa Claus it? Can we go on the climb down?

[Peter Sagal]

Yeah.

[Negin Farsad]

Yeah.

[Peter Sagal]

Head on up. Yeah, I guess.

[Adam Burke]

Does it make the slide whistle noise? If it does, I'm on board.

[Peter Sagal]

Yeah. Gideon puts down his trumpet, picks up one of those. Yeah. Okay. Bill, how did Coop do on our quiz?

[Bill Curtis]

Coop did really well. Three in a row. He's a winner.

[Peter Sagal]

Yeah. Congratulations, Coop. People are shouting your name. Thank you so much for playing. Thank you so much. Go Cubs. Chicago. Go Cubs. Bye. Bye. Take me to heaven baby take me to night Something inside me says I don't care if it's wild right now. Panel, it is time for you to answer some questions about this week's news. Adam. The Journal of the American Bar association recently published a paper exploring the idea that who might soon be able to be witnesses in court.

[Adam Burke]

I've got an awful feeling about this really quick. One time, I was in Milwaukee and I was really hungover, and I was looking for a pub to go to.

[Peter Sagal]

Sure.

[Adam Burke]

Me and my brother. Now, for some reason, we couldn't find a pub anywhere, and I was like, quick. I found one over there. And I started running towards this building and my brother was like, adam, that's the American Bar Association.

[Peter Sagal]

Well, that's what it's called.

[Adam Burke]

Different kind of bar. It's not AI, is it?

[Peter Sagal]

It's not AI Is it pets? It is pets. Oh, it's animals. Everybody knows that. You should never murder someone in front of a parrot. Right. Basic murderer 101. We all know that. But now you might have to worry about all your pets diving you out. Pretty soon now, AI will be able to translate animal communication into English. Right? We can understand what they're saying. And lawyers are already trying to figure out how to bill them. Oh, I'm sorry. No, I mean, my mistake. I mean, whether their testimony will be admissible in court. And how, if that happens, how do you treat an animal witness? Objection. He's badgering the witness. Overruled. It's a bad.

[Adam Burke]

Allow hostile witnesses. And by hostile witnesses, I mean cats.

[Peter Sagal]

Yes, presumably.

[Adam Burke]

Cause cats are just gonna send everybody down the river just cause they're a hole.

[Peter Sagal]

Just because they're cats.

[Negin Farsad]

Are you confusing this entire story with just the next Disney movie?

[Peter Sagal]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Adam Burke]

Did you drop acid and watch Zootopia?

[Bill Curtis]

Raise your hands and show us strong.

[Peter Sagal]

Those who know the right from wrong, those who know the truth from lies, raise your voice and testify. Can I get a witness? A witness. Coming up, our band, let's go fishing in our bluff the listener game. Call 1-888-wait-WAIT to play. We'll be back in a minute with more of Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me.

[Announcer]

From npr, Support for this podcast and the following message come from Fisher Investments SVP Judy Abrams explains the importance of education and resources when it comes to planning to and through retirement.

[Judy Abrams]

It's interesting. People put money into their retirement accounts for years, but they have no idea what's supposed to happen when they have to start taking money out. When I'm speaking to a prospective client for the first time, one of the ways that I work to establish trust is to listen to them. Is there anything we should know about their spouse or their children or plans to move or their health? Our job is to get the full picture. Then we can take a look at their resources and see if we can improve their situation. It's far more comprehensive than just managing the money. When clients realize that we have the resources and the competence to be able to handle a wide array of financial questions, they know they're in good hands.

[Announcer]

Learn [e-mail] Investing in securities involves the risk of loss. This message comes from Warby Parker. What makes a great pair of glasses at Warby Parker, it's all the invisible extras without the extra cost, like free adjustments for life. Find your [e-mail] or visit one of their hundreds of stores around the country.

[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 Casey Shornima, Nagin Farsad and Adam Burke. And here again is your host at the Studebaker Theater in Chicago, Illinois, Peter Sagal.

[Peter Sagal]

Thank you, Bill. Thanks, everybody. Now it's time for the wait, wait, don't tell me bluff the listener game. Call 1-888-wait- wait to play our game on the air. Hi. You are on wait, wait, don't tell Me. Hi, this is Paxton from Duluth, Georgia. Hey, Paxton from Duluth. How are you? I'm great. How are you? I'm fine. What do you do there in Duluth, Georgia? I am a doctor of physical therapy student at Georgia State University. Oh, wow. That's pretty cool. And do you have an ambition of like who you want to work with as a physical therapist? Yeah, I thought I did when I got into school and then I got to actually work in a clinic and I realized I have no idea. Oh, really? Yeah. So you're just absolutely headed straight for that career and all of a sudden you start doing it and you're like, I don't know, Paxton. Oh, yeah. Welcome to the show. You're going to play the game in which you have to tell truth from fiction. Bill, what is Paxton's topic?

[Bill Curtis]

Fish tale.

[Peter Sagal]

Fishermen classically have been known to tell tall tales, but this week we saw in the news a real fishing story we had trouble believing was real, but apparently it is. Our panelists are going to tell you about it. Pick the one who is telling the truth and you'll win our prize, the weight waiter of your choice on your voicemail and a 75 pound trout I caught just last week. Really? Are you ready to play? Yes, I am. Let's do it. First, let's hear from Adam Burke.

[Adam Burke]

For decades, the talk of the town among ardent fishermen in picturesque Warner's Hollow, Tennessee, has been the old Commodore, a legendary enormous boat, blue catfish said to inhabit the waters of nearby Warner's Lake. He's got to be 150 pounds, estimates local Thad Plover, who claims to have almost landed the behemoth on several occasions. He's a wily one. It felt like he was toying with me. The mystery of the Commodore's elusiveness was solved this week thanks to Mallory Thwaite, who, when cleaning out her recently deceased grandfather's house, found a seven foot motorized catfish complete with remote control. It didn't take long for Thwaite to realize her grandfather's engineering career, plus his lifelong and oft stated hatred of fishermen, made him the perfect culprit for creating the waterborne myth that's bedeviled regional casters for so long. I found diary entries where he'd gloat about making guys fall out of their boats trying to catch him, she says. I think I will carry on his work because, let's face it, he has a point.

[Peter Sagal]

The old Commodore, a legendary catfish turns out to be a robotic hoax. Your next story of someone gone fishing comes from Casey Shornima.

[Casey Shornema]

Following the popularity of apps like Tea and Are We Dating the Same Guy? Which are designed to help women navigate liars and cheats in the dating world, Alondra Davis set off to take on another ubiquitous problem in many straight women's dating lives. Did he actually catch the fish he's holding in his dating profile? Alondra, who grew up hunting and fishing, moved to Atlanta for college. She was initially excited to find so many guys on dating apps holding their catches, but upon going on dates with them, she found that many of those men did not actually catch the fish they were holding in their profile picture. I'd ask them what kind of bait they used and they'd just stare at me and say warm. So Alondra launched the fish or phony app on her college campus at Georgia Tech. She said anyone can post a picture of a guy with a fish on the app, and anonymous sources confirm or deny whether the guy caught the fish. She added that they, quote, aren't trying to embarrass anyone. Not that you can embarrass a guy proudly holding a 12 inch trout.

[Peter Sagal]

A new app that fact checks fish being held up in dating profiles. Your last hook, line and sinker story comes from Nagin Farsad.

[Negin Farsad]

Time to toss out our preconceived notions about redfish. I know we all think of them as illiterate idiot fish, but this week shocking news came out. Redfish are covered in secret written messages on their beautiful, slimy skin. More and more redfish are being found with spots spelling out letters and messages. Apparently these letters and symbols are like the fish equivalent of freckles, but unlike human freckles, they can snap. One fish had an angler's initials on it Another said, I love you. And even more moving, another said, turd.

[Peter Sagal]

Now.

[Negin Farsad]

What does it all mean? Is God telling fishermen that he loves them and also turds? Andrew Brown, an angler and redfish freckle connoisseur, self proclaimed, because no one should be a formal redfish freckle connoisseur thinks that the fish are actually here to tell us something. Quote, they have this connection with our world and pop culture. They're trying to tell us something. We just have to slow down and observe. Move over, astrology. Fish freckles are here.

[Peter Sagal]

All right, one of these stories about fishing we found in the news, was it from Adam Burke? Turns out the legendary catfish of northern Wisconsin. The old turned out to be just a remote controlled hoax from Casey, an app that fact checks the fish that men brag about in their dating profiles. Or from Negeen, secret messages being found on the body markings of the elusive redfish. Which of these is a real fishing tale that we found in the week's news? Yeah, I think it's the redfish story. You think it's the redfish with the weird messages on their tails. All right, well. Well, to find out the correct answer, we spoke to someone very close to that real story. Catching a fish is very exciting, but catching one with a heart shape or a smiley face, that's just even more special. That was Andrew Brown. He is the founder of Drum spots who was the first to start tracking the unusual redfin fish spots. Congratulations. You got it right. You earned a point for negeen and you have won our prize. Thank you. Thank you. Take care. And now the game we call not my job. Cynthia Nixon had her first on screen role at just eight years old, pretending to be a junior horse racing champion on to tell the truth. She has been a working actress ever since, but became an icon in 1998 when she was cast as Miranda in Sex and the City. And she wrapped up Miranda's story this year on the sequel show. And just like that. But you can still see her on HBO's the Gilded Age. Cynthia Nixon, welcome to. Wait, wait, don't tell me.

[Cynthia Nixon]

Thank you so much. Thank you so much.

[Peter Sagal]

So despite all those huge, enormous, well known hits that I just mentioned, I know you because I was a theater guy once upon a time. And you were and are a legend because you were the only person to ever star in two Broadway shows at the same time.

[Cynthia Nixon]

Well, Starr would be generous because obviously my roles were confined in some way, otherwise I would not be able to have done the first act of one the second act of the other, and then the third act of the first one.

[Peter Sagal]

Again, I just want to know how this logistically works. You did the first act. You appeared in the first act and Hurley Burley, right?

[Cynthia Nixon]

Yes.

[Peter Sagal]

David Ray play, Great play, Amazing cast, legendary cast. Then you would walk off stage and, like, run out the theater door and how far was it to the next?

[Cynthia Nixon]

I would not run. I would change my clothes and I would go. I would walk two blocks away, and I would walk through the Edison Hotel, and then I would wait, and then I would go on at the real thing, and then I would kill a lot more time, and then I would take my curtain call and then I would change again, go back to Hurly Burley. My character, who was an innocent runaway by the third act had become a street hooker. So I did, like, very garish, very garish makeup. And then I would wait until the very last scene, which was, what with William Hurt and I in the very last scene of Hurly Burley, which would be, I think, after 11 o' clock at end the.

[Peter Sagal]

That point. Right. I love the.

[Adam Burke]

I love the notion of you walking, like, looking prim and proper to the one play and then coming back in your sex worker outfit and someone seeing both and going, man, this city's rough.

[Peter Sagal]

Oh, yeah, happen so quickly to the nice young girl. Wow. We, of course, will ask you about Sex and the City. So you were cast. It's amazing to me that it was this long ago. 1998 was when sex and the City went. Went on the air. And when you were cast as Miranda, did you have any idea what kind of phenomenon it would become? No.

[Cynthia Nixon]

I mean, there was. We knew there was nothing like it on television. But also HBO at that point, you know, the Sopranos hadn't happened. They did not do original programming, really. But by the second season, they put us on the COVID of Time magazine with a slogan that said, who needs a husband? And by that point, we weren't just entertainment. We had fully entered the zeitgeist.

[Peter Sagal]

There are so many women, including, I believe some here, grew up with Sex in the City, giving them the idea of the kind of life they should aspire to as an independent woman in the city. And my question to you is, how do you feel about that?

[Cynthia Nixon]

Well, you know, women are often coming up to me and saying, I moved here because of your show. And I do feel a little guilty.

[Peter Sagal]

Right.

[Cynthia Nixon]

It's, you know, there. People have also said that all the unrealistic things that happened on our show, the most unrealistic was that there were that many attractive single men just, you.

[Peter Sagal]

Know.

[Cynthia Nixon]

Anywhere you walk. And 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.

[Peter Sagal]

Yeah. Casey, didn't you say that you grew up watching Sex in the City?

[Casey Shornema]

Yes, I grew up watching Sex and the City, and then I moved to the city. So thank you for that.

[Peter Sagal]

And how is it.

[Cynthia Nixon]

How it didn't disappoint?

[Peter Sagal]

How has your real life in New York City measured up to premium cable?

[Casey Shornema]

It's honestly. I recently rewatched the episode where Miranda has chlamydia.

[Peter Sagal]

Right. Yes, I believe so.

[Casey Shornema]

And let me say, it's measured up. No, I'm kidding.

[Peter Sagal]

So wait a minute, wait a minute. When people say. When people say, well, I'm more of a Miranda, that's what they mean.

[Adam Burke]

No, that's the results you get back from the entire.

[Peter Sagal]

Yeah, we actually absolutely have to talk to you about the other HBO show you've been doing, which is the Gilded Age, takes place in Victorian era New York, also known as no Sex in the City. You talked about the high heels that all your characters were wearing in Sex and the City. So what's more fun, the costumes in Sex and the City or the costumes in the Gilden Age? Oh, my.

[Cynthia Nixon]

I mean, the corsets are formidable. I'm not gonna say they're not. You know, speaking of shoes, a number of us do, you know, we have our little lace up boots, but few of us wear them particularly few of us of a certain age. Yeah, there's a lot of people in Uggs and a lot of people in clogs.

[Peter Sagal]

You mean to tell me if, like, the camera were to pan down to, like, Aunt Ada's feet and we saw underneath the skirt, there'd be, like, Uggs?

[Cynthia Nixon]

Every time I arrive on set to shoot a scene, that is my first question. Can you see my feet?

[Peter Sagal]

Right. Well, Cynthia Nixon, it is a joy to talk to you, and we have asked you here to play a game that this time we're calling, you're a.

[Bill Curtis]

New York Nixon, meet the New York Knicks.

[Cynthia Nixon]

Oh, no.

[Peter Sagal]

Oh, yes. You grew up in New York, still live there, so you should be able to handle three questions about New York's most beloved and or most disappointing basketball team, the New York Knicks. Answer two to three questions and. And you will win our prize for one of our listeners. Bill, who is Cynthia Nixon playing for?

[Bill Curtis]

James Lee of Seattle, Washington.

[Peter Sagal]

All right, here. Ready? Well, I'm judging From your reaction that you are not perhaps the most avid basketball fan.

[Cynthia Nixon]

I am not. Although I will tell you a fun fact that, you know, Miranda dated Dr. Robert Blair Underwood, who was the sports doctor fictionally, for the Knicks.

[Peter Sagal]

Right. So means, like you were practically in the locker room. Okay.

[Cynthia Nixon]

Exactly.

[Peter Sagal]

Here is your first question. When LeBron James was leaving Cleveland, the Knicks pulled out all the stops to try to convince LeBron James to come to New York and play. They even did what? A, they had Times Square officially renamed LeBron James Square. B, they sent the actual Broadway cast of Phantom of the Opera to his house in Cleveland to perform for him. Or C, they had Edie Falco and James Gandolfini film a new secret ending to the Sopranos just for him.

[Cynthia Nixon]

What was the middle one?

[Peter Sagal]

Middle one was sending the entire Broadway cast of Phantom of the Opera to his house to welcome.

[Cynthia Nixon]

Would he care. Would he care to have the. I'm gonna go with the first one.

[Peter Sagal]

I'm gonna go with renaming Times Square LeBron Jimes Square. I don't blame you. I find this hard to believe, too. But they had Edie Falco and James Gandolfini film scene.

[Negin Farsad]

Oh, my scene.

[Peter Sagal]

Oh, my God. Yeah, it is. Tony. I hope this is still available somewhere. I have not been able to find it, but it has Tony and Carmela Soprano trying to find LeBron a nice apartment. And yet he went to Miami. Who knew? Okay. You took more chances.

[Cynthia Nixon]

Okay.

[Peter Sagal]

James Dolan is the owner of the New York Knicks and Madison Square Garden, where they play. He's an innovator in sports entertainment. For example, he uses facial recognition technology at Madison Square Garden. To do what? A, identify attractive audience members and make sure they're seated courtside where the cameras can see them. B, make sure any couple is legally married to each other before showing them on the kiss cam. He was a pioneer in that. Maybe. Or C, find any of the many lawyers suing him and prevent them from entering the building. Oh.

[Cynthia Nixon]

Oh, number three.

[Peter Sagal]

There you are. Yes, that's right. The answer was, see? James Dolan gets sued a lot. Okay, here's your next question. A New York Times reporter credited what event with loosening the tension in the locker room before a pivotal playoff game against their rivals, the Pacers last year. Was it A, quote, an epic fart in the locker room? B, the coach giving all the players popsicles? Or C, the entire team joining in a karaoke performance of Katy Perry's Roar?

[Cynthia Nixon]

I say roar.

[Peter Sagal]

You say that the entire New York Knicks, all of them, gathered around A, Karaoke machine, I think sang along.

[Adam Burke]

I think since it is so classy, that that roar is what she calls a fart.

[Cynthia Nixon]

Is that what you're encouraging me to encourage?

[Peter Sagal]

I believe that's what they call farts in the gilding.

[Adam Burke]

Did somebody roar?

[Peter Sagal]

Did somebody roar? Who let the lion in?

[Cynthia Nixon]

All right. I don't think it's the Popsicles. Why would that matter? Let's go with the fart.

[Peter Sagal]

It was, of course, an epic fart.

[Cynthia Nixon]

Excellent.

[Peter Sagal]

The New York Times reporter refused to reveal who was responsible for the, quote, epic fart that broke the tension and led the team to a big win. But it is true that Jalen Brunson walked onto the court looking 15 pounds lighter. Bill, how did the legendary Cynthia Nixon do in our quiz?

[Bill Curtis]

A win. Two out of three. The fart wins.

[Peter Sagal]

Cynthia Nixon is a Grammy, Tony and Emmy winning performer who you you can see on HBO's the Gilded Age, which is streaming right now. Cynthia Nixon, what an absolute joy to talk to you. Thank you so much for being with us. It's a pleasure.

[Cynthia Nixon]

Thank you for having me.

[Peter Sagal]

Take care, Cynthia. Bye bye. In just a minute, Bill heads back to the beach in our Listener Limerick challenge. Call 1-888-WAIT-WAIT to join us on the air. We'll be back in a minute with more Wait, Wait, don't tell me from N. Support for this podcast and the following message come from Mint Mobile. At Mint Mobile, their favorite word is no. No contracts, no monthly bills, no hidden fees. Plans start at $15 a month. Make the [e-mail] wait, that's mintmobile.com wait. Upfront payment of $45 required, equivalent to $15 a month limited time. New customer offer for first three months only. Speeds may slow above 35 gigabytes on unlimited plan. Taxes and fees extra. See Mint Mobile for details. Support for this podcast and the following message come from Mint Mobile. At Mint Mobile, their favorite word is no. No contracts, no monthly bills, no hidden fees. Plans start at $15 a month. Make the [e-mail] wait, that's mintmobile.com wait upfront payment of $45 required, equivalent to $15 a month, limited time. New customer offer for first three months only. Speeds may slow above 35 gigabytes on unlimited plan. Taxes and fees extra. See Mint Mobile for details.

[Bill Curtis]

From NPR and WBEZ Chicago, this is Wait, Wait, don't tell Me the NPR News quiz. I'm Bill Curtis. We're playing this week with Adam Burke, Casey Shornima and Nageen Farsad and Hiraghet is your host at the Studebaker Theater in Chicago, Illinois, Peter Sagal.

[Peter Sagal]

Thank you, Bill. In just a minute. In just a minute. We thought we would try something new this week, and then we decided not to. So here comes our listener limber challenge. If you'd like to give us a call at 1-88-WAIT wait, that's 1-888-924-89-24. Right now, panel, some more questions for you from the week's news. Nagin Meta, you know them recently had a huge live event that included CEO Mark Zuckerberg himself demonstrating their new $800 AI powered smart glasses. But one thing didn't quite work during this presentation. What?

[Negin Farsad]

The smart glasses.

[Peter Sagal]

Exactly right. The $800 AI smart glasses. Zuckerberg stood on stage in front of the SM packed crowd come to see his great new product, and all he demonstrated was how good his glasses are at dropping four phone calls in a row. Not a great start. I mean, I already have glasses that cannot answer a phone call.

[Adam Burke]

Also, do we need another piece of tech that our mothers can't use? You know what I mean? You'll be on going, mom, how are your glasses upside down? Like. No, it's the one with the microphone.

[Peter Sagal]

Ma.

[Adam Burke]

Ma. It's the one with, you know, I'm hanging up.

[Peter Sagal]

Yeah, so. So the Facebook tech guy who was in charge of all this was fired, of course, but he got a new job the next day running the escalators at the UN Casey, there's a new trend taking over men's fashion. Shirts are changing. They're getting way more. What?

[Casey Shornema]

Mesh?

[Peter Sagal]

No. Okay, okay. Did you say that out of fond wish or fear?

[Negin Farsad]

She had a lusty look in her eyes.

[Casey Shornema]

Just want to see some nips. Okay. Oh, shorter.

[Peter Sagal]

Yes, Shorter. Shorter shirts. Grab your scissors, fellas. Because the new look is short shirts. According to the New York Times, the market is now flooded with tees and button downs that end just barely below or sometimes even above the waist. Because why should the pleasure of bending forward and having your shirt right up to show everyone your butt crack be only enjoyed by plumbers? Even high fashion brands are jumping in on this with Louis Vuitton offering a short hemmed shirt for $1,600. Look, I will sell you a long hemmed shirt from Target and a pair of scissors for only 200.

[Adam Burke]

This is old fashioned. Is a scam. We're going to charge you more for less of it. It's just amazing.

[Peter Sagal]

Yes. Oh, yeah.

[Negin Farsad]

This is shrinkflation.

[Peter Sagal]

Exactly. Yeah. Less shirt, more money. Some experts call the Popularity of short shirts, a response to the trend toward big pants. So here you go. Ready? Perfect outfit, small shirt, big pants, tiny hat, huge clown shoes, medium gloves. Nagin, a question for you. Yeah, Nagin. An amazing accomplishment in ichthyology and ocean science. For the first time ever, leopard sharks were recorded mating in the wild. But even more amazing than that, in the video, the leopard sharks are seen doing what?

[Negin Farsad]

Oh, the leopard sharks are seen lighting a cigarette after me. Yeah, they're just like us.

[Peter Sagal]

Yeah, exactly. I will give you a hint. Yeah, it turned out it was a menage a shark.

[Negin Farsad]

Oh, my God. They're doing. They're, like, doing threesomes.

[Peter Sagal]

Yes, they were having a threesome. In a true scientific breakthrough, two male sharks and one female shark were filmed doing the kind of thing you can usually only see on only fins.

[Negin Farsad]

Were the sharks, like, in their kind of early 20s and, like, still experimenting?

[Peter Sagal]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. The video has shaken up the thinking around shark mating. And now we also have to rethink the lyrics to baby shark, right? Cause there's. There's baby shark. Da da da da da da Mama, shark daddy, shark mama, and daddy's special friend shark.

[Adam Burke]

It does sound like a weird deleted scene from Jaws. Have you ever seen a shark's eyes?

[Peter Sagal]

Oh, we were in the water for two days. Sharks were having threesomes all around us.

[Adam Burke]

We're gonna need a bigger bed.

[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-WAIT. That's 1-888-924-89-24. You can come see us most weeks here at the Studebaker Theatre in downtown Chicago. And you can also catch us on the road. We will be in beautiful Honolulu, Hawaii on October 9th and 10th. So why not consider joining us in paradise? Those points won't cash in themselves. We'll also be in Costa mesa, California on November 6th. For tickets to all of our live events, just go over to nprpresents.org and if you like our show, but kind of wish it was only eight seconds long, well, follow us on TikTok. We're eight. WaitNPR. Hi, Jerome. Wait, wait, don't tell me. Hi, this is Alyssa from Morristown, New Jersey. Morristown, New Jersey, happens to be near where I grow up. Near where I grew up, I should say. I am done growing up. Finished. Sadly, that process, despite what other people may think. But, yes, I Grew up quite near there. What do you do there? I am a child psychologist. Wow.

[Cynthia Nixon]

I was just.

[Peter Sagal]

No, I'm sorry. It's like 50 years too late. But I'm glad to meet you. Well, welcome to our show. Alyssa, you're going to play our listener limerick challenge. Bill Curtis is going to read you three news related limericks with a last word or phrase missing from each. If you can fill in that last word or phrase correctly and two of the limericks will be a winner. You ready to play? I'm so ready. Okay, so are we. Here is your first limerick.

[Bill Curtis]

Gelato is my favorite by far. But from scooping some, I have been barred. Now I summon my ID to get mad at this lid. Cause I cannot get into the jar.

[Peter Sagal]

Jar? Yes. Talenti is a fancy brand of gelato that comes in all kinds of delicious flavors. Well, at least they look delicious. No one can actually taste them because the jars are so hard to open. This week, the Washington Post reported on all the solutions people have posted to social media. Screwdrivers, hammers, saws. It's terrible. Worse, the Talenti brand of hot fudge comes inside a hand grenade.

[Adam Burke]

I kind of want to try it now. I kind of want to open it by dropping it from a large height like an eagle with a coconut. You know what I mean?

[Casey Shornema]

Gelato's not worth opening.

[Peter Sagal]

Really? You've tried it? You're like, no.

[Casey Shornema]

Yeah, just get an ice cream. That's what the sign is.

[Peter Sagal]

Yeah. It's like, go get Ben and Jerry's. Yeah.

[Adam Burke]

Is that what that word means in Italian?

[Casey Shornema]

Yeah. Gelato means no.

[Peter Sagal]

The jars are clear. You can see the ice cream. It makes it worse because while you're trying and failing to get it, like the sea salt caramel gelato, you're making eye contact with it the whole time, and it's taunting you. All right, here is your next limerick.

[Bill Curtis]

I like ink. If I'm telling the truth, it's not just for impetuous youth. I am going to town on my left canine's crown. I just got a tattoo on my tooth.

[Peter Sagal]

Tooth, Right, that's it. So are you either bored with, you know, traditional skin tattoos or you've just run out of room. Try the newly popular tooth tattoo. It's the hot new fashion trend that has the tooth fairy saying. Yeah, that's staying under the pillow. Now, you might be thinking how painful that would be. No, it's not. Because the designs are etched and then dyed onto crowns that are then fitted over your teeth. You can get anything tattooed on a Tooth, a butterfly, a bird. Your partner's name. As long as your partner's name is Ed or something shorter. Casey, for example. You know, you could do both the front teeth. Kc. That would be awesome. Right?

[Negin Farsad]

So. But does it also kind of look like you have rotting teeth?

[Peter Sagal]

Like, a little bit.

[Negin Farsad]

So, like a short distance, I think you would look, you know.

[Peter Sagal]

Yeah, you look like you're. You're just, you know, dying or.

[Casey Shornema]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Peter Sagal]

It turns out they're really artful designs. Yeah. Yeah.

[Casey Shornema]

I thought I got a piercing in my tooth, but it was just a cavity.

[Adam Burke]

No, it's okay. I just have gingivit.

[Peter Sagal]

All right, here is your last limerick.

[Bill Curtis]

The Hoff was as smooth as a day.

[Peter Sagal]

Scotch.

[Bill Curtis]

Now, new lifeguards get kicked up a sleigh notch. They run down the beach with their teeth and hair bleached. We are launching a reboot of Baywatch.

[Peter Sagal]

Baywatch. Baywatch, that hit show from the 1990s whose plots had to be simple because everything happened in Slow motion is back. Fox has already greenlit the reboot of Baywatch to air next season. Now, if you never watched the original show, it centers around a bunch of lifeguards, or as we called them back then, beach narcs. And it had something for everyone. It was really great. It had action, it had melodrama. It had Pamela Anderson for guys who lied about being interested in the action.

[Adam Burke]

And the melodrama, I'm assuming there rebooting it because the climate change, there's just so much more BAE to watch.

[Peter Sagal]

Yeah, exactly.

[Negin Farsad]

Yeah.

[Peter Sagal]

The BAE that they're watching turns out to be, like, somewhere in West Virginia.

[Negin Farsad]

I was gonna say it's so shocking that, like, hot people in bathing suits can still get a TV show.

[Peter Sagal]

Whoa. Isn't that amazing, Bill, how did Alyssa.

[Bill Curtis]

Do in our quiz since we've been watching so carefully?

[Peter Sagal]

She got them. All right. Congratulations, Alyssa. Well done. Thank you. Say hello to my old haunts for me. Thank you so much for calling. Of course. Bye. Bye. Support for NPR and the following message come from Goodrx. Prescriptions keep getting pricier and more of a hassle to fill. It's like the Wild west getting prescription medication these days. Good thing Goodrx wrangles it for you. From telehealth to wellness tips to easy discounts of up to 80%, GoodRx is riding with you at every step. Goodrx is not insurance, but if you have insurance or Medicare, Goodrx may beat your co pay. Save time and money on [e-mail]. wait.

[Announcer]

Support for this podcast and the following message come from Strawberry Me. Be honest. Are you happy with your job? Are you stuck in a job you've outgrown or never wanted in the first place? Are your reasons for staying really just excuses for not leaving? Let a career coach from Strawberry Me help you get unstuck. Discover the benefits of having a dedicated career coach in your corner and claim a special offer at Strawberry Me. Npr.

[Peter Sagal]

Now onto our final game. Lightning Fill in the blank. Each of our players will have 60 seconds in which to answer as many fill in the blank questions as they can. Each correct answer now with two points. Bill, can you give us the scores?

[Bill Curtis]

Negeen has four. KC and Adam each have two.

[Peter Sagal]

Okay, Negeen, that means you're in first place and the other two are tied for second. So I will arbitrarily pick Adam to go first. The clock will start when I begin your first question. Fill in the blank. After being pulled off the air last week, Blank made his return to late night. On Tuesday, Jimmy Kimmel. Right. On Thursday, former FBI director Blank was indicted by a grand jury.

[Adam Burke]

Comey.

[Peter Sagal]

James Comey. Yes. James Comey. This week, meteorologists warned the tropical storm Umberto could strengthen into a Category 3 blank hurricane. Yes. On Thursday, hundreds of senior military officers were ordered by Secretary of Defense Blank to meet in Virginia next week.

[Adam Burke]

Pete Hesgath.

[Peter Sagal]

Pete Hegseth. Yes. This week, a proposed wealth tax in France was called deadly for the economy by Blank.

[Adam Burke]

Is it Macron?

[Peter Sagal]

No, not by Macron. It's by Europe's richest man. On Thursday, NASA confirmed potential launch dates for the Artemis 2 trip to the Blank.

[Adam Burke]

The moon.

[Peter Sagal]

Right. This week, the woman who was caught cheating on camera at that Coldplay concert revealed that her husband found out about the affair because he was blank.

[Adam Burke]

He was at a Maroon 5 concert?

[Peter Sagal]

No, he was at the same Coldplay concert with another woman. Wow. Last month, Kristin Cabot and Andy Byron went viral after they were put up on the big kiss cam at a Coldplay concert. And this week, Cabot revealed that she had. At that moment, she was already separated from her husband. And in fact, he was at the same Coldplay concert with another woman. The news led the entire world to be like, please, please, please let the other woman be the other guy's wife. Bill, how did Adam do in our quiz 5? Right.

[Bill Curtis]

Did very well. 10 more points. His total of 12 puts him in the lead.

[Peter Sagal]

All right, Casey, you're up next. Here we go. Fill in the blank. On Tuesday, international health agencies pushed back on President Trump's claims that Tylenol causes Blank Autism. Right. During the UN General Assembly, France declared its recognition of a Blank state.

[Casey Shornema]

Gaza.

[Peter Sagal]

Palestinian. I'll give it to you. This week, the FBI said they were investigating a shooting at a Blank facility in Dallas.

[Casey Shornema]

Ice.

[Peter Sagal]

Right. On Wednesday, former Vice President Blank kicked off her book tour.

[Casey Shornema]

Harris.

[Peter Sagal]

Yeah. Kamala Harris. Even though it had a permit to remain another five days, the National Park Park Service removed a statue of who holding hands from the National Mall.

[Casey Shornema]

Trump and Epstein.

[Peter Sagal]

Trump and Epstein. On Thursday, doctors warned of the rise of a so called nightmare bacteria immune to common blanks.

[Casey Shornema]

Antibiotics.

[Peter Sagal]

Right. According to a new report, many sports are trying out referees that are blanks.

[Casey Shornema]

AI.

[Peter Sagal]

Well, I'll give it to you robots. This week, a man attempting to get out of a traffic ticket by giving police a fake name was arrested because he couldn't blank spell it. Exactly. Exactly right, Casey. Look at that. Her first time. Wow. Wow. But let me tell you about this guy. According to police, they originally pulled the man over because his muffler was too loud. And when they asked for id, he said he didn't have it on him, but that his name was John Riordan. And when officers couldn't find that name in their system, they asked him to spell it and he couldn't. So they realized it was a fake name. Here's the irony. The man's real name, Chrysanthemum, Ms. onomatopoe. Bill, I think Casey did really well, am I right?

[Bill Curtis]

It's the first time on the panel she got eight.

[Peter Sagal]

Right.

[Bill Curtis]

16 more points. A total of 18.

[Peter Sagal]

Wow. Wow.

[Bill Curtis]

Where did she come from?

[Peter Sagal]

Well, I don't know. And how many does Negeen need to take it from Rookie of the year over here?

[Bill Curtis]

Seven to die and eight to win.

[Peter Sagal]

There you go, Nagin. This is for the game. On Wednesday, the White House warned federal agencies to prepare for massive layoffs in the event of a Blank shutdown. Right. On Thursday, online shopping giant Blank agreed to a $2.5 billion settlement with the FTC.

[Casey Shornema]

Amazon.

[Peter Sagal]

Right. This week, several airports in Denmark were closed after unauthorized blanks entered their airspace.

[Negin Farsad]

Aliens?

[Peter Sagal]

I wish. Drones, probably from Russia. This week, at least two people were sent to the hospital in California after.

[Negin Farsad]

Being attacked by Blank sharks. In a threesome?

[Peter Sagal]

No, by quote, a very mean squirrel. On Wednesday, one of the winners of the second largest Blank jackpot in history came forward to collect his prize.

[Negin Farsad]

Zotto.

[Peter Sagal]

Yeah. Powerball Jackpot. On Thursday, Ghostbusters and Honey I shrunk the kids. Star Blank announced his return to acting Rick Moranis. Right. This week, a man in China riding an electric scooter crashed into a temporary traffic light. And things got worse when he blocked.

[Negin Farsad]

Realized that he wasn't wearing any pants.

[Peter Sagal]

No. When he somehow got the traffic light stuck onto his head. Now, we don't know how exactly this happened, but somehow this guy got his head all the way inside this traffic light, which, by the way, was still on. When the police got there. He was like, stop. No, wait. Bill didn't again do well enough to.

[Negin Farsad]

I don't appreciate the tone, Peter.

[Peter Sagal]

Okay. Quizzical. It's quizzical.

[Bill Curtis]

Very tight game.

[Peter Sagal]

4. Right.

[Bill Curtis]

8 more points. 12 means she's tied with Adam. But guess who's the winner. Hey, Casey.

[Peter Sagal]

Well done, Casey.

[Casey Shornema]

Thank you.

[Peter Sagal]

How does it feel? Incredible. Well, coming up, our panelists predict what will be the big new musical that's going to save Broadway. But first, let me tell you that. Wait, wait, don't Tell Me. Is a production of NPR and W Bez Chicago in association with Urgent Haircut Productions. Doug in Absentia Berman. Benevolent Overlord Philip Gautica writes our limericks. Our public address announcer is Paul Friedman. Our tour manager is Shana Donald. Thanks to the staff and crew at the Studebaker Theatre. BJ Lederman composed our theme. Our program is produced by Jennifer Mills, Miles Doornboss and Lillian King. Special thanks this week to Nahana de El Sheikh and Monica Hickey. Peter Guin predicts the next rapture will be August 44, 2543. Our visual host is Emma Choi. Technical direction is from Lorna White. Our CFO is Colin Miller. Our production manager is Robert Newhouse. Our senior producer is Ian Chillock. And the executive producer, Wait, wait, don't tell me. Is Mr. Michael Danforth. Now, panel, what's the musical that Will save Broadway? Adam Burke Epstein, exclamation point, Nagin Farsad.

[Cynthia Nixon]

Phantom of the Miserable on the Roof.

[Casey Shornema]

And Casey Shornema, Chicago, based on the movie, based on the musical, based on the play.

[Bill Curtis]

And if any of that happens, panel, we'll ask you about it on. Wait, wait, don't tell me.

[Peter Sagal]

Thank you so much, Bill Curtis. Thanks to Negeen Farsad, Adam Burke, and congrats to Casey Shornema for a great debut on our show. Thanks to our fabulous audience here at the Studebaker Theatre in downtown Chicago. Thanks to all of you for listening to us. You might be. I'm Peter Sagal. We'll see you next week. This is npr.

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