The Oddly Informative News Quiz from NPR
The Peabody Award-winning show, Wait Wait…Don't Tell Me!, uses current stories (from the global to the ridiculous) for questions and comedy. Host Peter Sagal, along with official judge and scorekeeper Carl Kasell, leads a rotating panel of comedians, humorists and journalists, listener contestants and celebrity guests through a comic review of the week’s news. Contestants vie for the most coveted prize in all of public radio: a custom-recorded greeting by Kasell for their voicemail.
Each week, Sagal quizzes the panelists and listeners to determine just how closely they paid attention to the week's news. He serves up questions in all forms: lightning rounds, tape from NPR news shows, multiple choice, identify the “fake” stories, and fill-in-the-blank limericks. Listeners call 888-WAIT-WAIT for a chance to win the show’s coveted prize: a custom-recorded greeting by Carl Kasell for their home answering machine or voicemail.
One of the most popular segments is “Who's Carl This Time?,” in which Kasell recites quotes from the week’s newsmakers as contestants guess who he is impersonating. The show’s “Not My Job” segment, when famous people are quizzed on subjects about which they know absolutely nothing, has attracted such names as President Barack Obama (okay, he was Senator Obama at the time…), Tom Hanks, Senior White House Advisor David Axelrod and comedian Stephen Colbert.
A rotating trio of witty panelists completes the Wait Wait team. They include author and humorist Roy Blount, Jr., advice columnist Amy Dickinson, Washington Post columnist Roxanne Roberts, writer and performer Adam Felber, author P.J. O’Rourke, comedian Paula Poundstone and humorist Mo Rocca.
Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me! is a co-production of NPR and Chicago Public Radio. The program debuted nationally in 1998 and quickly established itself as a weekend favorite.
Visit the show’s Web site at waitwait.npr.org to take the weekly news quiz, download the weekly podcast, find out what newsmaker personality you most resemble, or find a local station and broadcast time.
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After Bachelor Colton Underwood's big revelation, our panelists predict what the next reality show shocker will be.
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Bill Kurtis reads three news-related limericks: Horse Fringe Benefits, Hair Care Don't Care, and Money Tastes Better.
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Bill Kurtis reads three news-related limericks: Podcaster Boyardee; Tropicana Pizza Split; and Living Room Luaus.
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After the All-Star Game left Georgia, our panelists predict what the next surprising corporate boycott will be and why.
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Wong's memoir is called Dear Girls, so we've invited her to answer three questions about deer girls, as in female deer. Originally broadcast Dec. 7, 2019.
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We've invited Peretti — you may know her as self-involved administrator Gina Linetti from Brooklyn 99 — to answer three questions about an English soccer team. Originally broadcast Nov. 14, 2020.
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In December 2017 while performing in Seattle, our phone lines failed, so we gave our audience members a chance to play Limericks.
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Bill Kurtis reads three news-related limericks: Seeking Professional Wino, Skinny Jeans Go Big and Green Thumbs and Green Tongues.