Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me!

Although I don't really listen to the radio anymore, I never miss an episode of "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me!" The show, produced weekly by Chicago Public Radio and NPR, is a comedic quiz game show that focuses on blunders in the news. Needless to say, it is immensely entertaining.

The host, Peter Segal, is quite the intellectual, with a Harvard degree to his name. Thus, he is able to improvise impersonations, quotes, whatever it takes to poke fun at the often serious world of politics. He is assisted by Carl Kasell, the show's official judge and score keeper. Carl is elderly, but that just makes him even more amusing. He scoffs at the younger generation now obsessed with Facebook and Twitter, and jokes about young, ambitious politicians. Accompanying Segal and Kasell is a panel composed of three panelists, often comedians, writers, or just plain smart people. Frequent panelists include authors and columnists like Ray Blount, Jr., Amy Dickinson, Kyrie O'Connor, and Charlie Pierce, satirists like Adam Felber and Tom Bodett, comedians like Paula Poundstone and Julia Sweeny, and my personal favorite, TV personality Mo Rocca. Each panelist is quizzed by Segal and Kasell about the current week's news. and needless to say the provide very amusing answers. They rack up points as the show goes on, but they do not do this alone. Avid listeners call the show at "1 Tripe 8 WAIT WAIT" and play all kinds of games.

Ask Carl, Carlbook, Who's Carl This Time?, Bluff the Listener, Listener Limerick Challenge, and Not My Job are the most popular games played with both callers and celebrity guests. The premises of the games are similar- get at least two out of three questions right, and one wins the prize: Carl Kasell's voice on your home answering device. It makes me want to call in and play.

Who's Carl This Time? is usually played first- Kasell recreates a quote from the week's news, and the listener has to name who said it, with subtle, or blatant(and funny) clues from the panelists. A bell rings if the answer is correct, and the audience chortles and "awww"s if the answer is incorrect. However, the latter rarely happens, as the questions are relatively easy, and the listeners are relatively smart! Next comes Bluff the Listener, a much tougher game, because the player only has one chance to win, or lose, which actually happens often. The panelists will read three odd but somehow similar news stories. The way to win is for the listener to guess which story is true out of the three, and which two are completely fictional and products of the panelists' imaginations. The Listener Limerick Challenge requires the contestant to complete Kasell's silly, news realted rhyme. And of course, two out of three correct answers equals a win! Not My Job is a little different, because the player is not just a listener- it's a celebrity. It usually isn't your typical, rolling-in-the-benjamins star or starlet, it's usually a celebrity that's simply different. The guest must answer three questions on a topic unrelated to what they do as a celebrity, on behalf of a listner. Guests will first tell little stories, andswer hilarious questions from Segal, and provide equally hilarious answers, with input from the panelists. Past guests include everyone from Hugh Hefner, to Brian Williams, to Mavis Staples, to Paula Deen. Hilarity ensued, and continues to ensue.

I guess the reason the show is so appealing is because it's full of people who are fed up with all the seriousness that pervades the news, entertainment, and political industries, and take a comedic stance on stories that come out of him. However,(and finally) people of prestige, intellectuals with backgrounds in not only satire, but in education as well. It's interesting to see each panelists' guests', and listeners' takes on austere subjects. For example, Paula Deen, the "queen of southern cuisine" had to answer questions about the ever healthy tofu, preceeding a story about her famous doughnut and hamburger sandwhich. When a school district in California banned the dictionary for explicit sexual content, panelists had quite the time coming up with naughty phrases, or naming the new dictionary "Mr. Sunshine Bunny's Dictionary of Words That Don't Make Angels Cry. When you hear this kind of thing, you die laughing, but at the same time, you appreciate the sophistication of the amusing host, judge, and panelists as a listener. "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me!" oozes prestige, and at the same time, makes adds humor to humorless topics.


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