WWDTM: Taimane

message comes from Sony Pictures Classics.

Lyricist Lorenz Hart confronts his shattered self-confidence as Richard Rogers celebrates the opening night of Oklahoma.

Blue Moon is now playing in New York and Los Angeles nationwide October 24th.

From NPR and WBEZ Chicago, this is Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, the NPR News quiz.

I'm the man they call when bills had too many Mai Tai.

I'm Alzo Slade and here's your host at the Blaisdell Concert Hall in Honolulu, Hawaii, Peter Sago.

Thank you Alzo.

Thank you everybody.

Yes, thank you all so much.

We are so glad to be doing our show here in Hawaii and we are really glad we bought the plane tickets before we lost our federal funding.

Later on, we are going to be talking to ukulele superstar Taimane, who got her start busking right here in the streets of Waikiki.

But first, we'll wanna hear what tune you're playing.

Give us a call.

The number is 188.

Wait, wait, that's 1-888-924-8924.

Now let's welcome our first listener contestant.

Hi, you are on.

Wait, wait, don't tell me.

Hi, this is Sydney calling from Olympia, Washington.

I love Olympia, one of my favorite places, capital of the state.

What do you do there?

I like to swim in the Puget Sound, and I take care of my pet shrimp, and I work for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Okay.

Let me, if I may, rewind a moment.

Shrimp as pets?

Are they, I've never heard of that.

Are they fun pets?

Do they like cuddle with you when you're sad?

I think so.

They like to swim around.

They're fun to watch zip by.

Right.

So

you think as they're swimming around in their tank that they have warm feelings for you.

Yeah, exactly.

Right.

You've never had a shrimp pet, Peter.

You don't know.

I don't know what it's like.

No, I've had shrimp, but in a different context.

Well, Sydney, welcome to the show.

Let me introduce you to our panel with us here in Honolulu this week.

First up, it's a comedian whose special Love Joy is on Peacock and whose album Yell Joy is available everywhere.

It's Joyelle Nicole Johnson.

Hello, Sydney.

Next up, an actor and writer who can be seen in the improv show Two Square at the the Cold Town Theater in Austin, Texas, October 17th and 18th.

It's our friend Peter Gross.

Hello.

Hi, Sydney.

And a comedian who will be in Alexandria, Virginia at the Birchmere on November 21st and 22nd and host of the weekly podcast, Nobody Listens to Paula Poundstone.

It's Paula Poundstone.

I don't, I, okay, it's not a pet, but I do have a comfort mosquito.

Well, Sydney welcome to the show you're gonna play who's alzo this time Alzo Slade filling in for Bill Curtis is gonna read you three quotations from this week's news if you can correctly identify or explain just two of them You'll win our prize any voice from our show you might choose in your voicemail.

Are you ready to go?

Yes.

All right.

Your first quote is a statement from Nashville International Airport Pilots have patience passengers expect delays This is in response to the many airport closures and delays happening around the country due to what?

The government shutdown.

The government shutdown.

Yes, you're right.

It's okay.

You're applauding for her, not the shutdown.

It's all right.

Even though airport disruptions are being caused by unpaid government employees just not showing up for work, the FAA says there's nothing to worry about as long as you and all of your coworkers didn't just fly to the only state in the union you can't drive home from.

It started in just one or two airports, and now it's spreading.

The delays and cancellations are getting so bad that the only way to get to another state is to sign up for your own state's National Guard and wait to be deployed there.

Who knew that not paying people would make them not want to work?

I know, strange.

One real thing we learned about this week, some airports like Burbank in California are operating in a condition called air traffic control zero.

It's a real thing, and that's a system they put in place where instead of the tower, because there's nobody in the tower, pilots just talk to each other to keep from running into each other and to help land their planes, right?

Okay, but we do that in our cars all the time.

Really?

Just yelling out the window, yeah.

Right, no, just look at this idiot, go, go, just go, go.

But on the other hand, you really don't get caught in a situation where the pilots are like, okay, you land.

No, you land first.

No, you land.

Okay, we'll both land at the same time.

Ready?

Well, the other day we're like, sometimes they're like, is there a doctor on the plane?

They might be like, is there an air traffic controller on the plane who wants to just like help us not hit another plane?

All right, your next quote is a pop superstar singing about a certain attribute of her famous fiancée.

Do I really have to read this?

Yes, yes, also.

All right.

Redwood tree, it ain't hard to see.

So that's a lyric everybody's talking about from whose new album that came out last week.

Taylor Swift.

Taylor Swift's, yes.

Her new album came out lines of the showgirl when they're not talking about how kind of mad the rest of the album is.

Everybody is talking about how suggestive her song would is.

Would

the wood in question is not

wood, as in tree.

It's wood, as in, I would prefer not to hear her sing about Travis Kelsey's junk.

It's a real, I listened to that today, and it's a real lesson in single entendre.

It's not the most clever.

I also don't know if it's a compliment to have your attribute compared to a redwood.

Nobody wants to hear, like, your thing, it's 600 years old and endangered.

And you can drive a car through it?

I don't think this holds up.

I mean, one of the questions is, she's the biggest star in the world, she's done this, is this going to create pressure on all the pop stars now?

You know, it's like, hey, honey, love your new album, but where's the song about my junk?

I mean, until she turns on him and then is like, the cover of her next album is her with an axe chopping down a ramp or something like that.

Oh, she's setting it up.

She's going to knock it down.

She's been in love before.

Yeah.

I also want to say a shout out to Travis for doing his job, okay?

Because she's a billionaire.

That's the only thing she needs from him.

And he putting it down.

And

you better write a song about it, girl.

Yeah.

I foolishly thought you meant playing football.

No.

That's not.

No.

Sydney, are you still with us?

Because it's been a while.

Sydney, are you out there?

I'm here.

Oh, I'm so glad.

Sydney, your last quote is a warning about this year's Halloween candy.

The M ⁇ Ms were filled with berry-flavored peanut butter.

That was a reporter from the Atlantic noting one-way candy makers are compensating for a major shortage of what this year.

I don't know.

Can you give me a hint?

Well, what are M ⁇ Ms normally filled with?

Oh, chocolate.

Chocolate, yes.

A very bad cocoa harvest means chocolate is very expensive right now, so candy makers are swapping in non-chocolate ingredients for this year's Halloween candy.

MM's has a whole new, this is real, bakery collection with non-chocolate flavors like lemon meringue pie and peanut butter cinnamon roll and the newest flavor, Day Old Bagel.

MM puts in like old Snickers, like just stuff that they found around and they were put inside.

I'm going to be honest, I never thought that was really chocolate in there anyway.

Yeah.

I'm sure it was plenty.

It's like the bear.

Yeah, whatever they put in Subway bread.

And the meat.

Yeah.

I don't know what this is going to do to Halloween because all the kids I know really like chocolate.

This is going to be the first Halloween where kids are going to say trick-or-treat.

And also I'd like a receipt in case I want to return it.

Last year, you know, I ran out.

of candy.

You did.

And we don't usually get that many kids where I live.

But for some reason we did last year.

You should move out of that haunted old castle on the hill, Paul.

Well I ended up, you know, like they kept coming.

And so I just, you know, open the refrigerator and,

you know, I'd like take a big scoop of hummus and just flick it out to

Spider-Man's pillowcase.

Yeah.

I had a little cousin who, from a baby, didn't like chocolate, but she would open the refrigerator when she was two.

She's a toddler, and we'd see little fingerprints in the butter.

She would eat butter.

I would hate it, chocolate.

I was a butter eater.

When I turned four, my parents gave me a pound of butter.

As a present.

As a gift.

Yeah, birthday present, and I just ate the sticks like candy bars.

And I feel good.

Yeah, you feel good.

I had a heart attack when I was five.

Also, how did Cindy do in our quiz?

Beautifully, three out of three.

Congratulations, Sydney.

Thank you so much for playing, Sydney.

This was so fun.

Thank you so much.

Right now, panel, it is time for you to answer some questions about this week's news.

Peter, in a daring new plan to make up for the government funding cuts, a PBS affiliate announced it would be auctioning off what?

Grover.

No.

I mean, it's coming.

Auctioning off tote bags that someone touched.

I don't know.

I'll take a hint.

Well, appraisers say that that each happy little tree is worth about 10 grand.

Bob Ross paintings?

Bob Ross paintings.

A public TV distribution company is raising money by auctioning off 30 Bob Ross original oil paintings, including his masterpieces, Happy Little Forest, Snowy Mountaintop, and nude self-portrait with happy big redwood.

It's really weird.

It's really weird they're selling these paintings.

Didn't you always assume they just threw them away after they finished taping?

I always wondered what they did with them.

And I thought that there was like an Indiana Jones-style warehouse of just like thousands and thousands of paintings.

So if this works, of course, they're going to do more things like that.

Next, they'll be funding the distribution of Mr.

Rogers' neighborhood by auctioning off his cardigans.

Then they'll sell Big Bird's Eggs.

Then Naybelli for one lucky auction winner, a night of passion with Ken Burns.

Narrated by Sam Waterston.

And it takes 12 hours.

Coming up, our panelists send their greetings in our bluff listener game called 1888.

Wait, wait, don't play.

We'll be back in a minute with more of Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me from NPO.

This message comes from Cook Unity.

Enjoy chef-crafted meals delivered fully cooked.

Just heat and eat in as little as five minutes.

With menus updated weekly and new chefs joining all the time, you'll never get bored.

Subscriptions are commitment-free and start at just $11 per meal.

Comfort, nutrition, and award-winning flavor delivered to your door.

Go to cookunity.com/slash TELLME or enter code TELL ME at checkout to claim free premium meals for life.

This message comes from Grammarly.

They have features that are tailor-made for working professionals, so you can get all your writing done from start to finish, all in one place.

Grammarly is designed to help professionals with real-time writing support on any project, email, and more.

Sign up for free and experience how Grammarly can elevate your professional writing from start to finish.

Visit Grammarly.com/slash podcast.

That's Grammarly.com/slash podcast.

This message comes from Netflix.

The critically acclaimed series, The Diplomat, returns for its third season, starring Carrie Russell as Kate Weiler.

Now the president is dead.

Kate's husband Hal may have inadvertently killed him, and Grace Penn is leader of the free world.

None of this slows Hal's campaign to land Kate the vice presidency.

Allison Janney and Rufus Sewell return and Bradley Whitford joins the cast of the Emmy-nominated drama.

Watch The Diplomat, now playing only on Netflix.

From NPR and WBEZ Chicago, this is Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, the NPR News Quiz.

I'm Alzo Slade.

We're playing this week with Peter Gross, Paula Poundstone, and Joyelle Nicole Johnson.

And here again is your host at the Blaisdell Concert Hall in Honolulu, Peter Sagold.

Thank you, Alzo Slade, right now.

Thank you, everybody.

Thank you so much.

Right now, 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 in the air.

Hi you are on Wait Wait Don't Tell Me.

Hi Peter.

This is Alexandra from Maui, Hawaii.

Hey Maui!

What do you do there on Maui?

I'm a tattooer here in Kihei at Paradise Tattoo.

Oh wow.

Kihei, I know.

Been there many a time.

I was wondering about this because I saw a tattoo parlor here in Honolulu and I wondered, is your clientele islanders, Hawaiians, or is it like lots of tourists who are just so taken with the place they come in and get your sea turtle or something like that?

It's definitely a mix, but sea turtles do pay my bills.

Really?

That's the thing.

Well, welcome to the show, Alexandria.

It's great to have you on.

You're going to play the game in which you have to tell truth from fiction.

Alzo, what's the topic?

There's havoc at Hallmark.

So Hallmark, you know them, they're known for their heartwarming movies and their greeting cards that somehow know exactly what to say when your uncle retires.

Well this week, instead of good tidings, we heard about a controversy brewing at Hallmark.

Our panel is going to tell you about it.

Pick the one who's telling the truth.

You win the weight waiter of your choice on your voicemail.

You ready to play?

Yes.

All right, first let's hear from Joyelle Nicole Johnson.

Most greeting cards simply say get well soon or happy birthday.

But the mahogany section of Hallmark greeting cards puts the black back in salutations.

That's right, there's a section of Hallmark greeting cards just for black folks with titles such as You Got All That Black Excellence, Fam.

And of course, you're an everyday reminder of Ain't God Good.

Hallmark introduced this niche years ago, but the brand went viral after a recent interview with HG Magazine.

Turns out the creator and head scribe of the slang is Cody Beckwith of Springfield, Illinois, a whole white man.

Cody is a self-described redhead corn-fed friend of Dorothy

that is Mrs.

Dorothy Thomas his next-door neighbor who practically raised him and is very black Beckwith credits Miss Thomas for everything he knows without her his face will be way less moisturized

when asked for comment miss Dorothy said Cody always been invited to the cookout especially because I taught him how to wash his chicken before he cooks it

turns out the mahogany line of greeting cards for black clientele was created by this this white guy from Springfield, Illinois.

Your next Hallmark remark comes from Peter Gross.

Some of the best recent Hollywood films have captured a gritty, nuanced realism.

Movies like Nomad Land, Uncut Gems, and The Secret Life of Pets 2.

Other films miss the mark.

This week, the Hallmark Channel announced their new romantic comedy, Adventures in Love and Birding.

It's about a single mother who falls in love with an avid birder, but apparently the creators of the movie fell in love with inaccurate details about birds.

Even the poster of the movie is inaccurate, with one person commenting, I wonder what those two male varied thrushes are talking about.

Cry laughing emoji.

Ha ha ha, get it?

Because I sure don't.

One member of an LA birding community group was furious at the main character's binoculars, commenting, if this guy's a real birder, he would not have those binoculars.

Those binoculars are like poroprisms.

They are very beginner-level.

Yikes.

I would say somebody needs to get out more, but birders are outside all the time, so that doesn't really apply.

As tempting as it is to make fun of them, I imagine I would feel this way if somebody tried to make a wait-wait-don't tell me movie and they had the panelists talking into a Neumann TLM-103 microphone as opposed to a Shure SM7B.

I mean, can you imagine?

A Hallmark Channel romance movie with a birding theme angers the birding community.

Your last wholesome controversy comes from Paula Poundstone.

Birthday girl, 13-year-old Janie Winchell of Lincoln, Massachusetts, tore open the envelope of a Hallmark card that accompanied a brightly wrapped six-pack of flavored lip gloss, gifted from a friend.

The front of the card had a picture of a young girl's face covered in a thick facial mask, and inside the card, in large balloon font, were the words, Congratulations, you're old.

When I saw the card, I was outraged, said Janie's mother, Candace Winchell.

I checked out Hallmark's website and found that this horrible card is part of a new line of cards that are just disturbing.

On one, a black and white photo of a bedraggled-looking girl leading a donkey by a rope opens to reveal the words, get your ass moving, 14 is coming.

Another bears a cover photo of a young girl walking a dirt road surrounded by wildflowers and on the inside says, do something good this year.

Your regret box is almost full.

One cover bears the words, age is just a number.

And inside is a photograph of a slack-jawed preteen with a word bubble saying, but oh my God.

All right.

It's Alexandra.

There was controversy at Hallmark.

this week.

Was it?

From Jell Nicole Johnson, the mahogany line of cards for a black audience turns out were created by this red-haired white guy who just channeled his neighbor from Peter Gross a birding romance in which the birding community did not fall in love with or from Paula Poundstone a line of birthday cards for 13 year olds implying they're getting old Which of these was the real story out of Hallmark this week?

Well, I know birders do take birds very seriously.

They do?

So I'm going to go with B.

You're going to go with B.

You're going to go with Peter's story about the birding movie that angered the birders.

All right.

Well, here's somebody with some insight into the real story.

The Hallmark Channel released the poster and immediately birders had a lot of comments and critiques for how the birds were being pursued in the poster.

That was Antonia Sarahito, a host at LAS who reported on the real story, the birding movie that the birders did not like.

Congratulations, Alexandria.

You got it right.

You're into into point for Peter Gross.

You've won our prize, the voice of your choice and your voice command.

Thank you so much.

Thank you and thank you for playing with us today.

All right.

We'll be together like birds of a feather.

Love, some things are meant to be.

And now the game we call not my job.

In Hawaii, the ukulele is the king of instruments and our guest Taimane is ukulele royalty.

She started busking on the streets of Honolulu at the age of five, where she was discovered by the legendary Don Ho himself.

She's since been named Hawaiian Performer of the Year, among many other honors.

Taimane, welcome to Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me.

Thank you for having me.

It's a pleasure to have you.

We got to get this settled.

We were talking before, the correct Hawaiian pronunciation of the instrument of which you are a master is ukulele.

Ukulele.

Uki ukulele.

Uku.

Ukule.

Lele.

Lele.

You got it.

Ukulele.

How about if you

give it the appropriate respectful name and I just continue to screw it up?

You know, we could do that for probably like 10 to 15 minutes.

We can do that, we can do that.

That's really great.

So

you, and I mentioned this, started playing the ukulele at a very young age, right?

Yes, I started when I was five years old.

I'm born and raised here in Honolulu, Hawaii.

And it's kind of a very common, yeah, yeah, 808, 808.

But it's a very common common instrument here in the islands, almost like how a guitar, you know, is in every house.

The ukulele is in almost every house here in the islands.

And did you like, was that like something you were drawn to?

Or you was like, somebody put one of these in your hand?

Yeah, well, I loved performing.

Even before getting this when I was five, I just, I would put shows together for my dog and my parents and my house.

And I just loved being on stage.

I loved making people happy.

And so my dad gave me my very first ukulele when I was five.

Again, it's just a very common instrument here in Hawaii and it was just the instrument that I grew up learning how to express myself.

And I so happened to love classical music, metal music, but it's all played on this instrument.

Well, I want to get to that because that's one of the things you're known for.

But you were busking.

You were out on the streets.

At five,

you went out with your father?

I started actually when I was seven, a little bit more mature.

Yeah.

That's a very reasonable age to send your child out onto the street to try to make money.

Yes, I had a hard work ethic back in the day, and so I started playing on the streets of Kalakawa Avenue.

Right, that's the big commercial district in Waikiki with all the big shops on it, and restaurants, tourists walking up and down all night.

Exactly, exactly.

I loved it, and I kept doing it until the age of 13.

Wow.

And that's where one of the singers from the Don Ho Show saw me playing was on the streets of Waikiki.

And so I got to meet Uncle Don.

I like to call call him Uncle Don.

Sure.

I like to call him Uncle Don.

Right, Uncle Don.

And he

really, you know, he took me under his wing and really showed me the ropes of how much it takes to put on a show.

Right.

And so I was with him for five years until his passing, and he really just introduced me to Waikiki.

And then from there, I started touring all over the world because the ukulele,

everyone loves the ukulele.

That's absolutely true.

It's absolutely true.

I've never met anybody.

I will say, though, that there are certain stereotypes.

It's something that people play when they can't really play and they just want to be amusing, right?

Which of these annoys you most?

You know, it doesn't actually annoy me.

Really?

I like to use it to my advantage.

How so?

Because people don't expect much of you when you say you play the ukulele.

Like, okay, that's cute.

What do you actually do?

But I love to go into that with that expectation or lack of and then change that mind frame.

Right.

And that's what's

going on.

So

So

you're like a pool shark.

Like ask.

Oh, how do you play this thing?

Yeah, exactly.

So

it is true that one of the things you've done is you've really expanded people's understanding of what a ukulele can do.

And I was hoping you could kind of demonstrate.

Because you're known, for example, for some remarkable covers.

You just put out a cover of Joni Mitchell's

Big Yellow Taxi.

I did.

Right?

And so is there like anything like people would not expect to hear somebody play really well on a ukulele that you love to play for them?

I just started working on a cover of the Adams family, but in minor key.

Oh.

A minor, more mournful, thoughtful key.

Yes.

Right.

Can you hear me?

You guys, I want to try it.

I want to hear like the Adams family.

I haven't played it yet.

So this is the theme to the Addams family.

Haven't played it.

The minor key on the ukulele.

Just learned it.

Okay, here we go.

Okay, this is the hard part.

Hold on.

Woo!

Woo-hoo!

You know,

I'm working on it.

I'm working on it.

You know, I just thought...

I thought you were going to do like smoke on the water or something, but no.

Can you do that?

You really challenged yourself.

Wow, you can do the thing that beginning guitar players play when they pick up a guitar at the guitar center?

Yes.

Yes, stairway.

Wow.

Well, Taimane, we have asked you here to play a game we're calling.

Mini Guitar.

Meet Mini Golf.

So,

you like smaller instruments?

We thought we'd ask you about the tiny version of golf, miniature golf.

Answer two to three questions correctly, you'll win our prize for one of our listeners.

Also, who is Taimane playing for?

Jim Joplin of Lawton, Oklahoma.

All right.

All right, Oklahoma.

And you know, they just love the ukulele in Oklahoma.

So, here's your first question.

Most historians agree that miniature golf was invented in Scotland in the 1860s for one very specific reason.

What was it?

A, it was made for women who weren't allowed to play real golf because it was considered improper for them to raise their arms above their shoulders.

B, a local aristocrat said, love the game, but we can we do without all that walking.

Or C, so a notorious sports gambler could win a bet that he could finish a whole round of golf in half an hour.

Oh, gosh.

You know, I'm not much of a walker myself.

So I would love to say B.

B.

B.

Maybe not the vibe.

No.

Not the vibe.

You know, there's other.

You know, I'm just getting this feeling of, A?

A.

A.

A.

A.

Yes, it's A.

A.

Thanks again.

Apparently, back in Victorian Scotland, you couldn't have ladies scandalizing society by showing their pits.

When in doubt, go with misogyny.

Exactly.

Got it.

All right, that was very good.

Now, back in the early days, mini golf courses used to be different than they are today.

How so?

Was it A, instead of mechanical obstacles like windmills, children were hired to leap onto the course and swat away your ball?

B, instead of hitting your ball into the mouth of a fake clown in the last hole, you do it to a real clown.

Or C, instead of turf, the surfaces were made of goat hair dyed green.

You know, I just keep getting these feelings.

Where do they come?

The spirit of aloha.

You know, I'm going to go with like the ocean, like the sea.

The sea, Hawaii's choice being this being Hawaii.

Yes, it was sea.

Dyed goat hair with the surface of choice.

This was before AstroTurf, of course.

Last question.

You can play thousands of mini golf courses around the world, including in some unusual places, like which of these?

On the lip of a volcano in Stromboli, Italy, with real lava providing some of the obstacles

B 400 feet underground in an abandoned Transylvanian salt mine or C on the roof of the second tallest building in Dubai where if your ball goes out of bounds it really goes out of bounds

I'm gonna go with B you're gonna the Transylvanian salt mine you're right

it is called Salina Turda and it's got a whole amusement park down there along in the mini golf.

It's the most popular underground tourist attraction in the world.

What's it called?

Salina Turta.

No smart remarks, Paula.

Alzo, how did Taimane do on our quiz?

She's got the vibes.

Three out of three.

There you go.

Taimane is a singer, songwriter, and one of the world's most celebrated ukulele players.

For tour dates, head to taimane.com slash live.

Taimane.

Taimane, everybody, shut it up.

Thank you, everyone.

Thank you.

The testimony in Alzo reveals his worst nightmare has a food court in the listener limerick challenge called 188 Weight Wait to join us in the air.

We'll be back in a minute with more of WaitWait Don't Tell Me from NPR.

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 switch at mintmobile.com/slash wait.

That's mintmobile.com/slash wait.

Upfront payment of $45 required equivalent to $15 a month.

Limited time new customer offer for first three months months only.

Speeds may slow above 35 gigabytes on unlimited plan.

Taxes and fees extra.

See Mint Mobile for details.

Support for the following message comes from Sutter Health, where doctors and nurses care for millions of Californians with breakthrough cancer treatments, advanced heart and brain care, and nationally recognized birth centers.

Sutter is bringing on new doctors and specialists to make getting care easier in more communities across California.

Learn more and find a doctor at Sutterhealth.org.

From NPR and WBEZ Chicago, this is Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, the NPR News Quiz.

I'm Alzo Slade.

We're playing this week with Peter Gross, Paula Poundstone, and Joyelle Nicole Johnson.

And here again is your host at the Blaisdell Concert Hall in Honolulu, Peter Sago.

Thank you, Alzo.

Thank you, everybody.

In just a minute, we go somewhere over the rhyme, bow in our our listener limerick challenge game.

If you'd like to play, give us a call at 188-WAIT-WAIT.

That's 1-888-924-8924.

Right now, panel, some more questions for you from the week's news.

Joyelle, this week the AP reported that, contrary to common wisdom, it's perfectly okay for couples to do what?

Sleep in separate bedrooms?

No.

Vacation separately?

No.

No, this is like, I'm sure you've, I mean, anybody who's ever been married or get into a serious relationship has been given this advice about you and your partner.

Don't do it, right?

Oh,

go to bed bad.

Right.

That's the advice.

Don't go to bed angry.

You have heard that.

Have you heard that?

I have heard that.

Everybody's heard that.

Don't go to bed angry.

Well, experts say it's often much wiser to let your dispute sit till the morning.

That's why, right before turning off the light, you know, in my life, I always say to my wife, good night, honey.

And also, have you noticed you're turning into your mother?

Well, at least she goes to bed angry.

Exactly.

But the big question the psychologist did not address, if you do go to bed angry, the two of you, instead of spooning, do you knife?

You definitely don't fork, no.

Or scissor.

True.

It's true.

There's a whole drawer's worth of things that are not happening.

You don't screw, there's this screw, you don't do that.

No hammering,

no nailing.

Honey, hammer the tenderizer.

Paula, this week we learned about a new way to deepen your friendships.

Instead of hanging out at a bar or a party, you should do what together?

Hmm.

You would not hang out at a bar or party.

You should

till the land.

Make the earth yield up its fruits.

That's a thing that's happening now.

People are getting together to till the land.

Till the land.

It's actually, you're kind of on the right track.

The idea is, like, instead of going out and doing

special fun things, you should get your friends together and do

manual labor.

I'm going to give it to you.

Chores.

I love doing chores together with others.

Is this something you like to do?

Yeah.

So, because you are like, as you always are, ahead of the curve, a social trend watch.

The new study says that if you really want to bond with your friends, which we all know is the key to happiness, is having a good social life,

you should do boring stuff with your friends.

Researchers discovered that people, quote, consistently rate common daily activities as more enjoyable when they're interacting with somebody else.

You enjoy it more, you bond, it's great, you know.

Absolutely.

I am on the cutting edge on this.

I often have friends over to help me trim the cat's claws.

Really?

Yeah.

What part do they play?

Because

I've had cats.

Somebody has to do the clipping, and someone has to kind of hold the cat's paws what do you do what do you make them do uh well we you know we go back and forth I don't like to hog the fun part yeah

okay here's the thing about cats clipping their claws uh and I can't do hind claws I can only do front claws what's the difference

what's the difference

well I think I think if I may front claws are on the front paws I know that

I think Joyelle was trying to say what is the difference

besides the obvious one?

I don't know.

That's why.

That's why you did that.

I would just think it's as simple as you don't want to do the hind claws because you don't want a cat's butt in your face.

No.

So how many cats do you have, Paula?

11.

You have 11 cats.

How many friends do you have?

Oh, we had to go there, did we?

I think those two numbers are intimately related.

I'm alone a lot, Peter.

A lot.

A woman with 11 cats is never alone, Paula.

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 1888-WAIT WAIT.

That's 1-888-9248-924.

You can see us most weeks back at the Studio Baker Theater in Chicago, or you can catch us on the road.

We'll be in Costa Mesa, California, November 6th.

For tickets and information for these events and other things we're cooking up, go to nprpresents.org.

And if you like our show but wish it was about 59 minutes shorter, check out our TikTok at WaitWaitNBR.

Hi, you're on WaitWait, don't tell me.

Hey, Peter, this is Lydia from Seattle, Washington.

Hey, beautiful Seattle.

I love it there.

What do you do there?

Well, I like to be outside as much as possible, just like everyone else here.

I like to hike and backpack all the things.

When I'm not doing that, I work at a conservation agency where we protect wildlands and waters in Washington State.

That's a great thing to do.

It does occur to me,

since you are, of course,

you're right.

Everybody I know in the Pacific Northwest loves to be outside all the time.

Does it ever occur to you to take advantage of that and just rifle through their homes?

You know, I don't get paid very much at a nonprofit, so maybe I do need to be able to.

Yeah, I'm telling you.

Lydia, welcome to to the show.

Alzo Slade, filling in for 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 into the limericks, you will be a winner.

Here is your first limerick.

Since the elderly life is so plain, silver snorters speed up a slow brain.

When hair looks like snow, we get down with some blow.

Yes, we old folks are doing

cocaine.

Cocaine, yes.

According to data released by hospitals in the the UK, the number of senior citizens abusing cocaine has risen by a third in recent years.

It's true.

That's why the last time you visited your Nana, she asked if you were cool and wanted to get the party started.

Oh my gosh.

So instead of a $5 bill, it's like a rolled-up $5 bill.

Good for them.

You think so?

I do.

I would do lots of drugs then.

Right, if you've hit a certain age,

what are they going to do today?

What's the point?

Cocaine is getting so popular among older people that there's now a term for them, silver snorters.

And somewhere an executive at NBC just had a great idea for an amazing golden girls reboot.

Here is your next limerick.

Stone cold sober, and yet we feel brave.

Music stumping, but not in some cave.

No more dark clubs at night, we dance in the light.

And hot coffee gets served at our

rave?

Rave, yes.

Coffee raves are the latest trend among international party people and they're exactly what they sound like.

Parties with DJs playing loud dance music, but it's in broad daylight with shots of espresso from the barista over there instead of alcohol at the bar.

It just goes to show it it's true, you really do need a few drinks to have a good time.

Can't some of those old people sell cocaine to these?

Why not?

Yeah.

Sober people, unsober people, they all love these morning coffee raves one fan called them quote very nice

my roommate used to go to those really yeah she they would do them on the sunrise in new york and um that's why i didn't like her

here's your last limerick my dreams don't contain a cursed doll no i'm haunted by suburban sprawl There are multiple floors with extinct anchor stores.

My nightmares all feature a mall?

A mall, yes.

Thousands of people are connecting online over having the same recurring nightmare about being trapped in a mall.

This mall and their dreams is impossible to get out of because even if you can find the dream mall directory, the you are here arrow just points to your bedroom.

No, that is weird that more than one people person has that nightmare.

Yeah, well, they think it is.

The users connect in a subreddit called The Mall World, and they share details of this terrifying space that they all visit in their dreams with levels and stairways and no way out.

They are convinced that despite the fact that none of these people have met in real life, they are all dreaming about the same mall.

Because, really, seriously, what are the odds that they all have a Nordstrom and a hot topic and an Auntie Anne's?

Are all these people from New Jersey dreaming?

Probably.

Also, how did Lydia do in our quiz?

She did great.

Three out of three.

Derivative.

Congratulations.

Nice, Lydia.

Well done.

Lydia, thank you so much for playing.

Thanks for my quality.

Take care.

This message comes from LinkedIn.

Running a business means you wear a lot of hats.

Luckily, when it's time to put on your hiring hat, you can count on LinkedIn to make it easy.

Post a job for free or pay to promote it and get three times more qualified candidates 86 of small businesses find their next great hire in 24 hours also easily share your job with your network plus manage everything all in one place post match hire done post your free job at linkedin.com slash npr terms and conditions apply this message comes from schwab everyone has moments when they could have done better Same goes for where you invest.

Level up and invest smarter with Schwab.

Get market insights, education, and human help when you need it.

Support comes from UC Berkeley's online Master of Public Health program.

Now more than ever, public health needs bold, informed leaders.

Berkeley's flexible online program empowers professionals to advance their careers while making a real impact in their communities.

Learn more at publichealth.berkeley.edu slash online.

Now on to 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 worth two points.

Alzo, can you give us the scores?

Of course, Joyelle and Paula are tied at two, with Peter in the lead at three.

All right.

So I'm going to arbitrarily pick Joyelle to go first.

Here you go, Joyelle.

The clock will start when I begin your first question, fill in the blank.

On Wednesday, Israel and Hamas agreed to the first phase of a plan to end the war in blank.

Kaza.

Right.

This week, the Vatican announced the dates of the new blank's first international trip.

The Pope from Cleveland or Chicago?

Detroit.

Detroit.

Chicago.

I said Chicago.

You did, and then a number of other cities, but it is Chicago.

I was in the vicinity.

On Wednesday, California passed a law banning ultra-processed foods from being served in public blank.

Schools.

Right.

This week, the 2025 Nobel Prize winner for medicine said she blanked when the Nobel Committee called her.

Choked.

No, she did not pick up the call because she thought it was spam.

On Thursday, doctors in China performed the first ever blank-to-human liver transplant.

Cat?

Pig.

Pig.

Pig, pig, pig, pig.

You right.

Yeah, after her sister asked fans for their prayers, country legend Blank had to release a statement saying, no, she's fine.

Dolly Parker.

Yes.

This week, a town in the UK had to take drastic action after a blank started terrorizing citizens there.

In the UK?

In the UK.

A white man and a white wig.

No, a horny swan is the answer.

Oh.

Horny swan.

According to locals, when Reggie, the Australian black swan, first showed up in the town, everything was great.

He got along with the other swans who lived there, even became a bit of a local tourist attraction.

Sadly, things took a turn for the worse just a few weeks later when he started trying to drown all the other male swans in order to have the females to himself.

Terrible news for the birds and for the people in the town, but great news for England's only swan-focused true crime podcast.

How so?

How did Joyelle do in our quiz?

She got four right, which gives her eight points with a total of ten.

She is now in the lead.

There you are, Joyelle.

For now.

All right, Paula, you are up next, filling the blank.

On Tuesday, former FBI Director Blank pleaded not guilty to lying to Congress.

James Cole.

Right, for the first time ever, the price of blank reached $4,000 an ounce.

Gold?

Gold, yes.

This week, members of the Texas National Guard arrived in blank.

Chicago?

Yeah.

On Monday, the White House directed FBI employees to urgently search for any records related to the 1937 disappearance of blank.

Amelia Earhart.

Right.

This week, Weber State University's annual conference on censorship was canceled after presenters refused to blank.

Be censored.

Exactly right.

On Wednesday, theme park giant blank once again raised their admission prices.

Disney.

Right.

On Tuesday, Cristiano Ronaldo became the first billionaire player in the history of blank.

Soccer?

Yes.

This week, a street performance in India meant to warn people about the danger of stray dog attacks was interrupted by blank.

Stray dog attack.

Exactly right.

Pretty good.

There are so many stray dogs in Kerala State the government commissioned a theater troupe to put on a play about it because as we all know, theater is the most efficient way to communicate with the public.

That's why we haven't had a single witch trial since the Crucible.

And this is true.

When the dog, the stray dog, walked on stage during the play about the danger of stray dogs and bit one of the actors, the audience thought it was part of the show and applauded

for the dog.

That guy played the dog did a great job.

He really did.

Alzo, I think Paula did really, really well.

Paula got a lot, bro.

She believes you win a lot.

She does a lot.

She got eight right for 16 points with a total of 18.

Wow.

That placed her way out front.

You didn't miss him.

One.

She did not miss one.

That was remarkable.

All right, then.

So how many does Peter need to win?

Peter needs eight to win.

Here you go, Peter.

This is for the game.

On Tuesday, President Trump suggested he may withhold back pay owed to workers affected by the blank.

The shutdown.

Right.

On Monday, renewables overtook blank as the world's biggest source of energy.

Overtook like oil and gas?

Yeah, fossil fuels.

This week, a man was arrested in connection with starting the Palisades wildfire that burned through Blank early this year.

Los Angeles?

Right.

Under pressure from the White House, the Justice Department has indicted New York Attorney General Blank.

But this is James.

Right, during an interview celebrating how he was turning 100 in just two months, Dick Van Dyke said, Blank.

I regret everything.

No.

He said, quote, it would be pretty funny if he didn't make it.

On Monday, Electra Car Company Blank unveiled cheaper models of their two most popular cars.

The one that makes those dumb trucks,

Tesla?

Yeah.

According to new data, tariffs have greatly increased the cost of blank costumes.

Halloween costumes?

This week, a man who was ticketed for talking on his phone while driving had the ticket voided because it turns out the phone was blank.

It was an Altoitz box.

No, it was a candy bar, and he wasn't talking on on it.

He was eating it.

Man was pulled over by police.

They caught him talking in his phone while driving against the law there, but he said he wasn't on the phone at all.

He was just eating a candy bar.

And it would have worked, too, at least until his stomach started ringing.

Alzo, did Peter Gross do well enough to win?

Nope.

Peter got six right

for 12 points.

Total of 16.

Paula is the champion.

In just a minute, our panelists are going to predict what will be the controversial song on Taylor Swift's next album.

But first, let me tell you all that.

Wait, wait, don't tell me, is a production of NPR and WBEZ Chicago in association with the urgent haircut productions Oahu Doug Berman, Benevolent Overlord.

Philip Goteka writes our limericks.

Our public address announcer is Paul Friedman.

Our tour manager is Shane Adonald.

Special thanks to Hutch and Leslie Hutchinson for all their help this week.

And big thanks to the staff and crew at at the Blazedlle Concert Hall.

B.J.

Lederman composed our theme.

Our program is produced by Jennifer Mills, Miles Dora Boston, and Lillian King.

Special thanks this week to Blythe Robertson and Monica Hickey.

Peter Gwynn is not here.

Emma Choi is our vibe curator, technical direction is from Lauren Dwight, her CFO, and absolute road dog is Colin Miller.

Our production manager is Robert Newhouse, our senior producer is Ian Schillock, and the executive producer of Wait, Wait, Don't Tell me is Mr.

Michael Danforth.

Now, panel, what will be the next controversial song by Taylor Swift?

Joyelle Nicole Johnson.

Come clip my cat's toes with me.

Peter Gross.

A song destined to anger Chiefs fans called Tush Push, Fly Eagles Fly.

I want to jail until it hurts.

And Paula Poundstone.

Well, it's either going to be tight-fitting, receptacle, change purse, or tiny box.

Well, if any of that happens, we'll ask you about it on Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me.

Thank you, Alzo Slade.

Thanks also to Peter Gross, Joyelle Nicole Johnson, and Paula Poundstone.

A very special thanks to Valerie Yee and the entire staff at Hawaii Public Radio and our fabulous audience here in beautiful Honolulu.

I'm Peter Sagal.

We'll see you next week.

This is NPR.

Support for this podcast and the following message come from Humana.

Employees are the heartbeat of your business.

That's why Humana offers dental, vision, life, and disability benefits designed to help protect them.

Award-winning service, expansive networks, and modern benefits.

That's the power of human care.

To learn more about Humana's plans for companies of all sizes and benefits budgets, visit humana.com slash employer.

This message comes from Keybank.

Growing a successful business has never been easy, but whether you're navigating a complex industry or trying to reinvent one, Keybank's breadth of banking experts are here to collaborate on market-proven solutions.

At Keybank, they're built to grow with your changing needs because they're not just there for the business you are now, they're there for the business you'll become.

Reimagine business as usual.

Keybank opens doors.

Learn more at key.com slash b2b.