Wait Wait… Don't Tell Me!
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|---|---|
| Chicago radio show | |
| publication | since 1998 |
| production | WBEZ in collaboration with National Public Radio |
| Contributors | |
| Moderation | Peter Sagal Bill Kurtis |
| Website | |
Wait Wait… Don't Tell Me! is a news quiz show on National Public Radio (NPR) in the United States . The hour-long program is produced by WBEZ in Chicago and distributed by NPR.
At its core, the program consists of guessing games on very bizarre topics from the news of the past week. It is moderated by Peter Sagal . Former news anchor Bill Kurtis is at his side as referee and sparring partner . In May 2014, Kurtis succeeded NPR news anchor Carl Kasell, who has retired as a referee and now holds the honorary title of scorekeeper emeritus .
Three American comedians (as a so-called "panel") are always present as candidates. In addition, listeners can play along by phone. As a prize, the callers beckoned that one of the show employees speaks a text on the answering machine for them. Until shortly before his death in 2018, this was only done by the former presenter Carl Kasell, whose trademark during his time as a newscaster was his deep and sonorous voice.
Rubrics
To fit into NPR's broadcast schedule, Wait, Wait begins with a 60-second preview block on the content of the broadcast; then the news follows. Wait, Wait usually consists of the following eight categories or game rounds:
Who's Bill This Time?
In the first round, a listener can play by phone and win. Bill Kurtis reads three quotes from last week's news, and the candidate has to guess who the quote is attributed to or what topic or event it was about. With at least two correct answers he wins.
Often exhilarating quotes and events are chosen to match the character of the program.
This Week's News I.
First round of play for the panel. Peter Sagal describes an event from the past week in one or two (often ambiguous or very general) sentences and the candidates have to guess what it is about. Often there is a wild and funny guesswork, so that answers are interpreted very generously. A correct answer earns the panel member one point. The length of the round varies a little, and it is often not all but only some of the members of the panel who take turns.
Bluff the listener
Another game for the listeners. Each member of the panel shares a bizarre story under one topic. One of the three is true; if the listener guesses which one it is, he wins. In addition, the panel member whose answer the listener chose receives one point. These points are awarded regardless of whether their story is true or not - it rewards the panel member for being able to convince the listener.
Not my job
A mixture of interview and game round. A prominent guest faces a casual interview and then has to answer three multiple-choice questions. The subject area of the question is selected in such a way that it has some connection to the celebrity (e.g. an allusion to his name; for example a play on words or questions about an (unknown) personality of the same name, ...). In the question and answer session, the celebrity plays on behalf of a listener.
Guests
A rather illustrious group of celebrities has come together over the years. A selection:
actor
Politician
- Barack Obama (at that time still as a senator for the US state of Illinois )
- Bill Clinton (former US President )
- Peter Westmacott (British Ambassador to the USA)
- Madeleine Albright (former US Secretary of State )
- Michael Bloomberg ( Mayor of New York City )
scientist
- Jane Goodall (behavioral scientist)
- Paul Krugman (economist)
Further
- John Irving ( Author )
- Rob Reiner ( director )
This Week's News II
analogous to This Week's News I.
Listener Limerick Challenge
Another round of play for the listeners: Bill Kurtis reads news reports written in Limericks , but breaks off before the last word. The listener has to guess the last word. As always, two out of three correct answers are enough to win.
Lightning Fill-In-The-Blank
Final round for the panel. This time it will be decided who will emerge from the panel as the winner. Peter Sagal asks each panel member questions about the news for 60 seconds. In the questions he replaces the most important point with the word "blank". The panel member must add what “blank” stands for. Each correct answer is awarded two points.
The points from this round (typically 8-14 points) are added to the points from the previous rounds (usually up to 3). The panel member with the most points is the winner of the program.
Prediction
The program closes with the names of the main participants (producer, director, ...) and the future forecast by the panel. The panel members give the best of what they think could happen on a given topic. Bill Kurtis includes the prediction with "Well, if any of thesis things happen, panel, we'll ask you about it on Wait Wait ... do not tell me!" From.
distribution
The show is usually recorded on Thursday evenings in the Chase Auditorium in the Chase Tower in Chicago . Every now and then the show is also hosted in major American cities and records there. In this case, the celebrity in the game "Not my job" usually comes from the city concerned. NPR partner stations broadcast Wait, Wait mostly on weekends. Many stations broadcast an entertainment block with the programs Car Talk and Wait, Wait on Saturdays and / or Sundays following Weekend Edition . With a time delay from the broadcast, the entire program is also available to listen to on the homepage (usually from Saturday evening, Central European Time ).