A surprise snow day for the White House press corps

21:40Everywhere I go. And they're here right now. I think they're up right there. They just follow him, wherever he goes. So, it was surreal. It was just like an out-of-body experience and it was a magical night and a great celebration for women's sports.

21:57Faith Salie:How did you, of course, I mean, amazing, the record was set here in Nebraska. How did you prepare your players for that enormous crowd? I just reminded them it's volleyball past that spike. But, you know, Andy Jackson, who's a current senior right now, yeah, they asked her earlier in the year, you know, about that same question you just asked me and she said i don't remember because i blacked out and i think most of them blacked out so i've always noticed when i watch volleyball that after every point win or lose the point that the women all gather into a little huddle i'm not quite sure what they're saying but i assume that that day they were all getting together and going man that's a lot of people every time yeah yeah what do they say i've always wondered i don't know really so you're i mean because every point all the players get together little huddle break go back next to the next point.

22:52You don't know what they're saying. I know the most common thing we try to get them to say is, hey, next point. Let's win the next point. So that's, but who knows what else goes on. They might be talking about who's up in the stands and what, you know, football

23:05Faith Salie:players there. Yeah. You ever wonder if they were like talking about you? No. Like they all get together and they're like, he has some spinach in his teeth. You see that? Yeah. Don't tell him. So you, we understand, were yourself a basketball player when you were a younger man. And then you became as one of your first jobs a basketball coach. And the story we've heard, part of your legend, is that they said, okay, you also got to coach volleyball, and you had no idea and had to go read a book about volleyball. That is a true story. Right. So you were coaching all these different sports, but obviously you went on to become a legend in volleyball.

23:37Faith Salie:Why volleyball? Why was that your sport that you decided? Volleyball is in the fall, so the first sport start of school, and we went to the state championship the first year. So, the school went crazy, and I'm like, wow, I must know what I'm doing in volleyball. Right. No, I have a saying, the longer I coach, the less I know, and, you know, and I kept learning so much later in my career because everything changes all the time. So, you have to be a great learner, and, you know, there's days I'm, I didn't, I felt like I didn't know anything when I was talking about or doing. Right. Now I'm, you were famous for being a very sort of quiet presence on the sidelines.

24:20Faith Salie:You were not one of those coaches who ran up and down yelling, right? Was that like a conscious choice to like, you're just going to sit there and let, let the game go? That's what I was trying to do because I had to try to, I was more relaxed there. But in, in about 2015, coaches started getting up in volleyball, it became a thing. And so everybody told me, like, you need to get up and run around on the sideline. Well, we lost two matches in a row for the first time. Yeah. And the captain came and told me, she goes, you need to sit down. Really? Kelly Hunter. And we won 34 straight in a national championship.

24:55Yeah. And that's a true story. They know. I love it. Kelly Hunter. I think what they said in that huddle was Coach needs to sit in there. Exactly. I was I knew the legend of Cornhusker volleyball but today I was on the flight here and people were talking about last night's match and I've never heard volleyball in an airplane before but they were so excited like someone hadn't seen it and someone else was catching them up it was like Game of Thrones finale level excitement

25:27Faith Salie:it was really cool do you have obnoxious guys calling into sports radio like, yeah, I don't think that woman could set a spike on the railroad. You know what I mean? Well, I'll give you an example. The last couple of weeks, one of their star players hasn't been playing well. There was articles in the paper and everybody's online, what's going on? She's not playing very well. They put so much pressure. It's great there's all these crowds, but there's a lot of pressure. So yes, they're under the limelight and sometimes when they're not playing well, they feel like, and I felt this way as a coach, when we lost, I felt like I let the whole state of Nebraska down.

26:02And that's how it feels here. But it's special.

26:06Faith Salie:Yeah, fortunately there's not a lot of people here. So it's not... Oh, come now! I know how many people live in Nebraska. 90 ,003. 92 ,000. Thank you. You can't boo him for your population. Y 'all need to get out of here and make more people.

26:31Dulce, I want to party with you. Hey, if you party with Dulce, you will be up running around like a chicken in your head. Oh, yeah, ain't no coaching for the bench, coach. We up.

26:48Faith Salie:Well, John Cook, it is an honor to talk to you here in Omaha. And we have invited you for a little competition of our own. It's a game that we are calling Bump, Set, Spike. So you are familiar, of course, with Bump and Set and Spike from Volleyball Basic Moves. So we thought we'd ask you about three different Bumps, Sets, and Spikes. Answer two out of three questions correctly, and you'll win our prize. For one of our listeners, the voice of anyone they might choose for their voicemail. Also, who is Coach John Cook playing for? Autumn Crane Buckman of Omaha, Nebraska. Awesome. Obviously a fan.

27:28Faith Salie:All right, you ready to do this? Let's do it. First up is bump. Now, the bumps are a birthday tradition in the UK. That's what it's called, the bumps. And when they do the bumps, friends and family of the birthday celebrant do what to them? Is it A, bang them on the floor for each year of their life, B, roll them physically down the road to the nearest pub, or C, just take them to a dermatologist to remove any odd bumps. I'm going to say A. You're going to say A to bounce them on the floor for each year. They've been alive. That's right. Yeah. Bump, bump, bump, bump. All right. That's very good.

28:11Faith Salie:Now we're going to move on to set. The set of the movie The Godfather has become legendary. And if you were visiting that set way back when, you might have seen which of these? A, actors wearing cue cards on their clothes because Marlon Brando refused to memorize his lines. B, Francis Ford Coppola, the director himself, acting out each character in each scene while the real actors were forced to watch him. Or C, Angelo DiCarlo, a real mobster, just standing in the set and either nodding or shaking his head at every mafia thing. I guess it must be A. It is A. Yep.

28:53Faith Salie:So Marlon Brando said it wasn't that he couldn't memorize his lines. He said that if he did memorize his lines, he wouldn't sound natural in the way that a normal person would. What? That's such a bonus. That's what he said. So, you know, he couldn't deliver them in a natural way in the way he could reading them off Robert Duvall's suit jacket. All right. You got two right. Of course, we're going to finish with spike, the finishing move. police often use road spikes, right, to stop fleeing cars. But even seasoned officers were surprised when a woman trying to escape them in a car in Utah did what?

29:33Faith Salie:A, stopped the car, stole the road spikes, and took them home to keep birds off her windowsill. B, stopped the car and put up a sign, extreme tire damage, do not back up. Or C, ran over the spikes Then while in a standoff with police Called AAA to come replace her damaged tires I'm thinking C Is it? We'll go C It was C

30:04Faith Salie:She was arrested Before AAA could come Fix her car Oswald, how did John Cook do on our quiz? Coach stays undefeated. Three out of three. John Cook is the general manager of the Omaha Supernovas, the world's leading professional volleyball team, and the former head coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers, John Cook. Thank you so much for joining us. Give it up to your very own Coach Cook.

30:37Faith Salie:In just a minute, we iron some things out in our listener Limerick Challenge game. 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 NPR.

31:13Faith Salie:insurance. Cut costs, not care. Go to goodrx.com slash companion. This message comes from NPR sponsor Carvana. Carvana makes car buying easy. 100 % online. Prices down to the penny delivered to your door. Why make car buying hard when it could be easy? Visit carvana.com today. Terms may apply. This message comes from WTTW. Beginning October 2nd with the World's Fair of 1893, A new season of Chicago Stories, Fridays at 8 on WTTW and streaming on the PBS app. Visit WTTW.com slash Chicago Stories.

31:54From 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 Dulce Sloan, Faith Saley, and Josh Gondelman. And here again is your host at the Orpheum Theater in Omaha, Nebraska, Peter Sago. Thank you, Al Zone.

32:13Faith Salie:Thank you, everybody. In just a minute, it's the one remaining competition in America that nobody cares enough to bet on. It's the Listener Limerick Challenge. If you'd like to play, give us a call at 1-888-WAIT-WAIT. That's 1-888-924-8924. Right now, panel, some more questions for you from the week's news. Josh, this week the Washington Post held a debate among their staff and published it. It's about whether or not it's okay to show up to a job interview with what? With iced coffee. Exactly right. We understand you are a big iced coffee drinker yourself. I am a big iced coffee drinker. So did you get it on your iced coffee news alert?

32:54Yeah, that's right. The Duncan app was like, we're mobilizing you. We need you to sign a petition.

33:00Faith Salie:So this question started on TikTok, where a corporate recruiter put up a post saying, do not walk into an interview with an iced coffee or worse, an iced latte. But why not? Well, one, it's unprofessional. And two, it gives you horrible breath for the post-interview goodbye kiss. Specifically, they were upset about the sweating on the coffee because it would cause a clammy handshake. Yeah, to make a clammy handshake. And the ice would make noise. Exactly. What is wrong with these people? And they'd leave a little ring on the table. Well, there is a plus side. It shows the potential employers what kind of employee you would be, which is an employee who's going to spill an iced coffee on their lap in the middle of the interview.

33:40This is nothing. People will just say anything on TikTok. People will have a TikTok that's like, having a dream is the same as reading a book. And then a million people will be like, that's right. I do think that. And you're like, no. Just because someone says it on TikTok and gets a lot of response doesn't mean that it's true and doesn't mean it's new. I just thought when you went to a job interview, it's no food, no drinks, and you have real pants on. Like, I thought that's what we were doing. That's right. And depending on what the job is, your shirt is a certain level of low cut. Other than that...

34:11Faith Salie:Yeah, no coffee. I've always gone by that rule. Dulce, a new emo album that came out Wednesday is getting unanimously great reviews. But who put out this album? Josh Goldman is right there. Why would you ask me this question? Are you engaging in stereotypes? You're profiling me. But Josh, you know the answer, don't you? I probably know the answer. Thank you, Al. So, okay, is it because we're surprised that this particular individual put out this album? It's more of an institution that put out the album. I'll give you a hint. Okay. It's the perfect thing to listen to while drinking a Frosty. Wendy's?

34:50Faith Salie:Wendy's! I did not know that, actually. Is this like when SpongeBob put out the Yellow album? Shorter. Okay. The new compilation is called Songs to Listen to in a Wendy's Parking Lot, and it features songs like, and these are all real, She Said She Didn't Want Fries, and The Best Combo Meal on the Worst Night of My Life. It's really, it's good. It's like good music. Is there one that's like, Your square corners poked out of my round bun. Go on. That's all they had, really. I don't think they need more than that. Honestly, shout out to the 45-year-old intern. Who came up with this. That got them to put out this album.

35:42Faith Salie:Now, of course, now that they're all emo instead of a Happy Meal, Wendy's is offering a What's the Point meal. And the album art is great. It's the classic picture of Wendy from the logo. You've seen it many times. but now she's dressed like her dad just doesn't understand her anymore. Her red hair is just bangs covering both of her eyes. Exactly, yeah.

36:05Faith Salie:Coming up, it's Lightning Fill in the Blank, but first it's a 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 1-888-924-8924. You can see us most weeks back home at the Studebaker Theater in downtown Chicago. You can always catch us on the road, too. We'll be in Kalamazoo, Michigan on October 22nd. And our first show ever in normal Illinois is on November 12th. For tickets and information to all our live shows, go to nprpresents.org. Hi, everyone. Wait, wait, don't tell me. Hi, Peter. This is Katie Bell from Kittering, Maine.

36:39Faith Salie:Hey, Katie Bell from Kittering, Maine. How are you? I'm doing well. Katie, are you a lawyer? I wish. That's funny. Nothing makes you feel like you just said something funny Like when someone goes That's funny That's how like old comics laugh at a joke It is That's hilarious It really is Katie's already won Yeah So Katie, we are delighted to have you Alzo Slade is going to perform for you Three news related limericks With a last word or phrase missing from each If you can fill in that last word or phrase Of course, you'll win a prize Do it two times out of three Ready to go? Ready as I'll ever be.

37:20Faith Salie:All right, here we go. Here's your first limerick. Raw dairy sends my heart a flutter, but bringing it home makes me shudder. I am taking a chance with this shoved down my pants. I just came back from France smuggling...

37:37Butter? Butter!

37:39Faith Salie:Yes, butter! This week, the Wall Street Journal reported on the growing number of Americans going to France and trying to bring butter home as a souvenir. It's never, though, been harder to be a butter smuggler, a term which, despite what you are all thinking right now, is a person who smuggles butter. So we all know French butter is better. It's got a higher fat content, and, of course, it speaks more languages than American butter. And it's a real thoughtful gift, too, for your friends back here. You know that thing that you like because it tastes fresh from the farm? Well, it just spent the last nine hours stuffed in my carry-on.

38:16Faith Salie:enjoy. Honestly, still less of a chance of giving you diarrhea than anything in America. Exactly true. All right, here's your next limerick. With creases, my clothing is sprinkled. Still, I strut around with a twinkle. I'm tired of requiring a boatload of ironing. It's hip to wear clothes that are... Wrinkled. Yes. Good news, slobs of the world. Ironing is out. Wrinkles are in. All the fancy clothing brands are selling pre-wrinkled items like Totem's$500 crinkled gauze tank top. And Prada's$700 my hotel room doesn't have a steamer shirt. According to the stylists, it's all about being intentional.

39:02Faith Salie:No, I didn't spill coffee on my pants. I intentionally poured it there. Between this and the no hair brushing trend, looking disheveled has never been more on trend. You're basically telling the world, I don't play by your rules. Also, I fell asleep on the way here. Never before have I so fully understood the meaning of the term news I can use. Yes. This is huge for me. No, honey, this is fashionable. I haven't ironed clothes in a long time, mainly because a lot of my clothes will melt. That's a problem. You think these pants can withstand the heat of an iron?

39:50Then no, you put, you dry them with a hope and you lay them out with a dream. You cannot.

40:00Faith Salie:Drink big. No. Here we go. Here is your last limerick. I am giving this Amtrak full reign because I'm done with how airports constrain. So I'm going back to the clickety-clack in my own private car on a... My dad would love this. Train. Yes, train. Great news. Private train cars are back. Who hasn't wanted to travel across the country like the body of a dead president?

40:42So it's not just first class. It's your own car.

40:45Faith Salie:It's your own car. These are private, high-end, fancy train cars. They've got lounges. They have full dining rooms. Do you have a ballot? Presumably. And the people who own them or are renting them attach them to the back of Amtrak passenger cars. It's like old-school luxury travel, how they did it 100 years ago. But remember, no matter how high-end your train car is, the bathroom is still going to be out of order. I want to do, because I'd always wanted to do, because I grew up watching PBS and seeing Agatha Christie. You want to murder somebody in one of those. Most people would have jumped to solve a murder on the Orient Express.

41:25Why is she trying to pin me for crime?

41:27Faith Salie:Exactly. Alzo, Alzo, how did Katie do on our quiz? Katie Bell did great. She got three out of three. Perfect score. Congratulations. Yay, I'm thrilled. Yay. Yay. Thank you, Katie. Thank you. Bye-bye.

41:48There's a B you know and C you know and a Santa Fe. As long as they keep moving on, any line's okay. Just take a train. Oh, take a train.

42:06Faith Salie:Support for NPR and the following message come from GoodRx. With GoodRx Companion, members get over 250 medications for free, plus discounts on dental, vision, labs, and more through the GoodRx Companion network. Free medications are subject to change. Terms apply. Savings vary based on provider service and geographical area. GoodRx is not insurance. Cut costs, not care. Go to goodrx.com slash companion. This message comes from BetterHelp. Imagine carrying a backpack every day. Inside it, every conversation, every mistake, every expectation. It is easy not to notice how heavy it is until someone asks if you want to put it down.

42:49Sometimes feeling better starts exactly like that. Better isn't one size fits all. Better is personal. It's therapy tailored to the individual to help lighten what you carry. Match with a therapist who truly understands. Visit BetterHelp.com slash NPR.

43:07Faith Salie: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 is worth two points. Alzo, can you give us the scores? Of course. Dulce and Faith are knotted up at two, and Josh is in the lead with three. All right. Okay, we'll pick Dulce to go first. The clock will start when I begin your first question. Fill in the blank. On Thursday, dozens of UN delegates walked out in protest during a speech by Israeli Prime Minister blank. Netanyahu. Right. This week, Hurricane Polo briefly became a category blank storm.

43:43Faith Salie:Five? Yes. Following predictions that it may end all human life, most Americans say they want more regulation of blank. AI. Right. This week, a British man attempting to throw a bag of drugs into a prison was repeatedly thwarted by blank. The wind? No, by the fact that he couldn't throw it high enough to get it over the wall. The estate of beloved singer Blank accused her own nephew of extortion. That is important! Yes, on Thursday, coffee giant Blank announced it was closing over 200 locations. Starbucks? Yes. This week, New Hampshire's Concord Public Library suspended late fees for return books, so a man there blanked.

44:20Fainted?

44:20Faith Salie:No, he returned a magazine that was 130 years overdue. Did he check it out? Yeah.

44:33Faith Salie:Nosferatu of Concord, New Hampshire. The September 1894 issue of Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine. Century Illustrated? Yeah, that's the one with the centerfold of the fully dressed woman. Could be checked out for one week, making the magazine approximately 48 ,000 days overdue for a fine of$12 ,000. but now it's been returned in the grace period which is great news for that other patron who has had it on hold for 115 years. Alzo, how did Dulce do in our quiz? She did all right. She got five right for 10 more points. Total of 12 and the lead. All right, so.

45:19Faith Salie:Faith, you're up next. Please fill in the blank. On Wednesday, Chinese leader Blank arrived in the U.S. for a summit and a state dinner. Xi. Xi Jinping. On Monday, Paramount reached a settlement to clear the way for their merger with blank. Warner Brothers. Right. On Monday, a new flu shot developed using blank began its countrywide rollout. Develop using DNA. Close enough. mRNA. This week, movie star Taylor Lautner and his wife, Taylor Lautner, welcomed their new baby named blank. Taylor Lautner. No, named Lenny Taylor Lautner. So close. So close. This week, food delivery app Blank agreed to pay$131 million to underpaid New York employees.

46:01DoorDash.

46:02Faith Salie:Right. Ahead of the VMAs on Sunday, pop superstar Blank announced her new single. Taylor Swift. Right. This week, police in the UK sentenced a man to nine months in prison after he was charged with driving while drunk and also driving while blank. Underwater. No. He was arrested for driving while drunk and also driving while blind. Blind. Police say they suspected the man was drunk when they saw him swerving between lanes on the highway, but after pulling him over, they also discovered that he was almost completely blind. They were like, sir, do you have any idea how fast you were going? And he's like, no, I was hoping you'd tell me.

46:36Faith Salie:You have to be so drunk to start driving when you're blind. Alzo, how did Faith do in our quiz? She also got five right for 10 more points, total of 12, and now she's tied for the lead with Dulce. All right, so how many then? How many, then, does Josh need to win? Josh, you need five to win, buddy. Thank you. All right. You're welcome. Do this. Here we go, Josh. This is for the game. In a speech to the UN, the president of blanks said he would never bow his head to Trump. Canada? No. No, although a good guess could have been a lot of people. It was Iran in this case. On Monday, an issue with telecom lines led to thousands of blanks being canceled or delayed.

47:19Faith Salie:Oh, hush now. I guess I gotta say it. Flights? Yes. On Wednesday, NASA announced their next collaborative rocket launch with space company blank. SpaceX? Right. According to Bloomberg, people are turning to blank to help them quit vaping. Smoking cigarettes? Exactly right. On Wednesday, disgraced film producer blank was sentenced to another 15 years in prison. Harvey Weinstein. Right. On Tuesday, fast food giant blank announced it would be adding new high-protein items to its menu. McDonald's? Right. This week, a man of Florida was able to successfully avoid injury after he was attacked by a crab that was blank.

47:53Faith Salie:Wielding a knife. Yes, exactly right. It's true. True. This man and his dog were both startled when a crab holding a knife came after them while they were out on a walk. Fortunately, a man was able to pick up the crab and move it away safely. Big mistake, though, because that crab is definitely coming back with a gun.

48:16Faith Salie:Alzo, did Josh do well enough to win? He absolutely did. Six right, 12 more points, total of 15. Josh wins. Bravo, Josh. In just a minute, we're going to ask our panelists to predict after the George Lucas Museum for Narrative Art, what will be the next new museum to capture the nation's imagination? But first, let me tell you, wait, wait, don't tell me. It's a production of NPR and WBEZ Chicago, an association with Urgent Haircut Productions. Doug Berman, benevolent overlord. Philip Godica writes our limericks. Our public address announcer is Paul Friedman. Our ops manager is Jasira Vardak. Thanks to the staff and crew here at the magnificent Orpheum Theater in downtown Omaha.

48:54Faith Salie:B.J. Liederman composed our theme. Our program is produced by Jennifer Mills, Miles Gornbos, and Lillian King. Special thanks this week to Blythe Robertson, Janie Hoffman, and Dom Banas. Peter Gwynn is our corn husker. Emma Choi is our vibe curator. Technical directions from Lorna White with special thanks this week to Travis Hagan. Our CFO is Colin Miller. Our production manager is Robert Newhouse. Our senior producer is Ian Chulag, the executive producer. Wait, wait, don't tell me. It's Mr. Michael Danforth. Now, panel, what will be the next new museum? Dulce Ice Loan. The anti-museum where they collect everything colonizers stole and gave them back to their countries of origin.

49:28Faith Salie:Whoa.

49:32Josh Gondelman. The George R.R. Martin Museum, which will be incredibly popular even if the final story remains unfinished. And Faith Saley. The Museum of Extinct Experiences, where you go to rewind videotapes, make phone calls to people you didn't text first, and sit in a Chrysler with the windows rolled up while your dad chain smokes. And if any of that happens, panel, we'll ask you about it on Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me.

50:01Faith Salie:Thank you, Alzo Slade. Thanks also to Dulce Sloan, Josh Galliman, and Faith Saley. Special thanks to Ian Vosberg, Sandy Carstens, and everyone at Nebraska Public Media. Thanks to our fabulous audience who came out to see us in Omaha. Thanks to all of you for listening wherever you might be. I'm Peter Segal. We'll see you next week.

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