Spirit Airlines, The Book of Mormon, and Grunting

23:56Yeah. And I just want to say to the audience, if you were, if I were to translate that phrase, the name of a song, not only would we be canceled, NPR would be burned to the ground. So yeah. And so the music, were you surprised that this musical about Mormon missionaries with its extraordinary language and themes and sense of humor was the monster hit that it became? We were hoping to run a year and maybe get some protesters. But instead, instead we became this, this, this long running mainstream right down the middle hit, which still baffles me. I know it's amazing. And the amazing thing is the Mormon church was okay with it, right?

24:46They kind of got on board. Yeah. They, they, they kind of judoed us. They were like, let's put an ad in the playbill. You've seen the show, now read the book. Great ad. Great ad. Are you aware of anybody who came off the streets, saw the Book of Mormon, the musical, and any of its many iterations or productions, and then said, you know what? I think I'll look into this religion. No, but I would love to meet you if you're out there. Before we leave the topic I understand that in June once the show comes back from its theater catching fire the show is going to be doing something called Magical Mormon Mystery Week Yes We're having Josh Gad Andrew Rannells and all of the original company kind of come back and pop into the show in random scenes and I will get to also be in it with Matt and Trey on certain nights I think Trey's in it every night.

25:52Trey's going to play Jesus and Joseph Smith every night that week. Wow. From what I know of him, that's kind of a dream come true, right? I mean, he looks like Jesus and Joseph Smith. That's true. Famously, you are the youngest person ever to EGOT, Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony.

26:15and you also are the only person as far as I know who's done it twice in each category sometimes more than twice and we're just wondering as the only person in the entire world who have ever done that what kind of privileges does that get you do you get to cut in line at the movie theater? Oh, let's see. My family, my kids, I had, my kids were very young at the time and they and Kristen, my wife got together and made an EGOT necklace like the one from 30 Rock out of, out of cardboard and macaroni and glue. Oh, that's awesome. I hope you can see it. It's online. That's fabulous. Speaking of your wife, who's astonishingly talented and shared in your Oscars because she co-wrote the songs from Coco and Frozen with you.

27:02She is missing that Tony Award. So she's an ego. She's a big ego. Big ego. Any tension around the house or maybe when you're having those spats like we all do? Don't try and get me in trouble, man. I know, but Tony says it's your turn to clean the kitchen. Yeah. Oh, no. No. Is that tough, though? I mean, because you obviously work very successfully with your wife. Does it interfere with your daily life? Do you pause and go, wait a minute, is that a song? Did we just write a song? Is that a song? Or is it like, you're not going to write a song about this, right? Absolutely. We are on vacation, and we end up running to write songs, not for any project, just like we wrote lyrics to the...

27:55Our kids loved Harry Potter way back when, and we wrote a whole Harry Potter quiz show set of lyrics to the Harry Potter theme. It was, what time is it? You know what time it is. Time for the Harry Potter quiz. And it went on. I got the whole thing. Really?

28:18Wow. Well, Bobby Lopez, it's a joy to talk to you. We have invited you here to play a game that this time we're calling You are 15 going on 16. It's the 15th anniversary of Book of Mormon, which means it's time to start planning for the show's appearance on the MTV reality show, My Super Sweet 16. That's the show in which America's richest and most entitled teenagers threw extravagant birthday parties and then cried at them. So we're going to ask you three questions about that show. Answer two of them correctly. You want a prize for one of our listeners. Wait, give me a second to watch all those episodes.

28:55Yes, please do that. Bill, who is Bobby Lopez playing for? Loxum Wong of Gaithersburg, Maryland. All right, here we go. In season seven, as fans remember, birthday girl Sky got upset because all her friends were inside dancing, meaning that none of them could see what, A, her head projected onto Mount Rushmore, which was the venue for the party, B, her arrival at the party riding the same giant gold lion that Katy Perry rode in her Super Bowl halftime show, or see her grand entrance in a 20-foot tall dress with a hydraulic lift built into it to raise her into the air? Well, that sounds like a girl obsessed with Wicked.

29:41I think I'll choose C. You were right. That's exactly right. All right. My super sweet 16. My super sweet 16 was so popular that it had several spinoff shows, including which of these? A, Exiled, where the parents of teens who had parties in the show send those teens to remote countries by themselves to see if they can survive. B, my super depressing 30 about people realizing that we're totally unequipped for adulthood. Or C, I hate them all. Interviews with the caterers, waiters, and other people who staff at the parties. Wow They all sound fake I pick C again You're going to pick C again, I hate them all Interviews with the staff of the parties No, I'm afraid it was A, exiled It lasted one season They sent these entitled kids And as far as I know, they all survived and came back Alright, last question, if you get this right You win, my super sweet 16 Has inspired other creators Including which of these, A, your friend Trey Parker, who made a South Park episode where Satan throws his own super sweet 16 party.

31:02B, choreographer Twyla Tharp, who created a dance show called Les Insufferables. Or C, actor Nicolas Cage, who vowed that his own kid's birthday party would be better than any of those parties on the show and subsequently had to declare bankruptcy again. It was A, right? It was A, yeah. Trey Parker made an homage to super sweet 16 on South Park. he called, the maker of South Park called My Super Sweet 16 quote, the most disgusting foul show ever made. Bill, how did Bobby Lopez do in our quiz? He got two out of three and that's good enough for us. Bobby Lopez is the double EGOT winning songwriter and composer of Book of Mormon, which you can see during Magical Mormon Mystery Week at the Eugene O 'Neill Theater from June 9th through June 14th.

31:55Bobby Lopez. Thank you so much for joining us on Wait, Wait, Don't Tell. What a pleasure to talk to you. Thank you. Take care. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Bye. Bye, Bobby.

32:10In just a minute, Bill is going to ruin things for your dentist in our listener limerick challenge. Call 1-888-Wait-Wait to join us on the air. We'll be back in a minute with more of Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me from NPR.

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34:54From NPR and WBEZ Chicago, this is Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, the NPR News Quiz. I'm Bill Curtis. We are playing this week with Mo Rocca, Roxanne Roberts, and Hari Kondabolu. And here again is your host at the Studebaker Theater in Chicago, Illinois, Peter Sagal. Thank you, Bill. In just a minute.

35:19Go order some limericks for the table. It's our 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. Mo, elderly people often have problems with balance, forcing them to use canes or walkers, but a research team in Japan has come up with a better way. simply fit the elderly with a what? With a Michelin Man costume. That's great. Right? Pneumatic. Pneumatic. Pushered. Yeah, you would never hurt yourself falling. No, it's something that will help them keep their balance. I'll give you a hint.

35:59We don't know if they can wag them. Oh, to give old people tails. Yes, give old people enormous tails. That is so cute. It would be adorable. Well, researchers in Japan and engineers have developed a three-foot-long mechanical motorized tail called ARC, which automatically moves to counterbalance you when you lean over. It also makes it much easier to tell when grandma is happy.

36:31So to make them like marsupials? No, not exactly. The idea is there are a lot of animals, like, say, monkeys or cheetahs, that use tails for balance. They can counterbalance their own movements and stay, you know, stable. Oh, so grandma might be swinging from a tree now? It's possible. No, wait a minute. That's the ARCA-2. They're working on that. To keep the wearer balanced as they move, the tail uses pneumatic pumps to move in reaction to the user's motions. So if you think a walker makes you look bad, just try looking and sounding like a T-Rex with IBS. So here, that is the question. How do you go to the bathroom?

37:09Yeah, I know. Wearing a giant tail. Oh, God. Oh, God. I mean, you're there. You're with Grandpa. Everything's going great. It's like, oh, no, Grandpa's lifting his tail.

37:24Grandpa's getting some tail. Yeah. No, no, no, no. Oh, he's dating again? No, no, he's actually getting a tail. Hari, a gym in Denver is being sued by owners of condos in the building above the gym. They say the gym has hurt their property values because of the what? The stench. Not the stench. The water from the shower. Not the water from the shower. From the sound. Yes, specifically what sound? Oh, no. Oh, grunting. Grunting, yes. They say that their property values are diminished because of the constant grunting from the gym. The Denver gym, that's a gym with weight machines, treadmills, diced ham, green pepper, and cheddar cheese, has faced constant complaints from the tenants above it since it opened two years ago.

38:16Now residents are suing the owners of the gym. They say, quote, weightlifters groaning, yelling, and struggling to lift weights. That last one sounds suspiciously less like a complaint and more like a sick burn Residents say they're unable to sleep enjoy dinner or work from home unquote because of the noise while the weightlifters say one more you got this Ah Unquote I mean, I'm sure people are having sex in that building and there's the sounds of sex The grunting I guess from sex next door would be would be bad enough But if they were also saying oh one more you got this

38:58Very distressing I think I'd move can you spot me?

39:06You have to wipe that down if you're done with it

39:19Coming 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 1-888-WAIT-WAIT. That's 1-888-924-8924. You can see us most weeks here at the Studebaker Theater in downtown Chicago, where you can catch us on the road. For example, we will be in Austin, Texas on June 4th, and there are still a few tickets left. With more shows being announced soon, you want to go to nprpresents.org for tickets and information to all of those live events. Hi, everyone. Wait, wait, don't tell me. Hi, this is Bill Valderas in Columbus, Ohio.

39:51Columbus, where we've been a few times. What do you do there in the capital? Well, I own a data analytics consulting firm, but my family and I are also very active with Golden Retriever Rescue, and we have two adopted Goldens that we have trained to be therapy dogs, and we spread joy throughout central Ohio with them. Oh, that's great. I've always wondered, like, what specific training do therapy dogs have? Generally speaking, they have to do two things well. You have to have strangers tell you you're beautiful and you have to be willing to get hugged and kissed by strangers a lot So those are the single qualifications.

40:25I could be a therapy dog You don't have enough hair I Could be a therapy hairless cat So there All right, well welcome to the show bill So Bill Kurtz is going to read you three news-related limericks with the last word or phrase missing from each. If you can fill in that last word or phrase correctly in two of the limericks, you'll be a winner. You ready to play? I am ready to play. All right, here we go. Here's your first limerick. Not all tooth decay carries much gravity. Scanty flossings, no moral depravity. So dentists, please chill and put down that drill. We don't need to fill every cavity.

41:11Right, the New York cavity, yes. The New York Times reported this week that just because your dentist said you need a cavity fill doesn't mean you really do. No thanks, Doc. I actually like it when drinking cold water sends searing pain stabbing into my skull. It turns out that many dentists recommend filling cavities that can be treated with better dental hygiene. Some say they do this because they can charge more for a filling, but the truth is they just love drilling into your teeth. It's soothing for them. Wait, I don't understand because like a cavity is a hole. Cavity is a hole. But here's the thing.

41:47New standards for dental care say that in the very first stages of a cavity, it can be reversed with better hygiene, right? Better brushing. What your dentist recommends, again, this is true, actually depends on when they went to dental school. So a younger dentist, the latest, you know, standards, might just give you medicated toothpaste, send you home. An older dentist will grab for the drill right away, and a really old dentist will just tie that old tooth to the doorknob.

42:16Here's the problem I always have. I keep thinking like a logical person. Always a mistake at the same age. It's always a mistake because if you have a cavity, then you have a hole in your tooth. You do. And this suggests that somehow that hole will get filled in with just like medicated toothpaste. But that doesn't seem logical given the fact that you've got eroded enamel. Right. So we're really giving this a lot of thought. Well, it's not that much thought. It's like, it's a hole. Holes get bigger. Yeah. That's the thought. But apparently... The hole's going to get bigger, so they've got to fill it in.

43:03Right. Otherwise it will, as you say, get bigger. That's right. Absolutely. Here's your next limerick. Waluigi and Peach are not scoffing. What an awesome box to get sent off in. As you've laid down to rest, it is one final quest. Put more stars, wands, and coins on that... Coffin. Yes, coffin. Congratulations for video game fans getting on in years. There's a new line of Super Mario Brothers themed coffins that you can buy for yourself or a loved one. They come in bright red, green, or pink. They can be customized with images of your favorite characters. It's a fun and creative way to let all your loved ones know you died as you lived, wasting your entire life playing video games.

43:52Your entire lives. Exactly. True.

43:59Here's your last limerick. Highland cattle look fuzzy and snuggly, and visitors pose with them smugly. We need people to pass, not to stop and harass, so we breed them to make them more... Ugly? Yes! A British farmer, sick and tired of influencers, coming onto his land to take selfies with his beautiful cows, has developed a plan to stop it. he's going to breed the cows to make them uglier. That is a pretty clever solution. But let's ask the big question, why was he previously breeding the cows to make them hot? I don't think I could tell the difference between an attractive cow and a less attractive cow.

44:48Well, there's also ugly cows that are sexy. Like being attractive, right? There's sexiness and then there's just conventional good looks. So this could really backfire. So are you suggesting that some cows just have sexy personalities? Well, just like Benicio del Toro is not conventionally handsome, but he has a lot of sex appeal. You could end up with a really, really groundbreaking iconoclastic sexy cow. Or the farmer could just build a fence so the influencers didn't come on their pasture. But then we wouldn't be talking about it. This is true. Bill, how did Bill do on our quiz? Bill was on top of it.

45:31He got all three. Very good job. Congratulations, Bill. Well done. Thank you. Thank you so much for playing. Take care. Thanks. Have a good day. Bye-bye.

45:45This message comes from Capital One Commercial Bank. Your business requires commercial banking solutions that prioritize your long-term success. With Capital One, get a full suite of financial products and services tailored to meet your needs today and goals for tomorrow. Learn more at CapitalOne.com slash commercial. Member FDIC. This message comes from Rosetta Stone. If you have travel coming up, like a spring break or summer vacation, imagine arriving actually understanding the language. Rosetta Stone has been the trusted leader in language learning for over 30 years, with millions of users and 25 languages to choose from.

46:24Ready to start learning a new language this spring? Visit rosettastone.com slash NPR today to explore Rosetta Stone and choose the language that's right for you. This message comes from AT &T with your summer essential, the iPhone 17 Pro. Its center stage front camera auto-adjusts the frame to fit everyone into group selfies. Right now at AT &T, ask how you can get iPhone 17 Pro on them with eligible trade-in, any condition. Requires trade-in of iPhone 15 Plus or higher, excluding iPhone 16E and 17E. Requires eligible plan. Terms and restrictions apply. Subject to change. Visit att.com slash iPhone for details.

47:06This message comes from Whole Foods Market. Make Mother's Day special with brunch or dinner from Whole Foods Market. Start with quality cheese and charcuterie with no synthetic nitrates. Then choose sustainable, wild-caught, or responsibly farmed seafood on sale. Finish with seasonal bakery treats like strawberry pretzel cream pie. Or keep it easy with ready-to-heat quiche Lorraine, deviled eggs, and fresh-cut fruit. Celebrate mom with Whole Foods Market. Now it is time for 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.

47:40Each correct answer now worth two points. Bill, can you give us the scores? Stand back. Mo has five. Roxanne has two. Hari has one. All right, Hari, you're in third place, so you're up first. The clock will start when I begin your first question. Fill in the blank. After an outbreak on a cruise ship, global health agencies are racing to track people who have come in contact with blank virus. Hantavirus. Right. This week, CDC data showed that ER visits due to blank bites have surged. Insect bites. I'm going to give it to you, tick bites. According to new polls, Blank's approval rating has dropped below 35%.

48:13Trump. Right. After facing backlash over their new$9 cup of premium coffee, the CEO of Starbucks defended the drink, saying blank. Cheaper than gas. No, he said... That actually might be true. No, he defended their new$9 cup of coffee by saying, at least it's not a$10 cup of coffee. On Wednesday, it was announced that Golden Tempo, the winner of the blank will not run in the Preakness Stakes. Kentucky Derby. Right. On Monday, the head of FIFA defended the high price of 2026 blank tickets. World Cup. Right. This week, a zoo in Armenia assured concerned residents that the escaped zebra people were seeing running loose in the streets was just blank.

48:54A ghost. No, a donkey painted black and white. Residents of the Armenian capital of Yerevan were concerned that there had been an escape at the zoo and they saw what looked like a zebra wandering around, but the zoo knew something was up when all of their animals were accounted for and everybody who called was like, hey, I think I saw your zebra near my house, but its stripes were running. Bill, how did Hari do in our quiz? Good, five right, 10 more points. Total of 11 puts him in the lead. There you go, all right. Rox, you are up next, fill in the blank. On Thursday, intelligence officials said that Iran could withstand a U.S.

49:32blockade of the blank for months. The Hormuz Strait. Right. On Wednesday, a judge unsealed blanks purported suicide note. Jeffrey Epstein. Right. On Wednesday, NASA released 12 ,000 photos from the Artemis II mission to the blank. To the moon. Right. According to new data, blank prices have risen 50 % since February. I'm going to say gas. Right. This week, a marine biologist in Vancouver rescued a blue heron who got its foot stuck in blank. In a lobster. No, close. In an oyster. Ah. On Thursday, NASA said that the Titan rover may have accidentally brought fungus to blank. Mars. Yes. On Sunday, GameStop's CEO made an unsolicited$56 billion offer to buy online auction site blank.

50:16eBay. Right. This week, a man in Wisconsin had perfect timing when he blanked while teaching a CPR class. Oh, is this the guy that had a heart attack and then his class saved him with CPR? Yes. He had a heart attack while teaching a class on CPR. Very good The man Who's really gunning for that teacher of the year award Was the middle of teaching a class on CPR When he started suffering a heart attack He did recover, but Then he had to have 22 more heart attacks So the other kids in class got a chance Bill, how did Roxanne do? Very well Seven right, 14 more 16 total She's in the lead There you are All right.

51:03How many, then, does Mo need to win? Six to win. Nothing, Mo. Here we go. This is for the game. On Wednesday, media mogul Blank passed away at the age of 87. Ted Turner. Right. On Monday, the Supreme Court temporarily restored access to the Blank pill. The abortion pill. Due to the increased energy demand of data centers, Pennsylvania authorities are considering reactivating the nuclear plant at Blank. Three Mile Island. Right. On Wednesday, Blank announced his presidential library would open in June. Barack Obama. Right. According to clinical trials, Moderna's new mRNA-based blank shot is more effective than the traditional one.

51:38Coronavirus. No, their flu shot. This week, the UK version of late night sketch show Blank was renewed for a second season. SNL. Right. This week, a man in Scotland was hospitalized after he accidentally drove his car into blank. Does haggis come in fields? Into a bog. Into a peat bog. No, not a peat bog, not a haggis. He drove his car into a wall painted to look like the entrance to a tunnel. Oh! Oh! In the most Looney Tunes ass accident in automobile history, the Scottish driver drove directly into a wall because it was painted to look like the entrance to a tunnel. Emergency workers took him to the hospital where doctors are working hard to get the cartoon birds to stop circling his head.

52:23Bill, did Mo do well enough to win? So close. Five right. Ten more points. his 15 is one short of Roxanne, who's the winner. There you go. He shows up, he wins. In just a minute, our panelists will predict, and now that they're coming back, what would be the surprise? Hit toy found in cereal boxes. 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 Urgent Haircut Productions, Doug Berman, Benevolent Overlord. Philip Godeker writes our limericks. Our public address announcer is Paul Friedman. Our ops manager is Jasira Vardak.

52:57Thanks to the staff and crew here at the Studio Baker Theatre. B.J. Liederman composed our theme. Our program is produced by Jennifer Mills, Miles Dornbos, and Lillian King. Special thanks to Blythe Robertson and Monica Hickey. Peter Gwynn is visiting the Pope. Our visual host is Emma Choi. Technical direction is from Lorna White. Our CFO is Colin Miller. Our production manager is Robert Newhouse. Our senior producer is Ian Chillag and the executive producer. Of Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me is Mike Danforth. Now, panel, what are we going to find in our cereal boxes? Hari Kondabolu. Jesus on the cross.

53:30Roxanne Roberts. A little plastic Nobel Prize because all the kids really, really want one. And Mo Rocca. Just in time for the affordability crisis, glow in the dark food stamps. And if any of that shows up, we're going to have it right here on Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Thank you, Bill Curtis. Thanks also to Hari Kondabolu, Mo Rock and Roxanne Roberts. Thank you. Our fabulous audience here at the Studio Biffy Theater in downtown Chicago, Illinois. Thanks to all of you for listening wherever you might be. I'm Peter Sagal. We'll see you next week.

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