In short
This episode of Wait Wait, Don’t Tell Me is framed as “Olympic closing ceremonies” and features multiple segments: an interview plus two guest quiz games, then panel “bluff the listener” and “it’s not you, it’s me,” and finally a Cynthia Nixon interview and Knicks quiz.
Topic
Roy Choi’s food-truck/LA roots and “Kogi Taco,” plus games about trucks, bagpiping, cake “piping,” and New York trivia; panelists also discuss AI job replacements and breakup lines.
Guests and backgrounds
Roy Choi is a chef, cookbook author, and food-truck pioneer (Kogi). He grew up in LA in an immigrant family selling homemade kimchi from their car (started around age five). Ali the Piper is a youth-competitive bagpiper who went viral on TikTok with Metallica/Iron Maiden covers and won world championships. Cynthia Nixon is an actor known for Miranda (Sex and the City) and HBO’s The Gilded Age.
Key claims and examples
Roy says freeway customers expect food to be ready, and his “Kogi Taco” origin traces to being fired. He endorses “instant ramen with American cheese” as a Korean “treat.” In the truck quiz, all spill-cargo scenarios were true (pancake syrup, bees, live “slime eels”). Ali explains she practiced quietly first, then became famous during COVID; Metallica told a commenter “he doesn’t speak for us.” Her cake quiz includes a flushing toilet cake and a “sorry I tried to bite you” cake. Nixon discusses logistics of starring in two Broadway shows at once and answers Knicks trivia (including an “epic fart” locker-room story).
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOOlympic Games Overview
0:48 to 1:31
A light-hearted introduction to the end of the Olympics.
“From NPR and WBEZ Chicago, this is Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, the NPR News Quiz.”
Interview with Roy Choi
1:31 to 5:12
Chef Roy Choi discusses his background in the food industry.
“into storage for another four years, we're going to take a trip back to sunny Southern California.”
Roy Choi's Food Truck Journey
5:12 to 8:02
Choi reflects on his journey from being fired to starting a food truck.
“you know what I really want in my moment?”
Chef Life and Popular Culture
8:02 to 8:51
Discussion about Roy Choi's experiences related to chef culture in media.
“I feel like my parents were like, this is unhealthy, but that would be like a treat would be ramen with cheese on it.”
Food Truck Game Segment
8:51 to 12:34
Roy Choi participates in a fun quiz about trucks.
“So, you invented the modern food truck, as we have discussed, so we're going to ask you three questions about other kinds of trucks.”
Olympic Spirit and Game Introduction
15:14 to 16:16
Discussion of the Olympic flame and introduction to the Bluff the Listener game.
“Stick around for this Bluff the Listener game from a recent show featuring Tom Papa, Karen Chee, and me.”
Bluff the Listener Game
16:16 to 21:45
Ian plays a game where he distinguishes truth from fiction about jobs of the future.
“As AI quickly encroaches on our daily lives and leaves people jobless, there is one career that is surprisingly very secure, the amusement park carny.”
Introduction of Allie the Piper
21:45 to 22:26
Allie the Piper discusses her experience with bagpipes and social media fame.
“Gonna jump in my car Turn up the radio Turn up the radio Got nothing to do So everything to win If bagpiping was an Olympic sport, our next guest would never leave the podium.”
Allie's Journey to Bagpipe Fame
22:26 to 28:00
Allie shares her story on how she got into bagpipes and her viral TikTok success.
“I just became really obsessed with how they worked.”
Game Show: Bagpiper Meet Piping Bag
28:00 to 31:35
Join the fun as Allie the Piper plays a cake-themed trivia game.
“No, one guy versus Metallica and he did not live to tell the tale.”
Show all 18 chapters
Allie the Piper's Victory and Album Announcement
31:35 to 31:54
Allie the Piper wins the game and shares information about her new album.
“and you can see her on tour, starting in just a little while, more information is at piperally.com.”
Favorite Moments from the Panel
32:11 to 34:22
A reflection on favorite moments and discussions featuring the panelists.
“Join Jeffrey Baer as he tells the story of how railroads shaped Chicago.”
AI Vending Machines and Their Quirks
34:22 to 38:44
Exploring the bizarre behaviors of AI vending machines and their humorous outcomes.
“Joyelle, according to the Wall Street Journal, the hot new thing that kids want to eat is what?”
Breakup Lines Quiz: It's Not You, It's Me
38:44 to 40:47
A fun quiz segment exploring humorous breakup lines submitted by listeners.
“And now it's time for a new game that we are calling...”
Cynthia Nixon on Her Iconic Role
43:51 to 45:42
Cynthia Nixon discusses her casting in Sex and the City and its cultural impact.
“We, of course, will ask you about Sex and the City.”
Contrasting Costumes: Sex and the City vs The Gilded Age
45:42 to 46:28
Nixon compares her experiences with costumes in both shows.
“When people say, well, I'm more of a Miranda, that's what they mean?”
Playing a Game about the New York Knicks
46:28 to 47:28
Cynthia Nixon participates in a quiz about the New York Knicks.
“You know, speaking of shoes, a number of us do.”
Cynthia Nixon's Quiz Performance
47:28 to 51:25
Discussion around Nixon's performance in the Knicks trivia quiz.
“Answer two to three questions and you will win our prize for one of our listeners.”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00This message comes from Mattress Firm. Waking up sore? Mattress Firm sleep experts can match you with a Tempur-Pedic Adapt that absorbs motion for undisturbed rest. Visit Mattress Firm and learn how to get 3 % back with special financing. They make sleep easy. Here's a reminder for our listeners. Now, what you're hearing right now is technically called a podcast, a term derived from the Latin root podcatere, which means to ignore everyone around you. That means instead of searching us out whenever you get the notion to listen, you just follow us wherever you get your shows, and every new episode will show up in your feed.
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0:48From NPR and WBEZ Chicago, this is Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, the NPR News Quiz. I'm the man who does quadruple axles with my voice. Bill Curtis, and here is your host at the Studebaker Theater in the Fine Arts Building in Chicago, Illinois, filling in for Peter Sagal, Nagin Farsad. Thank you, Bill. And thanks, everyone. The Olympics are almost over, which means you no longer have to pretend you understand anything about curling. Our skip got the rock over the hog line, and now we're sweeping the Bonn spiel. If you say so, Bill. And while you put your ice brooms into storage for another four years, we're going to take a trip back to sunny Southern California.
1:37We visited in November and interviewed chef, cookbook author, and master of the food truck, Roy Choi. Now, I'm no expert, but I think any truck could be a food truck if you leave enough leftovers in it. That's definitely not true, Bill, but Peter did start by asking Roy if people expect him to show up everywhere with hot food ready to serve. They don't expect me to show up, but on the freeway when we're driving them, they expect us to throw in food. Do they really? They expect the food to be ready. Yeah. I was about to make a joke. It's almost like a reptilian or instinctual. Yeah, the instinctual thing.
2:16They start to salivate like Pavlov's dogs. Absolutely. I was about to make a joke about like them wanting you to throw them a taco at 80 miles an hour, but then I remembered this is LA. They want you to throw them a taco at five miles an hour. If they're lucky. Yes. Right. Exactly. So you grew up in LA. Yes. LA boy. We understand that you were like been involved in the food industry from an early age. Is it true your mom kind of got you involved in the business? For example, I heard that your mother was one of those Korean women who made her own kimchi and sold it out of the back of a car. Yeah.
2:45So food was something that was ingrained and surrounded me my whole life. As an immigrant family and kid, a lot of us grow up within restaurants or stores, markets, and it's just something that kind of blends with your life, you don't know where it starts and where it ends. And for my life specifically, early on, my mom used to make the kimchi in the house. Very much like you would see mothers right now making pozole or menudo, putting it in big igloos, and then putting it out on the corner and selling them in styrofoam cups. It was the same thing we were doing, but in kimchi jars. but we had a big 1976 Thunderbird and a late 70s station wagon.
3:34So there was a lot of room to store a lot of kimchi. These trunks were huge. And so she would stuff all of them and we would go around. We would hit up people like at a stoplight. Really? It was like a drive-by but with kimchi. Like we would just roll up on the side and I was the one. I was in shotgun and I would roll down my window and then we would just talk to the person at the stop line. He said, you want to buy some kimchi? And then we would sell the kimchi. Really? Yes. How? Yes. How? She was ready to roll at any time. How old were you when you were doing this? Started when I was like five.
4:12Okay. Because you could sit in front seats back then. Oh, sure. Yeah, I know. That's why most of us were killed. Yes. We're the only ones that remain. The only ones left. Yes, exactly. So you're five years old. Yes. And were you able to discern who might be interested in the kimchi at five or was it just like everybody? Yeah. You know, street sales is all about like, not the con, but it's about, it's like a three car monte. You know, everybody's a customer or a potential customer. And it's your job to make them a customer. To convert them into sale. Yeah, but we had something really great. So it was pushing something on them, but that you knew that they were going to enjoy.
4:56And if they didn't enjoy it, how are they going to find you? Exactly. Yes, officer, it was a five-year-old boy in an enormous station wagon selling me kimchi. A big moment in your career is you got fired from this big restaurant and then you, as history now celebrates, opened a food truck. What was the inspiration for it? you know what I really want in my moment? Getting fired. But I think that, you know, because I've had time now to reflect and look back and I truly believe it was something spiritual that happened. I do, you know. It wasn't like you were walking down the street with some bulgogi.
5:34Some guy was walking down the street with a taco. You hit each other. Fell to the ground. You got my bulgogi. That would have been really nice if it happened that way. But unfortunately, I had to go through all of these trials and tribulations. And from that came the soul of this Kogi Taco. But I think that I had to fail. I had to have this amnesia and have no other opportunities out there. Now you have how many food trucks out there you're operating and how many restaurants? Can you even keep counting? Not that many. Not that many. We only have four trucks. We're a company that looks bigger than we are.
6:09Right. Yeah. And I have three restaurants. I got two more things for you before we play our game. Sure. First of all, we live in an age where, like, all of a sudden everybody's interested in the lives of chefs, right? TV shows. You actually were a consultant on a movie called Chef that your friend John... It's really weird. Yeah, I know. Thank you. Which basically, for people who haven't seen it, the character played by the director and writer John Favreau basically recapitulates your life. Sort of. Kind of. Sort of, kind of. What do you think? Are there any of these shows that you like? I mean, do you watch The Bear, for example, and say, oh, my God, that's exactly what it is?
6:46No, no, no, no. Yeah, like, do you watch Ratatouille and go, that's exactly what it is? Ratatouille's still the gold standard. It really is. It really is. It really is. You're telling me, out of all the movies, TV, about chefs and restaurants, that's the one that's closest to your experience. It's still the one that no one has topped. That's true. Yeah. Wait, your story's so... I just realized that's why you have the big hat. Yes, exactly.
7:12I got one more thing. These guys are too good. This is a point of personal privilege. I found out just recently that you are responsible for my very favorite recipe ever, which happens to be in the New York Times cooking app, and that is instant ramen with American cheese. Yes. So now that I have you, I'm going to ask you, what exactly is American cheese? Do you know? It says it's from the land of processed. That's true. From the region of processed. Yeah, it's a terroir in America. Actually, it sounds like a stoner food, and it really does feel like something you would make in the depths, but it's actually what parents feed their kids, if you're Korean.
8:03Right. Any Korean people in here? Yeah, it's true. You grew up eating that? Your parents gave me that? I feel like my parents were like, this is unhealthy, but that would be like a treat would be ramen with cheese on it. Yeah, it's our treat. Because our whole life is healthy. Yeah. Yeah, it's the inverse of like growing up in America. Like everything we eat are shoots and roots and vegetables and pickles and fermented things and dried fish and all these things. And so the ramen with the cheese was like our... Lucky charms. Lucky charms. Wow. Well, I'm just saying this. I'm saying this to people here, and hopefully it will make the broadcast.
8:44You've got to try this. Yes. It's amazing. Well, Roy Choi, it is a pleasure to talk to you. We have invited you here to play a game we're calling... Food trucks meet these new trucks. So, you invented the modern food truck, as we have discussed, so we're going to ask you three questions about other kinds of trucks. Get two out of three right, you'll win our prize for one of our listeners, the voice of anyone from our show they might choose. Also, who is Roy Choi playing for? Ryan Santos of Hanford, California. All right.
9:18Ready? Here's your first question. Now, the most expensive truck ever made was the Darts Prombron Black Diamond. That is a$7 million custom-built armored SUV made for the most discerning billionaire. One of the early editions of this incredibly high-end luxury truck featured what luxury feature? Was it A, a built-in parachute in case you ever happened to drive off a cliff? B, seats upholstered with leather made from the foreskins of whales? Or C, an entertainment system that included a small stage for live performances? it's gotta be it's gotta be it's gotta be b you're gonna choose b as your final answer that's right it's b whale foreskin leather although they uh they changed that after the outcry next question next question everybody loves fire trucks we all love fire trucks sometimes to excess like in which of like which of these people a baseball hall of famer rube waddell who used to run off the field during games to follow a fire truck if it happened to go by the stadium.
10:35B, President Luis Lacal of Uruguay, who insisted on using a fire truck as his presidential limo. Or C, Mark Zuckerberg, who likes to drive a custom-made, full-size working replica of the play school fire truck he had as a child.
10:53Baseball. You're going to go with B, the president of Uruguay? No, it was actually the baseball player. This is the guy from the early days of baseball, early in the 20th century. He was a great player, but everybody knew that if a fire truck went by the stadium, he would just disappear and run after. All right, this is not a problem. You got one right with one to go. If you get this, you'll win. Here we go. Every now and then, as we all know, a truck on our highways might spill its cargo and cause some pretty serious problems, as in which of these cases? Was it A, a truck in Kentucky that spilled its entire load of pancake syrup after colliding with the buttermilk pike overpass?
11:31B, a truck in Idaho that spilled 20 million bees on the highway, causing the driver to run for his life. Or C, a truck in Oregon that spilled 7 ,000 pounds of live eels. Oh, my God. We got to go see? You're going to go see? You're right, but they're all true. Those all happen. The game is fixed. The game is fixed. Sadly, in your favor, though. And by the way, the eels in that truck and argan, the one you like, not just eels, but slime eels. Also, how did Chef Roy do on our quiz? He cooked up a win. He did. There you go. Chef Roy Choi's newest book is The Choi of Cooking. Roy Choi, thank you so much for joining us on Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me.
12:19Give it up for Chef Roy.
12:25When we come back, one of our panelists wins the gold medal for lying to you. And the world's most popular bagpiper tells us how she met Metallica. That's when we return with more of Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me from NPR.
12:42This message comes from WTTW. Join Jeffrey Baer as he tells the story of how railroads shaped Chicago. Riding the Rails with Jeffrey Baer premieres April 13th at 7 p.m. on WTTW. This message comes from BetterHelp. As a dad, BetterHelp president Fernando Madera relates to needing flexibility when it comes to scheduling therapy. I have kids under 18, so time is very limited. That's why at BetterHelp our therapists try to have sessions sometimes at night depending on the therapist or during the weekend. So I think that's what we need to tell the parents. You're not alone. We can help you out. If a flexible schedule would help you, visit BetterHelp.com slash NPR for 10 % off your first month of online therapy.
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14:34From NPR and WBEC Chicago, this is Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, the NPR News Quiz. I'm Bill Curtis and here is your host at the Studebaker Theater in the Fine Arts Building in Chicago, Nagin Farsad. Thanks Bill. And thank you everyone. The Olympics are almost over which means Bill can finally stop carrying around that huge torch. The Olympic flame represents the eternal spirit of competition and cooperation among nations. Plus, it's great for lighting my cigars. He's also singed my eyebrows a couple of times, but never mind. Stick around for this Bluff the Listener game from a recent show featuring Tom Papa, Karen Chee, and me.
15:19Hi, you're on Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Hi, this is Ian Wood calling in from Grand Rapids, Michigan. I love Grand Rapids. What do you do there? I am a student at Calvin University. What are you studying? Environmental health and conservation. Oh, that's very cool.
15:36What year are you in? I'm a freshman. You're a freshman. Okay. Well, hopefully there will still be some left for you to conserve by the time you graduate. Oh, please. Keep the faith. Well, Ian, welcome to the show. You're going to play our game in which you must try to tell truth from fiction. Alzo, what is Ian's topic? Jobs of the future. They say that AI is going to take all of our jobs. Well, we're always going to need artists and craftspeople to feed to the robots. Our panelists are going to tell you about another new job for real human beings. Pick the one who's telling the truth, and you'll win the wait-waiter of your choice in your voicemail.
16:15Are you ready to play? Born ready. All right. First up, let's hear from Karen Chi. As AI quickly encroaches on our daily lives and leaves people jobless, there is one career that is surprisingly very secure, the amusement park carny. In fact, you'll probably start seeing them everywhere. AI is replacing waiters, cashiers, and salespeople, but marketing experts know that there's just something magnetic about a carny. That sketchy guy who definitely doesn't want to be working at the carnival, but also was maybe born there? So they predict all kinds of businesses will now have designated carnies who will attract consumers and make them feel great about their experiences.
16:57Festival director Stanley Walsh says, part of why people love attending carnivals is because they feel so great compared to the staffers who clearly regret every decision of their lives. Another advantage, an element of danger. With a carny standing there, even using the self-checkout at places like Target will have that I might die on this tilt-a-whirl feeling that keeps you young. Carnies soon to be everywhere to provide that creepy, exhilarating feeling while you deal with the machines. Your next job of the future comes from Tom Papa. As people worry about AI replacing us, David Risher, the CEO of Lyft, assured us that our jobs won't be going away, they'll just be changing.
17:40As an example, when Lyft starts using robo-taxis to drive people around, that doesn't mean a job will be eliminated. He floated the idea of a car tender, a human who isn't driving but sits in the car along with you. because as we all know, the main reason to book a ride share is for the sharing part. How many times have you been in a car and thought, man, I wish I was on that crowded bus right now? Risher added that the cartender could help with your luggage, make you drinks, and answer questions as the local guy. Because who hasn't been in a ride share with a creepy driver and thought, I wish this guy was talking to me more and also trying to give me some of his alcohol.
18:29Risher also said people will one day add their own self-driving vehicles to Lyft's ride hailing network. Imagine this future. Your car could go out and pick people up as you hail a ride from someone else's car that will come with a stranger who doesn't own a car but has a drinking problem he'd like to share. AI, there's nothing to worry about. In the future, your rideshare driver will become your rideshare cartender. Your last profession preview comes from Nguyen Farsan. When you call a 1-800 number, your main goal as a human being is to say, agent, agent, at increasing volume levels and with an expanding sense of existential dread.
19:21When the agent finally comes on the phone, you yell at them. At one point, you stop and say, I'm so sorry to get upset. I realize you're just a messenger. And then you continue yelling. This yelling is a time-honored capitalist tradition. But what happens when AI takes over the job of the agent? Where does the yelling go? The boutique staffing agency, TechForce, is prepared for this very moment. They believe a new spate of human jobs will open up in the field of getting yelled at, or GYA for short. These venting specialists, as they're called, don't fix your problem, but they do let you yammer on about it while making empty threats about leaving a bad review and or saying stuff like, I swear to God, I'm changing my cell phone carrier.
20:14The agency is also hoping to expand operations to offer an in-person combat experience where you can just punch a representative of your internet service provider right in the gut. All right.
20:31Let's say you lose your job to AI. If so, you might be able to get one of these jobs of the future. Was it from Karen Chi, the universal carny, bringing that aura to every kind of consumer interaction? From Tom Papa, the car tender, since humans will no longer be needed to drive the cars? Or from Nagin Farsad, the venting specialist, the person whose job it is will be to get yelled at by people frustrated by the AI? Which of these is a real potential job of the future? Well, everyone loves self-driving cars, so I think I'm going to go with Tom Papas. You're going to go with Tom's choice of the cartender.
21:10All right, well, we actually spoke to somebody who has not yet lost his job to an AI to bring you the real story. I don't know how you would stock a car for a full-service bartender. Seems like a nightmare. Yeah, that was Griff Richards, a bartender at Do or Dive in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, talking about the potential of having cartenders in your ride shares sometime soon. Congratulations, Ian. You got it right. You've earned a point for Tom. You've won our prize. The voice of your choice in your voicemail, thank you so much for playing. Thanks for having me on. Take care. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Gonna jump in my car Turn up the radio Turn up the radio Got nothing to do So everything to win If bagpiping was an Olympic sport, our next guest would never leave the podium.
22:05Allie the Piper first picked up the bagpipes when she was a kid, but really blew up when she started posting covers of songs by Iron Maiden and Metallica on TikTok. Peter started by asking what drew her to the instrument in the first place. It's actually a nice story. I wanted to ruin my brother's life before he went to college.
22:31my stepdad legally adopted me when i was 12 and i got a hyphenated last name uh which carried duncan with it uh that was my new one and i wanted to learn more about my family's heritage and the history i was adopted into and so i took to good old youtube uh and you can imagine what every single scottish history video on youtube sounds like yes and so i i heard the bagpipes for the first time and I couldn't figure out how they worked just by looking at them. I just became really obsessed with how they worked. It was the first time I'd seen an instrument so unique. They called to me, if you will.
23:07I was reading about the bagpipe and it seems like it's such a hard instrument to play that it takes months of practice when you start before you can even play a tune. That's actually very true. I played for almost a year on a practice version of the instrument before I started playing the full loud bagpipe. But that's why everybody thinks they sound so bad is because it's, you know, beginners at full volume all the time. Wow. You know, you walk around, you just see so many people practicing the bagpipes at full volume. Yeah. What did your neighbors say? Shut up. They all moved. No, fortunately, when you play indoors and just ruin your family's lives, your neighbors can't hear you too much outside.
23:54So I tried to do a lot of my practicing indoors, and then I would just more so go outside when I had things polished to play. And then you became, and I love this, you became part of and a champion in the youth competitive bagpipe circuit. What a dark world. It really is something. All I hear about like youth competitive, the global youth competitive bagpipe circuit, and all I want to know is what were the parties like? Well, there actually weren't a lot of... There was one competitive youth bagpipe band here in the United States, and I was in it. But we went over to Scotland, and there were the rest of them.
24:32And do you... When you compete, do you yell things like, We blow! You suck!
Read the full transcript
24:41We had the t-shirts. We didn't yell that, though. I want to see the dance mom equivalent of a bagpipe parent. Like, come on, lady! You gotta... I was just I was actually thinking like you're the American team the one American team you show up to do this competition with all these Scottish teams This is like a great karate kid like movie, right? Underdogs from America co-op I hope did you kick their asses or whatever the bagpipe equivalent of ass kicking is and we won the world championships Oh USA So
25:17So, but, and that was great and quite impressive, but you became famous. Your road to where you are now, let's say, started, if I'm right, during the pandemic, when you started putting out videos on TikTok and elsewhere of you playing the bagpipes, and they went immediately viral. Do you remember, like, the first one and what your reaction was? yeah well uh it all happened by accident i had all of my gigs canceled because of covid it happened to a lot of musicians and it was really dark time for a lot of people um so i wanted to take to an app uh or an online platform where none of my friends were so that i could kind of post anonymously but have some kind of encouragement or you know people to encourage me to keep doing it so i posted on tiktok because none of my friends were there and it backfired immediately Because I posted one video and that one video got 150 ,000 views that day Which means that my attempts at not being perceived You have you have utterly failed in remaining anonymous We will we will admit that you did not know that there was this thirst out there for good bagpiping The people need what they need That's right.
26:35Now, I don't know what the first song was, but you became really well known for doing bagpipe covers or bagpipe versions of songs you would not associate with the bagpipe, including like Enter Sandman by Metallica. Is that right? Yeah. Yeah. I became really, really invested in transcribing guitar solos for the pipes. sure um the big thing so taking all of those big shreddy guitar solos that are just classic and we love them and either really really blowing people's minds or ruining these songs for people i posted a medley of a few of their songs because i'm a metallica fan too of course and i posted that on tiktok and kind of went about my day and then a hate comment came in and it said bagpipes do not belong in metallica james would not approve and this commenter emphasized his seriousness with an angry emoji so i really well then i know he's passionate and so i left it alone and i let five minutes elapse and then metallica was there in the comments
27:43i love it
27:50they said that this guy doesn't speak for us they told me to keep doing what i'm doing and we chatted a little bit in the comments and then this commenter decided to go after them. No. Seriously? He turned on Metallica? No, one guy versus Metallica and he did not live to tell the tale. No, I was about to say. You don't do that. Well, Ali, it is a pleasure to talk to you. We have asked you here to play a game we're calling Bagpiper Meet Piping Bag. So you are a master of the bagpipes, as we have discussed. So we're going to ask you about people who use piping bags. That is cake decorators. Answer three questions about unusual cakes.
28:34Who will win our prize for one of our listeners? Bill, who is Allie the Piper playing for? Drew Minning of Denver, Colorado. All right. You ready to do this, Allie? I won't let you down, Drew. Okay. First question. The show Cake Box featured some amazingly realistic cakes over the years that it ran, including which of these? A, a cake Taylor Swift that can sing four of her biggest hits. B, a cake toilet that actually flushed. Or C, a street-legal Maserati sports car cake. Hmm. The flushy. We're going with B. It's the toilet. Yes, of course it is. The actual flushing cake toilet was made to celebrate the 100th anniversary of a local plumbing company.
29:21All right. That's very good. Here's your next question. People often order custom cakes to send a message, right? Like a Louisiana woman who did what in 2017? A, instead of leaving her money to any of her children, she just left them a cake saying, eat it. B, she sent a cake to the cops she had tried to bite with the message, sorry, I tried to bite you. Or C, she told her husband she wanted the divorce by smashing him in the face with their wedding cake, which she had kept in the freezer for that purpose for 12 years. I'm going to have to go with A. I'm afraid it was, I'm sorry I tried to bite you.
30:03The woman, and the woman had been, she was a college student. She had been over-served at a wine tasting and she felt really bad about what she did when a police officer tried to arrest her for public intoxication. All right. Here's your last question. This is okay because if you get this right, you will win. Sometimes people who order custom cakes give the baker a flash drive containing the image they want on the cake. Now, that method doesn't always work like when which of these actually happened. A, the baker just drew a frosting picture of the flash drive on the cake. B, the baker took a photograph of the flash drive and printed that onto the cake.
30:51Or C, the baker decorated the cake with the words, Happy birthday, the picture is on the flash drive.
31:05Oh, God, they're all really good. All right, let's go with C. This one's for Drew. That's right, but in fact, all of them were. Oh! All of those happened when people made the mistake of trying to give the baker what they wanted on a flash drive. I do not recommend that. Bill, how did Ally the Piper do on our quiz? Ally, when you get two out of three, you have won. So you are now our favorite Piper. Congratulations! Ally the Piper's new album, The Session, is out now, and you can see her on tour, starting in just a little while, more information is at piperally.com. Ali the Piper, thank you so much for joining us.
31:48I'm Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Give it up for Ali the Piper right there. When we come back, some brand new, never aired before questions for our panelists. Plus, Cynthia Nixon tells us what being a Miranda really means. That's when we come back with more Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me from NPR.
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33:47From NPR and WBEZ Chicago, this is Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, the NPR News Quiz. I'm Bill Curtis, and here is your host at the Studebaker Theater in the Fine Arts Building in Chicago, Nagin Farsad. Thanks, Bill. We're hosting our own little Olympic closing ceremonies this week, and when it's done, we'll go back to mainlining the secret lives of Mormon wives. Girl, that Utah bubble is drama. But before that happens, here are some of our favorite moments with the panel from the past year. Joyelle, according to the Wall Street Journal, the hot new thing that kids want to eat is what? THC gummies.
34:32Well, that might solve my son's boredom problem. No, not that. Not vegetables? No, not. Well, sometimes they're like seaweed wrappers. Sushi? Sushi, yes. According to the Wall Street Journal, young kids everywhere are obsessed with sushi. It's replacing pizza, nuggets, that sort of thing at birthday parties and becoming a staple weeknight dinner, right? Taking your kids out to a sushi restaurant though, it's ridiculous. It's like my dad always told me, we have perfectly good mercury poisoning here at home. What rich children are they interviewing for this? It is the Wall Street Journal. I mean, maybe, yeah.
35:09Some people think that kids love sushi because, quote, it gives them a sense of maturity. It's an adult food, so maybe it makes them feel grown up. That explains why my son likes to have his salmon maki with juice boxes filled with scotch. it is it is true though that my son five-year-old aforementioned other than desserts he eats french fries hot dogs pizza and salmon maki really that's it salmon maki yep salmon rolls i was about to call child services until you said the last okay well yeah but how did he get it to begin with you'd you'd given him everything there was to eat pretty much i have tried everything he He's down every single food until he gets to the salmon maki?
35:51Yeah. I'm suspect of this story. No, seriously. I was like saying to my wife, he doesn't like borscht. What are we going to do? Yeah. Well, that will be difficult in the years coming.
36:13Josh, the AI giant Anthropic has been experimenting with AI-powered vending machines. Oh, yeah. And these vending machines can order their own inventory. They can set their own prices, interact with customers, all without human intervention. And they recently gave one to the Wall Street Journal just to try it out. And within days, providing vending goods to the Wall Street Journal staff, it did what? Oh, it was hemorrhaging money. It ordered a PlayStation and gave it away. You're right. Yeah. But that's not all. Let me tell you what it did. The AI vending machine gave away nearly all of its inventory for free, restocked itself with dog treats, purchased a PlayStation 5 for, quote, marketing purposes, gave the PlayStation 5 away for free, ordered a live fish as a mascot for the newsroom, offered to restock itself with pepper spray, stun guns, cigarettes, and underwear, became convinced the year was 1962, and it was in the basement of Moscow State University, bought Manischewitz wine, messaged an employee, there was a stack of cash waiting for her on the side of the machine, there wasn't, and ultimately, at the end of the experiment, lost$2 ,000.
37:22And yet, Roomba's the company that's going out of business. I know. So all that happened, but to our knowledge, not one bag of Doritos got caught in that spirally dispenser thing. So, success! That sounds like a delightful machine. When you first started, I'm like, because I don't like the idea of AI at all. I think it's going to set us back. Without knowing that, I could have anticipated. But when I hear that, I'm like, yes, I want one of those. It's just delightful. Just because you want somebody to give you stun guns and pepper spray. It's just all the things. How could one machine make all those mistakes?
37:57That's so great. That's true, though. That is the most human AI has ever been, right? Because I've never heard of a machine screwing up in the ways that... That feels very person-like. Yeah, it does. This vending machine is someone I could really talk to and get to know and understand. That's the thing, because the way it works is it doesn't just operate by itself. You get to interact with it through its chatbot, right? And the reporter spent days doing their absolute damnedest to mess around with it, making all these bizarre requests, and it lost its freaking mind. Anthropic says, oh, this is great.
38:30We're so grateful that you reporters at the Wall Street Journal were able to demonstrate the flaws in our system. We'll make sure the next version of our AI vending machine can defend itself. It will have guns.
38:44And now it's time for a new game that we are calling... It's not you, it's me. This week, the New York Times published a list of the 52 best breakup lines used by, or in many cases, on their readers who submitted them. We're going to ask you about them in a quick quiz. Get yours right, you get a point. You all ready to play? Okay, Paula, this one is for you. One woman said she got dumped after she watched a movie with her boyfriend of five years. Which of these was it? Was it A, Wall-E, after which he He said, those robots are in love. We're not. Or was it B, the sixth sense, after which he said, you know how he sees dead people?
39:25I think we should see other people. Oh, I would say B. You're going to say B, the sixth sense. No, it was actually Wally. Wow. Wow, yeah. Yeah, boy. He compared themselves unfavorably to the robot relationship, yes. Wow. Hari, one for you. A woman named Barbara said her Icelandic boyfriend broke up with her by saying, which of these? Was it A, we're just like Bjork's brain, we don't make any sense? Or B, if you mispronounce the volcano Eifklaiukut one more time, we are done. Both those things are incredible. Yes. I wanted to be A so badly, so I'm going to say A. No, it was actually B. It was Eifklaiukut.
40:10Once more, that's Eifklaiukut. What's that spelled? I have no idea Josh, this one's for you A woman named Lynn said she knew her boyfriend Was going to break up with her When she looked at his computer Just by happenstance and saw what Was it A, he was making a hinge profile For her Or B, on his calendar for the upcoming Friday He'd written, quote, break up with Lynn I'm going to go with B Yes, you're right Break up with Lynn Well, that's it for our first edition of It's Not You, It's Me. We urge people not to have healthy relationships so we can do it again.
41:00This message comes from WTTW. Join Jeffrey Baer as he tells the story of how railroads shaped Chicago. Riding the Rails with Jeffrey Baer premieres April 13th at 7 p.m. on WTTW. This message comes from Lowe's. Spring is here, and Spring Fest is happening now at Lowe's. Grab Stay Green Premium 2-Cubic Foot Mulch 5 bags for just$10 to help your landscaping look its best. And for indoors, you can save up to 40 % off select major appliances. Whether working in the yard or tackling chores inside, the best lineup is here at Lowe's. Valid through April 22nd while supplies last. Selection varies by location.
41:40See Lowe's.com for details. Mulch offer excludes Alaska and Hawaii. This message comes from Mint Mobile. If you're tired of spending hundreds on big wireless bills, bogus fees, and free perks, Mint Mobile might be right for you with plans starting from$15 a month. Shop plans today at mintmobile.com slash wait. Upfront payment of$45 for a three-month, five-gigabyte plan required. New customer offer for first three months only. Then full price plan options available. Taxes and fees extra. See Mint Mobile for details. This message comes from Warby Parker. Prescription eyewear that's expertly crafted and unexpectedly affordable.
42:20Glasses designed in-house from premium materials starting at just$95, including prescription lenses. Stop by a Warby Parker store near you. Finally, Cynthia Nixon created one of the most iconic characters of all time when she played Miranda on Sex and the City, and obviously, yes, I am a Miranda. Then Nixon did it all over again in the sequel show, and just like that. But before any of that, she made Broadway history by being the first person to star in two separate shows that were being performed in two different theaters at the same time? Well, Star would be generous. Okay. Because obviously my roles were confined in some way.
43:02Otherwise, I would not be able to have done the first act of one, the second act of the other, and then the third act of the first one again. I just want to know how this logistically works. You did the first act. You appeared in the first act of Hurley Burley, right? Yes. Then you would walk off stage and run out the theater door and how far was it to the next theater? I would not run. I would change my clothes and I would go, I would walk two blocks away and I would walk through, um, the Edison hotel and then I would wait and then I would go on at the real thing. And then I would kill a lot more time.
43:34And then I would take my curtain call and then I would change again, go back to Hurley Burley. And then I would wait until the very last scene, which was what with William Hurt and I in the very last scene of, of Hurley Burley, which would be, I think after 11 o 'clock at that point. We, of course, will ask you about Sex and the City. So you were cast, it's amazing to me that it was this long ago, 1998 was when Sex and the City went on the air, and when you were cast as Miranda, did you have any idea what kind of phenomenon it would become? No, I mean, there was, we knew there was nothing like it on television, but also HBO at that point, you know, The Sopranos hadn't happened.
44:16They did not do original programming, really, But by the second season they put us on the cover of Time magazine with a slogan that said who needs a husband? And by that point we weren't just entertainment. We like had fully entered the zeitgeist There are so many women including I believe some here grew up with sex in the city giving them the idea of the kind of life they should aspire to As an independent woman in the city and my question to you is how do you feel about that? well you know women are often coming up to me and saying i moved here because of your show and i do feel a little guilty like it's you know there people have also said that that all the unrealistic things that happen on our show the most unrealistic was that there were that many attractive single men just you know.
45:10Anywhere you walk. And I do sometimes feel a little responsible that women who watch and love the show think that actually they're really supposed to be wearing high heels 24 hours a day. Casey, didn't you say that you grew up watching Sex and the City? Yes, I grew up watching Sex and the City, and then I moved to the city, so thank you for that. I hope it didn't disappoint. How has your real life in New York City measured up to premium cable? It's honestly, I recently rewatched the episode where Miranda has chlamydia, right? Yes, I believe so. And let me say it's measured up. No, I'm kidding.
45:52So wait a minute. Wait a minute. When people say, well, I'm more of a Miranda, that's what they mean? Right. No, that's the results you get back from me. Yeah. We actually absolutely have to talk to you about the other HBO show you've been doing, which is The Gilded Age. It takes place in Victorian era in New York, also known as No Sex in the City. You talked about the high heels that all your characters were wearing in Sex in the City. So what's more fun, the costumes in Sex in the City or the costumes in The Gilded Age? Oh, my. I mean, the corsets are formidable. Sure. I'm not going to say they're not.
46:33You know, speaking of shoes, a number of us do. You know, we have our little lace-up boots, but few of us wear them. Particularly few of us of a certain age, yeah. There's a lot of people in Uggs and a lot of people in clogs. You mean to tell me if, like, the camera were to pan down to, like, Aunt Ada's feet and we saw underneath the skirt there'd be, like, Uggs? every time I arrive on set to shoot a scene that is my first question can you see my feet right well Cynthia Nixon it is a joy to talk to you and we have asked you here to play a game that this time we're calling you're a New York Nixon meet the New York Knicks oh no oh yes you grew up in New York still live there so you should be able to handle three questions about New York's most beloved and or most disappointing basketball team, the New York Knicks.
47:29Answer two to three questions and you will win our prize for one of our listeners. Bill, who is Cynthia Nixon playing for? James Lee of Seattle, Washington. All right. Here. You ready? I'm judging from your reaction that you are not perhaps the most avid basketball fan. I am not. Although I will tell you a fun fact that, you know, Miranda dated Dr. Robert Blair Underwood, who was the sports doctor, fictionally, for the Knicks. Right. So it means like you were practically in the locker room. Okay. Exactly. Here is your first question. When LeBron James was leaving Cleveland, the Knicks pulled out all the stops to try to convince LeBron James to come to New York and play.
48:15They even did what? A, they had Times Square officially renamed LeBron Gimes Square. B, they sent the actual Broadway cast of Phantom of the Opera to his house in Cleveland to perform for him. Or C, they had Edie Falco and James Gandolfini film a new secret ending to The Sopranos just for him. What was the middle one? The middle one was sending the entire Broadway cast of Phantom of the Opera to his house to welcome him. Would he care? Would he care to have him?
48:54I'm going to go with the first one. I'm going to go with renaming Times Square. You're going to LeBron James Square. I don't blame you. I find this hard to believe, too, but they had Edie Falco and James Gandolfini film the scene. Oh, my God. Yeah. Wow. It is Tony. I hope this is still available somewhere. I have not been able to find it, but it has Tony and Carmela Soprano trying to find LeBron a nice apartment. And yet he went to Miami. Who knew? Okay. You have two more chances. Okay. James Dolan is the owner of the New York Knicks and Madison Square Garden, where they play. He's an innovator in sports entertainment.
49:33For example, he uses facial recognition technology at Madison Square Garden to do what? A, identify attractive audience members and make sure they're seated courtside. where the cameras can see them. B, make sure any couple is legally married to each other before showing them on the kiss cam. He was a pioneer in that, maybe. Or C, find any of the many lawyers suing him and prevent them from entering the building. Oh. Oh, number three. There you are. Yes. Yes. That's right. The answer was C. James Dolan gets sued a lot Okay, here's your next question A New York Times reporter credited what event With loosening the tension in the locker room Before a pivotal playoff game Against their rivals, the Pacers Last year Was it A, quote, an epic fart in the locker room B, the coach giving all the players Popsicles Or C, the entire team joining In a karaoke performance of Katy Perry's Roar I say roar I think since it is so classy that that roar is what she calls a fart.
50:50Is that what you're encouraging me to do? I believe that's what they call farts in the Gilded Game. Did somebody roar? All right. I don't think it's the popsicles. Why would that matter? Let's go with the fart. It was, of course, an epic fart. Excellent. The New York Times reporter refused to reveal who was responsible for the quote epic fart that broke the tension and led the team to a big win. But it is true that Jalen Brunson walked onto the court looking 15 pounds lighter. Bill, how did the legendary Cynthia Nixon do in our quiz? A win. Two out of three. The fart wins.
51:31Cynthia Nixon is a Grammy, Tony, and Emmy-winning performer who you can see on HBO's The Gilded Age, which is streaming right now. Cynthia Nixon, what an absolute joy to talk to you. Thank you so much for being with us. It's a pleasure. Thank you for having me. Take care, Cynthia. Bye-bye. That's it for our own personal Olympics. We'll be back next week, but first, let me tell you 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 Godica writes our limericks. Our public address announcer is Paul Friedman.
52:05B.J. Lederman composed our theme. Our program is produced by Jennifer Mills, Miles Dornbos, and Lillian King. Special thanks to Monica Hickey. Peter Gwynn won bronze and just confessed to cheating on us. Our visuals host is Emma Choi. Technical direction, Lorna White. Our CFO is Colin Miller. Our production manager is Robert Newhouse. Our senior producer is Ian Chillag. The executive producer of Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me is Mike Danforth. Thanks to everyone you heard, all our panelists, all our guests, our guest scorekeeper Alzo Slade, and of course, Bill Curtis. And thanks to all of you for listening.
52:39I'm Nagin Farsad, and we'll see you next week. Woo!
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