We make Ken Jennings relive the worst moment of his life

21:31Faith Salie:Really? So can you give me some of the simulations? Just the little niceties of Jeopardy start going unobserved because a lot of these are related to rules. You know, we're a serious game, Peter. I'm not saying that Not My Job is not a very serious segment. We take Jeopardy seriously. Yeah, you know, well, we have... Okay, fine.

21:56Faith Salie:Can you... So you've been doing it for a while. Has anybody sworn audibly after screwing something up? I feel confident that Jeopardy has violated the George Carlin rule on a few occasions. It just wasn't me. I remember when I was on, I think I said all seven at once after one question. You obviously, because of your extraordinary success as a contestant, must have aspired to be a contestant for a while before you went on the show. did you also ever want to be the host no but over the years many people would ask me hey uh clearly if Alex were ever to retire you'd be on the shortlist and I would just laugh at them no no no no that would be a very outside the box kind of a Willy Wonka way to run a game show if you uh if you invited back the lucky little boy and gave him the factory nobody's gonna do that in tv but it turns out Jeopardy is kind of its own little institution and it runs by its own rules.

23:00Faith Salie:Yeah, and there you are. Apparently, if you are the champion, they make you the host. Everybody who watches Jeopardy knows that after the first commercial break, when we come back, the host, now you, used to be Alex, comes over and talks to the panelists. Is that as difficult as it looks? It's hard for the contestants. I actually really enjoy it. That was always the part of the show that I thought was a little bit cringy. Even as a kid, I would sometimes have to leave the room during a boring story. It's like Jeopardy stops for a second And Curb Your Enthusiasm begins That's why the theme song changes Just at that moment The tuba comes in So I worked very hard on making that a little more engaging And the fact is Peter I've gone my whole life trying to get out of conversations In about 20 seconds So I was made for this Famously, I believe this is famous That when you did your amazing run of 74 shows after the first, I don't know, 20, you ran out of interesting things to say about yourself.

23:58Faith Salie:You were a young man. You had only done so much. So that you just started making stuff up to talk about with Alex. Is that right? I ran out of ideas very early on. Like if you see my fourth game, it's getting a little, the anecdotes are a little big. And, but what I found out is nobody fact checks these. Really?

24:23Have the New Yorker's staff, Peter. You shouldn't say you have a purple heart, but if you tell us you were a birthday clown, we are not going to LinkedIn. Right. Yes.

24:34Faith Salie:I was watching Celebrity Jeopardy, where I expected, because I know some celebrities, the questions to be a little easier. I was very impressed. The celebrities have gotten good. Do you think so? I feel like the celebrities don't get enough credit. I think generally people assume, I think because of the Will Ferrell sketches, people assume Celebrity Jeopardy is a cakewalk where it's like states that rhyme with Schmallowair. And as a result, I think they don't give the celebrities enough credit. Certainly we want them to play well. We know they're playing for charity. It depends on the category.

25:08If it's showbiz, you can ask celebs harder questions perhaps than civilians. So it might depend on the category.

25:15Faith Salie:Yeah, but if it's like working for a living for real, that... I'll take not having an assistant for this.

25:24Ken, is there any plans for like a dumbass Jeopardy?

25:31Did I have a request? Yes. I was going to say, well, you know, that show already airs and it's called, and then I realized I would get in trouble.

25:40Faith Salie:So I was like, woo! Oh my God. Well, Ken Jennings, it is always a pleasure to have you with us. this time we have asked you here to play a game we're calling what is h &r block as some people may remember your jeopardy win streak ended with a question about h &r block we're going to ask you three questions about that tax preparation firm I've listened to Not My Job so many times over the years I've been going, wait, is this the first time you're ever asking the guest about the single most traumatic thing that's ever happened?

26:29Faith Salie:Alright, if you answer two to three questions about H &R Block you will win our prize for one of our listeners Bill, who is the legendary Ken Jennings playing for? Bonnie Powers of Vienna, Virginia Alright, here's your first question Ken, H &R Block was originally a bookkeeping business called the United Business Company, founded by Henry Block and his brother. After his brother went back to law school, Henry took out a help wanted ad, which was answered by whom? A, the former head of the IRS under President Truman, who had just been fired by President Eisenhower. B, his mother, who told him he should hire his other brother.

27:04Faith Salie:Or C, no one, so Henry just invented someone with the initial R so people would think the company wasn't just him. Wow. I'm going to guess B, his other brother? You're right. That's what happened. But he didn't phrase it as a question. He doesn't have to. He's off duty. All right. Here's your next question. H &R Block is obviously known for their tax work, but they have another surprising source of revenue. What is it? A, they're majority owners of America's largest chain of Halloween haunted houses, B, they own the copyright for the GIF animated file format, or C, they own the rights to the entire recorded music catalog of Parliament Funkadelic.

27:56I'm going to say, just because it delights me, the haunted house.

28:01Faith Salie:The haunted houses. No, I'm afraid not, although it'd be another seasonal business. They own the copyright for gifts because they bought CompuServe, and CompuServe, way back when, patented the gift. Here's your last question. In 2005, H &R Block got in trouble when it was revealed that for the past three years, they had made significant errors when filing whose taxes? A, seven of the nine Supreme Court justices B, their own taxes or C, every player in the New York Yankees I mean, I'm going to say their own, B You're right They managed to screw up their own corporate tax return and their excuse, but we used TurboTax, did not fly

28:59Faith Salie:Bill, how did the quiz master Ken Jennings do on our quiz? Like a champ, two out of three. Congratulations, Ken. Well done.

29:12Faith Salie:How does it, does it, I have to, I mean, okay, yes, we did this thing to you. We asked you about H &R Block. Does it feel good that you finally conquered your demon that is H &R Block? After all these years, I'm finally back to 500. But you know, I think of them every time I drive past a strip mall. You see that little green square? Now, Peter, I'm going to think of them every time I watch a GIF. So you've made my life even worse. I've been talking about them year-round. Ken Jennings is the host of Jeopardy. He's also the author of the Complete Connections Puzzle Book, which has eaten up a lot of my week.

29:48Faith Salie:It's available now. Ken Jennings, thank you so much for joining us again. I'm way, way, way. Always a joy to see you. Take care. We'll see you on TV. Bye-bye.

30:05Faith Salie:In just a minute, we reveal why NASA is stocking up on Febreze. That's in our listener Limerick Challenge. Call 1-888-WIT-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.

30:21This week on the NPR Politics Podcast, President Trump in China. The latest on a summit that was billed as a major meeting on trade and AI, being overshadowed by the war in Iran, a close ally and trade partner of China. What's happening with tariffs and how is it affecting consumers? On the NPR Politics Podcast. Listen on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.

30:48From 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 Joyelle Nicole Johnson, Faith Seeley, and Tom Beaudet. And here again is your host at the Studebaker Theater in Chicago, Illinois, Peter Sago.

31:08Faith Salie:Thank you, Bill. in just a minute after last week's disastrous experiment with the listener hand-to-hand combat challenge we return to doing limericks 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 joyelle this week we heard some new dating advice you should always wait to the third date to do what and no it's not that but oh i wouldn't even think about that for once um you should wait to the third date to tell your date that you like cruise ships ah no not that to tell your date who you voted for no to tell your date you are anti-vax no those are all good yeah i was about to say any one of those answers to those questions you could predict the other two Give me a hint, Peter.

32:09Faith Salie:I'll give you a hint. So you're like there, you're like you're in your third date. You're like hey It looks like this might be getting serious. So it's time to talk about protecting my assets. Oh Prenup? Yes. Oh, you should wait to the third date to talk about getting a prenup. The third date. Third date According to one prominent divorce lawyer, naturally, the third date is the perfect time to bring up a prenup. It's a way to say hey I I really see a future with you and also an end to that future. And also, I'm rich. Because if you don't have anything to protect, why are you bringing it up? It's true.

32:44I guess it's kind of a weird humble brag in a way. Yeah. Not even humble. What rich man am I dating? Tombo death?

32:55I think I've made a huge strategic error in this show. You have? And I was hoping we could start over.

33:03Faith Salie:The reasoning is that talking about a prenup on the third date is the perfect way to, quote, depersonalize it by bringing it up early. Right? That's crazy. That's not what the third date is for. The third date is supposed to be for flirting and making sure you know each other's last names. It's also the date where you can maybe let them hear, like, you don't have to run the water when you go to the bathroom in their apartment. You pooping on a third date? No, not pooping. Peeing. You don't know. Excuse me, I am not the type of lady who poops on a third date We're a long way from prenup

33:43Faith Salie:Faith, this week the New York Times reported customers are getting fed up with restaurants that just won't stop doing what? Oh, QR codes with their menus? No, although that is annoying, I agree, but not that The audience is with you there Can you give me a hint, please? Sure, it's like I texted stop like you asked Why don't you stop? The confirmation text. Yes, they won't stop texting you all the time. It used to be just one text to confirm your reservation. Now they just keep texting you. Then they're like, you up? Yeah, pretty much. All I wanted was a table for two for dinner, and instead of getting more texts than my close male friends have sent me in their whole lives.

34:24And then you go in there and sit down, and it's every five seconds. It's just like, how's your first few bites tasting? It's just like, can I get you anything else? I just want to talk to my wife. Sorry, you triggered me. I appreciate that. I went out to eat once with a celebrity chef, and the whole restaurant, they were acting crazy. Yes, that'll happen. And they kept being like, is everything okay? And then the second person came, is everything okay? And she was like, actually, the lamb is dry, but she just told us that. And she was like, if they come back, I'm going to tell them the lamb is dry.

34:53And the manager comes. No. I was like, is everything okay? And she said, the lamb is dry. and I saw a grown man's heart break in front of my face. Wow. And I think about that often with a smile.

35:06Faith Salie:They asked if they didn't want the honest answer. They did. Oh, my God, yeah. The only good kind of text from restaurants is when they let you put your name on the waiting list and you can go get a drink somewhere until your table's ready. Though I did think it was weird when they texted, hey, your table isn't ready, just wanted to see what you're up to. Send pics.

35:27Faith Salie:Coming up, it's lightning fill in the blank But first it's the game where you have to listen for the rhyme If you'd like to play on air, call or leave a message At 1-888-WAIT-WAIT That's 1-888-924-8924 You can see us most weeks at the Studebaker Theatre in Chicago With more shows on the road announced soon Tickets and information about all our live events Are at npr.org Hi, Aaron, wait, wait, don't tell me Hi, this is Tricia calling from 29 Palms, California Twenty-nine palms. It's out there in the desert, right? I've never been there, but I've heard it's beautiful. It is. It's very beautiful, but if you want to do anything fun, you have to drive at least half an hour.

36:04But don't they have around 30 palms to look at?

36:11At least that many.

36:13Faith Salie:At least that many. One would hope. One would hope. Well, welcome to the show, Tricia. Bill Curtis is going to read you three news-related limericks with a last word or phrase missing from each. If you can fill in that last word or phrase correctly, two of the limericks will be a winner. You ready to play? Peter, I was born ready. There you go. That's the kind of attitude you want. Here's your first limerick. This planet is molten and bleak. We sniff and emit a quick shriek. It has sulfurous gas that is trapped and won't pass. Like rotten eggs. Boy, does it. Stink. Stink is the right idea, but it doesn't rhyme with bleak or shriek.

36:56Faith Salie:Wreak. Wreak? Yes, wreak. That's right, wreak. Good news, good news. Astronomers have discovered a whole new type of planet never seen before. The bad news, it stinks bad. So we have watery planets like Earth. We have Jupiter, a gas giant. But planet L-985090 is something never seen before by scientists, a past gas giant. It's covered in an ocean of molten magma. Scientists say the ocean cannot support life. But think about it. If it did have sharks, they would be so cool. The ocean is full of sulfur, meaning that the planet is just an enormous rotten egg laid by a galactic chicken. I feel bad, though, for the other planets in that solar system.

37:45Faith Salie:They're always like, oh, could you crack open a black hole or something?

37:52If you believe in a god, in an original creator, then that creator dealt it. True, that's true. God's whoopee cushion right out there. Here is your next limerick. I should sit and crack jokes in a punning pub because screaming and sprinting is a stunning snub. Drenched in sweat, out of breath, that's a tragic love death. Don't start asking for dates in your...

38:23Faith Salie:Running club. Running club, indeed. Very good. How did you get that? For years now, lonely people have been urged to meet friends and romantic partners by joining running clubs. as everybody knows, they provide the wild sexual dynamics of an improv troupe, but with more chafing. But now an essayist in Time Magazine is asking everyone, stop dating people in your running club. Apparently dating has created a culture of, quote, ghosting, disposability, and romantic churn in the running clubs. Pretty much everyone is sleeping with each other, and running as well. My God, the smell. I think that it's the runners who aren't getting any dates.

39:09That's probably the people who are complaining. Yeah, because the priorities are like, if your running club is sort of getting tense and weird because people are having sex with each other and dating, you know that, and you want the dating to stop, I think you've got your priorities flipped. I mean, it's been a while since I've been out there, but I remember it fondly. Yeah. You're talking about running. Yes. Yes. Yes. Here is your last limerick. While I'm no great catch or hot stud, double dates sometimes land with a thud. Seeing you is a chore because your partner's a gore. It's too bad that you married a...

39:54Faith Salie:Dud? A dud, yes. Wow. The New York Times offered tips this week for how to double date when your friend's partner is a dud, in their words. And if you're looking around the table during a double date and you're wondering, well, who's the dud? I have some bad news. Ultimately, the article says compromise. That's important. You need to suck it up on behalf of your friend, or just go to the nuclear option, invite a very hot single friend to join all of you so you can ruin their relationship. Maybe that's the time to bring up post-nups. Exactly. Just on a really bad double date. Sure. Yeah. Although double dates with bad couples are very useful because afterwards you can turn to your spouse and be like, you know, compared to them, we're doing great.

40:44Bill, how did Tricia do in our quiz? Tricia is no dud.

40:49Faith Salie:She you so much. Congratulations.

41:19on the NPR app or any podcast player, or you can watch on NPR's YouTube channel.

41:26Faith Salie:Now it's 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. Each correct answer now worth two points. Bill, can you give us the score? I can. Joyelle has two. Tom and Faith each have three. Okay, that means, Joyelle, you're in second place, so you're going to go up first. The clock will start when they begin your first question. Fill-in-the-blank. On Wednesday, President Trump arrived in Beijing for his summit with blank. Oh, the president of China? Sure. Xi Jinping is his name. On Thursday, the governor of South Carolina announced plans to redraw his state's blanks.

41:58Faith Salie:Oh, the districts. Yeah, the congressional maps. This week, Kevin Warsh was confirmed as the next chair of the blank. Something that somebody got fired from. Not quite. The Federal Reserve. This week, staff at Baltimore City Hall were accused of spending$50 ,000 in city funds on blank. Strippers. Oh, no. crab cakes and wings at baseball games. They should have did the strippers. Maybe. On Wednesday, Utah approved a new blank data center twice the size of Manhattan. AI. Yeah, exactly. This week, visitors to Japan are being advised to read labels carefully after a foreign tourist was spotted blanking.

42:35Going through a garbage disposal to distribute Hantavirus to people?

42:43Faith Salie:No. The The tourist in Japan was seen guzzling a bottle of sauce for noodles because she thought it was iced tea. The tourist was caught on Japanese TV opening a bottle of noodle sauce and taking a huge swig because she had confused it for a bottle of iced tea, not being able to read the label. And if she is anything like me, she must have been thinking, oh, wow, the sophisticated Japanese palate, the salt makes this iced tea much more interesting. and also, it's thick.

43:22Faith Salie:But I like it. Bill, how did Joelle do in our quiz? Three right, six more points, total of eight. She's in the lead.

43:37Faith Salie:Let's skip over one seat to Tom. Tom, you go next. Fill in the blank. According to new data, the U.S.'s blank rate jumped to 3.8 % in April. Inflation. Right. After the White House approved a plan to fire him, Marty Makari announced he was stepping down. His head of the blank? The Border Patrol. No, FDA. This week, New York Mayor Blank released his$125 billion budget for the city. The Mondami. Zoram Mondani. On Monday, the Justice Department announced criminal charges related to the collapse of the Key Bridge in blank. Oh, where was the Key Bridge? Oh, Baltimore. Right. This week, a White House email warning staff members about leaks to the media was blanked.

44:14Faith Salie:Um, leaked? To the media. Of course, on Monday, the 2026 blank film festival began in France. Um, the con. Right. On Tuesday, Jason Collins, the first openly gay player in the blank, died of cancer at the age of 47. Oh, the NBA. Right. This week, after an Amtrak train in Texas crashed into a car, the conductor was unable to assist the car's driver because the moment he stepped out of the train to do so, he was blanked. Um, hit by a train. No, he was surrounded by alligators. Oh, wow. This happened in the coastal region of Texas. The conductor said he wanted to help the driver in the car he had just hit, but four alligators blocked the path between him and the car.

44:49Faith Salie:Fortunately, rescue workers were able to get to the scene quickly. The train was freed from the wreckage. It arrived at its next destination only four hours late, which is actually considered, for Amtrak, on time. Bill, how did Tom do on our quiz? Really well. He got six right, 12 more points. Total of 15 puts him in the lead. All right. Not enough. Not enough. Listen, I had a concussion two weeks ago, so I'm playing at a deficit. All right. So how many then does Faith need to win? Well, six to tie, seven to win. All right. Here we go, Faith. This is for the game. Fill in the blank. On Tuesday, experts said that the war with blank would likely cost taxpayers$1 trillion.

45:34Faith Salie:Iran. Right. This week, blackouts hit blank as the country says it has run out of fuel. Cuba. Right. This week, a new study found that over 25 % of Americans believe that blank's assassination attempts were staged. Trump's. Right. On Monday, climate scientists warned that parts of India could soon be unlivable due to extreme blank. Heat. Right. This week, Pokemon fans in South Korea are lining up to get the recently released blank. uh um k-pop pokemon um water bottle no pokemon toilet paper on wednesday it was announced that shakira and bts will perform at the first ever blank halftime show world cup right this week a mom in florida who thought intruders were trying to smash their way into her home was relieved to discover it was just blank oh a bear no two alligators oh fight for the death oh Kayla Burris was inside with her sleeping baby in Ave Maria, Florida, when she heard crashing on her porch and thought someone was breaking in.

46:32Faith Salie:Thankfully, when she went to investigate, she saw it was just two alligators in a fight to the death over who would get to eat that Amtrak conductor.

46:44Bill, did Faith do well enough to win? Very close, very close. Five right, ten more points, total of 13. She's number two. Tom is our champ Thank you Thank you very much

47:02Faith Salie:In just a minute we'll ask our panelists To predict after Wordle What will be the next time-wasting activity To get turned into a TV show But first let me tell you that Wait, wait, don't tell me It's 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. Our ops manager is Jasira Vardak. Thanks to the staff and crew here at the Sudebaker Theater. B.J. Lederman composed our theme. Our program is produced by Jennifer Mills, Miles Dornbos, and Lillian King.

47:32Faith Salie:Special thanks to Blythe Robertson and Monica Hickey. Peter Gwynn is our dog whisperer. Emmer Choi is our vibe curator. Technical directionist and Lorna White. Our CFO is Colin Miller. Our production manager is Robert Newhouse. Our senior producer is Ian Chilog. And the executive producer of Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me is Michael Danforth. Now, panel, what time-wasting activity will next become a TV show? Faith Saley. The Zillow Game Show. Can you guess how much your friends' homes cost? Tom Bodette. Don't read the comments. Celebrities will be forced to look at the comments that follow pictures of them on the internet while we watch.

48:11Joyelle Nicole Johnson. Wine and Dine, where we watch goofy billionaires whine about taxes while eating at restaurants with no prices on the menu. Well, if any of that happens, panel, we're going to ask you about it here on Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me.

48:26Faith Salie:Thank you, Bill Curtis. Thanks also to Faith Saley, Tom Bodette, Cheryl, and Nicole Johnson. Thanks to our fabulous audience here at the Studio Baker Theater in downtown Chicago, Illinois. Thanks to all of you for listening, wherever you might be in this bright, wide world. I'm Peter Sagal. We'll see you next week.

48:44Faith Salie:This is NPR. This week on Consider This, a stunning shift at the Department of Justice. Since President Trump took office, public corruption investigations have plummeted nearly 90 percent. Long term concerns, I'd argue, are it diminishes faith in federal prosecutions, in the rule of law. We unpack what it means for the DOJ and how our government operates on Consider This. Listen on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.