WWDTM: Jan Jensen

22:45Oh, oh basketball, you know funny thing. I forgot to mention 1921 national state champion No, slipped my mind being old and all no, she did not she Mentioned it casually, but she didn't like, you know wasn't until I truly really pried the stories out of her I knew she played. I saw her Hall of Fame trophy. Of course. And it was at her home. And my mother used to tell a story that when I was really little, I looked up at that trophy. I said, Mom, I'm going to get a trophy like that someday. Right. And my mom said, I bet you will. And I did. I did. I bet you did.

23:22When we were talking, they did a news special, the Iowa Girls Athletic Union. And it was on Iowa Public Television, which is awesome. So great. And they also did a six-on-six special, right? So they were talking about the things. But the cool thing, my grandmother, she critiqued it. She said that it was much too physical, and we showed way too much skin. Oh, really? Absolutely. She was very, she thought it was very risque. Really? So your grandmother was like, in my day, we played in bloomers, and we liked it. We showed no ankle. That's right. Let's talk about your coaching career. You spent 23 years as an assistant coach at Iowa before becoming head coach last year.

24:05And during that time, you coached the global phenomenon, Caitlin Clark. So what was that like? You know, it was, I don't think we'll fully unpack it until, well, certainly I won't until I slow down, right? Right. Because someone asked me, what was it like to coach Caitlin Clark? And I said, everything you think it was in a matter of a minute, because she's passionate. You know, she's, you know, fun. She's feisty. She shoots it from the parking lot. You know, she makes a dazzling pass. She challenges you. She's a jokester. And then as you're going through it, you know, building a team, to me, that's the most beautiful thing is, and you know this on your show.

24:46You know, you got you, you're the leading scorer. Oh, I am definitely the Caitlin Clark of this organization. I'm so glad. Yes, we often send you to the parking lot. I'm so glad that somebody has finally noticed my central role. You're welcome. I'm now your favorite guest you've ever had. I mean, really, I think, let's talk more about that. No, anyway, so go on, please. Well, just the building the team and the culture. And I think that's why a lot of people have enjoyed watching Iowa women's basketball. Way back when we were at Drake, our staff was together at Drake, is what we believe is just really playing with joy, playing hard.

25:23And I believe the best thing in life is if you can get a team, I'd like to think if you can get a society to be celebrators of each other. That's the hardest thing. Right. You know?

25:40So one of your jobs is to motivate a player who's struggling. That's part of the deal. So let's say I, as you have identified, the Caitlin Clark of this show. Let's say I'm not doing one. Let's say I'm just not playing to my astonishing potential. How would you say to me, like, you know, what would be your learned coach approach? Well, for you particularly, I'd probably say, get your head out of your ass. For you. Really? But now, for these lovely people over here, I would say, you know what? You got it. You can do it. I believe in you. You, get over here. Well, Coach Jensen, we are delighted to have you.

26:27Well, I'm delighted to be here. Speaking of games, we have invited you here to play a game that this time we're calling Let's Go a-Courting. You spent all your time in the basketball court, so we thought we'd ask you about the other kind of courting, finding a spouse. So we're going to ask you three questions about courting rituals from around the world. If you get two right, you'll win a prize for one of our listeners. Bill, who is Coach Jensen playing for? Matthew Kodas of Des Moines, Iowa. All right. All right. Ready to go? Here's your first question. In the Puritan communities in New England, back in the 1600s, courting couples would have to sit apart in a small room with a family member there to chaperone at all times.

27:17So for privacy, these couples used what? A, a six-foot-long speaking tube, which one person held to their ear while the other person talked into the other side. B, an elaborate code using only eye blinks and squinting. Or C, wooing leaves, which was a medicinal herb you would put in grandma's tea so she'd fall asleep and you could talk freely. Oh, gosh. Okay. I'm feeling maybe, are you feeling maybe one? I'm feeling one. Yeah, it was the speaking tube. Yes. Yes. Let's go. Grandma. One for one. Grandma would sit there. I'm beginning to get a sense of your style on the court side. Yeah. They sit there and they hold the tube.

28:07What? A little help for my buddies. Yeah, okay. All right. All right, that was very good. Here's your second question. Pumpkins had a traditional role in courtship in medieval Ukraine. What was it? A, what was called love bowling. Women would roll a pumpkin down the largest hill in town, and the first man it knocked over would be her betrothed. B, if a woman turned down a marriage proposal, she would give their suitor a pumpkin as a kind of consolation prize, but everyone who saw him walking home with it would know he just got rejected. Or C, suitors wore pumpkins over their heads to the town dance to ensure that matches were not just about physical appearance.

28:52Oh, golly. Sort of a medieval Ukrainian version of Love of the Year. What was that again? You're yelling B. I like that. That's correct. How did you know? That's right. On my back, all of you. The Consolation Pumpkin or the Pumpkin of Shame. Men would only, this is true, men would only propose at night so they wouldn't be seen carrying the pumpkin home. Here's your last question. In 19th century rural Austria, available women presented men who they liked with a challenge to prove their worth. What was it? A, she would feed a ring to a particular sheep and the man would have to first guess the sheep and then get the ring back.

29:34B, after a town dance, the woman would offer the man she fancied an apple slice that she had held in her armpit during the whole dance to see if he would eat it. Or C, she would write a particular tongue twister love poem, which the man was expected to recite after drinking four beers in one hour. I think it's B, apple. And it is B. Yes! Three for three! Yes! Wow. Oh, I've been stressing about this the whole day. I'd like to win three for three. Let's go. Bill, how did Coach Jensen do in our quiz? What else? A perfect score. That's all of you. Thank you. Jan Jensen is the head coach of the Iowa Hawkeyes women's basketball team.

30:23Coach Jan Jensen, thank you so much for being on Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Give it up for Coach Jensen.

30:34In just a minute, find out why your broccoli is out to get you in our listener limerick challenge. Call 1-888-WAIT-WAIT to join us on the air. We will be back in a minute with more of Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me from NPR.

30:53From 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 Faith Seeley, Emmy Blotnick, and Hari Kondabolu. And here again is your host at the Des Moines Civic Center in Iowa, Peter Sagal. Thank you, Bill. In just a minute, once again, our Do Nothing staff has failed to finish writing the limericks. If you think you can come up with the last word, 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. Faith, this week a judge in Canada awarded damages to a couple who said that a local furniture store had caused them intense distress by not warning them that their new couch would require constant what?

31:53Sitting on? No.

31:59Uh, reupholstering? No. Um, can I have a hint? Sure. Start, you gotta take it home and start smacking those pillows immediately. Uh, fluffing. Fluffing, yes! Constant fluffing. They were not worn. On the one hand, it's hard to imagine suing over this. On the other hand, it was a huge day for the lawyer who had put up the 1-800-FLUFF-Law. Somebody called J.D. Vance. Exactly. We volunteer. Did you guys forget he was into that? Yeah.

32:36The couple said that no one at the furniture store warned them that their couch would require what the manufacturer describes as, quote, frequent fluffing and rotating. How frequent was the fluff this fluffing required? This sounds like adult filmmaking. I mean, how frequent do you have to fluff the couch? Was it like, oh, excuse me, could we get the check? I have to be home by 9 to fluff the couch or it explodes. My couch is out of my egg, Greg.

33:05The judge sided with the couple because the furniture store admitted that this couple had come in specifically asking for something, quote, solid and not floppy. The judge did reduce the damages the store had to pay a bit for the pain and suffering of having to hear the phrase solid and not floppy. Go to rockhardcouches.com.

33:34Enter the promo code JDVance.

33:41Moving on. Frightening. Hari, according to a trend on TikTok, the hot new place that women are looking for men is where? Men's bathrooms. No. I'll give you a hint. It's the number one place to bag a husband wearing a tool belt. Oh, a hardware store. Well, specifically, the biggest one. Do you think I go to hardware stores?

34:07I live in Brooklyn, New York. I listen to NPR. I'm hiring somebody. I'm getting somebody to fix whatever it is that has to be fixed. I'll give it to you, specifically, the Home Depot. Home Depot. Yes. Women are saying, if you want to find a man, go to Home Depot. That's where the real men are. There's a problem, though, with this theory. In the entire history of the world, going back to the creation of the universe, nobody has ever found anybody to answer a question they have at the Home Depot.

34:40I got to learn about tools to find a partner? This sucks. No, you could just wander into Hobby Lobby and find yourself a nice trad wife. Yeah. Emmy, you've probably heard about the trend of oversized fashion. That's when the clothing manufacturers keep the size label the same, but they're actually making the clothing bigger. Why would you think I'm familiar with this? For a particular reason?

35:11Well, perhaps you were one of those women who, because of this trend, clothes becoming bigger, are having to shop for their own clothes where? Is it like in the children's section? It is in the children's section, yes. This is great news for petite women who love the movie Frozen.

35:34No one's checking IDs over in the kids' department. The clothes fit, but according to one shopper, there is, quote, so much glitter. There were definitely a lot of items from the wicked promotional tour that were not made in adult size That's absolutely true And it is a little less charming to wear a shirt bragging about how good a daughter you are when you're 43 One woman in kids clothing mentioned that she likes going to parties Knowing nobody would be wearing the same outfit And then tragically she was invited to an eight-year-old's birthday party

36:16Coming 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 back at the Studebaker Theater in Chicago, or come see us on the road. We'll be at Tanglewood in Western Massachusetts on August 28th. Tickets and information are at nprpresents.org. You can check out our TikTok as well if you're thinking, whoa, how can that not be totally cringe? Please keep in mind, I have nothing to do with it. Find us there at Wait, Wait, NPR. Hi, you're on Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me.

36:53Hi, Peter. This is Molly from St. Louis, Missouri. Well, hey, nice to hear from you, Molly. We're going to be in St. Louis in the fall. I'm looking forward to coming back. What do you do there? Well, when I'm not chasing my toddler around the zoo, I manage a dental practice. Right. That's nice. How did you convince the zoo to keep your toddler? Oh, he's very good. He's very good? He's a good toddler? He's a great toddler. Yeah. Is he polite? Does he do what you ask him to do? Well, he's a toddler. Oh, okay. We'll just leave it there. All right, well, welcome to the show, Molly. Bill Curtis is going to read you three news-related limericks with a last word or phrase missing from each.

37:29If you can fill in that last word or phrase correctly, and two of the limericks will be a big winner. You ready to go? Let's do it. All right, here is your first limerick. When service returns becomes spotty, some Wimbledon players act naughty, cross their legs, cry, oh no, and then I've got to go, and then waste extra time in the... Potty. Yes. Players at Wimbledon are not allowed to delay the game, but there is an exception. They are allowed to take bathroom breaks. So instead of a timeout, just tell the official you need a little wee. Or if it's really important, say, hey, this game is headed for a different kind of deuce.

38:14Now, the reason this is important is because many players in elite tennis have been accused by their opponents of using strategically timed bathroom breaks to throw them off their rhythm or just change the momentum of the match, right? So if the umpire objects, because this is the fifth bathroom break they've asked for, they can say, all right, fine, I'll risk it. But remember, I am wearing all white. All right, here is your next limerick. My enamels, a thin, worn-out sheath. No more broccoli. Bring on the beef. Greens might keep me fit, but they have too much grit. All those veggies are harming my...

38:59Teeth. Yes, teeth. After years of research and hundreds of studies, scientists finally found the proof that eating vegetables is bad for you. Fresh vegetables can degrade your teeth, according to a study just published in the Journal of Things Kids Want to be True. But a real study found that microscopic bits of silica from the earth found in plants can cause mineral loss in your tooth enamel. And also to quote one of the six-year-old scientists behind the study, vegetables are too squishy. What are you supposed to eat? That's a good question. Just chew on those microplastics. Yeah. All right, here is your last limerick.

39:47Jeffrey D. almost seems plain vanilla. Baby Zodiacs, more of a thriller. Shows with true crime made the creep quotient climb. My kids named like a serial killer. Yeah, according to the mirror tabloid, there's been a rise in British families naming their babies after criminals and killers from true crime documentaries. Oh, What? No, the theory is people are like, oh, Rose, Rose. You know, Rose is a lovely name. Where did I hear it? Oh, yeah, that Netflix show about the woman who murdered all those people. I happen to have a son named Ted. And, yes, he's named after Ted Bundy, but Bundy was very wonderful.

40:28He had a lot of other qualities. I always assumed it was Kaczynski, but... I know you're more of a murder family. Yeah, sure. Bill, how did Molly do in our quiz? We have a smart bunch of people That's perfect Well done, Molly Three in a row Thank you

41:05Now on to the 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 scores? Faith has three. Hari and Emmy each have two. Okay. That means Hari and Emmy are tied for second, and I'm going to arbitrarily choose Emmy to go first. So here we go. The clock will start when I begin your first question. Fill in the blank. On Thursday, emergency workers said they were still looking for over 160 missing people following the flooding in blank. Texas.

41:37Right. According to new data from the CDC, U.S. blank cases have hit a 33-year high. Measles. Right. This week, Russia launched its largest aerial assault on blank. Ukraine. Right. After being freed from ICE detention, Mahmoud Khalil filed a$20 million lawsuit against blank. The government. Yeah, the Trump administration. For at least the second time, police in Wisconsin doing a routine traffic stop found a bag full of drugs labeled blank. Cheese curds. No, it was labeled... The bag... The bag full of drugs was labeled, quote, definitely not a bag full of drugs. On Thursday, video game actors agreed to a new contract ending in 11 month long blank.

42:19A strike. Right. On Wednesday, a 70 million year old blank was discovered under Denver's Museum of Nature and Science. Fossil? Yeah, dinosaur fossil. This week, a man in Switzerland who got trapped while hiking on a glacier credits blank with saving his life. A DJ? I'm just pausing to think how that would work. Don't think about how it would work. Just say, no. He credits his chihuahua with saving his life. A man went hiking on a glacier with his little chihuahua and fell into a steep crevasse where he got trapped. And when rescuers came searching for him, they say they never would have found him except for the tiny little brown thing yapping at the crevasse's edge.

42:59When asked why he took a chihuahua hiking on a glacier, the man said they were out of air horns and emergency whistles, so he bought the next best thing. Bill, how did Emmy do in our quiz? Six right. Twelve more points. Total of 14. Good for the lead. Very well done. All right. Harry, you are up next. Please fill in the blank. On Wednesday, it was revealed that the FBI was investigating former Director Blank for potentially making false statements to Congress. Comey. Right. This week, an imposter used AI to contact foreign officials posing as Secretary of State Blank. Marco Rubio. Right. Right.

43:34This week, President Trump threatened Brazil with a 50 % blank if they did not end their prosecution of hire Bolsonaro. Tariff. Right. According to the Labor Department, the blank rate for black Americans rose to its highest level in three years. Unemployment. Right. To make the visitor experience more pleasant, London's Heathrow Airport said they would begin piping in the sounds of blank at their airport.

43:57Poker. No, quote, the sounds of an airport. On Wednesday, a judge blocked a Biden-era law, which would make it easier to cancel online blanks. Subscriptions. Right. On Tuesday, doctors warned that the trend of taping your blank shut while you sleep poses major health risks. Mouth. Right. This week, a man in the UK was arrested when police caught him selling drugs at blank. Preschool. At his sentencing hearing for selling drugs.

44:27According to police, the man was caught selling pills and weed to another defendant while they both awaited their sentencing hearings. After being caught doing that, the man pleaded guilty to those charges because what are you going to do, sentence me twice? Oh, you are? Damn it. Bill, how are you doing our quiz? Well, he has a total of 14, which means he's tied with Emmy. Well done. Hey, hey, hey there. All right. How many, then, does Faith need to win the game? Six to win. All right, Faith. This is for the game. Here we go. On Thursday, a judge once again blocked President Trump's attempts to end blank.

45:09Birthright citizenship. Right. On Thursday, famous baby hippo blank celebrated its first birthday. Oh, me-dang? Close enough. Moo-dang. This week, several families in North Carolina complained when they learned a classic car show would be held at blank. A school gymnasium At the local cemetery On Thursday, Italian chocolate company Ferrero Bought breakfast cereal giant Blank For$3.1 billion Kellogg Yes, on Wednesday, Netflix announced that the 10th season Of its reboot of makeover show Blank would be the last Queer Eye Right, this week researchers discovered a new trend Among chimpanzees in Zambia They're all starting to blank Oh, they wear Pieces of grass in their ears They do in their ears and also between their butt cheeks.

45:56Researchers are calling it butt grass, and it's exactly what it sounds like. It doesn't have anything to do with health or hygiene. Chimps just like putting grass in their butts for fun. Wow. Chimpanzees really are just like us, aren't they? Bill, did Faith do well enough to win? Came so close. Five right, ten more points. Total of 13 means Harry and Emmy are the winners. this week.

46:28How will you split the prize money? In our butt cheeks.

46:36Good choice. In just a minute, we're going to ask our panelists to predict, now that we can leave our shoes on, what would be the next thing we will be allowed to do at the airport? But first, let me tell you all that... Wait, wait, don't tell me. A production of NPR and WBEZ Chicago In association with Urgent Haircut Productions Doug Berman, Benevolent Overlord, Philip Gotiko Reiser Our public address announcer is Paul Friedman Our tour manager is Shana Donald BJ Lederman, composer, our theme Our program is produced by Jennifer Mills, Miles Dornbos And Lillian King Special thanks to Vinnie Thomas and Monica Hickey Peter Gwynn is the winner in our straw poll Emma Choi is our vibe curator Technical direction is from Lorna White Our CFO is Colin Miller Our production manager is Robert Newhouse Our senior producer is Ian Chilag And the executive producer of Wait Wait Don't Tell Me is Mike Danforth.

47:21Now, panel, what will we be finally allowed to do at the airport next? Emmy Block. Fly with explosives. Hari Kondabolu. Use your Costco card as a valid form of identification.

47:41And Faith Saley. Check your child in the overhead compartment.

47:50And if any of that happens, panel, we'll ask you about it on Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Thank you, Bill Curtis. Thanks also to Emmy Blotnick, Harry Gondibolo, and Faye Silley. Thanks to the staff and crew at the Des Moines Civic Center. Special thanks to Andrea Hansen and everyone in Iowa Public Radio. And thanks to our fabulous audience here in Des Moines. And thanks to all of you for listening wherever you might be this week. I'm Peter Sagal. We'll see you next week.

48:22This is NPR.