WWDTM: Lucy Dacus

24:20I had a song called Stupid Cupid, which was like, why won't Cupid come to me? I was probably like seven years old. What? Yeah, I don't know. At the end of the song. I was ready for love. Yeah, I know. You were already pining for a partner at seven? Yes. Stupid, stupid. I mean, I also had a song that was about people who are upset when someone cheats on them, but it is probably their fault because why would they cheat on you if you weren't hard to be with? Again, I was probably like eight years old. Oh my goodness. Wow. You were eight years old. What was happening at your elementary school? I'm glad I don't remember.

25:01Yeah. I'm wondering, who were your big influences when you were a kid? Who were you trying to emulate when you were writing incredibly emotionally complex songs at the age of eight? Fergie, actually. Okay, yeah, that one was too good. Yeah. At eight, Fergie and Adele probably at that time. Yeah, I understand. You also, in your early days before you recorded that school project and began to become very popular, you worked at a, I didn't even know that these still existed within a young person's lifetime, but a photo processing shop in Richmond where you grew up? Wow. Richmond Camera. Richmond Camera.

25:35Did that experience inspire any of your writing? Well, it was so mindless and it was eight hours a day. And so I would sit and do my like, and then I had a pad of paper and I would write songs and I'd get home and I'd get on the guitar and write like a song a day at that time, which is not like what I do anymore. Wow. Have you considered, I mean, you seem to be nostalgic for when you were that productive? Have you considered taking on like a mindless day job again just to reignite the creative spirit? Yeah, I think you're being funny, but I've not. I definitely have thought about that. I'm ready.

26:12You're ready. You're ready. Somebody hire this woman for drudge work so she can reach the heights of productivity. The photo counter at Walgreens. I think that's exactly how you dress. Why not? In 2019, you released a song on certain holidays throughout the year and then put out a record of them all called Holidays. And I love this record. How did you decide which holidays to do? The real truth is that I had recorded a bunch of things for no reason because it's fun to do. And I was like, when are these going to see the world? And so I realized that some of them have like a holiday aspect. others I kind of could make it up like Dancing in the Dark we just said that Bruce Springsteen's birthday is a holiday which I stand by and then like in the air tonight that was kind of eerie so we did it for Halloween I also wanted to ask as you say one of the holidays Bruce Springsteen's birthday and you do think that's a holiday you're a big fan right it was in my house growing up I mean it was written out we had like a big calendar in the kitchen where we put like you know basketball practice church for Springsteen's birthday.

27:24Wow. Can I ask? How did you celebrate it? Did you all put on tight white t-shirts, tight jeans, and workout issues with your fathers? Please tell me you called it the Springsteen. The Springsteen? You're a genius. That's crazy. I have to call my dad.

27:48Yeah. I saw a picture of you with Springsteen. So you didn't meet him, right? Did you tell him about the Springsteens? No. Oh! I already knew. I'm not that fazed when I meet people, but he is so important to my dad and to me. And I showed up at a friend's birthday party and saw him and I was like, I need to go. I'm about to make a fool of myself. and so I was crying at the bar to a friend I was like this is weird and I should go and so then I turned around and he was right there and he actually like knew me and knew my music already so I was just like I think you're the best um I like yeah and he was he was very gracious and um he kind of he seems to be like the guy that you want him to be which is not always true Well, Lucy Dacus, it is a pleasure to talk to you, and we have invited you here to play a game we're calling Boy Genius Meet Boy Geniuses.

28:55So your band is called Boy Genius, so we're going to ask you three questions about geniuses who are also boys. Answer two out of three.

29:07Well, okay, you're rolling your eyes. I did warn you earlier it would be dumb. I feel like genius is the opposite of dumb. So, let's go. Okay, there you are. Let's go. All right, I appreciate that. That was very charitable. Okay. So, as I was saying, answer two to three questions correctly and you'll win our prize for one of our listeners. Alzo, who is Lucy playing for? Kimberly Ramos of Chicago, Illinois. All right. Here's your first question. Math genius Suborno Bari started at NYU last fall at the age of 12 when a reporter asked him, do you sometimes wonder at the fact that you're only 12? What was his response?

29:46A, quote, why wonder at that when there's dark matter to wonder about? B, quote, not really, I've seen my birth certificate. Or C, quote, yes, mainly when my classmates go to a bar without me. I'm going to say the second option. I think it's two. You are right. It was B, yes. He said, Yes, I've seen my birth certificate. He is a math genius. He can count to 12. All right. Here's your next question. Doogie Howser was a fictional boy genius who, in the show, completed med school at the age of 14. But the actor who played him, Neil Patrick Harris, was not a medical prodigy. So how did he get through the scenes where he had to spout a lot of medical jargon while performing surgery?

30:30Was it A, he recorded each big word just one at a time And then the editors would just cut away to the nurses a lot To make it sound like he was saying it all at once B, he put a card with his lines written on them Inside the surgical wound he was supposed to be operating on Or C, the actor playing the patient on the operating table Would whisper the lines to him Taking advantage of the fact he couldn't see his mouth Under a oxygen mask I would say B because I was going to say B. You're right. Yeah. It was. Yay. All right. Here is your last question. Get this right. You'll be perfect. Boy geniuses from around the country were once invited to participate in a game show called Our Little Genius, where prodigies answered nearly impossible questions in the pursuit of winning$500 ,000.

31:20But the show, the recorded, never aired. Why? A, the network had said, people already feel dumb watching game shows. Now we're going to make them feel dumber. B, the phone a friend feature failed when every single contestant asked, does my mom count? Or C, it was shut down when it was revealed the kids weren't actually geniuses. Producers were just feeding them the answers right before they filmed. I feel like we live in the world of C. We do, sadly. It is a fallen world that we live in, and you are correct. It was C. The whole thing was a scam. It was never broadcast. Also, how did Lucy do in our quiz?

31:57She did great. three out of three. Well done. Great. Lucy Dacus is a singer-songwriter and one-third of the supergroup Boy Genius. Her new album, Forever is a Feeling, is out now. Lucy Dacus, thank you so much for joining us. I'm going to wait on time. Thank you for having me. It was a pleasure to talk to you. Take care. Likewise. Bye-bye. Bye-bye.

32:24In just a minute, hear about a man with infallible style in our Listener Olympic Challenge. Call 1-888-WAIT-WAIT to join us on the air. We'll be back in a minute with more of Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me from NPR.

32:42From NPR and WBEZ Chicago, this is Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, the NPR News Quiz. I'm Alzo Slade. We're playing this week with Tom Bodette, Adam Burke, and Helen Hong. And here again is your host at the Studebaker Theater in Chicago, Illinois, Peter Sagal. Thank you Alzo. In just a minute Thank you everybody. In just a minute three limericks enter but only one leaves in our listener limerick death match. If you'd like to play give us a call at 1-888-WAIT-WAIT that's 1-888-924-8924 but right now panel some more questions for you from the week's news. Tom this week a couple who rented an Airbnb were shocked when they arrived at their rental and found a sign telling them to use the bed, quote, only for what?

33:33Well, it's only a couple main uses. Well, sleeping. Yes, only for sleeping. The couple checked in to this Airbnb in Istanbul, Turkey, and they were surprised when they found this note on the bed that was to be used, quote, only for sleep, no other activity. Wow. Oh, wow. Wow. Man, where am I supposed to do my scrapbooking now? So obviously it seems like the owners of the Airbnb were trying to avoid any, you know, amorous activities in the bedroom. But then why did the dining room table have a sign that said, anything goes, get wild, you freaks. Did they turn the sign over and it said, that's what the sex swing is for?

34:21Now, this is what they say what happened. And it's possible one person in the relationship just snuck in early and put the sign there. Now, we've had this experience, right? This is a little much, though, of seeing these signs and the instructions around your Airbnb. The remote for the TV at the same place had a sticker that read, Use only to turn TV on off, which is a mistake, because now you're just asking people to come up with other things a remote could be used for. What was in the bathroom? any direction there. Helen, Japan is having trouble keeping bears and other animals away from populated areas these days.

35:03But this week, we learned about an increasingly popular and successful method of scaring them off. Just installing a what? A Netflix account. I need a hint. You need a hint. Well, we assume that it just happened to the robots they already have when there was a full moon. Werewolf robots. Wolf robots. No. Or robot wolves. Yes, that's right. The monster wolf robot, that's its official name, is this sort of wolf-shaped device that's got speakers and flashing lights and glowing red eyes to deter bears from approaching, while also adding a fun pop of color to your home decor. There are about 300 of these things currently operating in Japan.

35:47Apparently, they're very successful. and frankly having seen some pictures of these things I agree with the bears I mean I think I'd rather have the bears really than robot wolves also oh Japan why is your solution to everything robots that's true haven't you watched any of those movies it is legitimately scary it is a combination of like it's like a combination of electronic parts and cheap fake fur vaguely in an animal shape it looks like something that was thrown out of the Chuck E. Cheese animatronic band because of a drug problem. Is it stationary? Is it they like just put them somewhere?

36:27Well, what's interesting is right now the original model is stationary. It just sits there. It's got these speakers. It can play 50 different sounds. Why? To scare off the bears. Wolves famously have like two noises. Yeah, but all that bandwidth. You got to use it. Yeah, but the bears will get used to the one sound. We've got this new scatting werewolf that scares the crap out of everyone. Now, so apparently, like I said, it's very successful. They're buying more of them, but it's possible that it's not actually scaring anything. The bear is just running back to the woods to tell his friends, Phil, you got to see this.

37:06We knew AI was going to be stealing jobs. I didn't think it would be doing it from animals.

37:22Coming 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 right here at the Studebaker Theater in downtown Chicago. You can catch us next on the road in Bloomington, Indiana on February 26th. For tickets and information about all our live shows, just go over to nprpresents.org. Hi, everyone. Wait, wait, don't tell me. Hi, Peter. Hi, everybody. Meredith calling from beautiful Reno, Nevada. Ah, the biggest little city in the world.

37:53Reno, I like it there. What do you do there? You got it. I am a part-time substitute teacher, full-time homemaker. Oh, I see. That's great. Do you enjoy substitute teaching? I absolutely love it. It's joy. It brings me so much joy to see those kids' faces. It was a joy for me to see a substitute teacher when I was a kid. Yeah.

38:15Yes, Alzo, absolutely. Well, welcome to the show, Meredith. Alzo Slade is going to... Thank you. It's so good to be here. It's great to have you. Now, Alzo Slade, filling in for 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, and two of the limericks will be a winner. You ready to go? I am ready. Here is your first limerick. In hockey, we fight quite a bunch. Sometimes cheekbones or teeth need to crunch. We vote by the dozens for center Nick Cousins, a face that we all want to...

38:48Punch! Punch, yes! A survey of NHL players named Nick Cousins of the Ottawa Senators as the most punchable hockey player in a landslide. Now this does not mean, the players went on to say, that the NHL players hate Nick Cousins. One player in fact said, I love the guy. He's a very good friend to me and then voted for him as most punchable. Does he say that when he is punching Nick Cousins? Nick, you're a great guy. You have one flaw, though. Too many teeth. Pow! Whoa. If we were to have that contest here, I think Tom Bodette would come last. What? Is the least punchable. Oh, the least punchable.

39:35Thank you. Yeah. Yeah, because I would think like the most punchable face, like, I don't know if you've ever had occasion to actually punch a face, but it really hurts. It's only happened to me once. You've punched a face? It's a long story for another time and a long time ago. But it hurts. It hurts a lot. And so I would want to punch a really fat face. Yeah, yeah. Pussy. Like the potato of faces. Yes. All right, here is your next limerick. Cloves and water are making this jar slick It's a mouthwash that is a support trick My mouth will be clean, but my breath makes you scream My new mouthwash is for cloves of Garlic Garlic, yes According to a paper published this week The compounds in garlic are as effective at fighting microbes in the mouth As the best commercial mouthwash The only difference is, when the garlic does it it makes the microbes leave voluntarily.

40:36This is a way to low-key break up with someone without actually having to break up with someone. Just be like, I got this new mouthwash, babe. What if you used like rosemary mouthwash to complement it? You know what I mean? Like made it into a sauce? No, this product, Garlic Mouthwash, ticks all the boxes for the crunchy, all-natural crowd out there. It doesn't have any chemicals, and it makes you smell terrible. All right. Here is your last lyric. For an old man in white, he's real dope. A plain gown and his belt is a rope. Leo 14 is a real fashion queen. Yes, among the best dressed is the...

41:21The Pope. Shocking. No one who has seen the movie Conclave. the New York Times put the Pope on their most stylish of 2025 list. It's not totally intuitive until you remember that if the Times call something red hot, people instantly stop caring about it. They said he, the Pope, has, quote, altered the office's image by wearing Chicago White Sox hat with his papal garments. It is a cool contrast. You have to admit, cursed by God versus God. yeah is there a swag gap between the pope and jesus it's possible they show up together and the pope's like you just wore a loincloth but i feel like there's a swag gap between the pope and the cardinals because they get to wear like the red gowns yeah you know when it comes to a white man in a white robe and a pointy hat i kind of get a little nervous yeah i can see that

42:19Alzo, how did Meredith do? She did great. Three out of three. Perfect score. Congratulations. Thank you. Well done. I had such a great time. Thank you, Peter. Thank you, Alzo. Thank you, everyone. Thank you. Take care.

42:53Now onto our final game, Lightning fill-in-the-blank. Each of our players will have 60 seconds in which to answer as many fill-in-the-blank questions as they can. Each correct answer now worth two points. Alzo, can you give us the scores? Absolutely. Helen and Tom are knotted up at two with Adam in the lead with four. Okay. Whoa. That means that Helen and Tom are tied for second. So, Helen, I'm going to arbitrarily choose you to go first. Okie dokie. Here we go. The clock will start when I begin your first question. Fill in the blank. On Wednesday, the U.S. seized an oil tanker belonging to blank.

43:25Venezuela? Right. This week, the Supreme Court agreed to hear a case challenging blank citizenship. Birthright? Right. This week, President Zelensky reiterated that he would not accept a peace treaty that ceded Ukrainian land to blank. Russia? Right. Under a new government plan, foreign tourists could be required to disclose up to five years of their blank history to U.S. officials. Taxes? No, social media history. This week, officials in South Carolina said they stopped a drone from illegally delivering blank to a prison. Donuts. No. Close, though. Steak, crab legs, and Old Bay seasoning. I guess the dessert was on the next drone.

44:04On Wednesday, NASA confirmed that they'd lost contact with the MAVEN spacecraft orbiting blank. Mars? Right. On Sunday, Katy Perry and former Canadian Prime Minister Blank went Instagram official. Wait, what's the question? Oh, Justin Trudeau. Right, exactly, yes. You were too busy being glad for them. That was so sweet. This week, organizers apologized after attendees of a Canadian town's 2025 Santa parade were accidentally blanked. Transported to the North Pole. Lost their way from the North Pole. No, the spectators were accidentally sprayed with flamethrower fuel. What? Several people attending the St.

44:43John Santa Parade complained that one of the floats, a giant truck decked out with working flamethrowers, doused them in lighter fluid during the parade. The organizers of the event have apologized, but what do you expect them to do, throw a Santa parade without the traditional truck decked out with working flamethrowers? Also, how did Helen do in our quiz? She got five right for 10 more points, total of 12, and she's in the lead. All right, very well done, Helen. All right. Tom, you are up next. Fill in the blank. On Monday, the Supreme Court seemed likely to side with Trump in a case that would greatly expand blank powers.

45:18Presidential powers. Yeah. On Tuesday, Eileen Higgins was elected the first Democratic mayor of blank in 30 years. Miami. Right. This week, the Federal Reserve cut blanks a quarter of a percent. Interest rates. Right. On Monday, Australia's ban on blank for kids under 16 went into effect. Screens. Or internet. Social media. Social media, that's right. This week, a man in Florida caught behind the wheel of a stolen BMW explained to police that he didn't steal the car. He blanked. He borrowed it? No, he said he did not steal the BMW. He had been teleported into it. Oh, that happens. On Wednesday, the Powerball jackpot rose above blank.

45:53A billion dollars. That's right. This week, a woman in Spain sued her employer after she was fired for repeatedly blanking. Being transported into cars in Florida, which is a thing that's happening. No, she was fired for repeatedly showing up early for work. What? The woman was supposed to start at 7.30, but she kept showing up between 6.45 and 7, and her boss said, cut it out. We start at 7.30. But her behavior persisted, so she was fired for, quote, serious misconduct. The lawsuit was a last resort for the woman. She had originally tried to protest to someone in HR, but they weren't in the office yet.

46:30Also, how did Tom do in our quiz? He also got five right for 10 more points, total of 12. He's tied up with Helen. Okay. So how many then does Adam need to win? Four to tie, five to win. Right. All right. Here we go. Adam, this is for the game. Fill in the blank. On Tuesday, a federal judge granted a request to unseal blanks. Court records. Epstein. Yes. This week, experts warned that an atmospheric river could bring dangerous blanks to the Northwest. Floods. Yes. On Wednesday, the White House unveiled their new$5 million gold card blank. It's like a visa? Yeah, it's an immigration visa. It costs$5 million.

47:08This week, authorities in Mississippi are searching for the person who stole a Christmas display of blank. Jesus as a robotic wolf? No. They're looking for the person who stole a display of the Grinch who stole Christmas. After pulling him off the air earlier this year, ABC announced they had extended blank's contract through 2027. Jimmy Kimmel? Right, this week, Magnus Carlsen and other chess greats became under threat from a new, highly ranked competitor who is blank. Is it a dog? No. He is three years old. What? Sorry, Wajja Singh Kushwaha is the youngest ever person to be rated by the world's leading chess organization.

47:49He's just three years, seven months, and 20 days. He's already beaten several other players who are decades older than him with his trademark strategy of touching all the pieces with the snotty little hands Having his opponents forfeit Yeah, also did Adam do well enough to win? Well, I don't know if we should Celebrate or not. He got four right eight more points. So either everybody wins or everybody loses because it's a three-way time There you are. Yay! Stasis! Everybody wins! Everybody wins! In just a minute, we're going to ask our panelists to predict that after Netflix and Paramount and Warner Brothers, what will be the next big merger in the news?

48:34But first, let me tell you. 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 Gotteke writes our limericks. Our public address announcer is Paul Friedman. Our tour manager is Shana Donald. Thanks to the staff and crew at the Studebaker Theatre. B.J. Lederman composed our theme. Our program is produced by Jennifer Mills, Miles Dornbos, and Lillian King. Special thanks to Blythe Robertson and Monica Hickey. Peter Gwynn is our private address announcer. Emma Choi is our visual host. Tactical direction is from Lorna White.

49:03Our CFO is Colin Miller. Our production manager is Robert Newhouse. Our senior producer is Ian Chillog. And the executive producer of Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me is Mike Nathan Detroit Danforth. Now panel, what will be the next big corporate merger? Adam Burke, to the delight of kids everywhere, six and seven are going to merge into an even, into a more annoying number called Sixen. Helen Hong. McDonald's will merge with Burger King and McNuggets will be renamed McKing's Nuts.

49:43And Tom Beaudet. ExxonMobil, Texas, and the U.S. Navy will merge to make a hostile bid for Venezuela. And if any of that happens, Pennell, we'll be sure to ask you about it on Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Thank you, Alzo Slade. Thanks also to Helen Hong, Tom Bodette, Adam Burke. Thanks to our fabulous audience here at the Student Baker Theater in downtown Chicago. And thank you all out there for listening, wherever you may be. I am Peter Segal. We'll see you next week.

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