Spirit Airlines, The Book of Mormon, and Grunting | Wait Wait Don't Tell Me

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0:21 From NPR and WBez, this is Wait, wait, don't tell me the NPR news quiz.

0:28 To answer your question, yes, it did hurt when my voice fell from heaven.

0:38 I'm Bill Curtis and here is your host

0:41 at the Studbaker Theater in the Fine Arts Building in Chicago,

0:44 Illinois, Peter Seel.

0:46 Thank you, Bill.

0:48 And thank you, everybody.

0:50 We have a great show for you today.

0:52 Later on, we're going to be talking to Bobby Lopez,

0:55 the composer who wrote the songs for The Book of Mormon and Frozen,

0:59 and is an EGOT winner twice over, which means that after he's a wait guest,

1:06 he becomes history's first ever we got winner.

1:12 But first, it's your turn to vi for what

1:14 must be the least prestigious prize in broadcasting,

1:17 a voicemail recording from us.

1:18 Give us a call at 1888.

1:20 That's 18889248924.

1:23 It's time to welcome our first listener contestant this week.

1:26 Hi, you're on.

1:27 Wait, wait, don't tell me.

1:28 Hi, Peter.

1:29 This is Emma Johnson from Redwood City, California.

1:32 Redwood City, California.

1:33 Oh, I love that authentic California accent.

1:35 It's so rare to hear these days.

1:39 What do you do there?

1:40 I run operations for a software company.

1:43 But more importantly, I am proud parent to two adult uh young adults.

1:48 And I just have to share that one of them

1:49 signed me up to be a contestant on this show.

1:51 So, this is turning out to be an amazing Mother's Day gift.

1:55 Oh, how lovely.

1:56 Mother's Day.

2:01 Great.

2:00 That is a lovely thing to hear.

2:02 And I just want you to understand, we're still not going to go easy on you.

2:08 You're going to have to earn this.

2:09 Okay.

2:10 Well, welcome to the show, Emma.

2:12 Let me introduce you to our panel.

2:13 First up, he is the co-host of the podcast's

2:16 Health Stuff and the Untitled Kandabolu Brothers Podcast.

2:20 It's Hari Kandabolu.

2:25 Hi, Hari.

2:27 Next, she's a reporter for the style section of the Washington Post.

2:31 It's Roxanne Roberts.

2:34 Happy Mother's Day, Emma.

2:36 Thank you, Roxan.

2:37 Hi.

2:38 And he's a correspondent for CBS Sunday Morning.

2:41 against our old friend Mo Rocka.

2:44 Hi, Emma.

2:46 Hi, Mo.

2:47 So, welcome to the show, Emma.

2:48 You're going to play Who's Bill this time?

2:49 Bill Curtis is going to read you three quotations from this week's news.

2:52 If you can correctly identify or explain just two of them,

2:56 you will win our prize.

2:56 Any voice from our show you might choose.

2:58 Are you ready to go?

2:59 You betcha.

3:00 Let's go.

3:00 Your first quote is someone saying farewell to an airline.

3:05 RIP Banana Bus.

3:07 Even though we bullied you, we all loved you deep down.

3:10 What beloved and behated airline suddenly

3:14 went out of business overnight on Sunday?

3:18 That would be Spirit Airlines.

3:21 Spirit Airlines.

3:24 After more than 40 years of offering no frrills budget air travel,

3:29 Spirit suddenly went out of business last weekend.

3:32 Spirit customers arrived at the airport the next morning only

3:35 to discover that flights were cancelled because the airline no longer existed,

3:40 which to be fair is better than Spirit's usual excuse, we're a bad airline.

3:46 It happened for a bunch of reasons, but let's face it,

3:48 Spirit was doomed the second they chose that shade of yellow for their planes.

3:54 Airplanes should not look like crime scene tape.

4:00 We lost a great punchline.

4:01 We really did.

4:02 We really did.

4:03 I know.

4:03 It's like, wow.

4:04 I mean, Frontier is not as funny, right?

4:06 No, it just isn't, sadly.

4:08 Yeah.

4:09 Now, it's interesting.

4:10 They You might be wondering, well, why did they have to strand people?

4:13 Why couldn't they announce it?

4:14 Uh, they had to close overnight.

4:18 So, there weren't any Spirit airlines in the air when

4:21 they went out of business because all of a sudden,

4:24 they'd be like rogue planes.

4:26 Can you imagine that?

4:27 was like, "Spirit 4562, you are cleared to go buck wild."

4:35 So they they couldn't technically land.

4:37 Well, no, they they had to wait.

4:38 I mean, what you're saying is like I think at the board the point was

4:43 cuz that would be weird.

4:44 That would be weird.

4:45 It's like, "Oh, we can't land.

4:46 Sorry.

4:47 Can't pay the fees.

4:48 So, I guess we're up here forever." Is that the one I'm sorry.

4:54 Is Spirit the one where people were always getting

4:55 into fights at the gate and those videos would go viral?

4:58 I thought, isn't that more Southwest?

5:02 No, Southwest has cookies.

5:04 Southwest is classy.

5:06 Oh, yeah.

5:06 That's how they stop the fights from breaking out.

5:07 They just throw the cookies in the ground.

5:09 They're all like puppies.

5:10 Oh, wait a minute.

5:12 Your next quote is from a New York Times story

5:14 about someone struggling while on the phone with customer service.

5:20 Would it help if I told you I'm the Pope?

5:24 So, who was that, Emma?

5:27 Uh, that would be Pope Leo the 14th.

5:29 Yes, that was the Pope.

5:31 It was the Pope.

5:35 So, a friend of his told this story and it made the papers this week.

5:37 The Pope called his personal bank back here

5:40 in Chicago from the Vatican using his birth name,

5:44 Robert Pvost, to change the address on his account.

5:50 He's had a change of job.

5:53 Uh, and the woman at the bank said, "Oh,

5:54 if you want to change that information on your account,

5:56 you have to come to the branch and do it in person." And he said,

5:59 "Well, I I really can't." Um, and when she wouldn't budge, he said,

6:05 "Would it help if I told you I was the Pope?" All true.

6:11 And this is also true.

6:12 She then hung up on him.

6:19 Does the Pope need money?

6:21 Well, this is a thing.

6:22 And where does he keep it?

6:23 This is the thing.

6:24 Apparently, as part of his humility,

6:27 the Pope insists on paying his own way and handling his own affairs.

6:32 So, he's he's needs a bank account.

6:34 He's paying for stuff.

6:35 He's the guy who pays the bills.

6:36 He's the guy who's calling for customer service,

6:38 which finally explains why these days when you call customer service,

6:42 the first thing you hear is for Latin, press one.

6:48 You never thought about the pope having to like do paperwork, right?

6:52 You're like, "It's a pain." Like, reason for your uh uh uh address change?

6:58 Uh conclave.

7:02 Conclave.

7:02 Mo, I happen to know that you have met a prior pope.

7:06 Was it John Paul II?

7:07 No.

7:07 No.

7:07 I I I met Pope Francis.

7:09 Pope Francis.

7:09 And um are you And he did all his banking in Rome.

7:13 He did.

7:14 Yes.

7:16 Do you I know because Mo is actually

7:18 involved with the Cath Catholic Dascese in New York.

7:20 you do good work for them.

7:21 Are you Do you think there's a chance you're going to meet this pope?

7:24 You know, I hope so.

7:25 I mean, I you know, I I mean, boy,

7:27 I wish I'd been that customer service rep that would have helped me.

7:30 Yeah.

7:30 You know, to to get a meeting, but I hope so.

7:32 Yeah.

7:32 Yeah.

7:33 Do Do you know what you'd like to say to him if you do meet him?

7:36 Um, go with City Bank.

7:37 Chase has too many beans.

7:40 Yeah.

7:41 Your last quote, Emma, is about the return of a beloved breakfast ritual.

7:45 If you've missed rooting around in a cereal box, you're in luck.

7:50 So, get excited, kids.

7:51 According to the Associated Press,

7:52 what are you about to find in cereal boxes again?

7:56 Uh, those the little prizes that you get in cereal.

7:59 Toys.

8:00 Prizes in cereal again.

8:01 Yay.

8:03 Yay.

8:05 Thanks to Kelloggs, toys are going back into cereal boxes.

8:08 The idea, of course, for putting in a toy in a cereal box is,

8:11 hey kids, just eat all this cereal.

8:13 Eventually, you'll get the prize.

8:14 No kid ever does that.

8:16 We know this.

8:17 They just get the thing, rip it open,

8:19 and stick their whole arm straight in there large

8:23 animal veterinarian style just rooting around finding what they need.

8:34 And and and if you have more than one kid, you have to buy two boxes of cereal.

8:40 You cannot just buy one.

8:42 Yeah.

8:42 This is genius.

8:43 It really is.

8:44 So, what was the the the the thing that walked up and down the wall?

8:47 The sticky slinky.

8:48 Slinky.

8:48 No, no, no.

8:49 The wacky wall walker.

8:51 Wacky.

8:51 The wacky wall walker.

8:52 Yeah, that that was Oh, it was very hygienic.

8:57 Yes.

8:58 I love that they brought the toys back,

8:59 but I've always felt that adult cereals should have like things in them, too.

9:05 Yeah.

9:04 Like Viagra or Lipur.

9:06 That would be something some like something that's useful.

9:09 Yeah.

9:09 Like, oh, wow.

9:10 I I open my box of mucus and look, I found a loose cigarette.

9:15 Well, I was going to say, yeah, all brand should have Metadam Mucil,

9:19 but they sort of do the same thing.

9:20 Yeah, a little redundant there.

9:21 Uh, the first toy to be introduced is a novelty spoon.

9:24 It's a Toy Story tie-in.

9:25 I love that they were like, "Hey, for our first toy,

9:28 let's make absolutely sure it's something we

9:30 know a kid eating cereal already has."

9:35 Bill, how did Emma do in our quiz?

9:37 Emma, you got them all right.

9:39 You are perfect.

9:40 Okay, Emma.

9:44 Uh, thank you for playing.

9:46 Uh, and happy Mother's Day.

9:48 Thanks so much.

9:48 It was a ton of fun.

9:50 Take care.

9:50 Thanks, Emma.

9:52 Bye-bye.

10:00 Right now, panel, it is time for you

10:01 to answer some questions about this week's news.

10:04 Hari, home security cameras can now use AI to identify threats and warn you,

10:09 like people stealing packages from your porch, fires even.

10:13 But they're not always right.

10:14 For example, one woman was told there was a bear on her porch,

10:20 and it was really what?

10:22 Scary.

10:23 I mean, it's terrifying.

10:26 Terrifying.

10:25 It seems obvious.

10:27 It was really a traumatic scary.

10:28 It was Can you give me a clue?

10:31 Uh, at least it didn't say there was a bear with a big saggy butt.

10:36 This this woman was told there was a big brown

10:39 bear on her porch and it turned out to be a big saggy butt.

10:46 Give me the answer.

10:47 Peter,

10:48 I believe Mo knows.

10:50 It was her.

10:51 It was her.

10:53 She was No.

10:54 That's terrible.

10:56 That's terrible.

10:56 She was sweeping the porch wearing a brown tracksuit.

11:00 Oh god, you got to learn bear on your porch.

11:05 Rude ring.

11:07 Oh, that's awful.

11:08 Not all bears are overweight.

11:10 Like look, like Boo Boo Bear was nice and petite, right?

11:15 Okay.

11:15 No, it's not nice.

11:16 It's one thing like you mistake a cat for a burglar.

11:18 It's another if you're arriving home from a long day at work

11:21 and you get an alert in your phone from your Ring camera.

11:23 Hey, there's a messy[ __] in your front door.

11:28 So, I'm so confused.

11:31 It was It was It just basically the height and the color

11:34 and the movements and the shuffling and the fact

11:36 that she was eating a raw salmon.

11:37 I realastic.

11:55 Coming up, our panelists sing,

11:56 "Let's all not go to the movies in our bluff the listener game called 1 8 Wait,

12:00 wait to play it." We'll be back in a minute with War of Wait,

12:02 wait, don't tell Me from NPR.

12:08 Hey, before we get back to the show, uh, a quick plug for a very special event.

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12:23 May 11th, and you can join us.

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14:47 This is Wait, wait, don't tell me the NPR news quiz.

14:51 I'm Bill Curtis.

14:52 We are playing this week with Rox and Roberts, Curry Kandabolu and Mo Rocka.

14:58 And here again is your host at the Studebaker Theater in Chicago,

15:02 Illinois, Peter Seal.

15:04 Thank you, Bill.

15:05 Thanks everybody.

15:08 Right now, right now it's time for the Wait,

15:12 wait, don't tell me bluff the listener game call 88.

15:14 Wait, wait to play our game on the air.

15:17 Hi, you are on wait don't tell me.

15:19 Hi, this is Hillilary Long in Santa Barbara, California.

15:22 Oh, Santa Barbara, one of the most beautiful places I know.

15:25 What do you do there?

15:27 Well, now that I've reached a certain age,

15:29 my husband and teen daughters like to say I'm retired,

15:32 so I guess I'm a retired university administrator,

15:36 but I am moonlighting for the last several years as everybody's caretaker.

15:40 I see.

15:41 Right.

15:42 And how how nostalgic are you for actually

15:44 getting to leave the house and having a job?

15:48 Not very.

15:49 No.

15:50 Okay.

15:50 Well, good.

15:50 Quite dizzy.

15:52 I'm glad you're I'm glad you're enjoying the lifestyle then.

15:54 Hillary, it's great to have you with us.

15:56 You're going to play the game in which you have to tell truth from fiction.

15:59 What's the topic, Bill?

16:00 Screw you, silver screen.

16:03 No.

16:03 Movie theaters, as I'm sure you know,

16:05 have been struggling lately to bring in an audience.

16:08 Who wants like that immersive cinematic experience when

16:11 you can just watch a movie on the toilet?

16:14 Our panelists are going to tell you about a brand new threat to movie theaters.

16:17 Pick the one who's telling the truth and you'll win our prize,

16:19 the waiter of your choice on your voicemail.

16:22 You ready to play?

16:23 Yes.

16:23 All right.

16:23 First up, let's hear from Hari Kandabolu.

16:26 15-year-old Billy Robinson of Middletown,

16:29 Connecticut was sick of watching movies.

16:31 Quote, "Why are we watching other people have adventures

16:34 for entertainment when we could be having them ourselves?

16:37 If you assumed young Billy was inspired

16:39 to leave the house and have new life experiences, you would be wrong." No,

16:44 Billy decided to make the movies more interesting by editing himself into them.

16:50 Ever wonder why Jack drowned instead of getting

16:52 on the door with Rose and Titanic?

16:55 Now we know there wasn't enough room because Billy was lying on there, too.

17:00 Did Han shoot Greo first in Star Wars?

17:03 Nope, it was Billy.

17:05 Or how about Billy's Willy Wonka and the Chocolate

17:08 Factory where he plays all the Oompa Loompas.

17:12 According to the owner of the Brunswick Theater,

17:15 people keep calling to ask if we have

17:17 the Billy version of The Devil Wears Prada 2.

17:21 They don't want the normal one.

17:23 Billy said, "I've always felt that Merryill Street was overrated,

17:26 and now I can prove it." In Middletown,

17:30 Connecticut, people don't go to the movies because they

17:36 want to wait and watch the Billy Cut at home.

17:39 Your next movie, Meltdown, is from Roxan Roberts.

17:42 Faced with slumping sales, last month,

17:44 Pelaton introduced its latest innovation, Run for Your Life.

17:49 The high-end fitness treadmill has a new program that screens Hollywood movies,

17:55 mostly thrillers and horror films,

17:57 with an option for the runners to become the lead characters.

18:02 They're connected to monitors that track breathing, heart rates,

18:05 and adrenaline while watching movies such as Running Man,

18:09 obviously, Halloween, John Wick, and other really scary classics.

18:15 Early users report elevated heart rates,

18:18 more endurance, and not so cheap thrills.

18:22 quote, "I got so carried away that I had a panic attack and ended up in the ER,

18:28 but my god, it was the most fun I've ever had exercising.

18:32 I was back on the track the next day."

18:36 A Pelaton version that lets you elevate your heart rate

18:42 by watching horror movies and thrillers in the comfort of your home.

18:46 And your last cinema shakeup comes from Morocco.

18:50 The last few years have been brutal

18:52 for movie theater owners with attendance way down.

18:55 Poor Nicole Kitman did the best that she could,

18:57 but she has only so many hours in a day to sit alone in your theater.

19:02 And now Chinese technology is about to make things even worse for owners.

19:06 Chinese electric vehicles are now capable

19:09 of projecting full color movies from their headlights.

19:14 Huawei, sorry, I mean Huawei is the company

19:18 behind this adaptive headlight technology that allows

19:22 you to park your car and use the nearest wall to watch your favorite movie.

19:27 Think your own personal drive-in?

19:29 I know what you're wondering.

19:30 If Thelma and Louise had been driving a Chinese EV,

19:34 might they instead have turned away from the clip and flipped on the headlights

19:37 to watch a proto feminist classic like Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore?

19:42 If Stephen King's Christine were a Chinese EV,

19:45 would she take in Fast and the Furious, Ford versus Ferrari,

19:48 or might she surprise and delight us by watching

19:51 Herby the Love Bug before committing her next killing?

19:59 All right, which of these is yet another

20:02 threat to the well-being of old school movie theaters?

20:05 Is it from Hari Kandabolu,

20:07 a boy named Billy whose cuts of movies with himself starring in them

20:11 are so popular people want to stay home to watch that instead.

20:15 From Roxan Roberts, a new version of Pelaton that shows you the movies while

20:19 you exercise so you can get some

20:21 benefit from that elevated heart rate from fear.

20:24 are from Mo Rocka, a Chinese EV that can project movies through

20:31 its headlights onto any surface you happen to be pointing your car at.

20:35 Which of these is the real story of uh new cinematic technology?

20:41 Oh, shoot.

20:42 Um, I'm going to go with my heart

20:47 and I'm going to go the movies from the headlight.

20:49 All right, you're going to choose Mo's story.

20:52 Well, to bring you the correct answer,

20:53 we spoke to someone who will probably be affected by the real story.

20:58 Somebody's going to be driving and being like, "All right,

21:01 let's just project Fast and the Furious on the back

21:04 of this semi truck and see what happens." Yeah, that was Ryan Orike,

21:08 the general manager of the Music Box Theater here in Chicago,

21:13 reacting to the real story with less horror than I would have expected from him.

21:18 But congratulations, Hillary.

21:20 You followed your heart.

21:21 You've got it right.

21:22 There's a lesson for all of us.

21:25 You've won a point for Mo just for telling the truth.

21:28 And you of course have won our prize.

21:30 The voice of anyone you might choose from our voicemail.

21:32 Choose Bill.

21:32 Choose Bill.

21:33 Choose Bill.

21:34 I will.

21:35 I will.

21:35 I will.

21:36 Okay.

21:37 Thank you so much for playing.

21:38 Take care.

21:39 Thank you.

21:40 Byebye.

21:41 Byebye.

21:46 And now the game where we ask very

21:48 accomplished people to accomplish just one more thing.

21:50 We call it not my job.

21:52 Composer Bobby Lopez not only has an EGOT,

21:55 he has more than two of them with two Oscars,

21:59 three Tony's, three Grammys, and four Emmys.

22:03 And that's as of Showtime Lavo.

22:10 With his wife Kristen Anderson Lopez,

22:12 he wrote the songs for the movies Frozen, Frozen 2, and Coco.

22:16 And with Trey Parker and Matt Stone, he wrote the Broadway mega hit,

22:21 The Book of Mormon, which celebrated its 15th anniversary this spring.

22:26 Bobby Lopez, welcome to Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me.

22:34 So, let's start here.

22:35 Congratulations in the Book of Mormon.

22:36 15 years on Broadway.

22:38 That puts you in the rarified heights of uh like Broadway composers.

22:43 We're the the 10th longest running show of all time.

22:46 Yeah.

22:46 H how does it how does it feel to be the Andrew Lloyd Weber of fbomb shows.

22:53 That feels good.

22:53 This feels good.

22:54 I I I would never put myself in his rarified air, but No.

22:57 No.

22:58 Now, if you if it's if you've never seen the Book of Mormon,

23:01 I don't know how that's possible at this point,

23:03 but it is incredibly obscene in the best possible way.

23:08 And I heard a story.

23:09 It was actually in Josh Gad's memoir.

23:11 Josh got from the original cast.

23:13 He says he he was at an initial workshop.

23:15 You were working out the show and he he like read

23:18 or performed one of the songs and he actually said to Trey Parker,

23:23 one of the authors, he said, "You can't do this.

23:26 This is too offensive.

23:29 People will kill you." Did Did you ever worry about that?

23:36 You know, I I give him this.

23:38 When you read the Book of Mormon on the page, you know,

23:41 there's a convention in writing the scripts out

23:43 where all the lyrics are in all caps.

23:46 Yes.

23:46 Which looks like screaming.

23:49 Yes.

23:48 So, when you have the lyrics to Hasadiga, I filling the page,

23:54 um it it really it jumps out at a different

23:57 tone than like the music makes it much sweeter.

23:59 Yeah.

24:00 And and I just want and I just want to say

24:02 to the audience uh if you were if I were

24:04 to translate that phrase the name of a song uh not

24:09 only would we be cancelled NPR would be burned to the ground.

24:15 So yeah, you uh and and so the music

24:18 were you surprised that this musical about Mormon

24:23 missionaries with it extraordinary language and themes and sense

24:26 of humor was the monster hit that it became.

24:29 We were hoping to run a year and maybe get some protesters.

24:33 Um but instead instead we became this uh

24:38 this this longunning mainstream right downthemiddle hit which still baffles me.

24:43 I know.

24:43 It's amazing.

24:44 And and the amazing thing is the Mormon church was okay with it, right?

24:49 They kind of got on board.

24:51 Yeah.

24:51 They they they kind of judoed us.

24:53 They were like, "Let's let's put an ad in the play bill.

24:56 You've you've seen the show.

24:58 Now read the book.

25:01 Great ad.

25:07 Are you aware of anybody who came off the street, saw the Book of Mormon,

25:11 the musical, in any of its many iterations or productions,

25:13 and then said, "You know what?

25:15 I think I'll look into this religion."

25:18 No, but I would love to meet you if you're out there.

25:22 Before we leave, uh before we leave the topic, I understand that in June,

25:25 once the show comes back from its theater catching fire,

25:28 uh the show is going to be doing something called Magical Mormon Mystery Week.

25:34 Sounds exciting.

25:35 We're having Josh Gad, Andrew Ran, and all of the original company kind of come

25:40 back and pop into the show at, you know, sort of random in random scenes.

25:44 And uh and I will get to also be in it with Matt and Trey on certain nights.

25:50 Tre's in it every night.

25:51 Yeah, Trey's Trey is going to play Jesus and Joseph Smith every night that week.

25:58 So, Wow.

26:00 to see.

26:00 From what I know of him, that's kind of a dream come true, right?

26:03 I mean, he looks like Jesus and Joseph.

26:06 That's true.

26:06 That's true.

26:07 Famously, you are the youngest person ever to EGOT, Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony,

26:18 and and and you also are the only person, as far as I know,

26:20 who's done it twice in each category, sometimes more than twice.

26:25 and and and we're just wondering as the only person in the entire

26:33 world to have ever done that, what kind of privileges does that get you?

26:36 Do you get to cut in line at the movie theater?

26:38 Oh, let's see.

26:39 Um, my family, my kids, I had my kids were very young at the time,

26:42 and they and Kristen, my wife, uh,

26:45 got together and made, uh, an EGOT necklace like the one from 30 Rock,

26:49 but out of out of cardboard and macaroni and glue.

26:53 Oh, that's awesome.

26:54 That's great.

26:55 I hope you can see it.

26:56 It's online.

26:56 So, that's fabulous.

26:58 Uh, speaking of your wife,

26:59 who's astonishingly talented and shared in your Oscars because

27:02 she co-wrote the songs from Coco and Frozen with you.

27:05 Uh, she is missing that Tony Award,

27:08 so she's a she's an ego.

27:12 Um, she's a big ego.

27:13 Big ego.

27:15 Any any any tension around the house or maybe when you're having,

27:19 you know, those spats like we all do, you're like,

27:21 "Don't try and get me in trouble, man.

27:25 I know.

27:25 My Tony says it's your turn to clean the kitchen.

27:32 Yeah.

27:32 Um, no.

27:35 No.

27:35 Is that Is that tough though to I mean,

27:37 because you you obviously work very successfully with your wife.

27:42 Does it like interfere with like your daily life?

27:44 Do you pause and go, "Wait a minute.

27:45 Is that a song?

27:45 Did we just write a song?

27:46 Is that a song?" Or is it like,

27:48 "You're not going to write a song about this, right?" Absolutely.

27:50 We we are on vacation and we end up like running to write

27:54 song like not not for any project just like we wrote lyrics

27:57 to the like our kids loved Harry Potter way back when and we wrote

28:01 a whole Harry Potter quiz show set of lyrics to the Harry Potter theme.

28:07 Um it was uh what time is it?

28:10 You know what time it is.

28:11 Time for the Harry Potter quiz.

28:15 And it went on.

28:16 I got the whole thing.

28:18 Really?

28:21 Wow.

28:22 Well, Bobby Lopez, it's a joy to talk to you.

28:25 We have invited you here to play a game that this time we're calling

28:29 You are 15 going on 16.

28:32 It's the 15th anniversary of Book of Mormon,

28:34 which means it's time to start planning for the show's

28:38 appearance on the MTV reality show My Super Sweet 16.

28:44 That's the show in which America's richest and most entitled

28:47 teenagers threw extravagant birthday parties and then cried at them.

28:51 So, we're going to ask you three questions about that show.

28:53 Answer two of them correctly.

28:54 You'll win a prize for one of our listeners.

28:56 Wait, give me a second to watch all those.

28:58 Yes, please do that.

29:00 Bill, who is Bobby Lopez playing for?

29:02 Lockx Wong of Gaithersburg, Maryland.

29:05 All right, here we go.

29:09 In season 7, as fans remember,

29:11 birthday girl Sky got upset because all her friends were inside dancing,

29:17 meaning that none of them could see what A.

29:20 Her head projected onto Mount Rushmore, which was the venue for the party.

29:25 B, her arrival at the party riding the same giant gold

29:28 lion that Katy Perry rode in her Super Bowl halftime show.

29:31 Or C, her grand entrance in a 20ft tall dress

29:34 with a hydraulic lift built into it to raise her into the air.

29:40 Well, um, that sounds like a a girl obsessed with Wicked.

29:44 I think I'll choose C.

29:45 You were right.

29:46 That's exactly right.

29:50 All right.

29:51 My Super Sweet 16.

29:55 My Super Sweet 16 was so popular that it had several spin-off shows,

29:59 including which of these?

30:00 A.

30:01 Exiled where the parents of teens who had parties in the show send

30:05 those teens to remote countries by themselves to see if they can survive.

30:11 B.

30:15 My super depressing 30 about people

30:20 realizing they were totally unequipped for adulthood.

30:25 or C, I hate them all.

30:28 Interviews with the caterers, waiters, and other people whose staff parties.

30:35 Wow, they all sound fake.

30:38 I I I pick C again.

30:39 You're going to pick C again.

30:40 I hate them all.

30:41 Interviews with the staff of the parties.

30:43 No, I'm afraid it was a exiled.

30:45 It was a whole lasted one season.

30:47 They sent these entitled kids and as far as I know,

30:50 they all survived and came back.

30:51 All right, last question.

30:52 If you get this right, you win.

30:54 My Super Sweet 16 has inspired other creators, including which of these?

30:58 A, your friend Trey Parker,

31:00 who made a South Park episode where Satan throws his own Super Sweet 16 party.

31:05 B, choreographer Twilight Tharp,

31:06 who created the dance show called Les Insufferables.

31:10 Or C, actor Nicholas Cage,

31:12 who vowed that his own kids' birthday party would be better than any

31:15 of those parties in the show and subsequently had to declare bankruptcy again.

31:22 Uh, it was a, right?

31:24 It was a Yeah, Trey Parker made an homage to Super Sweet 16 on South Park.

31:30 He called, the maker of South Park called My Super Sweet 16, quote,

31:35 "The most disgusting foul show ever made." Bill,

31:42 how did Bobby Lopez do in our quiz?

31:43 He got two out of three, and that's good enough for us.

31:47 Bobby Lopez is the double EGOTwinning songwriter and composer of Book of Mormon,

31:52 which you can see during Magical Mormon Mystery Week

31:55 at the Eugene O'Neal Theater from June 9th through June 14th.

31:58 Bobby Lopez, thank you so much for joining us.

32:00 I'm Way.

32:01 What a pleasure to talk to you.

32:03 Thank you.

32:04 Take care.

32:05 Byebye.

32:06 Byebye.

32:07 Bye, Bobby.

32:13 In just a minute, Bill is going to ruin

32:15 things for your dentist in our listener limmerick challenge.

32:17 Call 188 Wait, wait to join us on the air.

32:19 We'll be back in a minute with more of Wait, wait, don't tell me from NPR.

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32:49 This message comes from the University of Miami, where action leads.

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34:00 From NPR and WBEZ Chicago, this is Wait, wait, don't tell me the NPR news quiz.

34:06 I'm Bill Curtis.

34:07 We are playing this week with Mo Rocka, Roxan Roberts, and Harabolu.

34:13 And here again is your host at the Studa Baker Theater in Chicago,

34:17 Illinois, Peter Seal.

34:20 Thank you, Bill.

34:21 In just a minute, Bill orders some limicks for the table.

34:27 It's our listener limick challenge.

34:29 If you'd like to play, give us a call 1888.

34:31 That's 18889248924.

34:33 Right now, panel, some more questions for you from the week's news.

34:37 Mo, uh, elderly people often have problems with balance,

34:42 forcing them to use canes or walkers.

34:44 But a research team in Japan has come up with a better way.

34:47 Simply fit the elderly with a what?

34:51 With a Michelin man costume.

34:54 That's great, right?

34:55 You would never cushion.

34:56 Yeah.

34:56 You would never hurt falling.

35:00 No, it's something that will help them keep their balance.

35:03 I'll give you a hint.

35:04 We don't know if they can wag them.

35:07 Oh.

35:07 To give old people tails.

35:08 Yes.

35:09 Give old people enormous tails.

35:12 That is so cute.

35:13 It would be adorable.

35:14 Researchers in Japan and engineers have

35:16 developed a 3ft long mechanical motorized

35:19 tail called ark which automatically moves

35:24 to counterbalance you when you lean over.

35:28 It also makes it much easier to tell when grandma is happy.

35:37 So to make them like marsupials.

35:39 No, not exactly.

35:40 The idea is there are a lot of animals

35:42 like say monkeys or cheetahs that use tails for balance.

35:46 They can counterbalance their own movements and stay, you know, stable.

35:49 Oh, so grandma might be swinging from a tree now.

35:51 It's possible.

35:51 Yeah.

35:52 No, wait a minute.

35:52 That's the arc of two.

35:53 They're working on that.

35:55 To keep the wearer balanced as you they move,

35:57 the tail uses pneumatic pumps to move in reaction to the user's motions.

36:03 So, if you think a walker makes you look bad,

36:06 just try looking and sounding like a T-Rex with IBS.

36:11 So, here that is the question.

36:13 How do you go to the bathroom?

36:15 Yeah, I know.

36:17 Wearing a giant tail.

36:19 Oh, god.

36:20 Oh, god.

36:20 I You're there.

36:21 You're with grandpa.

36:22 Everything's going great.

36:22 He's like, "Oh, no.

36:23 Grandpa's lifting his tail.

36:24 Just

36:29 Grandpa's getting some tail and it's just lift." No, no, no, no.

36:33 He's Oh, he's saving again.

36:34 No, no.

36:35 He's actually getting a tail.

36:38 Hari, a gym in Denver is being sued

36:40 by owners of condos in the building above the gym.

36:43 They say the gym has hurt their property values because of the what?

36:47 Uh the the stench.

36:49 Not the stench.

36:53 The uh the water from the shower.

36:55 Not the water from the shower.

36:57 Um from the sound.

36:59 Yes.

36:59 Specifically, what sound?

37:00 Oh, no.

37:01 Oh.

37:01 Uh, grunting.

37:03 Grunting.

37:03 Yes.

37:04 They say that their property values are diminished

37:06 because of the constant grunting from the gym.

37:09 The Denver gym, that's a gym with weight machines,

37:12 treadmills, diced ham, green pepper, and cheddar cheese,

37:17 has faced constant complaints from the tenants

37:19 above it since it opened two years ago.

37:21 Now, residents are suing the owners of the gym.

37:23 They say, quote, "Weightlifters groaning, yelling,

37:26 and struggling to lift weights." That last one sounds suspiciously

37:31 less like a complaint and more like a sick burn.

37:36 Residents say they're unable to sleep, enjoy dinner,

37:39 or work from home unquote because

37:41 of the noise while the weightlifters say one more.

37:44 You got this.

37:48 unquote.

37:48 I mean, I'm sure people are having sex

37:50 in that building and there's the sounds of sex and

37:53 the grunting, I guess, from sex next door would be would be bad enough,

37:57 but if they were also saying, "Oh, one more.

37:59 You got this from there."

38:04 Very distressing.

38:05 I think I'd move.

38:06 Can you spot me?

38:11 You have to wipe that down if you're done with it.

38:24 Coming up, it's lightning fill in the blank.

38:26 But at first, it's the game where you have to listen for the rhyme.

38:28 If you'd like to play on air, call or leave a message at 1888 Wait.

38:31 That's 18889248924.

38:33 You can see us most weeks here at the Studebaker Theater

38:35 in downtown Chicago where you can catch us on the road.

38:38 For example, we will be in Austin, Texas on June 4th,

38:42 and there are still a few tickets left.

38:44 With more shows being announced soon, you want to go to nprents.org for tickets

38:48 and information to all of those live events.

38:51 Hi everyone.

38:52 Wait, wait, don't tell me.

38:53 Hi, this is Bill Balderas in Columbus, Ohio.

38:56 Columbus, where we've been a few times.

38:57 What do you do there in the capital?

38:59 Well, I own a data analytics consulting firm,

39:01 but my family and I are also very active with Golden Retriever Rescue,

39:05 and we have two adopted goldens that we have trained to be therapy dogs,

39:09 and we spread joy throughout central Ohio with them.

39:12 Well, that's great.

39:15 I've always wondered like what specific training do therapy dogs have?

39:21 Generally speaking, they have to do two things.

39:22 Well, you have to have strangers tell you you're beautiful,

39:25 and you have to be willing to get hugged and kissed by strangers a lot.

39:28 So, those are the the single qualifications.

39:30 Oh my god.

39:31 I could be a therapy dog.

39:35 You don't have enough hair.

39:39 I could be a therapy hairless cat.

39:45 Yes.

39:44 So there.

39:46 All right.

39:47 Well, welcome to the show, Bill.

39:49 Bill Curts is going to read you three news related

39:51 limicks with the last word or phrase missing from each.

39:54 If you can fill in that last word or phrase

39:56 correctly in two of the limicks, you'll be a winner.

39:58 You ready to play?

39:59 I am ready to play.

39:59 All right, here we go.

40:00 Here's your first limick.

40:01 Not all tooth decay carries much gravity.

40:05 Scanty flossings, no moral depravity.

40:08 So, dentists, please chill and put down that drill.

40:13 We don't need to fill every cavity.

40:17 Right.

40:17 The New York cavity.

40:18 Yes.

40:20 The New York Times reported this week that just because your dentist

40:22 said you need a cavity filled doesn't mean you really do.

40:25 No thanks, doc.

40:26 I actually like it when drinking cold

40:28 water and searing pain stabbing into my skull.

40:32 It turns out that uh many dentists recommend filling

40:35 cavities that can be treated with better dental hygiene.

40:38 Uh some say they do this because they can charge more for a filling.

40:42 But the truth is they just love drilling into your teeth.

40:46 It's soothing for them.

40:47 Wait, I don't understand cuz like a cavity is a hole.

40:50 Cavity is a hole.

40:51 But here's the thing.

40:52 New standards for dental care say that in the very first stages of a cavity,

40:57 it can be reversed with better hygiene, right?

40:59 Better brushing.

41:00 what your dentist recommends.

41:01 Again, this is true, actually depends on when they went to dental school.

41:06 So, a younger dentist, the latest, you know,

41:08 standards might just give you medicated toothpaste, send you home.

41:11 An older dentist will grab for the drill right away,

41:14 and a really old dentist will just tie that old tooth to the doororknob.

41:20 I I my Here's the problem I always have.

41:23 I keep thinking like an like a like a logical person.

41:28 And always a mistake.

41:30 It is.

41:30 It's always a mistake because if you have a cavity,

41:34 then you have a hole in your tooth.

41:36 You do.

41:37 And this suggests that somehow that hole will

41:40 get filled in with just like medicated toothpaste.

41:45 But that doesn't seem logical given the fact that you've got eroded enamel,

41:51 right?

41:51 You're we're really giving this a lot of thought.

41:53 Well, it it's not that it's not that much thought.

41:56 It's like it's a hole.

41:58 Holes get bigger.

42:00 Yeah, that's the thought.

42:03 But the the hole is going to get bigger.

42:07 So, they got to fill it in, right?

42:08 Otherwise, it will, as you say, Yeah.

42:10 get bigger.

42:11 That's right.

42:13 Absolutely.

42:14 Here is your next limick.

42:16 Waluigi and Peach are not scoffing.

42:18 What an awesome box to get set off in.

42:22 As you've laid down to rest, it is one final quest.

42:27 Put more stars, wands, and coins on that coffin.

42:32 Yes, coffin.

42:33 Congratulations for video game fans getting on in years.

42:36 There's a new line of Super Mario Brothers themed coffins

42:40 that you can buy for yourself or a loved one.

42:43 They come in bright red, green, or pink.

42:46 They can be customized with images of your favorite characters.

42:49 It's a fun and creative way to let all

42:51 your loved ones know you died as you lived.

42:53 Wasting your entire life playing video games.

42:58 Your entire lives.

42:59 Exactly.

42:59 True.

43:04 Here's your last limrich.

43:07 Highland kettle look fuzzy and snuggly and visitors pose with them smuggly.

43:13 We need people to pass, not to stop and harass.

43:17 So, we breed them to make them more ugly.

43:22 Yes.

43:22 A British farmer, sick and tired of influencers coming

43:26 onto his land to take selfies with his beautiful cows,

43:29 has developed a plan to stop it.

43:31 He's going to breed the cows to make them uglier.

43:36 That is a pretty clever solution.

43:38 But let's ask the big question.

43:41 Why was he previously breeding the cows to make them hot?

43:48 I don't think I could tell the difference

43:50 between an attractive cow and a less attractive cow.

43:54 Well, there's also ugly cows that are sexy like like being

43:58 attract like right there's sexiness

44:00 and then there's just conventional good looks.

44:02 So, this could really backfire.

44:04 So, are you suggesting that that some cows just have sexy personalities?

44:08 Well, just like some like Benio Del Toro is not conventionally handsome,

44:12 but he's has a lot of sex appeal.

44:14 Like you could end up with a really

44:16 really like groundbreaking iconoclastic sexy cow

44:22 or or the farmer could just build a fence

44:24 so the influencers didn't come on their behalf.

44:38 Congratulations, Bill.

44:39 Well done.

44:40 Thank you.

44:43 Thank you so much for playing.

44:44 Take care.

44:45 Thanks.

44:45 Have a good day.

44:48 Bye-bye.

44:51 This message comes from MintMo.

44:54 If you're tired of spending hundreds on big wireless bills,

44:57 bogus fees, and free perks, MintMo is for you.

45:01 Shop plans at mintmobile.com/switch.

45:04 Taxes and fees extra.

45:05 See Mintmobile for details.

45:08 This message comes from the University of Miami,

45:11 where they're building a faster way forward.

45:13 It's why they invited AI into the nursing classroom,

45:16 tested the worst storms imaginable so cities didn't

45:19 have to, and redefined dementia research with a dolphin.

45:23 The University of Miami is where disciplines collide,

45:26 breakthroughs are built, and ideas are put into action.

45:29 Because when action leads, impact follows.

45:32 See what's on the horizon at miam.edu.

45:36 This message comes from Babel.

45:37 Babel's conversation-based language technique teaches

45:40 you useful words and phrases

45:42 to get you speaking quickly about the things you actually

45:45 talk about in the real world with lessons handcrafted

45:48 by over 200 language experts and voiced by real native speakers.

45:52 Start speaking with Babel today.

45:55 Get up to 55% off your Babel

45:57 subscription right now at babel.com/npr spelled babbble.com/npr.

46:06 Rules and restrictions may apply.

46:09 This message comes from Lisa.

46:10 From night one, you'll feel the difference.

46:13 Premium materials that deliver serious comfort and full body support.

46:17 Go to lisa.com for 25% off mattresses.

46:20 Plus, get an extra $50 off with promo code NPR.

46:25 Now, it is time for our final game, Lightning Fill in the Blank.

46:28 Each of our players will have 60 seconds in which

46:29 to answer as many fill-in-the-blank questions as they can.

46:32 Each correct answer now worth two points.

46:34 Bill, can you give us the scores?

46:35 Stand back.

46:36 Mo has five, Roxan has two.

46:39 Hari has one.

46:43 All right, Hari, you're in third place, so you're up first.

46:45 The clock will start when I begin your first question.

46:47 Fill in the blank.

46:48 After an outbreak on a cruise ship,

46:49 global health agencies are racing to track people

46:52 who have come in contact with blank virus.

46:55 Haunt virus.

46:55 Right.

46:56 This week, CDC data showed that ER visits due to blank bites have surged.

46:59 Insect bites.

47:00 I'm going to give it to you.

47:01 Tick bites.

47:01 According to new polls, Blank's approval rating has dropped below 35%.

47:07 Trump, right?

47:06 After facing backlash over their new $9 cup of premium coffee,

47:10 the CEO of Starbucks defended the drink, saying, "Blank,

47:14 cheaper than gas." No, he said that actually might be true.

47:22 No, he defended their new $9 cup of coffee by saying,

47:25 "At least it's not a $10 cup of coffee." On Wednesday,

47:28 it was announced that Golden Tempo, the winner of the blank,

47:31 will not run in the PNIS Stakes, Kentucky Derby.

47:35 Right.

47:35 On Monday, the head of FIFA, defended the high price of 2026 blank tickets,

47:39 World Cup.

47:39 Right.

47:39 This week, a zoo in Armenia assured concerned residents that the escaped

47:43 zebra people were seeing running loose in the streets was just blank.

47:46 A ghost?

47:47 No, a donkey painted black and white.

47:52 Residents of the Armenian capital of Yeravan were concerned that there had been

47:55 an escape at the zoo when they saw what looked like a zebra wandering around.

47:59 But the zoo knew something was up when all

48:01 of their animals were accounted for and everybody who called was like,

48:03 "Hey, I think I saw your zebra near my house, but its stripes were running.

48:09 Bill, how did how are you doing on our quiz?

48:11 Good.

48:11 Five right.

48:12 10 more points.

48:13 Total of 11 puts him in the lead.

48:15 There you go.

48:15 All right, rocks, you are up next.

48:20 Fill in the blank.

48:21 On Thursday, intelligence officials said that Iran could

48:23 withstand a US blockade of the blank for months.

48:26 The hormu straight.

48:27 Right.

48:28 On Wednesday, a judge unsealed blank's purported suicide note.

48:32 Jeffrey Epste.

48:33 Right.

48:33 On Wednesday, NASA released 12,000 photos from the Aremis 2 mission to the blank

48:37 to the moon.

48:38 Right.

48:38 According to new data, blank prices have risen 50% since February.

48:42 I'm going to say gas.

48:43 Right.

48:43 This week, a marine biologist in Vancouver rescued

48:46 a blue heron who got its foot stuck in blank in a uh lobster.

48:51 No.

48:51 Close.

48:51 In an oyster.

48:55 Ah.

48:54 On Thursday, NASA said that the Titan

48:56 rover may have accidentally brought fungus to blank Mars.

49:00 Yes.

49:00 On Sunday, GameStop's CEO made an unsolicited $56

49:04 billion offer to buy online auction site Blank eBay.

49:08 Right.

49:09 This week, a man in Wisconsin had perfect

49:10 timing when he blinked while teaching a CPR class.

49:15 Oh, is this the guy that had a heart attack and then his class saved him with

49:19 CPR?

49:20 Yes, he had a heart attack while teaching a class on CPR.

49:25 Very good.

49:26 The man who's really gunning for that teacher of the year award was

49:32 in the middle of teaching a class

49:33 on CPR when he started suffering a heart attack.

49:36 He did recover, but then he had to have 22 more heart attacks.

49:40 So, the other kids in class got a chance.

49:44 Bill, how did Roxan do?

49:46 Very well.

49:47 Seven, right?

49:48 14 more.

49:49 16 total.

49:51 She's in the lead.

49:52 There you are.

49:54 All right.

49:55 How many then does Mo need to win?

49:58 Six to win.

49:59 Nothing, Mo.

50:00 Here we go.

50:00 This is for the game.

50:01 On Wednesday, media mogul Blank passed away at the age of 87.

50:05 Ted Turner.

50:06 Right.

50:06 On Monday, the Supreme Court temporarily restored access to the blank pill.

50:10 Uh the abortion pill.

50:12 Yes.

50:12 Due to the increased energy demand of data centers,

50:14 Pennsylvania authorities are considering reactivating the nuclear plant at blank

50:18 three Mile Island.

50:19 Right.

50:19 On Wednesday, Plank announced his presidential library would open in June.

50:23 Barack Obama.

50:23 Right.

50:23 According to clinical trials,

50:25 Maderna's new mRNA based blank shot is more effective than the traditional one.

50:29 Uh, a corona virus.

50:31 No, they're flu shot.

50:32 This week, the UK version of late night

50:34 sketch show blank was renewed for a second season.

50:38 SNL, right?

50:38 This week, a man in Scotland was hospitalized

50:39 after he accidentally drove his car into blank.

50:43 Uh, does Haggus come in fields?

50:45 Into a bog.

50:48 Not a Pete bog.

50:49 Not a haggus.

50:50 He drove his car into a wall painted to look like the entrance to a tunnel.

50:58 In the most Looney Tunes ass accident in automobile history,

51:03 the Scottish driver drove directly into a wall because it

51:05 was painted to look like the entrance to a tunnel,

51:07 emergency workers took him to the hospital where doctors are

51:10 working hard to get the cartoon birds to stop circling the Bill.

51:16 Did Mo do well enough to win?

51:18 So close.

51:19 Five, right?

51:20 10 more points.

51:20 His 15 is one short of Roxan.

51:23 Who's the winner?

51:24 There you go.

51:25 He shows up.

51:26 He wins.

51:28 In just a minute, our panelists will predict and now that they're coming back,

51:32 what would be the surprise?

51:33 Hit toy found in cereal boxes.

51:35 But first, let me tell you all that, wait, wait,

51:37 don't tell me is a production of NPR

51:39 and WBEZ Chicago in association with Urgent Haircut Productions.

51:42 Doug Berman, benevolent overlord.

51:44 Philip God, resurre public address announcer is Paul Freriedman.

51:47 Our ops manager is Jira Vardak.

51:49 Thanks to the staff and crew here at the Studio Baker Theater,

51:51 BJ Leaderman composed our theme.

51:53 Our program is produced by Jennifer Mills, Miles Dornboss, and Lillian King.

51:57 Special thanks to Bllythe Robertson and Monica Hickeyi.

52:00 Peter Gwyn is visiting the Pope.

52:02 Our visual host is Emma Choy.

52:04 Technical direction is from Laura White.

52:06 Our CFO is Colin Miller.

52:07 Our production manager is Robert New House.

52:09 Our senior producer is Ian Chillog.

52:10 And the executive producer of Wait, wait, don't tell me is Mike Danfor.

52:14 Now panel, what are we going to find in our cereal boxes?

52:17 Harvey Kandabolu, Jesus on the cross.

52:22 Roxan Roberts,

52:23 a little plastic Nobel Prize because all the kids really, really want one

52:31 and Mo Rocka.

52:32 Just in time for the affordability crisis, glow-in-the-dark food stamps.

52:38 And if uh any of that shows up,

52:40 we're going to have it right here on Wait, Wait, don't tell me.

52:43 Thank you, Bill Curtis.

52:45 Thanks also to Har Kandabolo, Mo Rock and Roxan Roberts.

52:48 Thank you to our fabulous audience here

52:49 at the studio at the theater in downtown Chicago, Illinois.

52:52 Thanks to all of you for listening wherever you might be.

52:55 I'm Peter Seel.

52:56 We'll see you next week.

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