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''Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!'' is an hour-long weekly news radio
panel show A panel show or panel game is a radio or television game show in which a panel of celebrities participate. Celebrity panelists may compete with each other, such as on '' The News Quiz''; facilitate play by non-celebrity contestants, such as on ' ...
produced by
WBEZ WBEZ (91.5 FM) – branded ''WBEZ 91.5'' – is a non-commercial educational radio station licensed to Chicago, Illinois, and primarily serving the tri-state region of the Chicago metropolitan area. It is owned by Chicago Public Media and is f ...
and
National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...
(NPR) in
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
,
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
. On the program, panelists and contestants are quizzed in humorous ways about that week's news. It is distributed by NPR in the United States, internationally on NPR Worldwide and on the Internet via
podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...
, and typically broadcast on weekends by member stations. The show averages about six million weekly listeners on air and via podcast.


Format

''Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!'' premiered in 1996 and was recorded in front of a live audience in the Chase Auditorium beneath Chicago's Chase Tower on Thursday nights. Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, episodes were recorded remotely beginning March 2020, largely from panelists' homes, with sound effects added for broadcast. Live audience recordings resumed in August 2021. In June 2022, the show moved to the Studebaker Theater in Chicago's Fine Arts Building. Episodes are periodically recorded on tour in venues across the United States. The show is hosted by playwright and actor
Peter Sagal Peter Daniel Sagal (born January 31, 1965) is an American humorist, writer, and host of the National Public Radio game show '' Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!'' and the PBS special ''Constitution USA with Peter Sagal''. __TOC__ Early life, famil ...
. When the program had its debut in January 1998, Dan Coffey of '' Ask Dr. Science'' was the original host, but a revamping of the show led to his replacement in May of that year. The show has also been guest-hosted by
Tom Bodett Thomas Edward Bodett ( ; born February 23, 1955) is an American author, voice actor, woodworker and radio personality, primarily as a host, correspondent and panelist for a number of shows that air on National Public Radio (NPR). Since 1986, he ...
,
Luke Burbank Luke Burbank (born May 8, 1976) is an American radio host and podcaster who hosts the Portland, Oregon-based syndicated variety show ''Live Wire Radio'' and the Seattle-based former radio program and current podcast ''Too Beautiful to Live''. He ...
,
Adam Felber Adam Felber is an American political satirist, author, radio personality, actor, humorist, novelist, television writer, and comic book writer. Biography Felber attended Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, and graduated as an English maj ...
,
Peter Grosz Peter Grosz is an American actor and television writer. He is most recognizable for appearing in Sonic Drive-In's "Two Guys" commercials, in which he appears as the straight man in a double act with improvisational comedian T. J. Jagodowski un ...
,
Tom Papa Thomas Papa Jr. (born November 10, 1968) is an American comedian, actor, and radio host. He hosts the Sirius XM Satellite Radio show ''Come to Papa'' and, in July 2019, he and Fortune Feimster started hosting the Sirius XM show ''What a Joke wi ...
,
Mike Pesca Mike Pesca (born December 29, 1971) is an American radio journalist and podcaster based in New York City. He is the host of the daily podcast, ''The Gist,'' and the editor of ''Upon Further Review: The Greatest What-Ifs in Sports History.'' Ca ...
, Richard Sher,
Bill Radke Bill Radke is an American radio talk show host, web video host, author, comedian and columnist. , he hosts Seattle's KUOW-FM's ''Week In Review'', and hosted ''The Record'' from 2013 until 2021. From November 1, 2010 to October 2012 he hosted Seattl ...
,
Susan Stamberg Susan Stamberg (born September 7, 1938) is an American radio journalist. Stamberg was co-host of NPR's flagship program ''All Things Considered'' from 1972 to 1986. In that role Stamberg was the first female host of a national news broadcast. She ...
,
Robert Siegel Robert Charles Siegel (born June 26, 1947) is an American retired radio journalist. He was one of the co-hosts of the National Public Radio afternoon news broadcast ''All Things Considered'' from 1987 until his retirement in January 2018. Ear ...
,
Brian Unger Brian Douglas Unger (born 1965) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and commentator. Biography Born in Dayton, Ohio to Richard ("Rich") Unger and Eleanor ("Ellie") Oprea, Unger grew up in Granville, Ohio. He graduated from Granvil ...
,
Drew Carey Drew Allison Carey (born May 23, 1958) is an American comedian, actor and game show host. After serving in the United States Marine Corps, U.S. Marine Corps and making a name for himself in stand-up comedy, Carey gained stardom in his own Situa ...
,
Tom Hanks Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...
, Helen Hong,
Jessi Klein Jessi Ruth Klein (born August 18, 1975) is an American writer, actress and stand-up comedian from New York City. Klein has regularly appeared on shows such as '' The Showbiz Show with David Spade'' and VH1's '' Best Week Ever'' and has performed ...
,
Maz Jobrani Maziyar Jobrani (; born February 26, 1972), better known as Maz Jobrani, is an American comedian and actor who was part of the " Axis of Evil" comedy group. The group appeared on a comedy special on Comedy Central. Jobrani has also appeared in n ...
,
Negin Farsad Negin Farsad (; born March 24, 1978) is an American comedian, actress, writer, and filmmaker based in New York City. Early life and education Farsad was born in 1978 in New Haven, Connecticut, to an Iranian American Muslim family, and was raised ...
, Alzo Slade,
Josh Gondelman Joshua Lyons Gondelman (born January 15, 1985) is an American author, comedy writer, producer, and stand-up comedian. He was a supervising producer and writer for '' Desus & Mero'' on Showtime. He was previously a writer on ''Last Week Tonight wi ...
, Karen Chee. and
Dulcé Sloan Dulcé Lazaria Sloan (born July 4, 1983) is an American stand-up comedian and actress. She is a former senior correspondent for ''The Daily Show'' on Comedy Central. Early life and education Sloan was born in Miami, Florida, and spent most of ...
. The announcer, also serving as judge and scorekeeper, has been Bill Kurtis since 2014, though Chioke I'Anson,
Lakshmi Singh Lakshmi Singh ( ''LAK-shmee'') is an American journalist. She is the anchor of Midday for NPR Newscasts, which is one of the top three most downloaded podcasts in the United States. Early life According to Singh, growing up, she struggled with ...
,
Andy Richter Paul Andrew Richter (born October 28, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and talk show announcer. He is best known as the sidekick for Conan O'Brien on O'Brien's talk shows: '' Late Night'' and ''The Tonight Show'' on NBC and '' Cona ...
Helen Hong,
Ayesha Rascoe Ayesha Rascoe (; born June 10, 1985) is an American journalist who hosts ''Weekend Edition Sunday'' on NPR. She previously served as an NPR White House correspondent and covered the Obama White House for Reuters. Early life and education Ayesh ...
, Joshua Johnson,
Tim Meadows Tim Meadows (born February 5, 1961) is an American actor and comedian. He was one of the longest-running cast members on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'', where he appeared for 10 seasons from 1991 to 2000. For his work on ''S ...
and Alzo Slade have substituted.
Carl Kasell Carl Ray Kasell (; April 2, 1934 â€“ April 17, 2018) was an American radio personality. He was a newscaster for National Public Radio, and later was the official judge and scorekeeper of the weekly news quiz show '' Wait Wait... Don't Tell ...
preceded Kurtis, who often filled in for him. ''Wait Wait...'' listeners also participate by telephoning or sending emails to nominate themselves as contestants, or as of January 9, 2024, followers of the show's official Instagram account can click a link in the bio which will take them to a form to fill out and register to be a contestant. The producers select several listeners for each show and call them to appear on the program, playing various games featuring questions based on the week's news. Prior to October 21, 2017, the usual prize for winning any game was to have Kasell (named "Scorekeeper
Emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". In some c ...
" following his retirement) record a greeting on the contestant's home
answering machine An answering machine, answerphone, or message machine, also known as telephone messaging machine (or TAM) in the United Kingdom, UK and some Commonwealth countries, ansaphone or ansafone (from a trade name), or telephone answering device (TAD), ...
or
voice mail A voicemail system (also known as voice message or voice bank) is a computer-based system that allows callers to leave a Voice recording, recorded message when the recipient has been unable (or unwilling) to answer the Telephone, phone. Calls may ...
system; after Kasell's death in 2018, the prize was changed to have a host or panelist of the contestant's choice record a greeting.


Panelists

In addition to the regular panelists listed below, the show also occasionally features one-off guest panelists. Regular *
Cristela Alonzo Cristela Alonzo (born January 6, 1979) is an American stand-up comedian, actress, writer, and producer, who created and starred in the ABC sitcom '' Cristela.'' This made Alonzo the first Mexican American woman to create, produce, write, and sta ...
* Brian Babylon *
Roy Blount Jr. Roy Alton Blount Jr. (; born October 4, 1941) is an American writer, speaker, reporter, and humorist. Life and career Blount was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, and grew up in Decatur, Georgia. He attended Ponce de Leon Elementary School and gr ...
*
Alonzo Bodden Alonzo Bodden (; born June 13, 1962) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer and former political commentator. In 2004, he won NBC's reality competition TV show ''Last Comic Standing'' in its third season after being the runner-up in ...
*
Tom Bodett Thomas Edward Bodett ( ; born February 23, 1955) is an American author, voice actor, woodworker and radio personality, primarily as a host, correspondent and panelist for a number of shows that air on National Public Radio (NPR). Since 1986, he ...
*
Joel Kim Booster Joel Alexander Kim Booster (born February 29, 1988), born Kim Joonmin (), is an American actor, comedian, producer, and writer. He co-produced and wrote for '' Big Mouth'' and '' The Other Two'' and as an actor has appeared on '' Shrill'', '' Se ...
*
Luke Burbank Luke Burbank (born May 8, 1976) is an American radio host and podcaster who hosts the Portland, Oregon-based syndicated variety show ''Live Wire Radio'' and the Seattle-based former radio program and current podcast ''Too Beautiful to Live''. He ...
* Adam Burke *
Eugene Cordero Eugene Cordero (born July 18, 1978) is an American comedian, actor, and writer. Frequently appearing in comedic roles, he has been featured as a series regular on the comedies ''Other Space'' (2015), ''Bajillion Dollar Propertie$'' (2017–2019) ...
*
Amy Dickinson Amy Dickinson (born November 6, 1959) is a former American newspaper columnist who wrote the syndicated advice column ''Ask Amy''. Dickinson has appeared as a social commentator on ABC's ''Good Morning America'' and NBC's ''The Today Show''. Bi ...
*
Negin Farsad Negin Farsad (; born March 24, 1978) is an American comedian, actress, writer, and filmmaker based in New York City. Early life and education Farsad was born in 1978 in New Haven, Connecticut, to an Iranian American Muslim family, and was raised ...
*
Adam Felber Adam Felber is an American political satirist, author, radio personality, actor, humorist, novelist, television writer, and comic book writer. Biography Felber attended Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, and graduated as an English maj ...
*
Bobcat Goldthwait Robert Francis "Bobcat" Goldthwait (born May 26, 1962) is an American comedian, actor, director, and screenwriter. He is known for his black comedy stand-up act, delivered through an energetic stage persona with an unusual raspy and high-pitched ...
*
Josh Gondelman Joshua Lyons Gondelman (born January 15, 1985) is an American author, comedy writer, producer, and stand-up comedian. He was a supervising producer and writer for '' Desus & Mero'' on Showtime. He was previously a writer on ''Last Week Tonight wi ...
*
Peter Grosz Peter Grosz is an American actor and television writer. He is most recognizable for appearing in Sonic Drive-In's "Two Guys" commercials, in which he appears as the straight man in a double act with improvisational comedian T. J. Jagodowski un ...
*
Maeve Higgins Maeve Anna Higgins (born 24 March 1981) is a comedian from Cobh, County Cork, Ireland and is based in New York City. She was a principal actor and writer of the RTÉ television production ''Naked Camera'', as well as for her own show ''Maeve H ...
* Helen Hong *
Maz Jobrani Maziyar Jobrani (; born February 26, 1972), better known as Maz Jobrani, is an American comedian and actor who was part of the " Axis of Evil" comedy group. The group appeared on a comedy special on Comedy Central. Jobrani has also appeared in n ...
*
Jessi Klein Jessi Ruth Klein (born August 18, 1975) is an American writer, actress and stand-up comedian from New York City. Klein has regularly appeared on shows such as '' The Showbiz Show with David Spade'' and VH1's '' Best Week Ever'' and has performed ...
*
Hari Kondabolu Hari Karthikeya Kondabolu (born October 21, 1982)Beem, p. 38 is an American stand-up comedian and writer. His comedy covers subjects such as race, inequity, and Indian stereotypes. He was a writer for '' Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell'' and ...
* Laci Mosley *
Tom Papa Thomas Papa Jr. (born November 10, 1968) is an American comedian, actor, and radio host. He hosts the Sirius XM Satellite Radio show ''Come to Papa'' and, in July 2019, he and Fortune Feimster started hosting the Sirius XM show ''What a Joke wi ...
*
Paula Poundstone Paula Poundstone (born December 29, 1959) is an American stand-up comedian, author, actress, interviewer, and commentator. Beginning in the late 1980s, she performed a series of one-hour HBO comedy specials. She provided backstage commentary dur ...
* Roxanne Roberts *
Mo Rocca Maurice Alberto "Mo" Rocca (born January 28, 1969) is an American humorist, journalist, and actor. He is a correspondent for ''CBS Sunday Morning'', the host and creator of ''My Grandmother's Ravioli'' on the Cooking Channel, and also the host of ...
*
Faith Salie Faith Coley Salie (born April 14, 1971) is an American journalist, writer, actress, comedian, television, radio, and podcast host. She is a contributor to ''CBS Sunday Morning'' and a panelist on NPR’s '' Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!''. She host ...
* Alzo Slade *
Dulcé Sloan Dulcé Lazaria Sloan (born July 4, 1983) is an American stand-up comedian and actress. She is a former senior correspondent for ''The Daily Show'' on Comedy Central. Early life and education Sloan was born in Miami, Florida, and spent most of ...
Past panelists * Sue Ellicott (1998–2007) * Aamer Haleem (2005–06) * Margo Kaufman (1998–1999) *
Angela Nissel Angela R. Nissel (born December 5, 1978) is an American author and television writer best known for her first book ''The Broke Diaries: The Completely True and Hilarious Misadventures of a Good Girl Gone Broke''. She was a writer and executive ...
(2006–2007) *
Patt Morrison Patt Morrison is a journalist, author, and radio-television personality based in Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles and Southern California. Media Morrison is a writer for the ''Los Angeles Times'', with the weekly '' 'Patt Morrison Asks' '' ...
(2000–2001) *
Kyrie O'Connor Kyrie O'Connor (born November 24, 1954) is a writer and editor. Biography Born in Rochester, New York on November 24, 1954, she graduated ''cum'' ''laude'' from Wesleyan University in 1976. She is the sister of Candace O'Connor. She worked for ...
(2004–2015) *
P.J. O'Rourke Patrick Jake O'Rourke (November 14, 1947 – February 15, 2022) was an American author, journalist, and political satirist who wrote twenty-two books on subjects as diverse as politics, cars, etiquette, and economics. '' Parliament of Whores'' ...
(2001-2020) *
Charlie Pierce Charles Patrick Pierce (born December 28, 1953) is an American sportswriter, political blogger, liberal pundit, author, and game show panelist. Biography Pierce was born in Worcester, Massachusetts. He graduated from St. John's High School i ...
(1998–2015) *
Greg Proops Gregory Everett Proops (born October 3, 1959) is an American actor, stand-up comedian and television host. He is widely known for his work on the British and American versions of '' Whose Line Is It Anyway?''. He has also voiced the titular ch ...
(2015-2017) *
Paul Provenza Paul Provenza (born July 31, 1957) is an American television presenter, actor, radio panelist, stand-up comedian, filmmaker, and skeptic based in Los Angeles. He has appeared on several podcasts and in recent years has interviewed other stand-up c ...
(2006–2010) *
Richard Roeper Richard E. Roeper (born October 17, 1959) is an American writer. He is a former columnist and film critic for the '' Chicago Sun-Times'', where he wrote for 39 years dating back to 1986 until his departure in 2025. He co-hosted the television s ...
(2004–2006) *
Peter Sagal Peter Daniel Sagal (born January 31, 1965) is an American humorist, writer, and host of the National Public Radio game show '' Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!'' and the PBS special ''Constitution USA with Peter Sagal''. __TOC__ Early life, famil ...
(1998) *
Alison Stewart Alison Stewart (born July 4, 1966) is an American journalist and author. Stewart first gained widespread visibility as a political correspondent for MTV News in the 1990s. She is the host of WNYC's midday show, ''All of It with Alison Stewart'' ...
(2008–2009) *
Julia Sweeney Julia Anne Sweeney (born October 10, 1959) is an American actress and comedian. She gained fame as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1990 to 1994. She played Mrs. Keeper in the film '' Stuart Little'' and ...
(2009–2010) *
Keegan-Michael Key Keegan-Michael Key (born March 22, 1971) is an American comedian, actor, producer, and writer. He and Jordan Peele co-created and co-starred in the sketch series '' Key & Peele'' (2012–2015) for which he received one Primetime Emmy Award from ...
*
Reza Aslan Reza Aslan (, ; born May 3, 1972) is an Iranian-American scholar of sociology, writer, and television host. A convert to Evangelicalism, evangelical Christianity from Shia Islam as a youth, Aslan eventually reverted to Islam but continued to wr ...


On-air segments

Though there are some deviations from time to time, episodes of ''Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!'' feature the following format:


Opening tease

As with other NPR programs, ''Wait Wait'' offers a one-minute top-of-hour billboard teasing the program that will follow the network's hourly newscast (which traditionally starts at one minute past the hour). In this minute, the host offers a humorous comment on the week's news, mentions the identity of the week's interview guest, and sets up an out-of-context reading by the announcer of a quote or game title from the episode.


Who's Bill This Time?

The contestant is asked to identify the speaker or explain the context of three quotations from that week's major news stories as read by the announcer (usually Bill Kurtis). Each answer is followed by a humorous discussion of the story by the host and the panelists. Two correct answers constitute a win for the contestant. Prior to Kasell's retirement, the segment was known as "Who's Carl This Time?" and he read the quotations. Whenever Kurtis is absent, his first name is replaced by that of the person filling in for him in the game's name.


Panel questions

In two separate segments each week, the host asks the panelists questions regarding less serious stories in the week's news, awarding them one point for each correct answer. The questions are phrased similarly to those featured on ''
The Match Game ''Match Game'' is an American television panel game, panel game show that premiered on NBC in 1962 and has been revived several times over the course of the last six decades. The game features contestants trying to match answers given by celebr ...
'' or ''
Hollywood Squares ''Hollywood Squares'' (originally ''The Hollywood Squares'', later stylized as ''H2: Hollywood Squares'') is an American game show in which two contestants compete in a game of tic-tac-toe to win cash and prizes. The show originally aired as a ...
'' to allow the panelists to offer a comedic answer in addition to their real guess as well as a hint from the host if needed. The answer is often followed by a discussion of the story.


Bluff the Listener

Each panelist reads an unusual story, all sharing a common theme. Only one of the three stories is genuine; the contestant wins the prize by choosing it. A sound bite from a person connected to the genuine story is played to reveal whether the contestant's guess is correct. Regardless of the outcome, the panelist whose story is chosen scores one point.


Not My Job

A celebrity guest calls in (or occasionally appears onstage) to be interviewed by the host and the panelists as well as take a three-question multiple-choice quiz. In ''Wait Wait''s early years, "Not My Job" guests were mainly pulled from NPR's roster of personalities and reporters; the pool of guests later expanded to include guests of greater celebrity. As the segment's title suggests, the guests are quizzed on topics that are not normally associated with their field of work. For example, former U.S. Secretary of State
Madeleine Albright Madeleine Jana Korbel Albright (born Marie Jana Körbelová, later Korbelová; May 15, 1937 – March 23, 2022) was an American diplomat and political science, political scientist who served as the 64th United States Secretary of State, United S ...
was asked questions on the history of
Hugh Hefner Hugh Marston Hefner (April 9, 1926 – September 27, 2017) was an American magazine publisher. He was the founder and editor-in-chief of ''Playboy'' magazine, a publication with revealing photographs and articles. Hefner extended the ''Playboy ...
and ''
Playboy ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...
'' magazine, while author
Salman Rushdie Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie ( ; born 19 June 1947) is an Indian-born British and American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern wor ...
was asked about the history of
Pez Pez (, ; stylised as PEZ) is the brand name of an Austrian candy and associated manual candy dispensers. The candy is a pressed, dry, straight-edged, curved-corner block 15 mm ( inch) long, 8 mm ( inch) wide and 5 mm ...
candy. Often, the subject matter of the quizzes serve as an oblique yet comic juxtaposition to the guests' fields of work, such as when ''
Mad Men ''Mad Men'' is an American historical drama, period drama television series created by Matthew Weiner and produced by Lionsgate Television. It ran on cable network AMC (TV channel), AMC from July 19, 2007, to May 17, 2015, with seven seasons ...
'' creator/producer
Matthew Weiner Matthew Hoffman Weiner (; born June 29, 1965) is an American television writer, producer, and director best known as the creator and showrunner of the television series ''Mad Men'', and as a writer and executive producer on ''The Sopranos''. ...
was quizzed on ways people try to cheer others up ("Glad Men") in a March 2015 appearance.


Listener Limerick Challenge

Kurtis (or the announcer) reads three
limericks A limerick ( ) is a form of verse that appeared in England in the early years of the 18th century. In combination with a refrain, it forms a limerick song, a traditional humorous drinking song often with obscene verses. It is written in five-lin ...
connected to unusual news stories, leaving out the last word or phrase of each. The contestant wins the prize by correctly completing any two of them. The limericks are written by Philipp Goedicke.


Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank

In the Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank, each panelist has to answer as many questions as they can in 60 seconds with each correct answer earning the panelist 2 points. At the end there is a question whose answer gets an expanded clarification by Peter or whoever is guest hosting; this question usually deals with an especially odd or obscure news story from the week.


Television

In 2008, National Public Radio reached an agreement with CBS Entertainment to create a television pilot of ''Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!'' Peter Sagal and Carl Kasell would be in the pilot, and Doug Berman would be the executive producer. On November 16, 2011,
BBC America BBC America is an American basic cable network that is owned by AMC Networks. The channel primarily airs sci-fi and action series and films, as well as selected programs from the BBC (such as its nature documentary series). Unlike the BBC's ...
announced that the show would make its television debut with a "2011 Year in Review" special airing on December 23, to be retransmitted by
NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...
stations on the 24th and 25th. The taping included two American panelists—''Wait Wait'' regulars
Paula Poundstone Paula Poundstone (born December 29, 1959) is an American stand-up comedian, author, actress, interviewer, and commentator. Beginning in the late 1980s, she performed a series of one-hour HBO comedy specials. She provided backstage commentary dur ...
and
Alonzo Bodden Alonzo Bodden (; born June 13, 1962) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer and former political commentator. In 2004, he won NBC's reality competition TV show ''Last Comic Standing'' in its third season after being the runner-up in ...
—and British newcomer
Nick Hancock Nicholas John Hancock (born 25 October 1962) is an English actor and television presenter. He hosted the sports quiz '' They Think It's All Over'' for 10 years. He also formerly presented '' Room 101'' (1994–1999) on TV, as well as its earlier ...
. In December 2018,
NBCUniversal NBCUniversal Media, LLC (abbreviated as NBCU and Trade name, doing business as NBCUniversal or Comcast NBCUniversal since 2013) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational mass media and Show business, entertainment conglomerate (comp ...
announced it was developing a television version of ''Wait Wait… Don't Tell Me!''


Live cinema

On May 2, 2013, an episode was performed at the NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts in New York City and was streamed live via satellite as a
Fathom Events Fathom Events is an entertainment content provider that broadcasts entertainment events in movie theaters throughout the United States, including Metropolitan Opera Live in HD, the performing arts, major sporting events, and music concerts. The ...
presentation to hundreds of cinema theaters throughout the United States and Canada. The show included host Peter Sagal, announcer Carl Kasell, and panelists Mo Rocca, Paula Poundstone, and Tom Bodett. Celebrity guest
Steve Martin Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American comedian, actor, writer, producer, and musician. Known for Steve Martin filmography, his work in comedy films, television, and #Discography, recording, he has received List of awards a ...
won in the ''Not My Job'' segment.


Awards

In April 2008, ''Wait Wait'' won a
Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and in ...
. The program website was nominated for a
Webby Award The Webby Awards (colloquially referred to as the Webbys) are awards for excellence on the Internet presented annually by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a judging body composed of over three thousand industry experts a ...
for Humor in 2008.


References


External links

*
''Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!''
s
BBC America BBC America is an American basic cable network that is owned by AMC Networks. The channel primarily airs sci-fi and action series and films, as well as selected programs from the BBC (such as its nature documentary series). Unlike the BBC's ...
site
Show Details and Statistics

"Wait, Wait... It's Peter Sagal and Doug Berman"
€”October 28, 2019
Commonwealth Club of California The Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California is a non-profit, non-partisan educational organization based in Northern California. Founded in 1903, it is the oldest and largest public affairs forum in the United States. Membership is open to ...
interview and discussion of the show and its origins {{NPR 1998 radio programme debuts 1990s American comedy game shows 1990s American radio programs 2000s American comedy game shows 2000s American radio programs 2010s American comedy game shows 2010s American radio programs 2020s American comedy game shows 2020s American radio programs American radio game shows Peabody Award–winning radio programs Chicago radio shows Radio programs adapted into television shows American satirical radio programs