Says You!

''Says You!'' is a word game quiz show that airs weekly in the United States on public radio stations. Richard Sher created the show in 1996 with the guiding philosophy: "It's not important to KNOW the answers: it's important to LIKE the answers."

Recorded in front of live audiences in theaters around the United States, the show is produced in Boston, Massachusetts. Its format, emphasis on witty repartee, and its tagline—"a game of bluff and bluster, words and whimsy"—are reminiscent of the similarly long-running BBC program '' My Word!'' (1956–1990). Season 21 of ''Says You!'' marked the show's 500th episode.

Following the death of Richard Sher on February 9, 2015, original panelist Barry Nolan took over as host for two years, before returning to his seat as a panelist in early 2017. He was replaced as host by frequent panelist Gregg Porter of Seattle's KUOW-FM, with author/public radio contributor Dave Zobel frequently guest hosting in 2018 & 2019 when Porter was absent or returning as a panelist. Porter left Says You! in the summer of 2019, with Zobel serving as permanent host until the end of season 25. Richard Sher's son Ben (who voiced the episode-ending Pipit & Finch credit as a child and later served as a guest scorekeeper) hosted the final first-run episodes in September 2022.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced taping for season 24 to conclude earlier than expected, with the last first-run episode with a live audience airing from Palo Alto, California on May 1st, 2020. The remainder of the season and the entirety of season 25 consisted of new episodes recorded via Zoom or without a live audience, supplemented by reruns as well as twenty-one "Back 9" episodes, featuring 9 rounds taken from multiple episodes of early half-hour seasons. The final first-run episode, an at-home taping, aired on August 13th, 2021, with the season concluding primarily with "Back 9" re-airings.

At the end of the 25th season, executive producer Laura Sher announced that production was ending and further seasons would consist of rebroadcasts. Season 26 premiered on October 8th, 2021, and consisted of repeats from the show's eighth & ninth seasons. Two final live episodes with studio audiences were held in Seattle & San Francisco at the start of season 27, featuring most of the original panelists and Richard Sher's son Ben as host.

Format

The show features a regular group of panelists—the cast—divided into two three-person teams. The two teams are made up of the show’s original cast members and occasional guest players. Teams answer a series of questions to earn up to ten points for each correct—or humorously suitable—answer. As the host provides more clues, fewer points are awarded, while partially correct responses may also receive lesser points.

Rounds of the game

Rounds 1, 3, and 5 vary from week to week and consist of signature categories such as "What's the Difference?", "Odd Man Out", "Melded Movies", and "Common Threads", as well as a variety of miscellaneous literary wordplay. The host traditionally advises listeners to grab a pen & paper to play along with the teams, as "that's how we do it here". On occasion, that week's musical guest aids in a game themed around song lyrics, typically played as the final round.

Rounds 2 and 4 are the Bluffing Rounds. The three members of one team are given an obscure word (e.g. cacafuego); one of them gets the actual definition, and the other two must bluff with fake definitions composed during a brief musical interlude, traditionally provided by a live musical guest. The other team attempts to determine the correct definition from the three presented. Ten points are awarded for guessing or bluffing successfully. Select early episodes instead featured a "Biofictionary" round, where teams had to guess the claim to fame of a person rather than a word's definition.

Hour-long episodes after season often feature a "Spotlight Round". This segment highlights memorable rounds from the show's early years, especially of former host Richard Sher after his death before season 21. Requests for "Spotlight Rounds" were submitted by listeners.

Through the show's website, people could suggest questions and segments for the show.

Players

Hosts

* Richard Sher (creator, producer, host from 1996 to 2015)
* Barry Nolan (panelist, host from 2015 to 2017)
* Gregg Porter (host from 2017 to 2019; also a former panelist)
* Dave Zobel (host from 2019 to 2021, frequent guest host from 2018 to 2019)
* Ben Sher (host in 2022, son of Richard Sher)

Regular panelists

* Francine Achbar
* Carolyn Faye Fox
* Murray Horwitz
* Tony Kahn
* Paula Lyons
* Arnie Reisman

Featured guest panelists

* Tom Bergeron, ''Dancing with the Stars''
* Alan Dershowitz, Harvard professor and lawyer
* Alex Horwitz, producer and director
* Lenore Shannon
* Jimmy Tingle, political humorist
* Garland Waller
* Fletcher "Flash" Wiley
* Phil Proctor, member of the Firesign Theatre

Writers

* Nat Segaloff
* Dave Zobel

Notes

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American radio game shows
1990s American game shows
2000s American game shows
2010s American game shows
1996 radio programme debuts
NPR programs