Wait Wait Don't Tell Me
If there was ever any doubt that public radio takes itself too seriously, look no further than Wait Wait Don't Tell Me to find a healthy reality check of self-deprecating humor. The aspect of the program that most closely parallels the news-driven mission of NPR is its ability to consistently deliver a condensed review of current events. In addition, this quiz-show sparkles with the help of a charming host, a rotating panel of journalists and/or comedians, celebrity guests and a smattering of regular segments that are as groan-inducing as they are clever. Think of it like the pithiest and best organized series of topical dad jokes you've ever heard, structured in such a way that you leave feeling entertained and up to date.
Peter Sagal maintains the ship, stoking its proverbial furnace with the logs of comedic timing and fanning in sparks of well-informed wit. The long-tenured host serves the function of corralling various panelists and guests to keep the show rolling, but he manages this without ever coming across as authoritarian. This is also due in part to the procedure that goes into creating the show - it's recorded in front of a live audience, but the final product that hits airwaves and podcast feeds is typically cut from about 1.5 hours of tape into a solid 45 minute package. All the same, I'm fairly certain that the experience of watching Wait Wait live would be incredibly entertaining while remaining devoid of any self-defeating deference to time management. The show does still function with an assortment of stand-ins when Sagal is away - as evidenced recently by the brilliant Tom Hanks-lead episode.
Each week the show kicks off with a segment called "Who's Bill This Time" in which score keeper Bill Kurtis embodies a quote that often betrays his age to humorous effect. This flows into a round of questions about the past week, directed at the panel of three personalities who compete to win the show. I've long thought that the peak of my career - neigh, even of my life - would come as a panelist on the show. Each person must be both informed and ready to pounce on a joke, all the while maintaining humility and acknowledging that at any moment they are likely to be on the receiving end of a pointed remark from a fellow competitor, host or even guest star. Competition takes a backseat to fun on this show, much in "the points don't matter" vein of Whose Line Is It Anyway? from years ago (though unlike Whose Line points really are doled out and tallied accordingly).
Wait Wait boasts a weekly celebrity guest, which may be supplementary to the vague guise of competition. Not unlike any number of late night shows, the visiting star is prodded about any current project that may be driving the latest rotation into the spotlight. Unlike said shows, the writers of the news quiz create some kind of clever theme around which to build the "Not My Job" segment wherein the honored guest answers questions cheekily contrary to their own profession or name or some current event with which they've been involved. This slightly jarring format coaxes out responses that sometimes land far afield from the typical canned transactions delivered to other media outlets. Going a step further, the segment always has the guest standing in competing for a listener. The prize? A voicemail message recorded by erstwhile score keeper and NPR royalty Carl Kasell.
Listeners get plugged in to the fun as well in other segments as they are asked to identify quotes, fill-in-the-blank to a limerick, and spot a hard to believe news story couched among fake articles written by panelists. This endears the games to listeners and encourages news literacy so as to successfully complete the various challenges - not to mention the fact that it creates a more democratic milieu where the audience is in on the process rather than being passive recipients of a product.
All that said, it is easy to take this juggernaut for granted. Various iterations of the show have been airing for nearly 20 years, and like their late-night cousins the writers at Wait Wait have a bottomless well of source material around which to craft their astutely hewn segments. Something about the format coupled with the pointed optimism (of both panelist and host) have made this a consistent bright spot in a news cycle trending increasingly toward doom. A populace cannot survive on laughter alone, though I've never known a dose of Wait Wait to do the body any harm!
Check out the show here: http://www.npr.org/programs/wait-wait-dont-tell-me/
Peter Sagal maintains the ship, stoking its proverbial furnace with the logs of comedic timing and fanning in sparks of well-informed wit. The long-tenured host serves the function of corralling various panelists and guests to keep the show rolling, but he manages this without ever coming across as authoritarian. This is also due in part to the procedure that goes into creating the show - it's recorded in front of a live audience, but the final product that hits airwaves and podcast feeds is typically cut from about 1.5 hours of tape into a solid 45 minute package. All the same, I'm fairly certain that the experience of watching Wait Wait live would be incredibly entertaining while remaining devoid of any self-defeating deference to time management. The show does still function with an assortment of stand-ins when Sagal is away - as evidenced recently by the brilliant Tom Hanks-lead episode.
Each week the show kicks off with a segment called "Who's Bill This Time" in which score keeper Bill Kurtis embodies a quote that often betrays his age to humorous effect. This flows into a round of questions about the past week, directed at the panel of three personalities who compete to win the show. I've long thought that the peak of my career - neigh, even of my life - would come as a panelist on the show. Each person must be both informed and ready to pounce on a joke, all the while maintaining humility and acknowledging that at any moment they are likely to be on the receiving end of a pointed remark from a fellow competitor, host or even guest star. Competition takes a backseat to fun on this show, much in "the points don't matter" vein of Whose Line Is It Anyway? from years ago (though unlike Whose Line points really are doled out and tallied accordingly).
Wait Wait boasts a weekly celebrity guest, which may be supplementary to the vague guise of competition. Not unlike any number of late night shows, the visiting star is prodded about any current project that may be driving the latest rotation into the spotlight. Unlike said shows, the writers of the news quiz create some kind of clever theme around which to build the "Not My Job" segment wherein the honored guest answers questions cheekily contrary to their own profession or name or some current event with which they've been involved. This slightly jarring format coaxes out responses that sometimes land far afield from the typical canned transactions delivered to other media outlets. Going a step further, the segment always has the guest standing in competing for a listener. The prize? A voicemail message recorded by erstwhile score keeper and NPR royalty Carl Kasell.
Listeners get plugged in to the fun as well in other segments as they are asked to identify quotes, fill-in-the-blank to a limerick, and spot a hard to believe news story couched among fake articles written by panelists. This endears the games to listeners and encourages news literacy so as to successfully complete the various challenges - not to mention the fact that it creates a more democratic milieu where the audience is in on the process rather than being passive recipients of a product.
All that said, it is easy to take this juggernaut for granted. Various iterations of the show have been airing for nearly 20 years, and like their late-night cousins the writers at Wait Wait have a bottomless well of source material around which to craft their astutely hewn segments. Something about the format coupled with the pointed optimism (of both panelist and host) have made this a consistent bright spot in a news cycle trending increasingly toward doom. A populace cannot survive on laughter alone, though I've never known a dose of Wait Wait to do the body any harm!
Check out the show here: http://www.npr.org/programs/wait-wait-dont-tell-me/
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