Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!

WWDTM: Bob Costas

September 13, 2025

Key Takeaways Copied to clipboard!

  • The podcast "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" features a news quiz segment where contestants answer questions based on current events, with a focus on humor and satire. 
  • The show incorporates celebrity guests and recurring panelists to discuss news stories, often with a lighthearted and comedic approach. 
  • Sponsors are integrated into the podcast through brief promotional messages, often related to education or lifestyle services. 

Segments

Rhyme Fest Fills In
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(00:00:21)
  • Key Takeaway: Rhyme Fest is humorously filling in for Bill Curtis, highlighting his diverse career in hip-hop, songwriting, and filmmaking.
  • Summary: The introduction of Rhyme Fest as a fill-in host for Bill Curtis, with Peter Sagal questioning his presence on the show given his established career.
Pharmaceutical Ad Ban
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(00:03:35)
  • Key Takeaway: President Trump directed the government to reinstitute a 1990s policy to sharply restrict pharmaceutical ads on TV, a move met with mixed reactions.
  • Summary: The discussion revolves around the potential disappearance of pharmaceutical ads from television, with panelists joking about the memorable jingles and the impact on actors.
Millennial Saint Canonized
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(00:06:23)
  • Key Takeaway: Carlo Acutis, a 15-year-old Italian who spread his love of the Catholic Church online, has been canonized as the first millennial saint.
  • Summary: The segment discusses the canonization of Carlo Acutis, highlighting his use of the internet to promote his faith and his nickname ‘God’s influencer’.
Pet Privacy Debate
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(00:08:14)
  • Key Takeaway: The Atlantic suggested that pets deserve more privacy, a notion met with skepticism and humor by the panelists.
  • Summary: The panelists react to an article suggesting pets need more privacy, with jokes about dogs’ behavior and the definition of a ‘dog expert’.
Phone Ban Mascot
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(00:10:31)
  • Key Takeaway: New York State is using a mascot named Frankie Focus, a six-foot-tall fluorescent green character, to encourage students to put down their phones.
  • Summary: The discussion centers on New York’s initiative to ban cell phones in schools and encourage students to disconnect, featuring the mascot Frankie Focus.
Unusual Inheritances
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(00:14:45)
  • Key Takeaway: The ‘Bluff the Listener’ game featured stories of unusual inheritances, including nine parrots from a hated neighbor, a billionaire’s fortune to an unknown soccer star, and a man leaving his money to the Earth.
  • Summary: Panelists tell fictional stories about bizarre inheritances, and the listener must guess the true news story.
Bob Costas Interview
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(00:20:03)
  • Key Takeaway: Bob Costas, a legendary sportscaster, shared anecdotes about his early broadcasting career, including a memorable on-air blunder, and his thoughts on the unusual sports he’s commentated on.
  • Summary: Bob Costas discusses his career, a significant on-air mistake, and the strangest sports he’s broadcast, like racewalking and curling.
Emmy Award Origins
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(00:27:05)
  • Key Takeaway: The Emmy award is named after the ‘Image Orthogon Tube,’ an important piece of early television technology.
  • Summary: Bob Costas answers questions about the Emmy Awards, including the origin of its name and a humorous anecdote about Andy Samberg sharing his HBO password.
Hugging Styles
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(00:34:38)
  • Key Takeaway: A study suggests that neurotic or insecure individuals prefer ’lean-in’ or ‘A-frame’ hugs, while confident and empathetic people opt for closer, more contact-filled hugs.
  • Summary: The panelists discuss a study on hugging styles and their correlation with personality traits, leading to jokes about different types of hugs.
Ballpark Drinking Challenge
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(00:36:31)
  • Key Takeaway: The ‘999 challenge’ at baseball games involves consuming nine beers and nine hot dogs over nine innings, highlighting the enduring, and perhaps excessive, fan culture.
  • Summary: The discussion touches on the ‘999 challenge’ at baseball games, where fans consume a large quantity of beer and hot dogs, and the general pace of baseball games.
Hotel Breakfast Raids
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(00:39:44)
  • Key Takeaway: A growing trend involves people sneaking into hotels they are not staying at to take advantage of complimentary breakfast buffets.
  • Summary: The Limerick Challenge segment includes a limerick about people ‘borrowing’ hotel breakfasts, reflecting a humorous take on resourcefulness and minor rule-bending.
Walletless Society
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(00:40:50)
  • Key Takeaway: The shift away from carrying physical wallets is driven by technology like smartphones and a decline in using loyalty punch cards.
  • Summary: A limerick discusses the decline of wallet usage due to digital payments and the irrelevance of physical loyalty cards.
Wedding Guest Matching
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(00:41:35)
  • Key Takeaway: Some couples are providing single guests at weddings with laminated fact sheets of other single attendees to facilitate introductions.
  • Summary: The final limerick addresses the trend of providing single guests at weddings with information sheets to help them find potential matches.
Lightning Fill in the Blank
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(00:44:19)
  • Key Takeaway: The ‘Lightning Fill in the Blank’ segment tests the panelists’ knowledge of recent news with rapid-fire questions, revealing humorous and sometimes bizarre headlines.
  • Summary: Panelists compete in a timed round of fill-in-the-blank questions based on current events, covering a range of topics from politics to animal behavior.