Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!

WWDTM: Delroy Lindo

January 10, 2026

Key Takeaways Copied to clipboard!

  • The episode of Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! marks the beginning of its 29th year on the air and features actor Delroy Lindo as the special guest. 
  • The panel played the 'Who's Bill' quiz, where listener Dan from Minneapolis correctly identified all three news quotes, and the 'Bluff the Listener' game, which was won by the story involving dogs saving a man from dog food at a Purina factory. 
  • The guest, Delroy Lindo, shared an anecdote about being told by a bicycle messenger that his characters 'Does nobody have a f--- with you in the movies, bruh?' and discussed his role in the film *Sinners*. 

Segments

Show Opening and Guest Introduction
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(00:00:28)
  • Key Takeaway: Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! is beginning its 29th year on the air, featuring actor Delroy Lindo.
  • Summary: The show opened by promoting a Jonathan Goldstein Wildcard podcast segment before Peter Sagal welcomed the audience and announced the milestone of starting their 29th year. The featured guest for the episode is actor Delroy Lindo, known for Sinners and other great works.
Who’s Bill? Contest Begins
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(00:02:08)
  • Key Takeaway: Listener Dan from Minneapolis was introduced to the panel and began the ‘Who’s Bill’ quiz segment.
  • Summary: The panel members—Joyelle Nicole Johnson, Roy Blount Jr., and Paula Poundstone—were introduced to the contestant Dan. The game requires Dan to identify two out of three news quotations read by Bill Curtis to win a voicemail prize.
News Quiz: Venezuela Invasion Quote
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(00:02:55)
  • Key Takeaway: A quote attributed to the President regarding getting oil flowing was linked to a hypothetical invasion of Venezuela, satirizing direct political motivations.
  • Summary: The first quote concerned a wartime leader ordering oil flow, which the panel linked to Venezuela. The discussion satirized the lack of subtlety in modern international policy compared to past administrations, referencing the practice raid built in Kentucky.
News Quiz: Food Pyramid Quote
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(00:05:44)
  • Key Takeaway: The FDA’s new food pyramid revision was criticized for featuring ‘disturbingly large blueberries’ and promoting high consumption of red meat and whole milk.
  • Summary: The second quote referenced disturbingly large blueberries in the New York Times coverage of the FDA’s new food pyramid. Panelists joked that the inverted pyramid resembled a food funnel and suggested the new guidelines were akin to a ‘Make America Gout Again’ slogan.
News Quiz: Boredom Influencer Quote
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(00:08:19)
  • Key Takeaway: TikTok influencers are promoting ‘boredom’ as a healthy practice, encouraging followers to disconnect from screens and embrace dullness for mental benefit.
  • Summary: The final quote concerned people embracing boredom for eight hours, which was identified as a trend pushed by influencers to encourage followers to put down their phones. Panelists noted the irony of this trend, especially regarding a child who complained of boredom while walking a short distance.
Who’s Bill? Results and Transition
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(00:09:59)
  • Key Takeaway: Dan from Minneapolis correctly answered all three questions in the ‘Who’s Bill’ segment, winning the round.
  • Summary: Bill Curtis confirmed Dan achieved a perfect score in the quiz. The show then transitioned to the next game segment, ‘Bluff the Listener,’ after thanking the contestant.
Panel Quiz: Sexy Walker Invention
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(00:10:16)
  • Key Takeaway: Engineers at the University of Colorado created a series of aesthetically pleasing, ‘sexy’ assistive devices called walkers for older adults who wish to avoid clunky aluminum models.
  • Summary: Paula Poundstone was asked about engineers creating the first ‘sexy’ medical device for older Americans, which turned out to be a walker. The panelists joked about renaming it a ‘polycane’ and questioned if the device would make the user sexy.
Bluff the Listener Game Introduction
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(00:12:16)
  • Key Takeaway: Listener Olivia from Greensboro, North Carolina, joined the ‘Bluff the Listener’ game, which focuses on unlikely heroes saving lives.
  • Summary: Olivia, who enjoys cross-stitching and antiquing, was introduced to the game where she must choose the true story of a life-saving hero from three panelist submissions. The theme for the round is ‘Not all heroes wear underwear.’
Bluff Story 1: French Hide-and-Seek Rescue
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(00:14:21)
  • Key Takeaway: A 13-year-old French boy named Louis Dumas, inspired by Nancy Drew, found a participant in a large-scale hide-and-seek game at a renovated castle who had fallen asleep due to narcolepsy.
  • Summary: Joyelle Nicole Johnson’s story involved a lost hider at the Chateau des Melans Castle in France who was found by a young aspiring detective. The lost man was discovered buried under hay in the horse stables, having fallen asleep due to narcolepsy.
Bluff Story 2: Disney Boulder Incident
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(00:15:49)
  • Key Takeaway: A Disney stagehand named Robert deflected a 400-pound prop boulder that jumped its track during the Indiana Jones stunt show, saving the audience.
  • Summary: Roy Blount Jr.’s story detailed a stagehand named Robert intervening when a giant prop boulder rolled toward the audience at the Indiana Jones stunt show. Although the rubber boulder knocked him flat, he successfully deflected it from its path.
Bluff Story 3: Dog Food Silo Rescue
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(00:17:08)
  • Key Takeaway: A Nestle Purina employee, Early Souders, was saved from being buried by tumbling dog chow when a coworker let in a pack of 20 dogs who ate the falling food mid-air.
  • Summary: Paula Poundstone recounted how Early Souders, inspecting a dog food silo, was nearly buried by hundreds of pounds of chow. His coworker, Bud Schweppe, let in numerous dogs who consumed the falling food before it could bury Souders.
Bluff Game Results and Transition
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(00:18:30)
  • Key Takeaway: Olivia chose Joyelle’s story, but the actual hero was the Disney stagehand Robert, meaning Roy Blount Jr.’s story was the truth.
  • Summary: Olivia selected Joyelle’s story, but Peter Sagal revealed the true story involved a professional MMA fighter commenting on the Disney stagehand who stopped the boulder. Olivia lost the game, but Joyelle earned a point.
Game: Sinners Meet the Saints Introduction
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(00:19:54)
  • Key Takeaway: The final game, ‘Sinners Meet the Saints,’ tested Delroy Lindo’s knowledge of the New Orleans Saints NFL team, with listener Kevin Harmon of Detroit as the beneficiary.
  • Summary: The game challenged Delroy Lindo on facts about the New Orleans Saints, whose record improved slightly to 6-11 in the recent season. Lindo needed two out of three correct answers to win a voicemail prize for Kevin Harmon.
Game Question 1: Saints Nickname
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(00:27:26)
  • Key Takeaway: After a 1-15 season in 1980, disappointed New Orleans Saints fans nicknamed the team ’the New Orleans Ains’ (taking the ‘S’ off Saints).
  • Summary: Lindo incorrectly guessed ’the New Orleans Taints’ for the team’s nickname after a poor 1980 season. The correct answer was ’the New Orleans Ains,’ playing on the phrase ’they ain’t very good.’
Game Question 2: Saints Innovation
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(00:27:56)
  • Key Takeaway: The New Orleans Saints are credited with being the first team whose fans wore paper bags over their heads out of embarrassment, an innovation started by Mike Dilberto.
  • Summary: Lindo correctly chose option B, confirming that the Saints were the first team associated with fans wearing paper bags over their heads due to embarrassment. This practice was initiated by Saints fan and occasional broadcaster Mike Dilberto.
Game Question 3: Unlikely Fan
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(00:28:52)
  • Key Takeaway: Pope Francis was an unlikely fan of the New Orleans Saints, frequently tagging the NFL team when trying to tweet about Catholic saints.
  • Summary: Lindo correctly identified Pope Francis as the unlikely fan who accidentally tagged the NFL team while tweeting about Catholic saints. Lindo secured two correct answers, winning the game for the listener.
Game: Listener Limerick Challenge Introduction
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(00:36:35)
  • Key Takeaway: Listener Maren from Olympia, Washington, a Program Analyst for the U.S. Department of Transportation, played the Limerick Challenge.
  • Summary: Maren joined the final game where she must complete three news-related limericks. She works for the U.S. Department of Transportation and was welcomed by Peter Sagal.
Limerick 1: Lizard Mating Rituals
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(00:37:16)
  • Key Takeaway: Side-blotched lizards engage in a rock-paper-scissors-like evolutionary strategy for mating dominance where Orange beats Blue, Blue beats Yellow, and Yellow beats Orange.
  • Summary: The first limerick concerned colorful lizards playing rock, paper, scissors for mates. The complex system involves three color morphs (Orange, Blue, Yellow) where dominance is cyclical, and blues sometimes team up to defeat orange males.
Limerick 2: Public Domain Works
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(00:38:35)
  • Key Takeaway: Works copyrighted in 1930, including Dick and Jane books and Nancy Drew stories, have entered the public domain, leading to expected horror adaptations.
  • Summary: The second limerick referenced classic works entering the public domain, such as Spot, Dick, and Jane and Nancy Drew. Panelists noted the immediate trend of creating horror movies based on newly public domain children’s characters, referencing Winnie the Pooh.
Limerick 3: Working on Sunday
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(00:39:58)
  • Key Takeaway: Some workers are starting their work week on Sunday to alleviate Monday workload anxiety and avoid workplace distractions like colleagues discussing ‘Mondays, am I right?’
  • Summary: The final limerick described workers starting their week on Sunday to get ahead of Monday’s workload and avoid typical office interruptions. Maren correctly filled in ‘Sunday’ to win the game.
Final Scores and Show Wrap-up
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(00:41:50)
  • Key Takeaway: Paula Poundstone won the overall game with 14 points, while Joyelle Nicole Johnson scored 8 points, and Roy Blount Jr. scored 12 points.
  • Summary: The scores were tallied before the Lightning Fill in the Blank round, where Paula ultimately secured the win. The show concluded by thanking the panel, the audience, and production staff, and previewing the next week’s topic concerning the new food pyramid.