Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!

WWDTM: Paul Giamatti, Laufey, and more!

November 29, 2025

Key Takeaways Copied to clipboard!

  • Actor Paul Giamatti revealed that people often assume he knows about wine due to a famous role, but he admits to knowing nothing about it, and his typical roles involve playing an angry, disheveled middle management type. 
  • Musician Leve, whose style blends modern sounds with 1950s cabaret, shared that her upbringing in a musical Icelandic family involved rigorous practice, and she once received a singing critique suggesting she sounded like a 'divorced 40-year-old.' 
  • The 'Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!' episode, themed around Thanksgiving gratitude, featured games covering topics from Tupperware history (including Albert Einstein's brain being stored in one) to the origins of t-shirt guns and the competitive nature of Olympic fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad. 

Segments

Sponsor Message and Show Intro
Copied to clipboard!
(00:00:00)
  • Key Takeaway: Patagonia is sponsoring the episode, emphasizing business responsibility amid stalled environmental progress.
  • Summary: The episode opens with a message from NPR sponsor Patagonia, highlighting the company’s commitment to proving businesses can profit without harming the planet. The show is identified as Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me!, the NPR news quiz, originating from NPR and WBEZ Chicago. The host, Peter Sagal, is introduced at the Studebaker Theater in Chicago.
Interview with Paul Giamatti
Copied to clipboard!
(00:01:28)
  • Key Takeaway: Paul Giamatti stated that people often assume he is knowledgeable about wine due to a role, but he knows nothing about it, and his typical roles involve playing angry, disheveled characters.
  • Summary: Paul Giamatti joined the show, and when asked about public assumptions, he clarified that his expertise in wine is an illusion from acting. He described his typical casting as roles where a disheveled or angry middle management type shuffles into the room. Giamatti also recounted his early role as ‘Man in Sleeping Bag’ on NYPD Blue, where his only line was, ‘Not me, man.’
Giamatti’s Blue Movie Role
Copied to clipboard!
(00:05:02)
  • Key Takeaway: Paul Giamatti was dyed blue for his role in the movie Big Fat Liar using blue tattoo ink that stained his feet for six months.
  • Summary: Giamatti explained that in Big Fat Liar, he played a producer who was dyed blue after a child got revenge for having his screenplay idea stolen. The blue coloring was achieved with tattoo ink, requiring two hours of application daily. The ink proved difficult to remove, leaving his feet blue for about six months.
Wax Paul Giamatti Movement
Copied to clipboard!
(00:06:32)
  • Key Takeaway: A fan movement called the ‘wax Paul Giamatti Now’ movement attempted to get the actor a wax statue at Madame Tussaud’s, which Giamatti considered a career-capping honor.
  • Summary: Giamatti confirmed awareness of the fan-created movement advocating for his wax figure at Madame Tussaud’s, though he believes the effort did not succeed. He viewed receiving such a statue as the ultimate career honor, equivalent to retirement.
Game: Holdovers/Leftovers/Tupperware
Copied to clipboard!
(00:07:39)
  • Key Takeaway: Albert Einstein’s brain was stored in a Tupperware container by the doctor who removed it while transporting it across the country.
  • Summary: The game connected Paul Giamatti’s movie The Holdovers to leftovers and Tupperware, testing knowledge about the containers. One question revealed that Elton John allegedly stole Tupperware from Patti LaBelle decades ago. Another fact confirmed that the inventor Earl Tupper also conceived of ideas like a fish-powered boat and the jet ski.
Interview with Leve
Copied to clipboard!
(00:21:30)
  • Key Takeaway: Musician Leve, who grew up studying classical instruments, was told by a competition judge at age 13 that she sounded like a ‘divorced 40-year-old’ due to her deep voice.
  • Summary: Leve, whose music defies easy categorization, comes from a highly musical family in Iceland, where her mother plays in the symphony. She considers her new album her first act of rebellion, containing a couple of swear words. She also mentioned that she and her identical twin sister, Yunya (who studies international relations), can be distinguished because Leve sings and Yunya can discuss foreign policy.
Game: Why Is It Still So Light Out?
Copied to clipboard!
(00:27:14)
  • Key Takeaway: Iceland abolished Daylight Savings Time after astronomers convinced the government that the change was simply ‘so annoying,’ despite the potential impact on Icelandic horses.
  • Summary: The game focused on Daylight Savings Time, noting that Benjamin Franklin’s suggestion to the French was a joke (Option C). Connecticut once made it a crime to display non-Eastern Standard Time. Iceland abolished DST because astronomers successfully argued that the time change was too annoying.
Interview with James Gunn
Copied to clipboard!
(00:32:52)
  • Key Takeaway: James Gunn’s early films involved his brothers being killed or covered in ketchup, leading one brother to develop a phobia of ketchup.
  • Summary: James Gunn discussed his childhood filmmaking, which heavily featured themes of brothers killing each other, leading one brother to develop a ketchup phobia from being covered in it for a zombie movie. Gunn confirmed that the new Superman movie restores the classic red trunks on the outside of his suit. His rescue dog, Ozu, attacks the screen whenever the CGI dog, Krypto the Super Dog, appears in the film.
Game: James Gunn Meet The T-Shirt Gun
Copied to clipboard!
(00:37:03)
  • Key Takeaway: The pneumatic technology behind t-shirt guns was developed during WWII to fire grenades, but inventors realized its potential after improvising with beer bottles and potatoes during a demonstration where they lacked grenades.
  • Summary: James Gunn correctly answered all three questions about t-shirt guns. The technology’s application shifted after inventors improvised with potatoes and beer bottles when they forgot grenades for a demonstration. Another story detailed a University of Colorado mascot accidentally shooting a t-shirt into his own crotch. An Oklahoma woman was arrested for using a t-shirt gun to shoot cell phones and drugs over a prison wall.
Interview with Ibtihaj Muhammad
Copied to clipboard!
(00:42:14)
  • Key Takeaway: Ibtihaj Muhammad was inspired to take up fencing after her mother saw the fully covered athletes in the school cafeteria and declared, ‘I want you to do it,’ believing they were wearing helmets.
  • Summary: Ibtihaj Muhammad attributed her fierce competitiveness to growing up as the middle child among five siblings, often bullied by an older brother. She chose fencing because the full-body covering felt like ‘home’ compared to other sports where she felt out of uniform wearing a hijab. She admitted that while she aims to be a ‘quiet assassin’ in fencing, video evidence shows her celebrating points with loud victory shouts.
Game: Take A Stab At This
Copied to clipboard!
(00:46:08)
  • Key Takeaway: A first-time flyer in Turkey was arrested after mistaking the luggage conveyor belt for a ride to the plane and climbing onto it.
  • Summary: Ibtihaj Muhammad scored two out of three in the game about trying things for the first time. The first question detailed a Turkish woman who climbed onto the luggage conveyor belt thinking it would take her to the plane. Another story involved hockey player Brendan Shanahan punching Rick Vave because Vave had refused Shanahan an autograph four years earlier. The final correct answer involved a woman texting friends about how good it felt to put a wet Q-tip up her nose while high.
Show Wrap-up and Credits
Copied to clipboard!
(00:50:19)
  • Key Takeaway: The episode concludes by thanking guests Paul Giamatti and Leve, panelists, and production staff, reminding listeners to rate and review the show.
  • Summary: Peter Sagal thanked the guests and panelists, noting the episode was the ‘Here’s What You’re Thankful For’ edition. Listeners were encouraged to rate and review Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! on podcast sites. The segment closed with full production credits, including BJ Lederman composing the theme music.