Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!

WWDTM: Pedro Pascal, Chris Perfetti, Heather Gay, and more!

January 12, 2026

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  • The episode of Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! features interviews with actor Pedro Pascal, discussing his early struggles as an actor and waiter, and actor Chris Perfetti, discussing his role on *Abbott Elementary* and his knowledge of the podcast. 
  • The show is framed as a look back at 2025 from the perspective of 2026, with the host Peter Sagal and guests humorously avoiding the reality of the new year. 
  • Guests Heather Gay (from *The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City*) and Chris Perfetti both won their respective games by correctly answering all questions, while Pedro Pascal won his game, 'The Last of Us Weekly,' by answering three out of three questions correctly. 

Segments

Show Introduction and Premise
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(00:00:28)
  • Key Takeaway: The Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! episode is set in a fictional 2026, looking back at 2025, with host Peter Sagal and announcer Bill Curtis opening the show from the Studebaker Theater in Chicago.
  • Summary: The show opens by establishing its premise of pretending the new year hasn’t started, with Peter Sagal counting down to the start of the program. The episode features guest host Tom Papa’s previous interview with Pedro Pascal as a segment to revisit. The show is broadcast from the Studebaker Theater in Chicago, Illinois.
Interview with Pedro Pascal
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(00:01:18)
  • Key Takeaway: Pedro Pascal shared that he was a struggling actor in New York for a long time, was bad at waiting tables initially, and tried but failed to learn the The Last of Us video game before his adaptation role.
  • Summary: Pascal admitted his longest role was ‘struggling actor’ in New York, where he was a bad waiter before improving over years. He confirmed he did not play The Last of Us video game, as his nephew took the console away due to his lack of skill. When asked what was scarier, his apartment in Red Hook, Brooklyn, or the fungal nightmare of The Last of Us, he chose the latter, though his apartment was deemed terrifying by a friend.
Game: The Last of Us Weekly
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(00:07:23)
  • Key Takeaway: Pedro Pascal correctly answered all three questions about the celebrity gossip magazine Us Weekly, winning the game for listener John Biba of Newmarket, New Hampshire.
  • Summary: The game pitted Pascal’s knowledge of Us Weekly against his acting career, The Last of Us. One correct answer revealed that having a picture of any man on the cover is the ‘kiss of death’ for an issue’s sales. Cher’s 2013 profile revealed that all of her imaginary childhood friends were lumberjacks.
Panelist Game: Honey, You’re on TV
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(00:13:06)
  • Key Takeaway: The panelist game involved identifying the true story of a surprise television appearance, with Paula Poundstone’s story about a man watching his own televised moment of silence being the correct one.
  • Summary: Contestant Kim, a primary care doctor from Cumberland, Maine, played the game where panelists provided three stories about people appearing on TV unexpectedly. The true story involved a 78-year-old Bulgarian soccer player, Petko Gonchev, who watched a moment of silence held for him by both teams because he was mistakenly reported as deceased. Alonzo Bowden’s story about an Amazon delivery driver getting a football scholarship and Eugene Cordero’s story about a man gaining business from being shown eating junk food were false.
Interview with Chris Perfetti
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(00:19:55)
  • Key Takeaway: Chris Perfetti, who plays Jacob on Abbott Elementary, confirmed he is a genuine Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! fan, which influenced his character, and revealed his mother actively pitches ideas for the show.
  • Summary: Perfetti shared that he intentionally kept personal details about his fandom from Abbott Elementary creator Quinta Brunson to avoid blurring the lines between himself and his character, Jacob. He was placed on drink-making duty at the busy Starbucks where he worked, as he was not trusted with writing customer names. Perfetti’s mother frequently gives him notes on the show’s plotlines.
Game: Abbott Elementary Meet the Elementary Abbots
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(00:25:38)
  • Key Takeaway: Chris Perfetti achieved a perfect score in the game about monks, correctly answering all three questions, including that monks are allowed to speak to call monastery cats to dinner.
  • Summary: Perfetti won the game for listener Jake Evans of Los Angeles, California, by correctly answering questions about monks’ vows of silence. Monks are permitted to speak when calling the monastery cats to dinner using kitty noises. A monk in Japan was disciplined for angrily responding to negative Yelp reviews about his monastery. The Law & Order ‘dun-dun’ sound effect incorporates recordings of 500 monks stomping on a wood floor.
Panelist Game: Panelist Lies Revisited
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(00:30:57)
  • Key Takeaway: Panelist Luke suggested that repeating the nonsense word ‘banana’ repeatedly to automated customer service systems is an effective, non-cursing method to bypass bots and reach a human representative.
  • Summary: This segment revisited panelist insights from earlier in 2025, focusing on tips and observations. Luke’s advice for automated customer service is to repeat ‘banana’ to confuse the system into transferring the call to a human. Paula Poundstone noted that the latest cosmetic trend involves scents based on desserts, such as donuts, rather than florals. Peter Sagal learned that young adults (20s and 30s) are frequently injuring themselves participating in ‘adult field days’ involving childhood games.
Interview with Heather Gay
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(00:37:28)
  • Key Takeaway: Heather Gay described The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City as the ‘mighty oak’ compared to other similar shows, and revealed her season taglines are assigned, though she can contribute ideas.
  • Summary: Gay stated that the cast of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City is representative of the community, being ‘messed up enough to keep it interesting.’ Her first tagline referenced her pioneer ancestors, and a later one mentioned raising a glass of champagne instead of being Mormon. She recounted that her senior trip to Tijuana and her LDS mission to the South of France were both significant adventures detailed in her book, Good Time Girl.
Game: Good Time Girl, Meet Good Crime Girl
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(00:42:24)
  • Key Takeaway: Heather Gay achieved a perfect score in the game about female criminals, correctly identifying that a Florida robber called an Uber after her Lyft driver refused to take her back post-robbery.
  • Summary: Gay won the game for Melissa Snyder of Mill Creek, Utah, by correctly answering questions about female lawbreakers. The Florida robber called an Uber after the Lyft driver refused to take her back following a gas station robbery. A Massachusetts drug chemist who possessed multiple illegal substances was found to have been the scientist in charge of drug testing for police across the state. Spectators held picnics to watch Ma Barker’s final shootout with the FBI in Florida.