Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!

WWDTM: Roy Choi

November 8, 2025

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  • The episode features guest Roy Choi, the chef credited with creating the modern food truck scene, who discusses his early life selling kimchi from a car. 
  • The panel played games covering current events, including the election of Zoran Mamdani as Mayor of New York City and the news that Whole Foods would begin selling junk food like Doritos. 
  • The 'Jobs of the Future' segment humorously explored potential new careers such as 'car tenders' and 'venting specialists' in an AI-dominated job market. 

Segments

Show Opening and Guest Introduction
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(00:00:19)
  • Key Takeaway: Alzo Slade is filling in for Bill Curtis as host for this live episode of Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! in Orange County.
  • Summary: The show opens with sponsor messages before Alzo Slade introduces himself as the substitute host for Bill Curtis. The episode is live from the Sagerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, California. Panelists Tom Papa, Negin Farsad, and Karen Chee are introduced before the main guest, Roy Choi, is announced.
Who’s Alzo This Time Game
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(00:02:55)
  • Key Takeaway: Zoran Mamdani, the newly elected Mayor of New York City, made a public statement wishing Andrew Cuomo well but vowing to stop mentioning him.
  • Summary: The first quote concerned Zoran Mamdani’s election night statement regarding Andrew Cuomo. The panel discussed Mamdani’s youth and his parents’ potential disappointment that he is not a doctor. The second quote referenced Whole Foods’ decision to start selling junk food like Doritos and Pepsi.
Robot Chore Helper Review
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(00:07:03)
  • Key Takeaway: The $20,000 humanoid chore robot, Neo, is currently slow and inefficient, requiring remote human control via VR headset until it learns tasks.
  • Summary: The third quote reviewed the $20,000 Neo humanoid robot, noting it fetched water five times slower than a human and loaded two glasses and a fork into the dishwasher in under five minutes. Panelists expressed skepticism about its current utility, contrasting it with the failure of a Roomba that smeared cat waste. The robot’s operation relies on a human operator controlling it remotely using a VR headset.
Louvre Security Password News
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(00:10:39)
  • Key Takeaway: The password for the Louvre museum’s security camera system was discovered to be ‘Louvre’, which was subsequently changed to ‘Louvre 1’.
  • Summary: The panel discussed the password used for the Louvre’s security camera system, which was ‘Louvre’. The panelists joked that the thieves likely assumed no one could spell the word correctly. Following the exposure, the museum quickly updated the password to ‘Louvre 1’.
Bluff the Listener: Jobs of the Future
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(00:14:45)
  • Key Takeaway: The true predicted future job among the options was the ‘car tender,’ a human who sits in a robo-taxi to provide companionship and services.
  • Summary: Contestant Ian Wood chose Tom Papa’s prediction that ‘car tenders’ would become a job in the future, where a human sits in a driverless Lyft car to offer drinks and local advice. Karen Chi suggested ‘universal carnies’ would be needed to provide a sense of danger in consumer interactions, while Negin Farsad proposed ‘venting specialists’ (GYA) to absorb customer frustration aimed at AI agents.
Not My Job with Roy Choi
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(00:20:23)
  • Key Takeaway: Roy Choi’s mother sold homemade kimchi from their large 1970s vehicles at stoplights, mirroring the drive-by sales tactics of modern food trucks.
  • Summary: Roy Choi explained that his culinary inspiration stemmed from his mother constantly cooking for large groups and selling homemade kimchi from their car trunks at stoplights. He noted that his success with the Kogi Taco was a spiritual event following his failure in traditional gourmet restaurants. Choi currently operates four food trucks and three brick-and-mortar restaurants.
Food Trucks Meet These New Trucks Game
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(00:27:36)
  • Key Takeaway: One edition of the $7 million Darts Prombron Black Diamond armored SUV featured seats upholstered with leather made from whale foreskins, a feature later removed due to outcry.
  • Summary: Roy Choi correctly identified that an early edition of the $7 million Darts Prombron Black Diamond truck featured seats made from whale foreskin leather. He also correctly answered that baseball Hall of Famer Rube Waddell would abandon games to follow passing fire trucks. All three options regarding truck cargo spills (syrup, bees, eels) were true events.
Listener Limerick Challenge
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(00:37:37)
  • Key Takeaway: Jimmy John’s is reportedly offering a limited-edition ‘pickle witch’ sandwich that replaces the bread with a giant hollowed-out dill pickle.
  • Summary: Danielle correctly filled in the limerick blanks with ‘pickle’ (for a Jimmy John’s pickle-bread sandwich), ‘Oreo’ (for Thanksgiving meal-flavored Oreos), and ‘Tupperware’ (regarding the House Beautiful advice to discard mismatched plastic containers after age 30). The Thanksgiving Oreos include turkey, stuffing, and creamed corn flavors.
Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank Game
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(00:44:01)
  • Key Takeaway: Tom Brady cloned his deceased dog, Lua, through the company Colossal Biosciences, and the resulting clone, Gazelle 2, reportedly has a different personality.
  • Summary: Tom won the game by correctly answering seven fill-in-the-blank questions, securing 18 total points. Karen Chi correctly identified that a Canadian court allowed a woman to withhold $4.60 from an ex-roommate for eating her candy. Naguin Farsad correctly answered questions regarding SNAP benefits and Oprah’s Favorite Things list.
Show Wrap-up and Final Predictions
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(00:50:23)
  • Key Takeaway: The panelists predicted that the next big change at Whole Foods, following the introduction of junk food, would be selling organic edibles, guns, or Oreo-scented deodorants.
  • Summary: The show concludes with final predictions about Whole Foods’ future changes. The episode credits staff and acknowledges the live audience at the Sagerstrom Center for the Arts. The show signs off, promising to return next week from Chicago.