Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! Stats Page

Show Details: 1998

1998-01-03

NPR DB ID: 552
Host
Dan Coffey
Scorekeeper
Panelists
Guests
N/A
Bluff(s)
#1
Chosen: Roy Blount, Jr.
Correct: Roy Blount, Jr.
#2
Chosen: Peter Sagal
Correct: Roxanne Roberts
Description
Week in Review; Bonus Phrase: Velvet Divorce; We'll Wait, You Tell Us about the top blunders of 1997; We'll Wait, You Tell Us #2 about odd new state laws for 1998; Lightning True or False; Gossip, Rumor & Innuendo; Why Should We Know Who You Are?; Wait Wait, Wait Wait Don't Tell Me (Double Point Bonus Round); Four Degrees of Separation; Wait Wait I'm Pontificating; Predicting Next Week's Headlines
Notes

For We'll Wait, You Tell Us, the first listener contestant chose Roy Blount, Jr.'s answer, which was the correct one. The second listener contestant chose Peter Sagal's answer, but Roxanne Roberts had the correct answer.

1998-01-10

NPR DB ID: 553
Host
Dan Coffey
Scorekeeper
Panelists
Guests
N/A
Bluff(s)
#1
Chosen: Margo Kaufman
Correct: Peter Sagal
#2
Chosen: Margo Kaufman
Correct: Roxanne Roberts
Description
Week in Review; Bonus Phrase: A retirement village of stars; We'll Wait, You Tell Us about the German Army Crisis of 1998; We'll Wait, You Tell Us #2 about country music Grammy nominations; Lightning True or False; Gossip, Rumor & Innuendo; Why Should We Know Who You Are?; Wait Wait, Wait Wait Don't Tell Me (Double Point Bonus Round); Radio Photographs; Wait Wait I'm Pontificating; Predicting Next Week's Headlines
Notes

For We'll Wait, You Tell Us, the first listener contestant chose Margo Kaufman's answer, but Peter Sagal had the correct answer. The second listener contestant chose Margo Kaufman's answer, but Roxanne Roberts had the correct answer.

Margo had a total of 18.5 points. Her score has been rounded up to 19 as the Wait Wait Stats Database currently has the scores defined as integers.

1998-01-17

NPR DB ID: 554
Host
Dan Coffey
Scorekeeper
Panelists
Guests
N/A
Bluff(s)
#1
Chosen: Roxanne Roberts
Correct: Roxanne Roberts
#2
Chosen: Roxanne Roberts
Correct: Charlie Pierce
#3
Chosen: Roxanne Roberts
Correct: Roxanne Roberts
#4
Chosen: Amy Dickinson
Correct: Amy Dickinson
Description
Week in Review; Bonus Phrase: Nerd Stigma; We'll Wait, You Tell Us about startling revelations in the world of literature; We'll Wait, You Tell Us #2 about a legal controversy in Minneola, New York; We'll Wait, You Tell Us #3 about the intersection of music and business; We'll Wait, You Tell Us #4 about an Olympic crisis; Gossip, Rumor & Innuendo; Why Should We Know Who You Are?; Wait Wait, Wait Wait Don't Tell Me (Double Point Bonus Round); Wait Wait I'm Pontificating; Predicting Next Week's Headlines
Notes

For We'll Wait, You Tell Us, the first three listener contestants all chose Roxanne Roberts' answer, while the fourth listener contestant chose Amy Dickinson's answer. Roxanne had the correct answer for the first and third stories, Charlie Pierce had the correct answer for the second, and Amy had the correct answer for the fourth.

1998-01-24

NPR DB ID: 555
Host
Dan Coffey
Scorekeeper
Panelists
Guests
N/A
Bluff(s)
#1
Chosen: Roxanne Roberts
Correct: Margo Kaufman
#2
Chosen: Margo Kaufman
Correct: Roxanne Roberts
#3
Chosen: Roxanne Roberts
Correct: Peter Sagal
Description
Week in Review; Bonus Phrase: Pharmaceuticals in their milk; We'll Wait, You Tell Us about a strange appeals court ruling in New York; We'll Wait, You Tell Us #2 about a controversial board game in Canada; Lightning True or False; Gossip, Rumor & Innuendo; Why Should We Know Who You Are?; Double Points Bonus Round; News Etymology: Fast Track; Wait Wait I'm Pontificating; Predicting Next Week's Headlines
Notes

The first listener contestant for We'll Wait, You Tell Us had written in suggesting that listeners who win could have Carl Kasell call people at 3 AM in the morning to tell them the news or Tom and Ray of Car Talk could do brake jobs. The first listener contestant for the same segment chose Roxanne Roberts' answer, but Margo Kaufman had the correct answer. The second listener contestant chose Margo's answer, but Roxanne had the correct answer.

The listener contestant for the News Etymology segment chose Roxanne's answer, but Peter Sagal had the correct answer.

Peter had a total of 22.5 points. His score has been rounded up to 23 as the Wait Wait Stats Database currently has the scores defined as integers.

1998-01-31

NPR DB ID: 556
Host
Dan Coffey
Scorekeeper
Panelists
Guests
N/A
Bluff(s)
#1
Chosen: Roy Blount, Jr.
Correct: Margo Kaufman
#2
Chosen: Roy Blount, Jr.
Correct: Roy Blount, Jr.
#3
Chosen: Margo Kaufman
Correct: Roy Blount, Jr.
Description
Week in Review; Bonus Phrase: Political Kaopectate; We'll Wait, You Tell Us about England apologizing to Italy; We'll Wait, You Tell Us #2 about an American celebrity finding a home in Cuba; Lightning True or False; Gossip, Rumor & Innuendo; Why Should We Know Who You Are?; Double Point Bonus Round; News Etymology: Suborn; Wait Wait I'm Pontificating; Predicting Next Week's Headlines
Notes

For We'll Wait, You Tell Us, the first listener contestant chose Roy Blount, Jr.'s answer, but Margo Kaufman had the correct answer. The second listener contestant chose Roy's answer, who had the correct answer.

For News Etomology, the listener contestant chose Margo's answer, but Roy had the correct answer.

Peter Sagal had a total of 20.5 points and Margo had a total of 24.5 points. Peter's score has been rounded up to 21 and Margo's rounded up to 25 as the Wait Wait Stats Database currently has the scores defined as integers.

1998-02-07

NPR DB ID: 557
Host
Dan Coffey
Scorekeeper
Panelists
Guests
N/A
Bluff(s)
#1
Chosen: Margo Kaufman
Correct: Peter Sagal
#2
Chosen: Margo Kaufman
Correct: Roxanne Roberts
#3
Chosen: Peter Sagal
Correct: Margo Kaufman
Description
Week in Review; Bonus Phrase: Cybersquatting; We'll Wait, You Tell Us about a new bill pushed by the West Virginia legislature; We'll Wait, You Tell Us #2 about modern names for mutual funds; Lightning True or False; Gossip, Rumor & Innuendo; Why Should We Know Who You Are?; Double Point Bonus Round; News Etymology: Mir; Wait Wait I'm Pontificating; Predicting Next Week's Headlines
Notes

For We'll Wait, You Tell Us, both listener contestants chose Margo Kaufman's respective answer, but Peter Sagal had the correct answer for the first one and Roxanne Roberts had the correct answer for the second.

For the first time, all three panelists answered all three Lightning True or False questions correct.

Peter seemed to have been skipped during the Double Point Bonus Round, at least in the version that was aired.

For News Etymology, the listener contestant chose Peter's answer, but Roxanne had the correct answer.

Roxanne had a total of 21.5 points and Peter had a total of 23.5 points. Both scores have been rounded up to 22 and 24 points, respectively, as the Wait Wait Stats Database currently has the scores defined as integers.

1998-02-14

NPR DB ID: 558
Host
Dan Coffey
Scorekeeper
Panelists
Guests
N/A
Bluff(s)
#1
Chosen: Peter Sagal
Correct: Margo Kaufman
#2
Chosen: Peter Sagal
Correct: Roxanne Roberts
#3
Chosen: Margo Kaufman
Correct: Margo Kaufman
Description
Week in Review; Bonus Phrase: Non-performance Enhancing; We'll Wait, You Tell Us about a new law in Montana; We'll Wait, You Tell Us #2 about a new toy debuting at Toy Fair 98; Lightning True or False; Gossip, Rumor & Innuendo; Why Should We Know Who You Are?; News Etymology: Franking; Wait Wait I'm Pontificating; Predicting Next Week's Headlines
Notes

For We'll Wait, You Tell Us, both listener contestants chose Peter Sagal's answer, but Margo Kaufman had the correct answer for the first and Roxanne Roberts had the correct answer for the second.

The Double Point Bonus Round seemed to have been skipped for this show.

For News Etymology, the listener contestant chose Margo's answer, who had the correct answer. The contestant also used the bonus phrase.

After Carl Kasell read the number of points the panelists had at the start of the Wait Wait I'm Pontificating round, Roxanne said the bonus phrase and added two points. Due to Roxanne being far behind on points, her was passed over and only Peter and Margo read their respective essay.

Roxanne had a total of 4.5 points and Peter had a total of 22.5 points. Both scores have been rounded up to 5 and 23 points, respectively, as the Wait Wait Stats Database currently has the scores defined as integers.

1998-02-21

NPR DB ID: 559
Host
Dan Coffey
Scorekeeper
Panelists
Guests
N/A
Bluff(s)
#1
Chosen: Roxanne Roberts
Correct: Roxanne Roberts
#2
Chosen: Peter Sagal
Correct: Margo Kaufman
#3
Chosen: Roxanne Roberts
Correct: Peter Sagal
Description
Week in Review; Bonus Phrase: The Power of Cheese; We'll Wait, You Tell Us, Lightning True or False; Gossip, Rumor & Innuendo; Why Should We Know Who You Are?; Double Point Bonus Round; News Etymology: Salchow; Wait Wait I'm Pontificating; Predicting Next Week's Headlines
Notes

For We'll Wait, You Tell Us, the first listener contestant chose Roxanne Robert's answer, who had the correct answer. The second listener contestant chose Peter Sagal's answer, but Margo Kaufman's answer was correct.

For News Etymology, the listener contestant chose Roxanne's answer, but Peter's answer was correct.

1998-02-28

NPR DB ID: 560
Host
Dan Coffey
Scorekeeper
Panelists
Guests
N/A
Bluff(s)
#1
Chosen: Roxanne Roberts
Correct: Peter Sagal
#2
Chosen: Margo Kaufman
Correct: Roxanne Roberts
#3
Chosen: Margo Kaufman
Correct: Margo Kaufman
Description
Week in Review; Bonus Phrase: Beepilepsy; We'll Wait, You Tell Us; Lightning True or False; Gossip, Rumor & Innuendo; Why Should We Know Who You Are?; Triple Point Bonus Round; News Etymology: Executive Privilege; Why Should We Know Who You Are? #2; Predicting Next Week's Headlines
Notes

For We'll Wait, You Tell Us, the first listener contestant chose Roxanne Roberts' answer, but Peter Sagal's answer was correct. The second listener contestant chose Margo Kaufman's answer, but Roxanne had the correct answer.

The usual Double Point Bonus Round was replaced with a Triple Point Bonus Round. It seemed like Roxanne was skipped.

For News Etymology, the listener contestant chose Margo's answer and was correct. This is the first time the winning listener contestant was offered Carl Kasell leaving a message of their choice on their answering machine or voicemail.

For the second Why Should We Know Who You Are?, which replaced the previous Wait Wait I'm Pontificating segment, the panelist that guessed correctly would earn 5 points instead of the usual 3.

1998-03-07

NPR DB ID: 561
Host
Dan Coffey
Scorekeeper
Panelists
Guests
N/A
Bluff(s)
#1
Chosen: Roy Blount, Jr.
Correct: Roy Blount, Jr.
#2
Chosen: Margo Kaufman
Correct: Margo Kaufman
#3
Chosen: Peter Sagal
Correct: Peter Sagal
Description
Week in Review; Bonus Phrase: Blue Screen of Death; We'll Wait, You Tell Us; Lightning True or False; Triple Point Bonus Round; News Etymology: Lent; Wait Wait I'm Pontificating; Predicting Next Week's Headlines
Notes

For We'll Wait, You Tell Us, the first listener contestant chose Roy Blount, Jr.'s answer, which was correct. The second listener contestant chose Margo Kaufman's answer, which was also correct. Dan Coffey said that it was the first time that they had two listener contestants that won in a row; but, on the show that aired on 1998-01-17, there were four listener contestants for the segment and the third and fourth contestants had won.

Peter Sagal would skirt around saying the bonus phrase by making puns based on the phrase. Carl Kasell allowed the first pun, blue cream of death, and gave him a point and Peter was still eligible to earn points by saying the actual bonus phrase. Peter would continue to make puns and Carl would not grant Peter additional points.

Although listed in the segments on the show's page on NPR.org, the Gossip, Rumor & Innuendo segment was not included in the version that was aired.

For News Etymology, the listener contestant chose Peter's answer, which was correct.

While Peter was reading his essay for Wait Wait I'm Pontificating, the sound of someone pouring a drink could be heard from an unmuted microphone.

1998-03-14

NPR DB ID: 562
Host
Dan Coffey
Scorekeeper
Panelists
Guests
N/A
Bluff(s)
#1
Chosen: Roxanne Roberts
Correct: Roxanne Roberts
#2
Chosen: Roxanne Roberts
Correct: Margo Kaufman
Description
Week in Review; Bonus Phrase: Flying Nuclear Waste; We'll Wait, You Tell Us; Lightning True or False; Gossip, Rumor & Innuendo; Why Should We Know Who You Are?; News Etymology: Pork Barrel; Why Should We Know Who You Are? #2; Predicting Next Week's Headlines
Notes

For We'll Wait, You Tell Us, the listener contestant chose Roxanne Roberts' answer, which was correct. The show's page on NPR.org mention a second topic, but only one was included in the version that was aired.

For News Etymology, the listener contestant chose Roxanne's answer, but Margo Kaufman had the correct answer.

The panelist who guessed the correct answer for the second Why Should We Know Who You Are received six points and there was no Wait Wait I'm Pontificating segment.

1998-03-21

NPR DB ID: 563
Host
Dan Coffey
Scorekeeper
Panelists
Guests
N/A
Bluff(s)
#1
Chosen: Charlie Pierce
Correct: Roxanne Roberts
#2
Chosen: Peter Sagal
Correct: Peter Sagal
#3
Chosen: Roxanne Roberts
Correct: Charlie Pierce
Description
Week in Review; Bonus Phrase: Slurp from Gorbachev; We'll Wait, You Tell Us; Lightning True or False; Gossip, Rumor & Innuendo; Why Should We Know Who You Are?; Triple Point Bonus Round; News Etymology: The Full Monty; Why Should We Know Who You Are? #2; Predicting Next Week's Headlines
Notes

The 888-WAIT-WAIT (888-924-8924) phone number made its debut on this show.

For We'll Wait, You Tell Us, the first listener contestant chose Charlie Pierce's answer, but Roxanne Roberts had the correct answer. The second listener contestant chose Peter Sagal's answer, which was correct.

For News Etyomolgy, the listener contestant chose Roxanne's answer, but Charlie's answer was correct.

Peter had a total of 18.5 points and Roxanne had a total of 16.5 points. Both scores have been rounded up to 19 and 17 points, respectively, as the Wait Wait Stats Database currently has scores defined as integers.

1998-03-28

NPR DB ID: 564
Host
Dan Coffey
Scorekeeper
Panelists
Guests
N/A
Bluff(s)
#1
Chosen: Peter Sagal
Correct: Peter Sagal
#2
Chosen: Peter Sagal
Correct: Adam Felber
Description
Week in Review; Bonus Phrase: Silk-suited Dilettantes; We'll Wait, You Tell Us; Lightning True or False; Why Should We Know Who You Are?; Triple Point Bonus Round; Wait Wait I'm Pontificating; Predicting Next Week's Headlines
Notes

A listener submitted a question that was used in the Week in Review segment and was given a chance to answer a question about the news to get a custom message from Carl Kasell. The listener answered the question correct.

The NPR.org show page lists a News Etymology segment, but one was not included in the version of the show that aired.

At the start of the Wait Wait I'm Pontificating segment, Carl stated that Peter Sagal was in the lead with 13 points, Margo Kaufman was in second place and Adam Felber was in third place, but Carl didn't state how many points Margo or Adam had.

Due to Adam's low score, he was skipped over when it came to reading his essay. This means that no definitive total score was given for Adam. Adam did not answer any questions correct in the Week in Review segment, had a +1 during the Lightning True or False segment, did not answer any questions correct during the Triple Point Bonus Round segment, and had used the bonus phrase for a minimum of 1 point. This would have meant that Adam had a minimum of 2 points at the start of the final segment. Until a definitive answer on how many points Adam had, 2 points has been entered in for this show.

Carl gave six points for Margo's essay for a total of 14 points. Meaning, Margo would have started the segment with 9 points.

1998-04-04

NPR DB ID: 565
Host
Dan Coffey
Scorekeeper
Guests
N/A
Bluff(s)
#1
Chosen: Peter Sagal
Correct: Roxanne Roberts
#2
Chosen: Roxanne Roberts
Correct: Margo Kaufman
Description
Week in Review; Why Should We Know Who You Are?; Bonus Phrase: Streamlined Broccoli; We'll Wait, You Tell Us; Gossip, Rumor & Innuendo; Why Should We Know Who You Are? #2; Lightning True or False; Why Should We Know Who You Are? #3; Predicting Next Week's Headlines
Notes

For We'll Wait, You Tell Us, the first listener contestant chose Peter Sagal's answer, but Roxanne Roberts had the correct answer. The second listener contestant chose Roxanne's answer, but Margo Kaufman had the correct answer.

The show page on NPR.org listed the segment order as: Week in Review; Why Should We Know Who You Are?; We'll Wait, You Tell Us; Lightning True or False; Gossip, Rumor & Innuendo; Who Should We Know Why You Are #2; Triple Point Bonus Round; Why Would We Know Who You Are? #3

The Triple Point Bonus Round was not included in the version of the show that was aired.

Even though the third Why Should We Know Who You Are? segment was the final segment, panelist scores were not stated at the start nor were total scores mentioned at the end. The only thing stated was that Peter was the winner again. Thus, the only scoring and ranking information recorded for this show was that Peter finished in first place.

1998-04-11

NPR DB ID: 566
Host
Dan Coffey
Scorekeeper
Panelists
Guests
N/A
Bluff(s)
#1
Chosen: Peter Sagal
Correct: Peter Sagal
#2
Chosen: Roxanne Roberts
Correct: Charlie Pierce
#3
Chosen: Roxanne Roberts
Correct: Roxanne Roberts
Description
Week in Review; Why Should We Know Who You Are?; Bonus Phrase: Professional Goose Busters; We'll Wait, You Tell Us; Gossip, Rumor & Innuendo; We'll Wait, You Tell Us #2; Lightning True or False; News Etymology: The Easter Bunny; Wait Wait I'm Pontificating; Predicting Next Week's Headlines
Notes

For the first We'll Wait, You Tell Us segment, the listener contestant chose Peter Sagal's answer, which was correct.

For the second We'll Wait, You Tell Us segment, the listener contestant chose Roxanne Roberts' answer, but Charlie Pierce had the correct answer.

For News Etymology, the listener contestant chose Roxanne's answer, which was correct.

1998-04-18

NPR DB ID: 567
Host
Dan Coffey
Scorekeeper
Panelists
Guests
N/A
Bluff(s)
#1
Chosen: Charlie Pierce
Correct: Charlie Pierce
#2
Chosen: Roxanne Roberts
Correct: Roxanne Roberts
Description
Week in Review; Bonus Phrase: The Fanciful Properties of Yo-Yos; We'll Wait, You Tell Us; Gossip, Rumor & Innuendo; Why Should We Know Who You Are?; Lightning True or False; News Etymology: Napalm; Why Should We Know Who You Are? #2; Predicting Next Week's Headlines
Notes

For We'll Wait, You Tell Us, the listener contestant chose Charlie Pierce's answer, which was correct.

For News Etymology, the listener contestant chose Roxanne Roberts' answer, which was correct.

The winner of the second Why Should We Know Who You Are? received 5 points instead of the usual 3 points for that segment.

1998-04-25

NPR DB ID: 568
Host
Dan Coffey
Scorekeeper
Panelists
Guests
N/A
Bluff(s)
#1
Chosen: Margo Kaufman
Correct: Margo Kaufman
#2
Chosen: Margo Kaufman
Correct: Roxanne Roberts
#3
Chosen: Peter Sagal
Correct: Peter Sagal
Description
Week in Review; Why Should We Know Who You Are?; Bonus Phrase: Virtual Chocolate; We'll Wait, You Tell Us; Gossip, Rumor & Innuendo; We'll Wait, You Tell Us #2; Lightning True or False; News Etymology: Hippocampus; Wait Wait I'm Pontificating; Predicting Next Week's Headlines
Notes

For the first We'll Wait, You Tell Us, the listener contestant chose Margo Kaufman's answer, which was correct.

For the second We'll Wait, You Tell Us, the listener contestant chose Margo's answer, but Roxanne Roberts had the correct answer.

For New Etymology, the listener contestant chose Peter Sagal's answer, which was correct.

This is the last show in which Dan Coffey is the host of the show.

1998-05-02

NPR DB ID: 313
Scorekeeper
Panelists
Guests
Bluff(s)
#1
Chosen: Charlie Pierce
Correct: Charlie Pierce
#2
Chosen: Roxanne Roberts
Correct: Roxanne Roberts
Description
Week in Review; Not My Job: Best-Selling Books; We'll Wait, You Tell Us; Gossip, Rumor & Innuendo; Lightning True or False; News Etymology: Derby; Why Should We Know Who You Are?; Predicting Next Week's Headlines
Notes

This marks Peter Sagal's first show as the new show host, replacing Dan Coffey.

This show introduces the Not My Job segment where a guest has to guess the correct answer to three questions. Unlike the current version of the segment, the questions are not multiple choice. Susan Stamberg had an assist from Roxanne Roberts for the third question and Carl Kasell would grant Susan a point. Peter would later say on the show that aired on May 30, 1998 that Susan had scored zero points. Susan scoring zero points would have future implications; thus, Susan's score of zero has been entered and an exception will be noted.

For the first We'll Wait, You Tell Us, the listener contestant chose Charlie Pierce's answer, which was correct.

For News Etymology, the listener contestant chose Roxanne's answer, which was correct.

1998-05-09

NPR DB ID: 314
Scorekeeper
Panelists
Bluff(s)
#1
Chosen: Roxanne Roberts
Correct: Margo Kaufman
#2
Chosen: Adam Felber
Correct: Adam Felber
Description
Lightning True or False; Who's Carl Now?; We'll Wait, You Tell Us; Week in Review; Suck Up to Minnesota; We'll Wait, You Tell Us #2; Not My Job: Sports; Gossip, Rumor & Innuendo; Why Should We Know Who You Are?; Predicting Next Week's Headlines
Notes

The show's page on NPR.org listed Roxanne Roberts, Charlie Pierce and Adam Felber as the panelists on the show.

How scoring was done for Lightning True or False on this show changed to granting panelist a point for each correct answer and did not deduct a point for an incorrect answer.

This show introduces the Who's Carl Now? segment, which is an early version of the Who's Carl This Time?, and now, Who's Bill This Time?, segment.

For the first We'll Wait, You Tell Us, the listener contestant chose Roxanne's answer, but Margo had the correct answer.

The new Suck Up to Minnesota segment was try to woo Minnesota Public Radio to add the show to their radio schedule.

For the second We'll Wait, You Tell Us, the listener contestant chose Adam's answer, which was correct.

1998-05-16

NPR DB ID: 315
Scorekeeper
Panelists
Guests
Bluff(s)
#1
Chosen: Roxanne Roberts
Correct: Roxanne Roberts
#2
Chosen: Adam Felber
Correct: Adam Felber
Description
Lightning True or False; Who is Carl This Time?; We'll Wait, You Tell Us; Suck Up to Minnesota; Week in Review; We'll Wait, You Tell Us #2; Not My Job: Music; Gossip, Rumor & Innuendo; Who is Carl This Time? #2; Predicting Next Week's Headlines
Notes

The second and third listener segments were not officially labeled as We'll Wait, You Tell Us, but follow the same premise similar to Bluff the Listener.

For the first We'll Wait, You Tell Us, the listener contestant chose Roxanne Roberts' answer, which was correct.

For the second We'll Wait, You Tell Us, the listener contestant chose Adam Felber's answer, which was correct.

This is the first time in which all three panelists finished the game in a three-way tie.

1998-05-23

NPR DB ID: 316
Scorekeeper
Description
Lightning True or False, Who is Carl This Time?, Not My Job, Who is Carl This Time? Round II, Why Should We Know Who You Are?

1998-05-30

NPR DB ID: 727
Scorekeeper
Panelists
Guests
Bluff(s)
#1
Chosen: Margo Kaufman
Correct: Roxanne Roberts
#2
Chosen: Margo Kaufman
Correct: Roxanne Roberts
Description
Lightning True or False; Wait Wait Don't Tell Me Cooperative Project: Microsoft; Who is Carl This Time?; We'll Wait, You Tell Us; Week in Review; We'll Wait, You Tell Us #2; Not My Job: National Spelling Bee Words; Suck Up to Minnesota; Week in Review; Who is Carl This Time? #2
Notes

Both listener contestants for the two We'll Wait, You Tell Us segments chose Margo Kaufman's answers, but Roxanne Roberts had the correct answer for both.

During the Not My Job segment, Peter Sagal had mentioned that Susan Stamberg had answered zero questions correct when she appeared on the show that aired on May 2, 1998. On that show, Carl Kasell said that Susan did get a point with an assist from Roxanne Roberts.

This show also puts into cannon the names given for the Not My Job scores that would be referenced for many years on the show. Scoring zero points would be a "Stamberg", scoring one point would be a "Palca", scoring two points would be "Siegel", and scoring three points would be an "Overby".

A huge thank you to Robert Neuhaus, Technical Director of Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!, for providing information about this particular airing of the show; as, the information provided on NPR.org lists the same show information for both May 23, 1998 and this show.

1998-06-06

NPR DB ID: 317
Scorekeeper
Panelists
Guests
Bluff(s)
#1
Chosen: Roxanne Roberts
Correct: Charlie Pierce
#2
Chosen: Roxanne Roberts
Correct: Adam Felber
Description
Lightning True or False; Who is Carl This Time?; We'll Wait, You Tell Us; Suck Up to Minnesota; Week in Review; We'll Wait, You Tell Us #2; Not My Job about literature and the fine arts; Who is Carl This Time? #2; Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank; Predicting Next Week's Headlines
Notes

For the first We'll Wait, You Tell Us, the listener contestant chose Roxanne Roberts' answer, but Charlie Pierce's answer was correct.

For the second We'll Wait, You Tell Us, the listener contestant chose Roxanne's answer, but Adam Felber's answer was correct.

This is the first show to feature the Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank segment with the rules that still are used. Roxanne had used a bonus phrase that was brought up later in the show for one of her answers and got a bonus point.

1998-06-13

NPR DB ID: 318
Scorekeeper
Panelists
Guests
Bluff(s)
#1
Chosen: Adam Felber
Correct: Charlie Pierce
#2
Chosen: Roxanne Roberts
Correct: Roxanne Roberts
Description
Lightning True or False; Who's Carl This Time?; We'll Wait, You Tell Us; Week in Review; We'll Wait, You Tell Us #2; Not My Job about the World Cup; Who's Carl This Time? #2; Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank; Predicting Next Week's Headlines
Notes

Unlike previous games where the segment was nearly consistently stated as "Who is Carl This Time?" was called "Who's Carl This Time?" for both instances.

For the first We'll Wait, You Tell Us, the listener contestant chose Adam Felber's answer, but Charlie Pierce's answer was correct.

For the second We'll Wait, You Tell Us, the listener contestant chose Roxanne Roberts' answer, which was correct.

Roxanne was the first panelist to answer zero questions correct in Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank.

1998-06-20

NPR DB ID: 319
Scorekeeper
Panelists
Guests
Bluff(s)
#1
Chosen: Charlie Pierce
Correct: Margo Kaufman
#2
Chosen: Margo Kaufman
Correct: Charlie Pierce
Description
Lightning True or False; Bonus Phrase: Rambo in Pinstripes; Who is Carl This Time?; We'll Wait, You Tell Us; The Rise and Fall of Chainsaw Al Dunlap; Week in Review; We'll Wait, You Tell Us #2; Not My Job about weird things at baseball stadiums; Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank; Predicting Next Week's Headlines
Notes

For the first We'll Wait, You Tell Us, the listener contestant chose Charlie Pierce's answer, but Margo Kaufman's answer was correct.

The Rise and Fall of Chainsaw Al Dumlap was an adaptation of Al Dunlap's autobiography, "Mean Business," by Peter Sagal and Carl Kasell.

For the second We'll Wait, You Tell Us, the listener contestant chose Margo's answer, but Charlie's answer was correct.

Charlie Pierce had used the bonus phrase as an answer for the last Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank question and got an extra point.

1998-06-27

NPR DB ID: 320
Scorekeeper
Panelists
Guests
Bluff(s)
#1
Chosen: Roxanne Roberts
Correct: Charlie Pierce
#2
Chosen: Charlie Pierce
Correct: Margo Kaufman
Description
Lightning True or False; Who's Carl This Time?; We'll Wait, You Tell Us; Week in Review; We'll Wait, You Tell Us #2; Not My Job about news from outside the midwest; Who's Carl This Time? #2; Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank; Predicting Next Week's Headlines
Notes

For the first We'll Wait, You Tell Us, the listener contestant chose Roxanne Roberts' answer, but Charlie Pierce's answer was correct.

For the second We'll Wait, You Tell Us, the listener contestant chose Charlie's answer, but Margo Kaufman's answer was correct.

Answering zero correct questions in Not My Job is now called a "Flintoff" rather than a "Stamberg".

1998-07-04

NPR DB ID: 321
Scorekeeper
Panelists
Guests
Bluff(s)
#1
Chosen: Margo Kaufman
Correct: Margo Kaufman
#2
Chosen: Roxanne Roberts
Correct: Margo Kaufman
Description
Lightning True or False; Who's Carl This Time?; We'll Wait, You Tell Us; Spam Facts (aka Spacts); Week in Review; Bonus Phrase: Libidinous Cashmere; We'll Wait, You Tell Us #2; Not My Job about past American lives; Who's Carl This Time? #2; Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank; Predicting Next Week's Headlines
Notes

For the first We'll Wait, You Tell Us, the listener contestant chose Margo Kaufman's answer, which was correct.

The Spam Facts (aka Spacts) segment consisted of Peter Sagal and Carl Kasell reading various, interesting facts about Spam.

For the second We'll Wait, You Tell Us, the listener contestant chose Roxanne Roberts' answer, but Margo Kaufman's answer was correct.

Roxanne had used the bonus phrase as the answer for the last Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank question to earn an extra point.

1998-07-11

NPR DB ID: 322
Scorekeeper
Panelists
Bluff(s)
#1
Chosen: Charlie Pierce
Correct: Charlie Pierce
#2
Chosen: Roxanne Roberts
Correct: Roy Blount, Jr.
Description
Lightning True or False; Who's Carl This Time?; We'll Wait, You Tell Us; Week in Review; We'll Wait, You Tell Us #2; Not My Job about art exhibitions, Who's Carl This Time? #2; Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank; Predicting Next Week's Headlines
Notes

The show's page on NPR.org listed Roy Blount, Jr., Adam Felber and Roxanne Roberts as the panelists for the show.

For the first We'll Wait, You Tell Us, the listener contestant chose Charlie Pierce's answer, which was correct.

When Peter Sagal asked Carl Kasell how Renée Montagne did, Carl said that Renée scored a "Suarez" by only answering one question correct. Previously, that was known as a "Palca".

For the second We'll Wait, You Tell Us, the listener contestant chose Roxanne's answer, but Roy's answer was correct.

1998-07-18

NPR DB ID: 323
Scorekeeper
Panelists
Guests
Bluff(s)
#1
Chosen: Roxanne Roberts
Correct: Roxanne Roberts
#2
Chosen: Roxanne Roberts
Correct: Charlie Pierce
Description
Lightning True or False; Who's Carl This Time?; Suck Up to Minnesota: The Recap; We'll Wait, You Tell Us; Week in Review; We'll Wait, You Tell Us #2; Not My Job: You're the Special Prosecutor; Who's Carl This Time? #2; Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank; Predicting Next Week's Headlines
Notes

During the Suck Up to Minnesota: The Recap segment, Peter Sagal's father-in-law joined the show to provide his impressions on the show, as the show was picked up and aired by Minnesota Public Radio.

For the first We'll Wait, You Tell Us, the listener contestant chose Roxanne Roberts' answer, which was correct.

Fort he second We'll Wait, You Tell Us, the listener contestant chose Roxanne's answer, but Charlie Pierce's answer was correct.

After answering zero Not My Job questions correct, Tom Goldman said that he would talk to Susan Stamberg on how she coped (even though Susan technically did receive a point). Peter then stated that Tom had scored a "Stamberg" even though it was called a "Clintoff" on the show that aired on 1998-06-27.

The listener contestant for Who's Carl This Time? #2 asked if he could get Margo Kaufman to record his outgoing answering machine message. Peter agreed, but only if the listener could answer all three questions correct; but, the listener only answered one correct.

The clip of a shouting Finnish choral group that was played during the Week in Review segment replaced the sound of the gong concluding each panelists's questions during Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank.

1998-07-25

NPR DB ID: 324
Scorekeeper
Panelists
Guests
Bluff(s)
#1
Chosen: Charlie Pierce
Correct: Roxanne Roberts
Description
Lightning True or False; Who's Carl This Time?; We'll Wait, You Tell Us (Multiple Choice Bluffs); Week in Review; We'll Wait, You Tell Us #2; Not My Job about food in the news; Who's Carl This Time? #2; Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank; Predicting Next Week's Headlines
Notes

The listener contestant for the first Who's Carl This Time? shared the same name as the show's senior producer, David Greene.

The first We'll Wait, You Tell Us uses a multiple choice format in which the listener contestant has to correctly guess three sets of multiple choice bluffs. For the first item, the listener chose Margo Kaufman's answer for the first bluff, which was correct. For the second item, the listener chose Roxanne Roberts' answer, but Charlie Pierce's answer was correct. For the third item, the listener chose Roxanne's answer, but Margo's answer was correct.

For the second We'll Wait, You Tell Us, which uses the regular bluff format, the listener contestant chose Charlie's answer, but Roxanne's was correct.

The clip of the shouting Finns replaced the sound of the gong during Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank again.

1998-08-01

NPR DB ID: 325
Scorekeeper
Panelists
Guests
Bluff(s)
#1
Chosen: Roxanne Roberts
Correct: Adam Felber
#2
Chosen: Adam Felber
Correct: Roxanne Roberts
Description
Who's Carl This Time?; Week in Review; Extort New York City; We'll Wait, You Tell Us; You're the Press Secretary!; Lightning True or False; We'll Wait, You Tell Us #2; Not My Job about construction in the news; Who's Carl This Time? #2; Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank; Predicting Next Week's Headlines
Notes

The Extort New York City segment was a spin on the previous Suck Up to Minnesota segment, but this time it is try to extort New York Public Radio to include the show on WNYC's radio schedule.

For the first We'll Wait, You Tell Us, the listener contestant chose Roxanne Roberts' answer, but Adam Felber's answer was correct.

For the second We'll Wait, You Tell Us, the listener contestant chose Adam's answer, but Roxanne's answer was correct.

As an aside, when the gong sound is played during Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank, Peter will stop reading the question even if he wasn't finished and the panelist won't be able to provide an answer.

1998-08-08

NPR DB ID: 326
Scorekeeper
Panelists
Guests
Bluff(s)
#1
Chosen: Roxanne Roberts
Correct: Roxanne Roberts
Description
Listener Multiple Choice; Lightning True or False; Who's Carl This Time?; Extort New York City; Week in Review; We'll Wait, You Tell Us; Not My Job about incongruous lists in the news; Who's Carl This Time? #2; Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank; Predicting Next Week's Headlines
Notes

Previous Listener Multiple Choice segments on NPR.org were labeled as "We'll Wait, You Tell Us" segment, but not for this show. For the first item, the listener contestant chose Charlie Pierce's answer, which was correct. For the second item, the listener chose Adam Feber's answer, which was correct. For the third item, the listener chose Charlie's answer, but Roxanne Robert's answer was correct.

For the We'll Wait, You Tell Us bluff segment, the listener contestant chose Roxanne's answer, which was correct.

Not My Job questions are in multiple choice form instead of open questions or fill-in-the-blanks. Option "C" for all three questions were "names recently given to their children by celebrities".

The clip of shouting Finns replaced the gong sound during Lightning Fill-in-the-Blanks again.

1998-08-15

NPR DB ID: 327
Scorekeeper
Panelists
Guests
Bluff(s)
#1
Chosen: Adam Felber
Correct: Roxanne Roberts
Description
Lightning True or False; Listener Multiple Choice; Who's Carl This Time?; Extort New York City; Week in Review; We'll Wait, You Tell Us; Not My Job about new entries found in the new edition of the Oxford English Dictionary; Who's Carl This Time? #2; Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank; Predicting Next Week's Headlines
Notes

The show's page on NPR.org did not provide any information for segments after the We'll Wait, You Tell Us bluff segment.

For the Listener Multiple Choice segment, the listener chose Margo Kaufman's answer for the first item, but Adam Felber's answer was correct. For the second item, the listener chose Roxanne Roberts' answer, but Margo's answer was correct. For the third item, the listener chose Roxanne's answer, but Margo's answer was correct.

For the We'll Wait, You Tell Us segment, the listener contestant chose Adam's answer, but Roxanne's answer was correct.

The Not My Job question format continued with the multiple choice format from the previous show.

1998-08-22

NPR DB ID: 328
Scorekeeper
Guest: Bob Garfield
Panelists
Guests
Bluff(s)
#1
Chosen: Roxanne Roberts
Correct: Roy Blount, Jr.
#2
Chosen: Roy Blount, Jr.
Correct: Charlie Pierce
Description
Lightning True or False; Who's Garfield This Time?; We'll Wait, You Tell Us; Week in Review; We'll Wait, You Tell Us #2; Not My Job about politician's unapologetic apoligies; Who's Garfield This Time? #2; Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank; Predicting Next Week's Headlines
Notes

This is the first show with a guest judge and scorekeeper: Bob Garfield.

The show page on NPR.org and the current naming convention for the "Who's [Scorekeeper] This Time?" segment is to use the first name of the scorekeeper. Instead of "Who's Bob This Time?", Peter Sagal called the segment, "Who's Garfield This Time?".

For the first Who's Garfield This Time?, option "C" for all three questions were "religious broadcaster Pat Robertson".

After answering two questions correct for the first Who's Garfield This Time? segment, the listener contestant was given a choice of either Carl Kasell's voice or Bob's voice for their answering machine's outgoing message. When the listener contestant asked their significant other, the response was "Bob who?".

For the first We'll Wait, You Tell Us, the listener contestant chose Roxanne Roberts' answer, but Roy Blout, Jr.'s answer was correct.

For the second We'll Wait, You Tell Us, the listener contestant chose Roy's answer, but Charlie Pierce's answer was correct.

Many of the Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank questions asked of the panelists were about various people asking for President Clinton's resignation.

1998-08-29

NPR DB ID: 329
Scorekeeper
Panelists
Guests
Bluff(s)
#1
Chosen: Roxanne Roberts
Correct: Adam Felber
#2
Chosen: Adam Felber
Correct: Adam Felber
Description
Lightning True or False; Who's Carl This Time?; We'll Wait, You Tell Us, Advice from George Washington; Week in Review; We'll Wait, You Tell Us #2; Not My Job about recent discoveries in the realm of science; Who's Carl This Time? #2; Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank; Predicting Next Week's Headlines
Notes

The premise of the first We'll Wait, You Tell Us is flipped compared to previous bluff segments, in that two of the panelists will be telling the truth while the other is not. The listener chose Roxanne Roberts' answer, but Adam Felber's answer was the lie.

The Advice from George Washington segment included reading from George Washington's "Rules of Civility and Decent Behaviour In Company and Conversation".

For the second We'll Wait, You Tell Us, the listener contestant chose Adam's answer, which was correct.

1998-09-05

NPR DB ID: 1334
Scorekeeper
Panelists
Guests
Bluff(s)
#1
Chosen: Charlie Pierce
Correct: Margo Kaufman
#2
Chosen: Margo Kaufman
Correct: Charlie Pierce
Description
Lightning True or False; Who's Carl This Time?; We'll Wait, You Tell Us; Extort New York City; Week in Review; We'll Wait, You Tell Us #2; Not My Job about dismal financial terms; Who's Carl This Time? #2; Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank; Predicting Next Week's Headlines
Notes

The NPR.org site does not have a page for this show, even on their legacy website.

For the first We'll Wait, You Tell Us, the listener contestant chose Charlie Pierce's answer, but Margo Kaufman's answer was correct.

For the second We'll Wait, You Tell Us, the listener contestant chose Margo's answer; but Charlie's was correct.

This is the first time that panelists had earned half-points since the show closed out with Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank. Since only the panelist score column only supports non-integer scores, the panelist starting scores were rounded up: from 7.5 to 8 for Margo and from 5.5 to 6 for Charlie.

1998-09-12

NPR DB ID: 330
Scorekeeper
Panelists
Guests
Bluff(s)
#1
Chosen: Roxanne Roberts
Correct: Adam Felber
#2
Chosen: Adam Felber
Correct: Roxanne Roberts
Description
Lightning True or False; Who's Carl This Time?; Not My Job about jargon; We'll Wait, You Tell Us; Week in Review; We'll Wait, You Tell Us #2; Who's Carl This Time? #2; Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank; Predicting Next Week's Headlines
Notes

For the first We'll Wait, You Tell Us, the listener contestant chose Roxanne Roberts' answer, but Adam Felber's answer was correct.

For the second We'll Wait, You Tell Us, the listener contestant chose Adam's answer, but Roxanne's answer was correct.

1998-09-19

NPR DB ID: 331
Scorekeeper
Panelists
Guests
Bluff(s)
#1
Chosen: Adam Felber
Correct: Roxanne Roberts
#2
Chosen: Adam Felber
Correct: Charlie Pierce
Description
Who's Carl This Time?; Panel Questions; Who's Carl This Time? #2; Not My Job about the Fall arts season; We'll Wait, You Tell Us; Week in Review; We'll Wait, You Tell Us #2; Who's Carl This Time? #3; Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank; Predicting Next Week's Headlines
Notes

The first Who's Carl This Time? was a special version in which the panelists got to play instead of a listener contestant. The second and third Who's Carl This Time? segments were played by listener contestants.

Ted Clark initially answered "A" for his third Not My Job question, but Peter Sagal gave Ted a chance to choose another answer. Ted then chose "B", which was the correct answer.

For the first We'll Wait, You Tell Us, the listener contestant chose Adam Felber's answer, but Roxanne Roberts' answer was correct.

For the second We'll Wait, You Tell Us, the listener contestant chose Adam's answer, but Charlie Pierce's answer was correct.

1998-09-26

NPR DB ID: 332
Scorekeeper
Panelists
Guests
Bluff(s)
#1
Chosen: Roxanne Roberts
Correct: Roxanne Roberts
#2
Chosen: Charlie Pierce
Correct: Charlie Pierce
Description
Who's Carl This Time?; Who's Carl This Time? #2; Not My Job about George and Ira Gershwin; Listener Bluff; Week in Review; Listener Bluff #2; Who's Carl This Time? #3; Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank; Predicting Next Week's Headlines
Notes

The first Who's Carl This Time? was a special version in which the panelists got to play instead of a listener contestant. The second and third Who's Carl This Time? segments were played by listener contestants.

This is the first time that the Wait Wait Don't Tell Me! NPR site references the listener bluff segment as "Listener Bluff" instead of "We'll Wait, You Tell Us".

For the first Listener Bluff, the listener contestant chose Roxanne Roberts' answer, which was correct.

For the second Listener Bluff, the listener contestant chose Charlie Pierce's answer, which was correct.

With some assistance from Peter Sagal, the listener contestant for the third Who's Carl This Time? segment won, meaning that all of the listener contestants and the Not My Job guest won.

As a joke, the gong sounded after Roxanne answered the first Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank round; though, the round would continue. This was due to both Adam and Charlie only having 6 points each. If the round had ended with Roxanne only answering one question correct, all three panelists would have finished the game in a three-way tie with 6 points each.

1998-10-03

NPR DB ID: 333
Scorekeeper
Panelists
Guests
Bluff(s)
#1
Chosen: Roxanne Roberts
Correct: Adam Felber
#2
Chosen: Roxanne Roberts
Correct: Roxanne Roberts
Description
Panel Questions (Who's Carl This Time?, Week in Review); Historical Reenactment Theatre; Who's Carl This Time?; Not My Job about Major League Baseball playoffs; Listener Bluff; Week in Review; Listener Bluff #2; Who's Carl This Time? #2; Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank; Predicting Next Week's Headlines
Notes

The first segment with panel questions was labeled as "Who's Carl This Time?" on the NPR show page, but consisted of a mix of questions.

The Not My Job questions did not follow the usual three multiple choice questions. Instead, Ketzel Levine was asked a true or false question, a fill-in-the-blank, and multiple choice question.

For the first Listener Bluff, the listener contestant chose Roxanne Roberts' answer, but Adam Felber's was correct.

For the second Listener Bluff, the listener contestant chose Roxanne's answer, which was correct.

1998-10-10

NPR DB ID: 334
Scorekeeper
Panelists
Guests
Bluff(s)
#1
Chosen: Roxanne Roberts
Correct: Roxanne Roberts
#2
Chosen: Roxanne Roberts
Correct: Margo Kaufman
Description
Who's Carl This Time?; Who's Carl This Time? #2; Not My Job about deciphering news limericks; Listener Bluff; Week in Review; Who's Carl This Time? #3; Listener Bluff #2; Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank; Predicting Next Week's Headlines
Notes

The first Who's Carl This Time? segment was played by the panelists. The second and third Who's Carl This Time? were played by listener contestants.

For the first Listener Bluff, the listener contestant chose Roxanne Roberts' answer, which was correct.

For the second Listener Bluff, the listener contestant chose Roxanne's answer, but Margo Kaufman's was correct.

Roy Blount, Jr. and Margo started the Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank segment with 1.5 and 2.5 points respectively. Their scores have been rounded up to the nearest whole numbers for the non-decimal score columns.

1998-10-17

NPR DB ID: 335
Scorekeeper
Panelists
Guests
    N/A
Bluff(s)
#1
Chosen: Roxanne Roberts
Correct: Adam Felber
Description
Week in Review; Historical Reenactment Theatre; Who's Carl This Time?; Listener Limerick Challenge; Week in Review; Listener Bluff; Mystery Newsmaker; Who's Carl This Time? #2; Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank; Predicting Next Week's Headlines
Notes

The Listener Limerick Challenge segment made its debut on this show.

For the Listener Bluff segment, the listener contestant chose Roxanne Roberts' answer, but Adam Felber's answer was correct.

The Mystery Newsmaker segment marks the return of the original Why Should We Know Who You Are? segment.

Roy Blount, Jr. and Roxanne started the Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank segment with 2.5 and 4.5 points respectively. Their scores have been rounded up to the nearest whole numbers for the non-decimal score columns.

1998-10-24

NPR DB ID: 336
Scorekeeper
Panelists
Guests
Bluff(s)
#1
Chosen: Roxanne Roberts
Correct: Nell Benjamin
Description
Week in Review; Who's Carl This Time?; Historical Reenactment Theatre; Not My Job about the Sherman Anti-Trust Act; Listener Limerick Challenge; Week in Review; Listener Bluff; Who's Carl This Time? #2; Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank; Predicting Next Week's Headlines
Notes

Charlie Pierce sung a portion of Elton John's "Rocket Man" as a hint for the second question of the first Who's Carl This Time?.

For the Listener Bluff segment, the listener contestant chose Roxanne Roberts' answer, but Nell Benjamin's answer was correct.

Charlie stated that Roxanne's win of 18 points by answering seven questions correct was the all-time Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank record. On the 1998-08-15 show, Roxanne had won with 20 points (started with 8 points and answered six correct).

1998-10-31

NPR DB ID: 337
Scorekeeper
Panelists
Guests
Bluff(s)
#1
Chosen: Roxanne Roberts
Correct: Charlie Pierce
Description
Week in Review; Who's Carl This Time?; Week in Review; Not My Job about the weird and the supernatural; Listener Limerick Challenge; Week in Review; Listener Bluff; Who's Carl This Time? #2; Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank; Predicting Next Week's Headlines
Notes

Roy Blount, Jr. didn't know the answer for the first question of the Week in Review segment. Instead, both Charlie Pierce and Roxanne Roberts said the answer at the same time for half credit each.

For the Listener Bluff segment, the listener contestant chose Roxanne's answer, but Charlie's answer was correct.

Roxanne and Charlie started the Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank segment with 4.5 and 1.5 points respectively. Their scores have been rounded up to the nearest whole numbers for the non-decimal score columns.

An audio clip of an evil laugh with screaming people replaced the sound of a gong to note the end of the one minute for each of the panelists' time for Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank.

When Peter Sagal asked Carl Kasell how many questions Roxanne needed to win, Carl said three. Roxanne had 4.5 points while Roy had a total of 7 points. Thus, Roxanne would only need to answer two questions correct for a total of 8.5 points to win.

1998-11-07

NPR DB ID: 338
Scorekeeper
Panelists
Guests
Bluff(s)
#1
Chosen: Adam Felber
Correct: Adam Felber
Description
Week in Review; Who's Carl This Time?; Not My Job about unusual political stories; Listener Limerick Challenge; Week in Review; Listener Bluff; Who's Carl This Time? #2; Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank; Predicting Next Week's Headlines
Notes

For the Listener Bluff segment, the listener contestant chose Adam Felber's answer, which was correct.

Both Roxanne Roberts and Charlie Pierce started the Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank segment with 2.5 points each. Their scores have been rounded up to the nearest whole numbers for the non-decimal score columns.

After all three panelists completed the Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank segment, Peter Sagal said that he would only crown a champion if anyone could say the "double bubble gum bubbles double" tongue twister three times. None of the panelists could, thus Peter didn't crown a champion even if Roxanne finished in first.

1998-11-14

NPR DB ID: 339
Scorekeeper
Panelists
Guests
Bluff(s)
#1
Chosen: Adam Felber
Correct: Roxanne Roberts
Description
Week in Review; Historical Reenactment Theatre; Who's Carl This Time?; Not My Job about the impeachment hearing; Listener Limerick Challenge; Week in Review; Listener Bluff; Who's Carl This Time? #2; Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank; Predicting Next Week's Headlines
Notes

For the Listener Bluff segment, the listener contestant chose Adam Felber's answer, but Roxanne Roberts' answer was correct.

1998-11-21

NPR DB ID: 340
Scorekeeper
Panelists
Guests
Bluff(s)
#1
Chosen: Charlie Pierce
Correct: Charlie Pierce
Description
Week in Review; Who's Carl This Time?; Not My Job about Hong Kong translations of American film titles; Listener Limerick Challenge; Listener Bluff about a quiz presented to the public; Who's Carl This Time? #2; Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank; Predicting Next Week's Headlines
Notes

Carl Kasell slipped and called Kevin Klose, "Kevy" when describing the topic for the Not My Job questions.

For the Listener Bluff segment, the listener contestant chose Charlie Pierce's answer, which was correct.

In trying to help the listener contestant for Who's Carl This Time? #2, Roxanne Roberts gave the answer for the first question. Carl gave the point to the listener contestant.

1998-11-28

Best Of NPR DB ID: 1335
Scorekeeper
Description
Best of Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!, a Thanksgiving Extravaganza featuring some favorite listener contestant segments
Notes

The NPR.org site does not have a page for this show.

At the top of the show, Peter Sagal mentioned that the segments included in this Best Of show featured the following panelists: Roxanne Roberts, Roy Blount, Jr., Charlie Pierce, Adam Felber and Margo Kaufman. Margo was not included in any of the segments, but Nell Benjamin was a panelist on the show for the second featured segment.

This is the first time Peter referred to the listener bluff segment, usually labeled as "We'll Wait, You Tell Us" or "Listener Bluff" on NPR.org, as "Bluff the Listener".

The featured segments included are:

  • Who's Carl This Time? #3 from 1998-09-26
  • Who's Carl This Time #1 and Historical Reenactment Theatre from 1998-10-24
  • Listener Bluff #1 from 1998-08-01
  • Who's Carl This Time? #1 (Listener Contestant) from 1998-10-03
  • Listener Bluff #2 from 1998-09-26
  • Who's Garfield This Time? #1 from 1998-08-22
  • We'll Wait You Tell Us (Bluff) #2 from 1998-08-22
  • Who's Carl This Time? #1 from 1998-10-31

1998-12-05

NPR DB ID: 341
Scorekeeper
Panelists
Guests
Bluff(s)
#1
Chosen: Charlie Pierce
Correct: Charlie Pierce
Description
Week in Review; Who's Carl This Time?; Not My Job about appropriate musical cues for news stories; Listener Limerick Challenge; Week in Review; Listener Bluff about how a news organization got fooled; Who's Carl This Time? #2; Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank; Predicting Next Week's Headlines
Notes

For the Listener Bluff segment, the listener contestant chose Charlie Pierce's story, which was correct. The story was related to the Not My Job questions that they had asked Kevin Klose, which the film name translations and story were a hoax.

Including the Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank question that Peter Sagal asked Charlie when the gong sound was played, Charlie was asked nine questions. The current standard for Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank is that each panelist is asked eight questions.

1998-12-12

NPR DB ID: 342
Scorekeeper
Panelists
Guests
Bluff(s)
#1
Chosen: Adam Felber
Correct: Roxanne Roberts
Description
Week in Review; Who's Carl This Time?; Not My Job about new ways to celebrate Chanukah; Listener Limerick Challenge; Week in Review; Bluff the Listener about how a recent film has inspired prople to emulate the main characters; Who's Carl This Time? #2; Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank; Predicting Next Week's Headlines
Notes

This is the first show in which the NPR.org site references the listener bluff segment as "Bluff the Listener".

1998-12-19

NPR DB ID: 343
Scorekeeper
Panelists
Guests
Bluff(s)
#1
Chosen: Adam Felber
Correct: Roxanne Roberts
Description
Week in Review; Who's Carl This Time?; Not My Job about the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson; Listener Limerick Challenge; Week in Review; Bluff the Listener about a new reality television show; Who's Carl This Time? #2; Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank; Predicting Next Week's Headlines
Notes

During Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank, before Peter Sagal asked Carl Kasell how many questions Adam Felber needed to win, Adam asked to be called "Carol", in reference to one of the questions Roxanne Roberts had. Peter then asked Carl "Alright, Carl. How many does Carol need to win?". Adam would then be called "Carol" up until the end of the segment.

1998-12-26

NPR DB ID: 344
Scorekeeper
Panelists
Guests
Bluff(s)
#1
Chosen: Charlie Pierce
Correct: Adam Felber
Description
Year in Review; Who's Carl This Time?; Not My Job about odd sounds heard on NPR this year; Listener Limerick Challenge; Year in Review; Bluff the Listener about one city's attempts to make life more pleasant for its residents; Who's Carl This Time? #2; Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank
Notes

With the show being a special 1998 Year in Review show, both Who's Carl This Time? segments contained four questions instead of the usual three. The listener contestants only needed to answer two correct to win.

The show did not close out with Predicting Next Week's Headlines, only the show's credits reading.