Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! Stats Page
Show Details: 2015
2015-01-03
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N/A
2015-01-10
- First: Amy Dickinson 13 (3 / 5)
- Second: Brian Babylon 11 (3 / 4)
- Third: Paula Poundstone 10 (2 / 4)
2015-01-17
- First: Roxanne Roberts 14 (2 / 6)
- Second: Ophira Eisenberg 10 (4 / 3)
- Third: Luke Burbank 8 (2 / 3)
2015-01-24
- First: P.J. O'Rourke 16 (2 / 7)
- Second: Faith Salie 15 (3 / 6)
- Third: Alonzo Bodden 9 (3 / 3)
2015-01-31
- First Tied: Peter Grosz 14 (2 / 6)
- First Tied: Tom Bodett 14 (4 / 5)
- Third: Amy Dickinson 12 (2 / 5)
When providing one of the choices of the second Not My Job question, which was in regards to toilet testing done by the Gates Foundation, Peter said "Widnows" rather than "Windows".
Even though Peter said that, per a coin toss, Amy would go first. Instead, Peter Grosz went first. Peter Grosz only answered five of the eight questions correctly, yet Bill Kurtis said he answered six. Due to this, Peter Grosz ended up in a tie with Tom Bodett. Tom should have been the outright winner of that week's game and Amy Dickinson would have tied for 2nd with Peter Grosz.
2015-02-07
- First: Maz Jobrani 17 (3 / 7)
- Second: Paula Poundstone 14 (2 / 6)
- Third: Reza Aslan 13 (3 / 5)
Maz Jobrani does a number of his Wait Wait trademark accents while telling his Bluff the Listener story.
2015-02-14
- First Tied: P.J. O'Rourke 17 (3 / 7)
- First Tied: Roxanne Roberts 17 (3 / 7)
- Third: Tom Bodett 14 (2 / 6)
2015-02-21
2015-02-28
- First: Adam Felber 17 (3 / 7)
- Second Tied: Ophira Eisenberg 11 (3 / 4)
- Second Tied: Brian Babylon 11 (3 / 4)
During the second panel round, Adam Felber enthusiastically and confidently answered "selfie!" for his answer. So much so, that it stunned Peter Sagal and yelled out "Yes!", which caused Bill Kurtis to ring the bell (even though it was not the correct answer) and Adam responding with "What?!?".
All three panelists were tied with three points each at the beginning of the Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank round.
2015-03-07
- First: Kyrie O'Connor 16 (4 / 6)
- Second: Faith Salie 14 (2 / 6)
- Third: Charlie Pierce 13 (3 / 5)
2015-03-14
- First: Paula Poundstone 15 (3 / 6)
- Second: Roy Blount, Jr. 12 (4 / 4)
- Third: Amy Dickinson 10 (2 / 4)
In the first panel round, Peter started to ask Amy her question, Amy resistantly replied with "No!". This is reminiscent of Julia Sweeney's yelling of "No!" when she was asked a panel question about sports on the 2009-10-31 show.
During Amy's Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank round, not soon after Peter finished asking one of the questions, the audience started yelling the answer, "alcohol". This lead to Peter responding with "Come on!". Amy did get a bell ding for answering with "alcohol(?)".
2015-03-21
- First: Faith Salie 15 (3 / 6)
- Second: Gabe Liedman 13 (3 / 5)
- Third: Mo Rocca 10 (2 / 4)
2015-03-28
- First: Roxanne Roberts 14 (4 / 5)
- Second: Moshe Kasher 10 (2 / 4)
- Third: Brian Babylon 7 (3 / 2)
2015-04-04
- First: P.J. O'Rourke 14 (2 / 6)
- Second: Adam Felber 12 (4 / 4)
- Third: Paula Poundstone 8 (2 / 3)
Paula Poundstone used the last name of "Swamu" in her bluff for at least the second time.
2015-04-11
2015-04-18
- First: Faith Salie 14 (2 / 6)
- Second: Maz Jobrani 13 (3 / 5)
- Third: Tom Bodett 9 (3 / 3)
After Dick Flavin chose "C" for the answer of the second question, Peter asked "you're going to go for C again?". In the edited version of the show, Dick Flavin only answered the first question with "A". When it came to the third question, Dick said "I'm going to get off C".
2015-04-25
- First: Peter Grosz 14 (4 / 5)
- Second: Aparna Nancherla 12 (2 / 5)
- Third: Amy Dickinson 9 (3 / 3)
2015-05-02
- First: Roxanne Roberts 15 (3 / 6)
- Second: P.J. O'Rourke 11 (3 / 4)
- Third: Brian Babylon 6 (2 / 2)
Jonathan Adler's husband, Simon Doonan, was the Not My Job guest for the show aired on 2015-02-07 and answered only one question correctly.
2015-05-09
- First: Jessi Klein 14 (0 / 7)
- Second: Peter Grosz 13 (5 / 4)
- Third: Mike Birbiglia 10 (2 / 4)
After Steve Buscemi answered "C" for the third Not My Job question, Peter Sagal said, "Yes, it's C again." The correct answer for neither the first or the second Not My Job questions were "C".
It is pretty rare, or ever done in the past, for a panelist to start the Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank round with zero points, but Jessi Klein did so. Even with zero points, Jessi answered seven of eight questions correctly and ended up winning the game.
In the edited version of the show, Mike Birbiglia was asked six Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank questions and answered three of them correctly, instead of four as stated by Bill Kurtis. The fourth correct answer was probably cut out.
2015-05-16
- First: Gabe Liedman 16 (4 / 6)
- Second: Luke Burbank 14 (2 / 6)
- Third: Paula Poundstone 11 (1 / 5)
When the Bluff the Listener contestant initially chose Luke's bluff as the correct one, Peter Sagal had a heavy hand in making the contestant change her mind and switch to Gabe's bluff. Peter has done this more than once in the past. The last and most memorable one was back on 2006-11-11 when Peter made the contestant switch away from Aamer Haleem. Aamer made a bit of a stink on-air about it.
In the edited version of the show, Paula had only answered four questions correctly during the Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank round, even though Bill Kurtis said she answered five correct. The fifth one would have been the one edited out.
2015-05-23
- First: Faith Salie 14 (2 / 6)
- Second Tied: Adam Felber 13 (3 / 5)
- Second Tied: Bobcat Goldthwait 13 (3 / 5)
2015-05-30
2015-06-06
- First: Roxanne Roberts 19 (3 / 8)
- Second: Tom Bodett 17 (3 / 7)
- Third: Greg Proops 6 (2 / 2)
2015-06-13
- First Tied: Peter Grosz 14 (4 / 5)
- First Tied: Maz Jobrani 14 (2 / 6)
- Third: Amy Dickinson 12 (2 / 5)
During the Not My Job round, Kim Kardashian West had a second try on her second question, in which she answered "B". In response, Mike Pesca said, "Yes, it was C!". Either Mike thought Kim said "C" or there was an edit in which Kim had answered "C" on her third and last chance.
Amy Dickinson's second Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank round question had a "blank" to fill in a "Blank", in that the question was "On Monday, police investigated a possible robbery at the home of Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur blank". The current answer was "Arthur Blank". In the edited version of the show, there was not a bell ding sound for Amy's fifth correct answer.
2015-06-20
- First: Charlie Pierce 16 (2 / 7)
- Second: Luke Burbank 13 (3 / 5)
- Third: Faith Salie 10 (2 / 4)
2015-06-27
- First: Alonzo Bodden 14 (2 / 6)
- Second: Paula Poundstone 12 (4 / 4)
- Third: Maz Jobrani 8 (2 / 3)
In the edited version of the show, Maz Jobrani only answered two Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank questions correctly versus three as noted by Bill Kurtis. The third correct answer would have been one of the three questions edited out.
2015-07-04
This show is a re-packaged version of the Best Of show that aired on 2014-08-23. The introduction for this show was recorded at the Chase Bank Auditorium in Chicago rather than using the introduction from the 2014-08-23 Best Of show.
2015-07-11
- First: Tom Bodett 16 (2 / 7)
- Second: Peter Grosz 13 (3 / 5)
- Third: Amy Dickinson 11 (3 / 4)
Another instance in which all three of the correct answers for the Not My Job questions were "B".
Instead of playing a recorded audio of a person involved or explaining the correct bluff, Peter Sagal asked Peter Grosz whether or not his bluff was the correct one or not.
The first three questions that Amy was asked during the Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank round started off with "Experts say it was a technical glitch and not a cyberattack". When trying to come up with an answer for the last Lightning round question, Peter reminded Amy that it was, in fact, the Lightning round. Amy incorrectly thought it was a hint to the question. Peter did his best Mr. Burns' "Excellent!" impression after a question regarding Harry Shearer would continue to voice some characters from The Simpsons.
2015-07-18
2015-07-25
- First: Adam Felber 18 (2 / 8)
- Second: Roxanne Roberts 12 (2 / 5)
- Third: Paula Poundstone 10 (4 / 3)
During the Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank round, Bill Kurtis accepted Adam Felber's answer of "punching fish" when the correct answer was "pointing at fish". Roxanne Roberts answered her first question of the round with "Greek bailout", which ended up being the correct answer for her second question.
2015-08-01
- First: Faith Salie 17 (3 / 7)
- Second: Mo Rocca 15 (3 / 6)
- Third: Brian Babylon 9 (3 / 3)
The Bluff the Listener contestant initially chose Mo Rocca's bluff as the true story, but then changed her mind and chose Brian Babylon's bluff after Peter Sagal started to repeat the summary of Mo Rocca's bluff. Neither were the correct story.
At the beginning of the Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank round, Bill Kurtis noted that each panelist had three points entering the round and that was the first time there was a three-way tie. That statement is incorrect, even if it was reflecting in it being the first time Bill Kurtis presided over a game in which there was a three-way tie going into the Lightning round.
Peter called time on Mo Rocca's Lightning round as Mo was trying to come up with a second answer for his 8th Lightning round question.
2015-08-08
- First: Roxanne Roberts 16 (2 / 7)
- Second: Maz Jobrani 15 (3 / 6)
- Third: Alonzo Bodden 11 (3 / 4)
The name of the Buddhist monk that Roxanne Roberts used in her Bluff the Listener story sounded very similar to the name of a certain Wait Wait Stats Person.
2015-08-15
- First Tied: Roy Blount, Jr. 15 (3 / 6)
- First Tied: Charlie Pierce 15 (3 / 6)
- Third: Paula Poundstone 10 (2 / 4)
2015-08-22
Paula Poundstone was featured in all but one segment in this week's "Best Of" show.
2015-08-29
2015-09-05
- First: Adam Felber 14 (2 / 6)
- Second Tied: Amy Dickinson 12 (2 / 5)
- Second Tied: Tom Bodett 12 (4 / 4)
2015-09-12
- First: Roxanne Roberts 17 (3 / 7)
- Second: Faith Salie 12 (2 / 5)
- Third: Paula Poundstone 11 (3 / 4)
- Frank Oz 2
For the very first time, the show featured an all women panel!
2015-09-19
- First: Amy Dickinson 15 (3 / 6)
- Second: Peter Grosz 12 (2 / 5)
- Third: Adam Burke 7 (3 / 2)
2015-09-26
- First Tied: Luke Burbank 13 (3 / 5)
- First Tied: Tom Bodett 13 (3 / 5)
- Third: Iliza Shlesinger 6 (2 / 2)
- Jewel 3
2015-10-03
- First Tied: Alonzo Bodden 16 (2 / 7)
- First Tied: Roxanne Roberts 16 (2 / 7)
- Third: Roy Blount, Jr. 15 (3 / 6)
The show's producers found that Roy Blount Jr.'s guess for the first panelist round of "texting" actually had an ICD-10 diagnosis code. Roy got a ding for his guess.
During the Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank round, Roy couldn't remember Ralph Lauren's last name for one of his questions, so Roxanne helped him by whispering "Lauren" to Roy and he got the point for providing the full and correct answer.
2015-10-10
- First: P.J. O'Rourke 15 (3 / 6)
- Second: Amy Dickinson 14 (2 / 6)
- Third: Paula Poundstone 10 (2 / 4)
During the Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank segment, when Amy Dickinson didn't know the name of the current FIFA President, Paula Poundstone helped out with a big hint. Amy got points for her answer.
P.J. O'Rourke's answer of "tofu turkey" was close enough of an answer for Peter Sagal when it came to the correct answer of the contents of a stolen truck in Portland, Oregon filled with tofu and organic juice. That gave P.J. enough points to come away with an outright win over Amy.
2015-10-17
2015-10-24
- First: Adam Felber 14 (2 / 6)
- Second: Faith Salie 13 (3 / 5)
- Third: Maz Jobrani 12 (2 / 5)
2015-10-31
- First: Roxanne Roberts 15 (3 / 6)
- Second: Luke Burbank 14 (2 / 6)
- Third: Tom Bodett 10 (2 / 4)
2015-11-07
- First Tied: Amy Dickinson 12 (2 / 5)
- First Tied: Peter Grosz 12 (2 / 5)
- First Tied: Paula Poundstone 12 (4 / 4)
Bill Kurtis almost said the full answer for the third limerick, but stopped himself after saying the first part of the word. The listener did have the correct answer and Bill took the credit for the third limerick when he announced how many the listener got correct.
At the end of the Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank round, Bill Kurtis stated that it was the first time that the round ended in a three-way tie under his watch. In fact, there have previously been two shows that ended with panelists being in a three-way tie with Bill Kurtis as scorekeeper (2012-08-18, which Paula Poundstone was one of the panelists, and 2014-09-06).
2015-11-14
- First: Roxanne Roberts 14 (2 / 6)
- Second Tied: Brian Babylon 12 (2 / 5)
- Second Tied: Maz Jobrani 12 (4 / 4)
Peter Sagal pronunciation of their (WBEZ's) CFO's last name, Nguyen, during the credits was actually pretty darn close to the proper pronunciation for once.
2015-11-21
- First: Faith Salie 13 (3 / 5)
- Second: Alonzo Bodden 12 (2 / 5)
- Third: P.J. O'Rourke 8 (2 / 3)
During the Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank round, Faith Salie provided an answer of "Katie Perry songs" for her second question of the round. Initially, Peter and Bill didn't give her a point, but did so after Faith listed the other songs that were in fact used and Peter was corrected.
In the edited version of the show, Faith was asked five of the eight questions and her fifth correct answer would have come from one of the three questions that were cut out.
2015-11-28
- Jewel 3
- Vivek Murthy 2
- Mindy Kaling 2
- Richard Price 2
- Tom Ricketts 3
2015-12-05
- First Tied: Maz Jobrani 14 (2 / 6)
- First Tied: Adam Felber 14 (2 / 6)
- Third: Paula Poundstone 13 (3 / 5)
2015-12-12
- First: Roy Blount, Jr. 13 (3 / 5)
- Second: Luke Burbank 10 (2 / 4)
- Third: Neko Case 6 (2 / 2)
When Bill Kurtis mentioned the number of points Roy Blount Jr. had at the end of the Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank round for the second time, it sounded like he said 15. Bill did say the correct score of 13 when Peter Sagal asked how many points Roy had.
2015-12-19
- First Tied: Adam Burke 13 (3 / 5)
- First Tied: Tom Bodett 13 (3 / 5)
- Third: Roxanne Roberts 12 (2 / 5)