WWDTM: Becca Mann

Support for NPR and the following message come from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. Investing in creative thinkers and problem solvers who help people, communities, and the planet flourish. More information is available at Hewlett.org. From NPR, I'm the OPEC Chicago. This is Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me the NPR News Quiz. Fun fact about my voice. This is me on helium. I'm Bill Curtis and filling in for Peter Sagle. Here is your host at the Studevaker Theatre of Fine Arts building in Chicago. Nagin Farsad. Thank you, Bill. And thanks everyone. I'm filling in for Peter Sagle because thanks to the shutdown, he's stuck at his crafting convention in Shaboygan. Now, we have a great show for you today. We're going to be joined by record-setting open water swimmer, Becca Mann. And that's right. And just to make her feel at home, we're going to make sure our show is also infested with great white sharks. But first, it's your turn to brave the phone lines. Give us a call to play our games. The number is 1-888-WAIT-WAIT. That's 1-888-924-8924. Now, let's welcome our first listener contestant. Hi, you're on Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Hi, this is Stu from Amsterdam, New York. Hi, Stu. What do you do in Amsterdam? I teach high school civics and economics. Wow. So do you, like, do you have any finance tips for me? Absolutely. I work in public radio on occasion, so I might need them. Substitute teaching is quite lucrative. All right. Now, Stu, let's introduce you to our panel. First, his band Super Spreader is playing the Villajargs Theater on October 10th with special guest Lisa Loeb. It's Adam Felber. How you doing, Stu? Hey, Adam. Next, a writer for Clean Slate. Now on Amazon Prime, it's Chantira Jackson. Hi, Stu. Hello, Chantira. And a comedian recording his next stand-up special in Chicago at the Dent Theater on November 15th. It's Hari Kandabolu. Hello, Stu. Hello, Hari. All right. So welcome to the show, Stu. We're excited to have you. You're going to play Who's Bill this time. Bill Curtis is going to read you three quotes from this week's news. If you can identify two of them, you'll win our prize, which is any voice from our show on your voicemail. Are you ready? Let's go. All right. Here's your first quote from Pete Hegzeff. No fat generals. That was Secretary of whatever it's called now, Pete Hegzeff, speaking to a room full of whom at a big meeting in Virginia this week. That would be generals. That's right. So when hundreds of generals and admirals from all over the world were suddenly summoned to the U.S. for this meeting, no one had any idea why it was happening. And now that it's over, we still have no idea why this is happening. Hegzeff and President Trump both spoke to the group, and they had lots to say about the general's appearance, calling out, quote, fat generals and beardos. Taking his cue from Sigma Phi Delta, Hegzeff then took out a sharpie and started circling all the general's fat parts. There was a 300-pound admiral who was like, but I'm cool, right? It's weird, right? How obsessed with, like, with the generals being hot? Right? They're like, the United States shall have the deadliest, bravest, most bangable fighting force in the entire world. Yeah, Hegzeff read no fat generals directly off his dating profile. We have a history of fat military men, though. Colonel Sanders. I'm assuming General So is a little chubby. General Mills. Oh, very good. Captain Crunch was not particularly spelt. Wait, was Captain Crunch the parakeet? No, Captain Crunch is the serial man. Oh, okay. Who is the parakeet? You talking about Toucan Sam? Yeah, that's okay. Sorry, I, it's Toucan Sam, not military. He has a big beak, so he might not make it. He's not officer class, that's for sure. Well, disregarding that fat generals is an incredible name for a Chinese chain restaurant. Many military folks made the point that these guys literally have more important things to be doing, right? Like, at this very moment, Portland, Oregon is completely undefended. From, from what? Having too much granola. I don't know. Yeah, they're famous doughnuts. I'm not sure. All right, Stu, here's your next quote from actress Emily Blunt. Good Lord, we're screwed. Blunt was talking about Tilly Norwood, the next great Hollywood actor who just happens to be entirely what? Oh, jeez. I don't know if I know this one. AI. That's right. That's a good one. That's a good guess. Really good. That was the correct answer. This week, a technology creator unveiled Tilly Norwood, an AI actress that we may soon see in starring roles. If you're wondering what she looks like, imagine a woman. That's, that's basically, all right. But honestly, can you imagine going for a role and your agent telling you that Tilly Norwood is already attached to the project? Yes. And you're like, well, you're like, well, drag and drop her into another email then. I don't even know if I would be, I don't really feel worried because it's a teenage white girl and I am almost a 40 year old black lesbian and we're not going to compete. I'm safe. They don't put you up for those roles. I feel safe. I feel safe. I feel like I could lose a few roles. Well, I can't wait to see the paparazzi photos of her dating a MacBook Pro. But I'm so mad because I didn't realize she was fake until after I made her my celebrity hall pass. Wait, if there's going to be no more actors, who's going to wait tables? I think, I think that's the only thing they'll let us keep doing. All right. Stu, are you still there? I am still here. Yes. Okay. Here's your last quote. Clean socks only. No holes. Those are the slated rules of a company in the UK. One of many workplaces now instituting a policy that people remove their what when they arrive at the office. Their shoes. That's right. Their shoes. More and more startups are enacting no shoe policies to optimize efficiency. Now, I would certainly be more productive if I had to glue my eyes to my laptop to keep from seeing whatever is going on with Kevin's toes. I don't, first of all, I don't want to see any man's foot ever. Especially at work. This is a very pro lesbian policy. Yeah. I don't want to see a man's feet at all. And then I also think that if you are going to show feet, you shouldn't have to do it for free. So, um, I think that's fair. Feet cost money. 100% fair. Feet cost money, baby. So, all right. I'm not showing my toes to corporate. Yeah. Yeah. Subscribe to my only fan's first corporation. Some for the toes. Absolutely. Remember when we used to work from home and didn't have to wear pants? This feels like they're piecemealing our freedom back. I don't like it. Right. All the comforts of home. How embarrassing would it be to get called into HR and they're like, and this little piggy got furloughed? Bill, how did Stu do? It takes a teacher to lead us. That's three and oh for Stu. You're a win. Well done, Stu. Yeah. Absolutely. Congratulations, Stu. Thanks for calling in. Thank you very much. We can buy. Something to me, baby, baby. Small until I don't care what I do. Right now, panel, I have some questions for you about this week's news. Adam, the UK's National Health Service made headlines this week when they officially encouraged people to look at the benefits of marrying whom? They're moms. Oh my god, you're so close. Really? I've spent some time in England. It's actually less close than mom. They're stepmoms? That's just normal. They're cousins. They're first cousins. That's right. Oh wow. Okay. I wanted you to get an applause, but it is really gross. According to some people who clearly want to marry their cousins, cousin marriage can be, quote, linked to stronger extended family support and economic benefits. Well, they definitely save on the wedding because you only need one side of the aisle for the ceremony. Fair. Am I going to get in trouble for saying this feels very British? Yeah, who released the study, the royal family? They got centuries in on that. And I know that my favorite part of any wedding is the father slash uncle daughter dance. The only thing I want to do with my cousins is take a walk away from the family on Thanksgiving. Like that's the best, like you see your cousins and you're like, do you want to go talk about this family and then you go outside and do the cult of sack together? That's true cousin. But this is bad. Right. And in this scenario, that's your meat cues. No. I'm so sorry. Okay. Look, look, look. If marrying your cousin seems wrong, we get it. Keep it casual. Just be cousins with benefits. That's worse. That's worse. That's worse. I know. Sorry. It's the same. I never to be a team. I promise you this someday you'll fall in love. All right. Coming up a totally bingeable bluff. The listener game called one eight eight eight wait, wait to play. We'll be back in a minute with more of wait, wait. Don't tell me from NPR. This message comes from wise. The app for international people using money around the globe. You can send, spend and receive an up to 40 currencies with only a few simple taps. Be smart. Get wise. Download the wise app today or visit wise.com. Tease and seize apply. Support for NPR and the following message come from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. Investing in creative thinkers and problem solvers who help people, communities and the planet flourish. More information is available at Hewlett.org. From NPR and WBZ Chicago. This is wait, wait. Don't tell me the NPR news quiz. I'm Bill Curtis and we are playing this week with Hari Kandabalu, Adam Felber and Shantyra Jackson. And here we get as your host at the Studebaker Theater in Chicago, Illinois. Nagin Farsad. Thanks Bill. Right now. Right now it's time for the wait, wait, wait. Don't tell me. Bluff the listener game. Call 1-888. Wait, wait to play. Hi, you're on. Wait, wait. Don't tell me. Hi, this is Kirk from Clemson, South Carolina. Hey, Kirk. What are you doing Clemson? I am a sports broadcast TV director and producer. Oh. So is this like a, forgive me for literally knowing nothing about your field. Is there, is this like a good time for sports? Yeah. Well, before I worked here, I worked at a PBS and MPR station. So I would say yes, it's a great time for sports. Fair. That's funny. Well, it's so nice to have you on with us, Kirk. You're going to play the game where you tell the truth from fiction. What's the topic, Bill? The biggest thing to happen to TV since color. Every so often there's a huge leap in television technology. There was color, then HD, then collagen injections after we all saw what we look like in HD. Now our panelists are going to tell you the next great leap. Pick the one who's telling the truth and you'll win the weight-weighter of your choice on your voicemail. Voices such as this voice that you're hearing right now. Are you ready to play? I'm ready. Let's go. Awesome. First up, it's Adam Felber. For the geek who has everything, there's a new TV feature that supplies the one thing they may not have, friends. Last week, Amazon Prime showcased Watch Pals, a new feature that allows you to turn on a variety of AI friends who will watch content with you and kibbits about what you're seeing. There's Nelson, the film nerd who will pepper your viewing with trivia like, oh, hey, that's the guy from the Spranos. There's Eddie who will watch sports en route for your team yelling bias commentary like, no way, that was a foul. Are you blind, ref? And then there's Munce, your funny buddy who roasts and jokes his way through the movie. At the demo while watching John Wick 3, Munce somehow fixated on fat-shaming Lawrence Fishburne's Bowery King character, saying things like Bowery King, more like Burger King. Yes, just like your friends, the AI is not always funny. Amazon spokesman Audrey Wax says that Watch Pals are not intended to replace real friendships but enhance them. Although it could end a few friendships, especially if you happen to be watching a movie with your buddy, Lawrence Fishburne. All right. A new AI friend for your TV viewing from Adam Felber, your next story of Tune Up for Television comes from Shantyra Jackson. With more and more Americans cutting the cable cord, a cable service in Omaha, Nebraska is trying to win back people by offering a new TV plugin called Make It Better that allows you to change the endings of your favorite television shows to the endings that you prefer. Do you wish the lady in Fleabag made out with that pre- with Make It Better? They make out for a long time. There's also a feature that just deletes all the episodes that are bad, making lost exactly four seasons long. The plugin is still in its beta stage but a nationwide rollout is expected in the summer of 2026. All right. So a new service that'll change TV show plots from Shantyra Jackson and your last story of a boob tube noob comes from Hari Kandabolu. Do you want a 55-inch TV but don't want to pay for it? Historically, the only way to do this was arm-drawberry. But not anymore thanks to Telly. No, Telly isn't just the silly thing British people call television. Telly is a company that sends you a free TV in exchange for watching ads via an ever-present 10-inch display that stays on screen at all times. It's like Times Square in a box. Even when you turn off the TV, the ads stay on the screen, forever reminding you that Hymns offers erectile dysfunction pills and capitalism will never let you sleep. Telly also monitors your audio and video content, channels you watch, and duration of your watching. Even Telly is like, Jesus Christ, dude, you're watching way too much naked and afraid. It's just a nice free TV with an incredibly threatening aura that is constantly watching you, like the government. But don't worry, you don't have to watch the TV. Just kidding, you do. If you don't watch it enough, Telly charges you a thousand dollars. Even worse than the TV with mandatory ads, paying for a TV with mandatory ads. Okay, Kurt, you've got an AI friend to watch TV with from Adam Felber. Make it better a new service that will change TV show plots from Shantara Jackson and from Hari Kondabalu, a free TV that forces you to watch TV. Which one is real? I gotta go with Hari's Telly TV, I think. Okay, and to find out the correct answer, we spoke with someone who actually tried this new innovation. Telly requires you to use the TV as the main TV in your home, and you're gonna have to live with ads. Also, this audience is like, we don't watch TV, we only listen to radio. That was Emma Roth, reporter for The Verge, who lived with a Telly. Congratulations, Kurt, you got that right. And you earned a point for Hari, and you've won our prize, The Voice of Your Choice on your voicemail. Congratulations, and thank you so much for playing with us today. Thank you. Took myself down to the TV store, replaced the set I'd smashed on the floor. Like a lover's quarrel, guess I lost my head. I potted on that sucker till I knew it was dead. And now, the game we call Not My Job. Becca Mann is one of the most impressive swimmers in the world. In 2019, she became the first person to swim the 40-mile channel crossing three Hawaiian islands. This was just four years after winning her second national championship in the Open Water 10K. She's also the author of two books, one a sports memoir and the other a dystopian young adult novel. Clearly, someone got her a pen that writes underwater. Becca Mann, welcome to Wait Wait, Don't Tell Me. I'm really excited to be here. So, okay, I like fully don't understand why you do what you do. A lot of people don't. You're in the majority there. I'm not even quite sure. So I have so many questions. Let's just start with like, do you ever get freaked out by the open ocean? Not the open ocean itself. I sometimes get freaked out by my mind just because it's so, like I'm in a sensory deprivation tank, it feels like sometimes, and they can sometimes fire a lot of control. So that's honestly the only thing that really scares me about open water. So like, your thoughts are more terrifying than sharks. Definitely. Sharks, at least you know what you're getting there. Oh my gosh, I hope you do therapy. So, you know, one of the things that I thought about, like when thinking about these, these adventures that you go on, is that you're in the water for a really, really, really long time. So what are some of the weird kind of physical side effects of this kind of swimming? So when you're in salt water, you will start swelling. So like about nine hours in, my nostrils were swollen together. And then when I got out of the water, my uvula was hanging onto the back of my tongue. And I couldn't swallow for the rest of the day. Oh, God, this is where I pretend to really know what a uvula is. It hangs on the back of your throat. Oh, got you. Either way, I sense that this is bad. This again kind of conjures the question of like, why do you do this to yourself? But what is your, like, what's your big goal now? I mean, you've already done so much. Is there another, like a record you want to set? Yeah, so I actually took, after that swim, I took five years off of swimming. That was like the last thing that I wanted to do with my career, because I just narrowly missed my third Olympic team and I didn't want to end on a failure. So I love swimming and I figured why not just see how long I can love swimming for in one period. And then after that took five years off and I was just really missing swimming. So I got back into it a year ago and then made the national team again after five months of training. So I'm hoping. Thank you. Now I'm just kind of taking it six months by six months and seeing what happens from there. And as long as I keep enjoying getting into the pool every day to train, I'm going to keep sticking with it. When you're in the open water, are there people that are like watching you or tracking you in some ways? You're not completely by yourself, right? Yeah. So there was a kayak that was probably like five to 10 feet away from me the whole time. And then a boat that would stay like 200 meters ahead. And then every like 20 minutes, I'd swim up to the boat and my mom was actually on the boat and she was violently seasick the whole time. She's not happy. She's never doing this again. And she threw me a feed. We call them feeds. They're basically just like liquid fuel. So like a Gatorade with like some sort of energy gel melted into it. So yeah, I wasn't fully alone, even though like I couldn't touch the boat. Nobody was allowed to touch me because then you're disqualified if that happens. But there were people nearby in case I need help or anything. Okay. So there were people nearby. My question is, what's the most incredible thing you've seen in the open ocean? Because I won't be going. I need to live vicariously through you. I think I've seen three sharks and I really love sharks. All of them were, it was two black tip reef sharks and then one white tip reef shark. And I think that they're just such beautiful creatures. All of them were like very peaceful. And yeah, I love all the animals. They're probably surprised to see you. Yeah. What are you doing at my house? Oh yeah, they have a real reputation for being peaceful. So that's... Those ones in particular. I met some nice ones. Well, so speaking of like fish, have you ever like had a relationship with a fish in this style of my octopus teacher? I can't say that I have. I mean, are you open to that? I'm open to everything. We'll see. We'll see where life takes me. So like when you're, I guess, ever relaxing if that happens for you, like you're on a girls weekend at the beach, are you just in the water because you feel like you have to be in it at all times? Like what is your relationship with water when you're not racing in it? Yeah, I love the water. I especially love when I can convince my non-swimming friends to go in the ocean with me. I feel like that's the sign of like a true friendship if I can convince people to like go swimming in the ocean with me because that's where I'm the happiest and I love sharing that with people. And how do you convince them? I tell them that if anything happens, I'll make sure that they're safe and I'm the one who drowns or gets eaten. So like there's such a small chance of that happening and I think it reassures them. So that's usually my line. Do you ever like swim in a hotel pool and just like casually do laps but also smoke everybody and show off? Definitely. I think so. Depending on what kind of mood I'm in. Oh, Beckham, man. Well, we've actually asked you here to play a game we're calling... Tanks for joining us. So you know all about open water. So we're going to ask you about closed water, aquariums. Answer two out of three questions correctly and you'll win our prize for one of our listeners, the voice of any of us on their voicemail. Bill, who is Becca playing for? Ryan Campbell of Houston, Texas. All right. All right. I won't leave you down, Ryan. Here's your first question. The San Antonio Aquarium has a touch tank which can provide guests with unique experiences like which of these? Is it A, an archer fish spitting water directly into your boyfriend's eye? Is it B, an octopus grabbing your six-year-old by the arm and trying to climb out of the tank to get the rest of her? Or is it C, the can you handle a lionfish sting challenge? I'm going to say C just because I don't know if the aquarium would be able to get away with the first jail. Oh, it is B. They got away with an octopus grabbing a kid. Don't worry. Don't worry. The kid is fine and it only took three adults armed with ice packs to make the octopus let go. All right. Here's your next question. The San Antonio Aquarium had another situation in 2018. When one of their sharks went missing, fortunately, they were able to track it down quickly because security footage showed what? Was it A, one shark was hiding on the bottom of its tank while another shark buried it in the sand? Was it B, the shark jumping a barrier into the beluga whale tank where it was now playing with the whale like they were best friends? Or was it C, two people lifting the shark out of its tank, putting it in a baby stroller and walking out of the aquarium? Yeah. Okay. I feel like it could be any of these three things. Okay. C seems like it would be the most fun. So I'm going to go with C. You're right. It is C. Oh my gosh. I can't believe you got that. Police recovered the shark from the guy who wanted it for the quote, extensive aquarium habitat in his garage. I really see a lot of myself in that guy. All right. Here's your last question. According to a 2017 interview, when the sharks at one aquarium wouldn't mate, the staff solved the issue by doing what? Was it A, piping salt and peppers, push it into the enclosure on a loop? Was it B, putting jasmine oil into their water as an aphrodisiac? Or was it C, putting lipstick on the female shark? What is it? Okay. What's the audience thinking? A? Okay. I can't say no to that then. It has to be A. Oh my god. That's right. Push it is a cross species sexy song. Wow. Bill, how did Becca do on our quiz? Well, she did swim a very long way. So we're going to call her a winner, two out of three. All right. I think you could call the audience the true winner though. Well, Becca Mann is a champion open water swimmer and a writer. Becca Mann, thank you so much for joining us on Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Thank you for having me. This was so much fun. In just a minute, while you better take away your dog's car keys right now, that's in our listener, Limerick Challenge called 1-888. Wait, wait to join us on air. We'll be back in a minute with more of Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me from NPR. From NPR and WBEZ Chicago, this is Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, the NPR news quiz. I'm Bill Curtis. We are playing this week with Adam Felber, Hari Kandavolu and Shantyra Jackson. And here we get as your host at the Studebaker Theater in Chicago, Illinois, and again, Far Side. Thanks, Bill. In just a minute, the game that somehow didn't realize the thing that was fun about Limericks is They Were Dirty. It's the Listener Limerick Challenge. If you'd like to play, give us a call at 1-888-WAIT-WAIT. That's 1-888-924-8924. But now, panel, I have more questions for you from this week's news. Adam, according to the Wall Street Journal, the famously dog-friendly city of San Francisco has decided it still loves dogs, but it can't stand what? When they dress up as fighter pilots. That's so cute in my mind. I'll give you a hint. The problem is at the other end of the leash. Dog owners. That's right. Dog owners. The Wall Street Journal gave a huge list of examples of dogs behaving badly and dog owners doing nothing about it. And if you're about to correct me and say it's not a dog owner, it's a dog mommy, you're part of the problem. Now, some examples include a dog pooping on the floor of a target, a stranger's dog licking the face of a man doing sit-ups at the gym, and a black lab who grabbed a croissant right out of a man's hand outside the coffee shop after which, and this is true, the barista said, oh yeah, that's the dog that always steals croissants. I'll be honest. I'm not trying to victim-blame here, but if a dog licked me at the gym, that'd be really cute. Like, you're down there, he expects you to play with him. And the story is called Target. Yeah. All right, Hari, people are debating the etiquette of a wedding guest's decision to do what during a friend's wedding reception? Take off their shoes. Here, I'll give you a hint. Yeah. She made it fancy by springing for the stuffed crust. Ordering pizza? That's right. During the wedding? Yes. So a guest at a wedding who felt the food was taking too long took matters into her own hands and ordered a pizza for her and her date, and people are divided. Why? I mean, on the RSVP, she had checked the right box where it said fish, steak, or piss off the bride. I kind of love it. I kind of love it. Like, if it was your wedding, would you be like, okay with it? If you give me a slice, we good. My understanding of the story is that they didn't get enough pizza for everybody. That's fine. As long as you give it to the bride, I don't care about the groom eating. So then he can give me my food. Okay. I'm not mad at it. I'll just go and record and say that I'm not mad. But it's also not my wedding. You're also not the bride. Chantere, a toy company is making headlines after unveiling what new tool for kids? It's a sledgehammer. Oh, hey, you're, yeah, like, it's hammer, right? Sound. A B with the sledgehammer. You know what? Because you're in the general world, I'm going to give it to you. A table saw. It's called the chop saw. What a great way to help your kids say how old he is when he's four and a half. Is it really functional or is it just like, is it, does it actually cut wood? No, I mean, they say it's totally safe for kids. Who is they? The national chainsaw association? I mean, I'm not a scientist, but anything that cuts wood can cut kids. Well, and look, I mean, if you guys are concerned about, you know, their fingers or something, don't worry, those are just baby fingers. The adult fingers will come back. Coming up, it's lightning fill in the blank. But first, it's the game where you have to listen for the rhyme. If you'd like to play on air, call or leave a message at 1-888-WAIT-WAIT. That's 1-888-924-8924. You can see us most weeks here at the Studebaker Theater in Chicago, or come see us on the road. We'll be in Honolulu next week, October 9th and 10th. And in Costa Mesa, California on November 6th. For tickets and info about all our live shows, go to nprpresents.org. Hi, you're on Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Hi, this is Lauren from Stoughton, Massachusetts. Lauren, hello, what's going on in Stoughton, Massachusetts? I mean, there's not much to it. I think everybody might know Stoughton as the home of the only Ikea in Massachusetts, so everyone has to make a pilgrimage there at least once. You should really be working for the Stoughton Tourism Bureau with this kind of chatter. It's amazing. Well, welcome to the show, Lauren. Bill Curtis is going to read you three news-related limericks with the last word or phrase missing from each. If you can fill in that last word or phrase correctly on two limericks, you're a winner. Here's your first limerick. My new outfits like spraying some mace. If you're close, it will get you in your face. With hoops and balloons, I take up extra room. I now have lots more personal space. Space it is. That's right. Space. Personal space. This season, designers are all about garments that scream, stay back. Reviewers see the trend as a statement about bodily autonomy and clothing as armor. These clothes sound perfect because honestly, I'm so tired of doing windmill arms at the club. All right. Here's your next limerick. My cat likes to drown his regrets, and my dog wants to drink to forget. So we go to a bar that will serve pido noir. I am getting some wine for my... Pat. Pat it is. That's right. Pat's. Finally, you can give your dog the Eucharist because there is now wine for pets. New Zealand company, Mutley's estate released a collection of wines with adorable punny names, things like champagne and Pino. No, no, no, no, no, no, bad dog, bad. This is why there's dogs pooping in targets. They're drunk. They're drunk. Yeah, dogs act drunk all the time, drunk and high all the time anyway. They're like always hungry, and they're always like, I love you, man. I love you, man. I love you so much. They don't need help in this department. All right. Here's your last limerick. In our nets, their eight arms make a lot of fuss. Now, these cephalopods feed a lot of us. Many fish got their wishes to stay off our dishes because Britons run over by octopus. That's right. Oh my God. So impressed. Octopus. Bricsum, one of the largest fish markets in England, has been invaded by octopuses. Instead of their usual haul of lobsters and crabs, fishermen are pulling up nets full of octopus. Luckily, octopus is a lucrative catch and a crucial ingredient in English dishes like big wiggly salad. It doesn't make me want to eat them either. Like now that I'm seeing them in this, you know, overpopulated life, like they're trying to do something, you know? I would still eat them. Have you eaten octopus? I've never had octopus before. I'm from Florida. I didn't have to dis about everything. It's in the frozen section right next to manatees. We don't touch manatees. That's the only animal that we don't kill in Florida. Bill, how did Lauren do? Lauren ripped three in a row. She's good. Oh my God. Congratulations, Lauren. Thanks so much for joining us. Now, on our final game, Lightning Fill in the Blank, each player will have 60 seconds to answer as many Fill in the Blank questions as they can. Each correct answer is worth two points. Bill, can you give us the scores? I can indeed. Harry has three. Chantira has two and Adam has three. All right, Chantira, you're in third place. That means you're up first. The clock will start when I begin your first question. Fill in the blank. On Wednesday, the White House warned that mass federal layoffs were imminent due to the blank. The government shut down. Right. On Tuesday, President Trump announced he was creating a website called TrumpRX to sell discount blanks. Prescriptions. Right. According to a new study, children who are infected twice double their risk of long blank. COVID. Right. Following an explosion, a high rise in blank partially collapsed. Brooklyn. In the Bronx, I'll give it to you. This week, according to India, ruled that doctors in that country would now be required to blank. Do it at a dance. Improve their handwriting. Best known for her work studying chimpanzees, conservationist blank passed away at the age of 91. Right. This week, rescue workers in Ireland successfully saved a young child who got stuck inside blank. Uh, chimney. No, a claw machine. Oh, that's way more fun. According to reports, the kid climbed up the slot where prizes come out and got stuck inside the machine. His parents had to call 911 to get him out. But you know, before they did, the husband was like, quick, get me a quarter. I've got this. Bill, how did Chantira do? Well, Chantira five, right. 10 more points. Settle it. 12. Are in the lead. I'm in the lead. You're in the lead. Right now. Okay. Hari, you're up next. Fill in the blank. On Wednesday, the Israeli Navy intercepted an aid boat attempting to reach blank. Right. According to a new report, almost 25% of adults in the U.S. struggled with their blank health last year. Brain health. Mental. I'll give it to you. Mental health. After learning the troops had arrived in Portland, activists said they'd organize an emergency blank. Protest. An emergency naked bike ride. Oh, yeah. Protest. That's Portland. That is a Portland protest. Following a bankruptcy filing, door to door magazine seller blank said the past winners of their sweepstakes wouldn't be paid. Publishers clearing house. Right. On Sunday, it was announced that Bad Bunny would perform at the blank halftime show. Super Bowl. Right. After evading police for eight weeks, a robber in Colorado was finally caught when he blanked. Pooped in a target. I'll do it. Right. Walked right by a TV news crew doing a story about him. The man was accused of committing multiple robberies over the past few weeks and had managed to completely elude police capture until he walked right past a news crew that just happened to be filming a segment about him. It's amazing that even if they're on the run from the law, some people can't resist being like, oh, my God, you're talking about me? Bill, how did Hari do? He had five right. 10 more points. 13 puts him in the lead. All right. All right. And then, um, and Bill, how many does Adam need to win? Five to tie. I am six to win. Okay. Adam, this is for the game. On Sunday, Eric Adams announced he was bowing out of the mayoral race in blank New York. Right. On Wednesday, it was revealed that the blank would start making top ranking officials sign NDAs. Pentagon. Right. This week, retail giant blank said it would remove artificial dyes from their house brand products. Walmart. Right. On Thursday, the U.S. Meteorological Service said they were monitoring two blanks moving toward Bermuda. Hurricanes. Right. This week, a woman in Florida gave birth and then five days later, blanked while holding the baby. Gave birth. What? Give it to him. Give it to him. Slow twin. No, she won a mortal combat tournament. On Tuesday, a grisly named chunk was announced as the winner of blank week. Fat Bear Week. Right. This week, a man in Virginia is calling it a miracle that he had a heart attack while driving and crashed into blank. An ambulance. A cardiologist's house. The doctor immediately rushed out at administered CPR, saving the man's life. It was an amazing moment of heroism, which was slightly undercut when the doctor found out the guy wasn't in network. Bill, did Adam do well enough to win? Well, after a close reading, he got five, right. Ten more points. Total of 13 gives him a tie with Hari. Yeah. How about that? Shall we cheer for that? All right. Congratulations. I'm stunned. I'm stunned. In just a minute, we'll ask our panelists to predict now that he's banned fat generals. What's the next improvement Pete Hegseth will make to the military? But first, let me tell you that. Wait, wait, don't tell me. It's a production of NPR and WBZ Chicago in association with urgent haircut productions. Doug Berman, benevolent overlord. Philip Godica writes our limericks. Our public address announcer is Paul Friedman, our tour manager is Shayna Donald. Thanks to the staff and crew at the Studebaker Theater. B.J. Liederman composed our theme. Our program is produced by Jennifer Mills, Miles Dornbos and Lillian King. Special thanks to Vinnie Thomas and Monica Hickey. Peter Gwynne is our full time controller. Emma Choi is our visual host. Technical direction, Lorna White. Our CFO is Colin Miller. Our production manager is Robert Newhouse. Our senior producer is Ian Chillag. The executive producer of Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me is Mike Danforth. Now panelists, how will Pete Hegseth improve the military next? Adam Felber. One slim down, Hezgeth will have the generals posed for his own personal calendar. Quote, I like General February. He seems so down to earth. Shantyra Jackson. He's gonna ban giving a little treat when you're sad because happiness only comes from war now. Hariconda Bolu. Make the Navy bring back those silly ass white hats. And depending on what happens, panel will ask you about it on Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Thank you Bill Curtis. Thanks also to Adam Felber, Shantyra Jackson, Hariconda Bolu. And thanks to all of you for listening. I'm Nicky Farsad, feeling for Peter Sagle and we'll see you next week. This is NPR. Support for NPR and the following message come from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. Investing in creative thinkers and problem solvers who help people, communities, and the planet flourish. More information is available at Hewlett.org.