behind the scenes with ‘wait wait… don’t tell me!’

i may very well be the world’s biggest wait wait… don’t tell me fan. i listen on 89.3 kpcc when i can. i podcast it on my iphone for my commute. it is perfect blend of trivial pursuit (my favorite game), current events, and comedy. besides, what good is comedy if there are no prizes?

so, i was delighted to see a behind the scenes look at the making of one of the wait wait episodes. local chicago station wttw 11 showed me how the scripts were written, how the panelists prepared, and i finally got to see what the venerable carl kasell and host peter sagal finally looked like. how cool would it be to have carl kasell’s voice on my home answering device? and i must admit, peter sagal looked nothing like i imagined. i envisioned a young smart ass with blond hair partly because his voice sounds so young and geeky. (geeks and nerds are a good thing in our npr world.) you can genuinely hear how excited he gets when one of the guests (especially the lesser known musicians that were his childhood favorites) appears on the show. peter sagal is one of the quickest, funniest, and most genuine folks on the radio.

i like all of the panelists. i am partial to mo rocca because of his deadpan wit, his understanding of all things nerd, and because i grew up watching him on the daily show. tom bodett (of motel 6 fame), paul provenza, paula poundstone, roxanne roberts, charlie pierce, p.j. o’rourke, kyrie o’connor, adam felber, amy dickenson, roy blount, jr., and the newest edition, former snl star julia sweeney are all smart, funny, and quick. if you’re half intelligent and love comedy, this is the show for you.

so have a listen and make wait wait a part of your regular podcast library.