This That or The Other

Transcript

OPHIRA EISENBERG, HOST:

You're listening to ASK ME ANOTHER from NPR and WNYC. I'm Ophira Eisenberg, and with me is our one-man house band, Jonathan Coulton and our puzzle guru, Will Hines. Say hello to our next contestants, Anya Lester and Crisman Richards.

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EISENBERG: Our contestants continue to be into amazing self-descriptions. Anya said she is just the average hippie, vegetarian, animal-loving, NPR-listening, crossword-doing trivia hound that shoots guns and fights crime.

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ANYA LESTER: That's me. I'm a forensic scientist, a firearms examiner with the Las Vegas Metro Police Department.

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EISENBERG: That is amazing. That is so cool. I can't even tell you how cool that is.

LESTER: And the funniest part is my name anagrams to arsenal yet.

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EISENBERG: You lived up to almost everything in your self-description just by when you said that.

LESTER: Just about, yeah.

EISENBERG: Perfect. Crisman, cool name.

CRISMAN RICHARDS: Thank you.

EISENBERG: Descendent of English nobility.

RICHARDS: Yes, very much so.

EISENBERG: Who are you a - who are you a descendent of?

RICHARDS: I'm a Pennington of Muncaster Castle. And so we served...

EISENBERG: Come on.

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RICHARDS: No, I'm a Pennington.

EISENBERG: And you're a ghost hunter.

RICHARDS: I am. Well, the castle's very haunted, so it just kind of came in the family.

EISENBERG: OK. This is like a weird career fair, this show.

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EISENBERG: Are there any ones around here? Are there any ones now?

RICHARDS: Oh, yeah. This theater is full of ghosts.

EISENBERG: Really?

RICHARDS: They're all really well-dressed too, you guys.

EISENBERG: Well-dressed.

RICHARDS: They're not going to give me the answers, though. Don't worry. We're not cheating tonight, you guys.

EISENBERG: OK, OK, whatever you say, Crisman.

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EISENBERG: Well, it's time for another installment of an ASK ME ANOTHER classic game. It's called This, That or the Other. We give you the name of something, and all you have to do is tell us which of three categories it belongs to. So, Jonathan Coulton, what are today's categories?

JONATHAN COULTON, BYLINE: In honor of San Francisco, today's categories are historical figures, sci-fi villains and tech startups.

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COULTON: 'Cause, you know, it's San Francisco. If San Francisco is known for anything, it's evil nerds with lasers.

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COULTON: And I'm going to alternate between you guys, so you don't have to buzz in. Just tell us is it a historical figure, a fictional sci-fi villain or a tech startup. Are you ready?

LESTER: We are ready.

RICHARDS: Yes, absolutely.

COULTON: OK, no ghosts.

RICHARDS: OK.

COULTON: Anya, this is for you - Zynga.

LESTER: Zynga - tech startup.

COULTON: That is correct.

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COULTON: They're a game company. They made "Farmville," so we also would have accepted villain.

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COULTON: Chrisman, this is for you - Zurg.

RICHARDS: He is a villain.

COULTON: He is. You are current.

RICHARDS: He is quite the villain.

COULTON: He is, from "Toy Story," of course. Anya, Bluetooth.

LESTER: Bluetoot - tech startup?

COULTON: No, I'm sorry. This is kind of a trick question.

LESTER: It is.

COULTON: Because, of course, the technology - and not a company. But it was named after an actual historical figure, King Herald Bluetooth Gormsson of Denmark.

LESTER: Who knew?

COULTON: Crisman, Blue Fang.

RICHARDS: Is that a tech startup?

COULTON: It is.

RICHARDS: Oh, well.

COULTON: Another video game developer. They made "Zoo Tycoon." Whoop-de-do.

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COULTON: Anya, this one's yours. GLaDOS.

LESTER: GLaDOS? Villian.

COULTON: It is a villain.

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COULTON: That's right, she's from a video game.

WILL HINES, BYLINE: The two of them you haven't known and you've guessed and gotten it right. You must be an amazing detective, like you must be like...

LESTER: Absolutely.

HINES: Yeah.

LESTER: Absolutely.

HINES: Well, I don't have the evidence, but I know this person did it.

COULTON: She's right again.

LESTER: It's very Holmesian.

COULTON: Crisman, Narmer.

RICHARDS: Narmer is a historical figure.

COULTON: Yes, you are correct.

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COULTON: He's pretty old. He was the first pharaoh of Egypt.

EISENBERG: Cleary he was like a loser pharaoh, Narmer.

COULTON: Narmer. Whatever, here comes Narmer.

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HINES: All of Narmer's junior high school friends are like Narmer's pharaoh? Are you kidding me, man?

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HINES: Narmer? Oh, man, Egypt's lame now, man.

COULTON: This is your last set of questions, you might be relieved to hear.

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COULTON: Anya, Giphy.

LESTER: I'm going to go with tech startup.

COULTON: That's right.

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COULTON: Crisman.

RICHARDS: Yes?

COULTON: Scroop.

RICHARDS: Scroop?

COULTON: Scroop.

RICHARDS: It sounds like a tech startup, but I think that it's actually a villain.

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LESTER: So what's your answer?

RICHARDS: My answer is villain.

COULTON: You are correct. It is a villain.

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COULTON: Will, how did our contestants do?

HINES: This was a really close battle, but our winner for this round is Crisman.

LESTER: Good job.

HINES: So, Crisman, we'll see you in the final round. Thank you both for playing.

(APPLAUSE) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.