Games & Humor

Books

Wordle — don't forget your roots. 'The Puzzler' details puzzle fads through time

9:32am February 05, 2022

by Scott Simon

Wordle is hardly the first puzzle to take the nation by storm. Scott Simon speaks with A.J. Jacobs, journalist and author, about his new book on the power of puzzles.

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Historian Shermann "Dilla" Thomas uses TikTok to explain why Chicago is the coolest city in the world.

Arts

'Wait Wait' for Feb. 5, 2022: With Not My Job guest Shermann 'Dilla' Thomas

8:59am February 05, 2022

Historian Shermann Thomas is Chicago's most popular TikTok star, and he got there by telling cool facts about the city he loves. But what does he know about goats? We ask him 3 questions to find out.

Jeremy O. Harris, at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in Los Angeles, California.

Arts

'Wait Wait' for Jan. 29, 2022: With Not My Job guest Jeremy O. Harris

12:00pm January 29, 2022

Jeremy O. Harris is one of the world's most exciting playwrights, whose Slave Play netted a record-setting 12 Tony nominations. We invite him on to answer three questions on the worst plays in sports.

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A bot that tried to spoil the fun for Wordle users has been banned by Twitter.

Arts

Twitter boots a bot that revealed Wordle's upcoming words to the game's players

3:31pm January 26, 2022

by Bill Chappell

A bot account sent mean notes to users who posted their Wordle score — and it also revealed the next day's answer. It was suspended for violating Twitter's rules.

Brian Cox speaks onstage at the 25th Annual Critics' Choice Awards on Jan. 12, 2020, in Santa Monica, Calif.

Arts

'Wait Wait' for Jan. 22, 2022: With Not My Job guest Brian Cox

9:11am January 22, 2022

Brian Cox is one of the world's most celebrated actors, and is currently perfecting the art of swearing as Logan Roy on HBO's Succession. Naturally, we asked three questions about vacuums cleaners.

Kacey Musgraves performs in Las Vegas on Dec. 6, 2019.

'Wait Wait' for Jan. 15, 2022: With Not My Job guest Kacey Musgraves

11:29am January 18, 2022

Kacey Musgraves got her start in Austin, then left to conquer the world. She's about to do it all again on her Star-Crossed tour, but not before she answers our three questions about national anthems.

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In Wordle, you have six guesses to figure out the five-letter word.

National

Here's what's behind the Wordle c-r-a-z-e

12:40pm January 12, 2022

by James Doubek

It's a simple game to guess a five-letter word. People on social media have been very enthusiastic about sharing how well they did.

Two Los Angeles Police Department officers were fired for playing the game Pokémon Go instead of responding to a robbery call in 2017. Here, a smartphone displays the Pokémon Go app in 2016.

National

A court upheld the firing of 2 LAPD officers who ignored a robbery to play Pokémon Go

4:57pm January 11, 2022

by Rachel Treisman

A California court denied the appeal of Louis Lozano and Eric Mitchell, who were fired from the Los Angeles Police Department after the 2017 incident. Their lawyer says they're evaluating next steps.

This season on Jeopardy!, Amy Schneider became just the fifth millionaire in the show's history and only the fourth do it in regular season play.

National

'Jeopardy!' champion Amy Schneider shares what her winning streak means

5:00am January 11, 2022

by Michael Levitt

Reigning Jeopardy! champion Amy Schneider talks to NPR's Ari Shapiro about her historic run of wins and her role as the most successful female and trans contestant in the show's history.

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Warren "Woody" Hoburg undergoes training.

Arts

'Wait Wait' for Jan. 8, 2022: With Not My Job guest astronaut Woody Hoburg

9:13am January 08, 2022

Woody Hoburg is one of NASA's newest astronauts, and in contention to be part of the team that goes back to the moon. So, we've invited him on to answer three questions about Dancing with the Stars.