Games & Humor

Sesame Street plays a Tiny Desk concert on May 10, 2019 (Claire Harbage/NPR).

Sesame Street: Tiny Desk Concert

5:41pm June 10, 2019

by Bob Boilen

Big Bird, Bert and Ernie, Elmo, Grover, Rosita, Count von Count, Abby Cadabby, Cookie Monster and other surprise guests gather at NPR's headquarters to celebrate 50 years of love, learning and joy.

Olivia Wilde is pictured at the 30th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival on Jan. 4, 2019 in Palm Springs, Calif.

Arts

Not My Job: We Quiz Actor And Director Olivia Wilde On Buffalo Wild Wings

3:13pm June 08, 2019

Wilde has just directed her first movie, Booksmart, about two star students who realize right before graduation that they could have partied harder during high school.

Queue Listen Now

Tetris, an addictive brain-teasing video game, is shown as played on the Nintendo Entertainment System in New York, June 1990. Its creator, a Soviet computer programmer, explained the game appeals to people's "constructive spirit."

Happy Birthday, Tetris. 35 Years Later You're As Addictive And Tetromino-y As Ever

9:01am June 07, 2019

by Vanessa Romo

The video game has become one of the most popular and best selling of all time. Its creator, Alexey Pajitnov, says that's because it appeals to humanity's "constructive spirit."

Queue Listen Now

World News

Lewis Chessmen Piece Could Go For $1 Million At Upcoming Auction

6:19pm June 05, 2019

Sotheby's has determined that a figurine a Scottish antique dealer bought in 1964 is actually a 900-year-old Viking chess piece — one of five missing from 4 chess sets. .

Queue Listen Now

Professional sports gambler and Jeopardy! champion James Holzhauer sounds a siren before the start of an NHL playoff game between the San Jose Sharks and the Vegas Golden Knights in April.

Spoiler Alert: There's A New 'Jeopardy' Champion In Town

10:14pm June 03, 2019

by Richard Gonzales

Champion James Holzhauer's winning streak ends at 32 games in Monday's viewing. He won more than $2.4 million, the second highest winner in regular-season play.

Spoiler Alert: Don't Listen If You Plan To Watch 'Jeopardy!' Tonight

4:40pm June 03, 2019

Spoiler Alert: Monday night's episode of Jeopardy! contains a dramatic turn for its new star player.

Queue Listen Now

Host Ophira Eisenberg chats with Trace Adkins on Ask Me Another at TPAC's Polk Theater in Nashville, Tennessee.

Arts

Trace Adkins: Whiskey, Cigarettes, And Kale

11:06am May 31, 2019

Country music star and actor Trace Adkins shares the chance encounter that launched his career and reveals how he maintains that iconic deep baritone voice.

Queue Listen Now

Carlene Carter appears on Ask Me Another at TPAC's Polk Theater in Nashville, Tennessee.

Arts

Carlene Carter: Country Music Royalty

11:06am May 31, 2019

Songwriter Carlene Carter explains how it felt to grow up in music and to carry on the family legacy. Then she plays a game guessing which artist or band is featured in a real pinball machine.

Queue Listen Now

Ask Me Another's house musician Jonathan Coulton leads a music parody game at TPAC's Polk Theater in Nashville, Tennessee.

Arts

Robot Love Songs

10:58am May 31, 2019

Beep Boop Beep. Robots can't love us, but we can write love songs about them. In this music parody game, contestants identify the real and fictional robots as Jonathan Coulton serenades.

Queue Listen Now

Contestants Jarrod Walker and Peter Murrey play trivia games on Ask Me Another at TPAC's Polk Theater in Nashville, Tennessee.

Arts

You're The Only Ten-I-See

10:58am May 31, 2019

In this guessing game nominally inspired by Tennessee, contestants guess whether a quantity is more than/greater than/higher than ten or fewer than/less than/lower than ten.

Queue Listen Now