Reflecting Pools and Construction Zones

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!

The episode features humor around a green, algae-filled reflecting pool, FIFA's new World Cup hydration breaks, and a celebrity podium setter in the UK. Panelists joke about political satire, sports, and viral internet culture.

Key takeaways

• Algae-filled reflecting pool sparks political satire
• FIFA's hydration breaks mocked as ad breaks
• Podium setter becomes UK internet sensation

Transcript preview

From NPR and W.B. E.Z Chicago, this is Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, the NPR News Quiz. I'm a household name, as long as you're in my household. I'm Also Slade, and here's your host at the Studebaker Theater at the Fine Arts Building in Chicago, Illinois, Peter Sego. Thank you, Also. Thank you. Thank you, everybody. Later on we're going to be talking to Indy, Rock, icon Stephen Malcolm, as leader of the band, Pavement. But first, we want to congratulate Alsos Laid on his first month as our official judge and scorekeeper. That means he has lasted longer in the job than five British prime ministers. Right? But you never know what might happen, so you better call before there's a vote of no confidence the number is 1,000, wait, wait, wait, that's 1, 888, 9248. Hi, you're going, wait, wait, don't tell me. Hi, this is David from Brooklyn. Hey, David from Brooklyn. Can you differentiate yourself? There are a lot of David's in Brooklyn. Well, Father 2, run 2-half marathons, and I can see Barclay Center from my house. Whoa! They don't really narrow it down there. No, it doesn't at all. Yeah, no. Well, David, it is nice to have you on the show. Let me introduce you to our panel this week. First up, she's, she's, she's, she's, she's, she's, she's, she's, she's, she's a comedian. special What's Her Secret is now available on YouTube? It's Emmy Blotnick. Hello! Next she's a comedian whose special Love Joy is on Peecock and whose album Yell Joy is on blonde medicine. It's Joyell Nicole Johnson. What up, David? And making his debut on our panel, it's a comedian and host of the downside podcast on Fox. You can see his comedy special Thief of Joy on YouTube as well. It's Gien Hello Hello. Hello. Hello. David, welcome to the show. You're going to play Who's Also. This time, Also Slade is going to read you three quotations from this week's news. If you can correctly identify or explain just two of them, you will win our prize. Any voice from our show you might choose for your voicemail. You ready to go? I'm ready to go and Also. Congratulations on one month. You were filling very big luck. I like this guy. I know. Well played, sir. Well played. All right. Your first quote is from a White House spokesperson speaking on Tuesday about a body of water gone completely green with algae. The pool is clear and reflecting beautifully. What pool was she talking about? He is talking about the reflecting pool. Yes, the reflecting pool on the National Mall. In May, the president announced he'd be renovating the reflecting pool, quote, ahead of it. schedule and just a month later it is a fetid mass filled with algae floating debris and a few dead ducks but to be fair it is ahead of schedule. Trump said the pool had actually been damaged by vandals with knives quote probably in the dark of night unquote and do you know how bad a lie is that even Donald Trump used the word probably I'm sure you guys have been following this national drama with rapt attention. Yeah, I don't know. The dead ducks, it kind of feels like the new groundhog's day. Like if you find a dead duck around the pool that means four more years of Trump. Oh God. Yes. Yes. It's funny that he said it was damaged by vandals when there's like video that they drove the motor cage. Yes, this is actually true. Yeah. When it was empty he had his motorcade which as you know he's the president it's a huge thing drive into the reflecting pool and down the empty bottom and out. Yeah. I think he should do it while it's full. Yeah. The damage to the reflecting pool after this renovation includes holes cracks peeling cock in the seams and long sheets of the supposedly waterproof bottom coating floating to the surface. At the end of the week this is true they just with all these people coming to gawk at the damage they just fenced off the entire thing so nobody can see what they're doing to it now you know We're going to end up with the nation's first above ground reflecting pool I Don't want to disrespect people who repair pools But I kind of feel like I could have done a better job. Yeah. Like just as a person common sense like can is it that hard? Apparently leaky pipes. They went straight to the paint job. Right. What about the pipes? There you go. You see right now you are now qualified. Exactly. Exactly. And the algae which is like just blooming like it's nobody's business. It's unsightly it might as I said might be killing the ducks but in the other hand RFK Jr. needs it to survive. All right, David here is your next quote it is from a sports fan. The hydration breaks are BS. But I can give my beers. was one of many people excited to make a run for the concessions during the new hydration breaks during what big sporting events? The World Cup and I bet it was probably a Scottish fan because they drank Boston and every other city drive. As you're right we discussed that last week yeah therefore it is the World Cup. One thing soccer fans have always been proud of is that their game has no time out. It is just 90 continuous minutes of absolutely nothing happening. But for this year's World Cup, supposedly in response to fears about high temperatures, FIFA has for the first time introduced hydration breaks, a three minute pause in each half where all the players' mothers run out and give them orange slices. I'm not a soccer fan at all, but now I call it football because I'm a British person. But I am a fan of men who don't skip leg day. So I have you watching. You got, y'all better not skip leg day. right now on the table. I do I do I don't I guess I we should have these breaks I don't know why they don't call water breaks in the theater we call them intermissions yeah and I think they're wonderful yeah I mean it's they have to run so much in soccer that's like and they have to hit the ball with their head I would need a break as you can tell this is the least athletic panel that's ever been on this show which is saying something You just want to go like, oo! Like imagine a ball hitting your hand like that. Well that's why they wear the big Mickey Mouse clubs, right? I don't even know. I don't know. I don't know. Well, I should let you know, since you're not, the soccer purest hate this change, everybody is saying these so-called hydration breaks are really just about giving TV another place to sell some ads. Which FIFA said, no, we just want our players to hydrate with a cool refreshing taste of Miller Light. the American World Cup. Why don't think bigger? 15 minutes at the end where everybody's allowed to use their hands. I didn't know you couldn't use your hands. All right. All right. Joyell, I'm I there is nothing wrong with not being a sports fan. She's just looking at legs the whole time. Yeah true. I'm not just looking at legs. I'm also looking at butts. Here's your last quote. It's about a guy who made headlines just for moving a podium this week. He's the only one at Downing Street whose approval rating is rising. That man has become famous because, one, he's hot, and two, he comes out to set up the podium whenever who announces their resignation. Well, it's really sad that he's more attractive than Kirastarma, but it's podium guy. Yeah, it's the podium guy, you know about him. But of course, he's the guy who shows up to put up to put up the podium the podium the podium the podium the podium the podium minister resigns, which this week it was Kere Starmer. Yes, the premier of the world's fifth largest economy resign this week, but all anybody can talk about is Hot Potium Guy. Even New York Times, a big story about it. That's right. There have been so many resignations of British Prime Ministers in the last few years that the hot guy who sets up for the resignation speech has become a celebrity. In fact, it is possible that the UK keeps running through new prime minister. because they just want to see more of this guy. You know it's crazy though because I've been living in London and I can tell you guys this that a British 10 is like an American six best. Oh no. I don't know go look this guy up. It's easy to be hot next to Boris Johnson. That's true. How's how did David do in our quiz? My man David did well. Three out of three. Congratulations David. Well, well done. Thank you, David. Thanks for playing. Thank you. Bye bye. It was it like cottage cheese or something? No it's the thing that all the European tourists foreign tourists have decided is the best thing about American cuisine. What is the best thing about American cuisine? Okay, craft. Crafts. Crafts. Crafts. I'll give you a hint. This is even true if you're traveling home. They'll take it away from you even if you're traveling home to the Hidden Valley. Eel, Ranch dressing. going nuts for ranch dressing. The soccer players drink it on their brakes. It's crazy. I know. They make it travel size ranch dressing. Crafts is announced travel size bottles of ranch dressing to go through TSA because people are like, oh my God, this American delicacy and they're buying bottles to bring home. But the TSA keeps confiscating the ranch dressing from passengers because technically it's a liquid and you can't have that much liquid. Imagine you're in that situation and you just do what you always do when you have a bottle of water in the TSA land you have a bottle of water in the TSA land. This is getting a new sticker on it that says lotion. But imagine being a kid in Europe had to stay home and your dad went to see the World Cup in America and he comes home and you're like, what'd you bring home from your trip? I hope it's a thick dairy product. I want to know what's going to happen though with all