The Wait Wait 2026 summer spectacular, part 2!

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!

In this episode of Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!, host Peter Sagal and guest Ken Jennings discuss the challenges of hosting Jeopardy, including the rigorous 'Jeopardy boot camp' training

Key takeaways

• Jeopardy host training involves simulated unruly contestants to prepare hosts for real-life unpredictability during gameplay.

Main topics

• Jeopardy hosting challenges
• Ken Jennings' Jeopardy career and personal anecdotes

Notable quotes

Nobody understands, this is the hardest job in show business.

Conclusion

This episode blends humor and insight into the world of Jeopardy, highlighting both the rigor

Transcript preview

Speaker 3 (0:00) For the past 25 years, a rare Pacific ecosystem has been undisturbed. Now, the Trump administration is opening nearby waters to commercial fishing. Speaker 1 (0:10) America's fishermen have never had a better ally in the White House than Donald Trump. Speaker 3 (0:14) This week on The Sunday Story, we discuss what's at stake for this wild ecosystem. Listen now to The Sunday Story from the Up First podcast on the NPR app. Speaker 8 (0:28) From NPR and WBEZ Chicago, this is Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, the NPR News Quiz. I'm the man who looks forward to Labor Day because if you think I look good now, wait till you see me in fall colors. I'm Alzo Slade, and here's your host at the Studebaker Theater in downtown Chicago, Peter Sagal. Speaker 2 (0:46) Thank you all. Thank you so much. Thank you, Alzo. Thank you, everybody. We are off enjoying the second week of our summer break, but I have got to tell you, we are getting a little antsy. We want to get back to work and start grappling with the week's news again. That's right. We're idiots. Before we make that terrible mistake. We're going to satisfy our longing with some great moments from earlier this year. In May, I had the pleasure of talking to our old friend, Ken Jennings, who, of course, went from Jeopardy champion to Jeopardy host. Speaker 8 (1:18) Peter took the opportunity to talk to Ken about his own appearance on Jeopardy, which, well, it didn't end as well as Ken's did. Speaker 2 (1:28) So, as you know, Ken, as I may have mentioned bitterly a number of times when we've spoken, I myself was on Jeopardy many, many years ago. I did not do as well as you. But one of my memories was during lunch, I sat near Alex Trebek, the legendary host, and I heard him telling his producers, you know, nobody understands, this is the hardest job in show business. Now that you are in the host's chair or podium on Jeopardy, do you agree? Well, of Speaker 1 (1:57) course, it always flatters the person in the job to point out how hard it is. But I will absolutely back up Alex here. Speaker 2 (2:05) I Speaker 1 (2:05) mean, during the, after he passed away, sadly, you know, during that guest hosting rotation, we had a lot of broadcasters in who had done everything. We had people who had reported from war zones, and to a person, they all said, wow, this game moves really fast. And I don't mean to imply that a trivia quiz show is as important as being in a war zone, but there is a unique skill set. And Alex was amazing at it, and I don't have anywhere near his level of grace or riz, but I'm going to try. Now, Speaker 2 (2:35) we heard that during that period, as you say, when many people were trying, they tried a lot of people as the host of Jeopardy, that they went through training to do it. Did you? Is there Jeopardy host training? Speaker 1 (2:48) There is Jeopardy boot camp. The Jeopardy writers, the people who write the clues, impersonate Jeopardy contestants. Okay. Just to put you through your paces. And at first, they impersonate well-behaved Jeopardy contestants doing the things we expect. Sure. As your difficulty level grows, they impersonate increasingly unruly and disobedient Jeopardy contestants, just as the host would do. Speaker 2 (3:10) Really? So can you give me some of the simulations that they put you through? Well, Speaker 1 (3:15) they don't become cantankerous necessarily, but they become erratic. Like they'll stop responding to things in the form of a question. They'll see if you know what to do if they correct an answer late or if they call out a category without being prompted. the little niceties of Jeopardy start going unobserved because a lot of these are related to rules. You know, we're a serious game, Peter. I'm not saying that Not My Job is not a very serious segment, but Speaker 2 (3:42) we Speaker 1 (3:43) take Jeopardy seriously. Speaker 2 (3:45) Yeah, you know, well, we have... Okay, fine. Can you... So you've been doing it for a while. Has anybody sworn audibly after screwing something up? Speaker 1 (4:00) I feel confident that Jeopardy has violated the George Carlin rule on a few occasions. It just wasn't me. Speaker 2 (4:08) I remember when I was on, I think I said all seven at once after one question. You, obviously, because of your extraordinary success as a contestant, must have aspired to be a contestant for a while before you went on the show. Did you also ever want to be the host? Speaker 1 (4:27) No, but over the years many people would ask me, hey, clearly if Alex were ever to retire, you'd be on the shortlist, and I would just laugh at them. No, no, no, no, no. That would be a very outside-the-box, kind of a Willy Wonka way to run a game show if you invited back... The lucky little boy who won the movie and Speaker 2 (4:46) gave Speaker 1 (4:47) him the factory. Nobody's going to do that in TV. But it turns out Jeopardy is kind of its own little institution and it runs by its own rules. Speaker 2 (4:56) Yeah, and there you are. Apparently, if you are the champion, they make you the host. Everybody who watches Jeopardy knows that after the first commercial break, when we come back, the host, now you, used to be Alex, comes over and talks to the panelists. Speaker 1 (5:10) Is that as difficult as it looks? It's hard for the contestants. I actually really enjoy it. That was always the part of the show that I thought was a little bit cringy. Even as a kid, I would sometimes have to leave the room during a boring story. It's like Jeopardy stops for a second and Curb Your Enthusiasm begins. Speaker 1 (5:29) That's why the theme song changes just at that moment. The tuba comes in. So I worked very hard on making that a little more engaging. And the fact is, Peter, I've gone my whole life trying to get out of conversations with you for about 20 seconds. Speaker 1 (5:43) Like, I was made for this. Famously, I Speaker 2 (5:46) believe this is famous, that when you did your amazing run of 74 shows after the first, I don't know, 20, you ran out of interesting things to say about yourself. You were a young man. You had only done so much. So that you just started making stuff up to talk about with Alex. Is that right? Speaker 1 (6:03) I ran out of ideas very early on. Like, if you see my fourth game, it's getting a little... The anecdotes are a little... But what I found out is nobody fact-checks these. Really? Have the New Yorkers staff, Peter. You shouldn't say you have a purple heart, but if you tell us you were a birthday clown, we are not going to LinkedIn. Right. Yes. Speaker 2 (6:30) I was watching Celebrity Jeopardy, where I expected, because I know some celebrities, the questions to be a little easier. I was very impressed. Speaker 1 (6:40) The celebrities have gotten good. Do you think so? I feel like the celebrities don't get enough credit. I think generally people assume, I think because of the Will Ferrell sketches, people assume Celebrity Jeopardy is a cakewalk where it's like states that rhyme with Schmellower. And as a result, I think they don't give the celebrities enough credit. Certainly we want them to play well. We know they're playing for charity. It depends on the category. If it's showbiz, you can ask celebs harder questions, perhaps, than civilians. So it might depend on the category. Speaker 2 (7:11) Yeah, but if it's like working for a living for real, that, yeah. I'll take Speaker 1 (7:16) not having an assistant Speaker 2 (7:17) for six years. Speaker 5 (7:21) Ken, is there any plans for, like, a dumbass Jeopardy? Speaker 7 (7:28) Because I have a request. Speaker 1 (7:30) Yes. I was going to say, well, you know, that show already airs and it's called, and then I realized I would get in trouble. Oh, Speaker 2 (7:37) my God. Well, Ken Jennings, it is always a pleasure to have you with us. This time, we have asked you here to play a game we're calling... What is H &R Block? As some people may remember, your Jeopardy win streak ended with a question about H &R Block. Speaker 2 (8:02) That you did not answer correctly. We're going to ask you three questions about that tax preparation firm. I've Speaker 1 (8:13) listened to Not My Job so many times over the years. Is this the first time you're ever asking the guest about the single most traumatic thing that's ever happened? Speaker 7 (8:26) All right. Speaker 2 (8:30) If you answer two to three questions about H &R Block, you will... Win our prize for one of our listeners. Bill, who is the legendary Ken Jennings playing for? Bobby Powers of Vienna, Virginia. All right, here's your first question, Ken. H &R Block was originally a bookkeeping business called the United Business Company, founded by Henry Block and his brother. After his brother went back to law school, Henry took out a help-wanted ad, which was answered by whom? A, the former head of the IRS under President Truman, who had just been fired by... President Eisenhower, B, his mother who told him he should hire his other brother, or C, no one, so Henry just invented someone with the initial R so people would think the company wasn't just him. Speaker 1 (9:12) Wow. I'm going to guess B, his other brother? You're right. Speaker 2 (9:17) That's what happened. Speaker 7 (9:19) He didn't phrase it as a question. He Speaker 2 (9:23) doesn't have to. He's off duty. Speaker 7 (9:25) All Speaker 2 (9:25) right, here's your next question. H &R Block is obviously known for their tax work, but they have another surprising source of revenue. What is it? A, they're majority owners of America's largest chain of Halloween haunted houses. B, they own the copyright for the GIF animated file format. Or C, they own the rights to the entire recorded music catalog of Parliament Funkadelic. Speaker 1 (9:57) I'm going to say, just because it delights me, The Haunted House. The Speaker 2 (10:02) Haunted Houses. No, I'm afraid not, although it'd be another seasonal business. They own the copyright for GIFs because they bought CompuServe, and CompuServe, way back when, patented the GIF. Here's your last question. In 2005, H &R Block got in trouble when it was revealed that for the past three years, they had made... Significant errors when filing whose taxes? A, seven of the nine Supreme Court justices, B, their own taxes, or C, every player in the New York Yankees? I mean, I'm Speaker 1 (10:43) going to say their own, B. Speaker 2 (10:45) You're right. They managed to screw up their own corporate tax return and their excuse, but we used TurboTax, did not fly. Speaker 2 (11:00) Bill, how did the quiz master Ken Jennings do on our quiz? Like a champ, two out of three. Congratulations, Ken. Well done. Speaker 2 (11:13) How does it, does it, I have to, I mean, okay, yes, we did this thing to you. We asked you about H &R Block. Does it feel good that you finally conquered your demon that is H &R Block? Speaker 1 (11:23) After all these years, I'm finally back to 500. But, you know, I think of them every time I drive past a strip mall. You see that little green square? Now, Peter, I'm Speaker 2 (11:31) going Speaker 1 (11:31) to think of them every time I watch a GIF. So you've made my life even worse. About them year round. Speaker 2 (11:40) Ken Jennings is the host of Jeopardy. He's also the author of the Complete Connections puzzle book, which has eaten up a lot of my week. It's available now. Ken Jennings, thank you so much for joining us again. I'm Blake. Always a joy to see you. Take care. We'll see you on TV. Bye-bye. Speaker 2 (12:03) When we come back, Olivia Munn reveals that she went into acting because she was a failure at TV news, and a Catholic priest commits the venal sin of gossiping about the Pope. That's when we come back with more Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me from NPR. Speaker 1 (12:20) 1A is named for the First Amendment, Speaker 7 (12:22) which protects the freedom of the press and your freedom to speak out. Our weekly series, If