Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! is NPR's news quiz show, and it's been making people smarter and dumber at the same time since 1998. Hosted by Peter Sagal with Bill Kurtis as the official judge and scorekeeper, the show is recorded live -- often at the Studebaker Theater in Chicago -- and that live energy is a big part of what makes it work. The format is built around panel comedy. Three comedians and writers join Sagal each week to riff on the news, compete in trivia games, and generally make fun of whatever absurd thing happened in the world that week. The standout segment is "Not My Job," where a celebrity guest answers questions about a topic hilariously unrelated to their expertise. Past guests have included everyone from actors to athletes to politicians, and watching them flounder through questions about, say, cheese manufacturing is reliably entertaining. Episodes run about 45 minutes to an hour, which slots nicely into a longer commute. The pace is quick, the jokes land more often than they miss, and there's a warmth to the whole production that keeps it from feeling mean-spirited even when the humor gets pointed. Sagal is a sharp host who knows when to let a joke breathe and when to move on. It's genuinely one of the best shows for driving because the humor is clean enough for a car full of passengers, but clever enough that it doesn't feel watered down. You'll learn something about current events almost by accident, which is a nice bonus.