Pittsburg, PA
Review | ‘Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me!’ in Pittsburgh and a love letter to NPR – The Pitt News
From a young age, I’ve found solace in the Pavlovian pleasure of the brassy “All Things Considered” chime. While other kids were begging their parents to turn the dial to Top 40 pop radio, I preferred to hear two old brothers banter about auto maintenance on “Car Talk.” NPR has been an omnipresent voice in my ear, whispering tidbits of worldly happenings, accompanying me on my walks, drives, rows and rides. The centerpiece of NPR’s catalog is the witty weekly news quiz show “Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me!”
Last week, I was listening to the sweet sounds of “Wait Wait” when host Peter Sagal, seemingly jumping out of my phone and speaking directly to me, said the cast would venture from their home base in Chicago to record a show at the Benedum Center in downtown Pittsburgh. I studied up on all the headlines until I felt like a news know-it-all walking down Penn Avenue towards the theater.
As I settled into my seat on Thursday night, I realized I had no idea what the cast looked like. They were always just little voices that live in my headphones and gab about Boeing and fiber supplements during my bus rides to Aldi. I don’t know how I expected Sagal to look — I could’ve imagined him as some mousey bespectacled variant on the dad from “Caillou,” but instead he more closely resembled Michael Stipe from R.E.M. with a liberal arts degree.
Hearing Bill Curtis speak sounded like God himself had taken an earthly vacation to Pittsburgh and stopped by the Benedum Center to host a quiz show. I can only compare the sensation of hearing Peter Sagal’s voice come out of Peter Sagal’s body to the uncanny feeling of seeing Tom Kenny do his SpongeBob voice in real life. Likewise, hearing Sagal drop an f-bomb in his opening monologue felt like hearing that SpongeBob voice narrate a reproductive anatomy chart.
The audience was what you might call an “NPR crowd.” These folks love a good charcuterie board and live for Shakespeare in the Park. They sip their coffee over the New York Times crossword on a Sunday morning after posting their Wordle on Facebook. Earlier that day, each one of them had told someone about an article they “read,” although in reality, they just saw the headline on their phone. These were my people.
Before the recording began, Sagal addressed the audience to mark the show’s return to Pittsburgh and lament the change from Heinz Field to Ac — Acri — sorry, I’m so bitter that it pains me to even type the new name. I resent that our sports writers have to call it that A-word, like how news publications are gradually warming us up to calling Twitter “X.”
Contestant Maeve Higgins said Pittsburgh reminded her of home in Ireland because everyone was pale and it was raining. And boy, did it rain — at one point in the show, a jarring flash flood warning alarm erupted from every iPhone in the audience. I figured that if the 71B washed away into the Monongahela on the ride back to Oakland, at least I heard the voice of Bill Curtis in person before I drowned.
Only once the game began, with Sagal and Curtis standing at name-tagged podiums sitting a disco ball away from the three headphone-clad contestants, did I breathe in the absurdity of this show’s premise. A troupe of nerds and news junkies yap about Ozempic and cicadas while some consultant from Connecticut sits on the phone and tries to get a word in edgewise. I love it. I could’ve been born a 12th-century feudal peasant shoveling pigswill until I died of the bubonic plague, but instead I’m lucky enough to live in the same time and place as “Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me!”
The special guest for the evening was legendary Steelers coach Bill Cowher. A Crafton native, Cowher riled up the niche of NPR Yinzers in the theater with stories about being trapped on the Gateway Clipper cruise and winning the Super Bowl. When Sagal confronted him on Heinz Field’s transition to Ac — nope, still can’t do it — he said in his mind, it was still Three Rivers Stadium.
As contestants pored over the topics and trends of the week, I came to appreciate how much the producers polish each episode before it hits the air. There are so many line rereads, gaffes, awkward pauses and off-color quips that escape the final product. Contestant Mo Rocca even got up to use the bathroom mid-show, sneaking offstage with a Grinch-like gait before reestablishing his presence with a silent ballet routine. These weren’t just disembodied voices emanating from a podcast app — they’re real people who went to the Pittsburgh Banjo Club from their hotel last night and can hear your phone ringing in the mezzanine.
Perhaps the most potent auditory set piece of the show was the audience. When Sagal mispronounced “Primanti,” the crowd chastised him with an instantaneous nasal “a.” Two men presented Sagal and Curtis with hand-drawn parchment portraits. The woman sitting in front of me stood up for an impromptu audition to take Sagal’s job, handing him her heartiest “This is NPR.” I feel like I’ve left a little legacy in my laughter and applause, lost in the sea of sound splashing at the stage, immortalized over the airwaves.
The Detroit Lions (8-6) and Pittsburgh Steelers (7-6) will square off in a Week 16 interdivisional battle between two teams with NFL playoff aspirations. While we know the outcome of the Lions’ Week 15 game, the Steelers have yet to play—they take on the Miami Dolphins on “Monday Night Football”—but that won’t prevent the sports betting sites from taking a look ahead to Week 16.
The Steelers currently sit atop the AFC North, but that is more an indictment of how much of a mess the division has been in 2025, rather than praise for Pittsburgh. After starting the season with a 3-1 record, they’ve gone 4-5 since and have not recorded back-to-back wins—something they’ll be hoping to accomplish on Monday night.
While the Steelers are in a prime position to make the playoffs and potentially host a playoff game, Pittsburgh fans and analysts are frustrated with the team’s performance and have spent most of the season hoping for change.
Steelers fans have squarely pointed their fingers at the Pittsburgh coaching staff as the root of the team’s problems, blaming coach Mike Tomlin for his decisions in staffing, offseason player acquisition, and lack of change/adaptability in their scheme. While Steelers fans have started “Fire Tomlin” chants during games, no coach has come under more fire than defensive coordinator Teryl Austin.
“The defensive scheme is ass. The DC needs to get the (expletive) up out of there. Teryl Austin. He was the DB coach when I was there. I didn’t think he was that great then, you know what I’m saying? Now he’s the DC. It’s an opportunistic defense. … They’ve been running the same (expletive) every year with no adjustment.”
On offense, despite the addition of quarterback Aaron Rodgers, they’ve struggled to stay on the field and create consistent drives. While his passer rating of 96.2 is decent, the rest of his statistics are mediocre, as he has become more of a checkdown artist in his later years. Rodgers has thrown the ball beyond 10 yards on only 22.7% of his passing attempts, is averaging 5.8 air yards per attempt, and just 3.3 air yards per completion; all three stats are the lowest in the NFL. He’s coming off a 284-yard passing performance against the Ravens (his highest total on the season), but it’s also the first time in a month he’s thrown for more than 161 yards in a game.
Despite the inconsistency and underachieving play, the Steelers remain in contention for the postseason, making them a dangerous opponent for a Lions team that likely needs to win their remaining three games.
The Pittsburgh Pirates are one of the teams expressing interest in Chicago White Sox outfielder Luis Robert Jr., according to Francys Romero on Twitter/X. Romero notes that the New York Mets and San Diego Padres are also interested.
After being named an American League All-Star for the first time in 2023, Robert had his second straight subpar season for the White Sox in 2025. The 28-year-old slashed just .223/.297/.364 with 12 doubles, 14 home runs and 53 RBI in 100 games. He did, however, finished fifth in the American League with 33 stolen bases and was in the 93rd-percentile with seven outs above average in center field.
Though he’s struggled at the plate over the last two seasons, Robert looked to be emerging as one of the game’s top young players after a breakout campaign in 2023. Robert has battled injuries in his career but played in a career-high 145 games that season. He finished 12th in the American League MVP race and won a Silver Slugger after batting .264 with an .857 OPS, 36 doubles, one triple, 38 home runs, 80 RBI and 20 stolen bases.
Strikeouts have been an issue for Robert and are a big reason for his struggles in recent seasons. Over the past two years, he’s struck out in nearly 30% of his plate appearances. Even in his breakout season in 2023, he struck out 172 times in 595 plate appearances.
Robert is owed $20 million this coming seasons and has a club option valued at $20 million again for 2027 with a $2 million buyout.
The Pirates have been looking to make lineup upgrades all offseason. They’ve been aggressive on the free agent market — including empty pursuits of Kyle Schwarber and Jorge Polanco — but have yet to add a bat via free agency. The only free agent agreement the Pirates have made so far is with left-handed reliever Gregory Soto for one year and $7.75 million.
As for the offense, the Pirates acquired Jhostynxon García from the Boston Red Sox but have come up short in adding established help to their lowly offense.
Given that the Pirates have already been outbid on multiple players this offseason, general manager Ben Cherington could choose to focus his attention on the trade market to land an impact bat.
In addition to Robert, the St. Louis Cardinals’ Brendan Donovan and the New York Mets’ Jeff McNeil are among the players the Pirates have reportedly expressed interest in.
More about: Pirates
Pittsburg, PA
Pittsburgh braces for heavy snowfall and frigid temperatures | Live First Alert Weather
A Winter Storm Warning goes into effect at 1 p.m. for counties south of Allegheny County, and a Winter Weather Advisory is in effect for Allegheny County and others to the north.
National Weather Service issues Winter Storm Warning
Earlier this week, the National Weather Service issued a Winter Storm Warning for parts of the Pittsburgh area along and south of I-70 for today and Sunday due to what they described as “a band of heavier snow.”
As of Friday evening, nearly all of the Pittsburgh area is expected to see between two and four inches of snow.
In Pittsburgh, the estimate is 3-5 inches and 5-10 for the ridges.
Snow will be coupled with frigid temperatures
As the snow tapers off around midnight Sunday morning, it will remain scattered, but cold air will follow, leaving the low temperatures in the single digits, and the wind chill below zero as gusts could reach up to 15-20mph.
Road crews prepare for winter storm
Crews across western Pennsylvania say that they’re prepared for the impending snowfall.
In Allegheny County, there are two dozen trucks and more than 9,000 tons of salt at the ready.
Even with the preparations, they’re asking those who don’t need to go out to stay off the roads in order to give them the space to clear them.
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